2022 really has been a DELICIOUS year for pop music! We’ve had comebacks from Beyoncé, Britney, Florence, Tove Lo, Shania Twain, Björk, Taylor Swift, Bananarama, Rihanna, N-Dubz, P!nk and Sugababes (well, kind of).
Sam Ryder helped us place second in the Eurovision Song Contest in Turin – the best we’ve done in many, many, many, MANY years! Omg and remember in the summer when Kate Bush was number 1?! I’m still not over that… Anyway here’s to the class of 2022 and roll on 2023 for hopefully another fabulous year of pop or should I say… #DaleyPOP?!
Music has been embedded in my life ever since I was in the womb, my Mum and Dad basically raised me on music, especially POP music! I grew up listening to Madonna, Mariah Carey, Kylie, Spice Girls, Britney… even AQUA! I love sharing my favourite songs and album every month with the world from Scene HQ! Follow me on Twitter and Instagram and here’s my class of 2022 playlist.
TOP POP OF 2022
SZA – Shirt
Shirt finally arrived in all its glory in 2022 after SZA posted a snippet on Instagram in 2020. Two weeks after I reviewed the song, she dropped her long awaited second studio album, SOS, which has received widespread critical acclaim and even broke the record for the largest streaming week for an R&B album!
Rina Sawayama – This Hell
Craving an over the top pop-cultural banger? Well Japanese-British singer-songwriter Rina Sawayama gave us one with this track. Rina also explores the injustice and rights being taken away from the LGBTQ+ community through religious beliefs too and explores the concept of being told we are going to hell for just being ourselves.
Rina chucked in so many good pop culture references as well and this song is basically the Born This Way or Express Yourself of 2022.
Britney Spears and Elton John – Hold Me Closer
I had to include Britney in my top eight, it wasn’t even an option not to. In my conspiracy theory mind, Britney was teasing this project for quite some time on Instagram via her Project Rose posts but yeah, it’s a certified bop and the perfect end of summer tune.
Elton said at the time: “I’m so excited to be able to do it with her (Britney) because if it is a big hit, and I think it may be, it will give her so much more confidence than she’s got already and she will realise that people actually love her and care for her and want her to be happy. That’s all anybody in their right mind would want after she went through such a traumatic time.”
He added: “I’m just crossing my fingers that this will restore her confidence in herself to get back into the studio, make more records, and realise that she is bloody good.”
Darren Hayes – Do You Remember?
OMG, remember the hot one from Savage Garden?! Actually they were both hot to be fair eeeep, but Australian singer-songwriter Darren Hayes returned in 2022 with a brand new solo song and guess what… it’s a BOP!
Darren said at the time: “From a production point of view this is what I have always wanted to do but never had the skills until now. It reminds me of what I loved about songs from George Michael’s Faith and some of my favourite Prince records from the late ’80s. It’s all about the groove.
“I spent ages trying to tune a Linn drum machine to sound like those snare drums. In doing so I went down this amazing rabbit hole of vintage synth sounds – understanding what it is I loved about ’80s tech like the Synclavier and the Fairlight.”
Fun fact: Darren mentions Madonna’s best album ever album Ray of Light in the lyrics, YAS QUEEN.
UPDATE: Darren will be at the Brighton Dome in March 2023.
Nicki Minaj – Super Freaky Girl
Nicki Minaj bagged her first ever number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with this super catchy track that samples Rick James’ 1981 classic Super Freak… It’s such an earworm and reminds me of the Anaconda days which were so fun too, barb for life right here.
Oh and she’s fed us even more with the Roman Remix, true barbz will know who Roman Zolanski is!
Mylène Farmer – À tout jamais
Mylène Farmer’s hugely anticipated stadium tour is kicking off in 2023 so it was only natural for a new single and a new era to begin! Directed by Woodkid (most known for working with Taylor Swift, Katy Perry, Lana Del Rey and Harry Styles), this single, which translates as ‘Forever’, is taken from Mylene’s new album L’Emprise, which went to number one in France and was my album of the month in November.
À tout jamais is a song nearly everyone can relate to – a breakup tinged with betrayal. Mylène is a woman scorned on this track singing in French and English; “Tell him fuck you too, forever. Requiem to start all over again, no more sorry, no more in my flesh. You and your double friend, go back to hell.” Eeeeeep I’m scared, but I love it.
Subwoolfer – Give That Wolf A Banana (Eurovision Song Contest – Norway)
Norway’s entry was only the eighth favourite to win but this song was my personal favourite to win (after the UK of course). In the final of the Eurovision Song Contest in Turin, the song finished in 10th position.
Despite the hilarious lyrics, it’s just so catchy and after the first listen you want to hear it again and again – yum, yum, yum, yum, yum, yum, yum-yum-yum. Oh and there’s also a romantic version too in case you prefer a ballad to a bop. I still think Ben Adams from A1 is a member of the group!
Florence + The Machine – King
Florence + The Machine’s new era kicked off in 2022 with the new single King and a new album, Dance Fever!
Florence said at the time: “As an artist, I never actually thought about my gender that much. I just got on with it,” and that she “was as good as the men and I just went out there and matched them every time.
“But now, thinking about being a woman in my 30s and the future… I suddenly feel this tearing of my identity and my desires. That to be a performer, but also to want a family, might not be as simple for me as it is for my male counterparts. I had modelled myself almost exclusively on male performers, and for the first time I felt a wall come down between me and my idols as I have to make decisions they did not.”
Florence really is on another level, out of this world, we don’t deserve her, we don’t deserve her ART. The track, the lyrics and the video are basically a masterpiece.
ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Beyoncè – RENAISSANCE
I mean this was technically my most played album of 2022 according to Spotify Wrapped so Beyoncè had to be my album of the year, didn’t she?! Also, according to Spotify Wrapped, I was in the top 0.5% of Bey’s listeners in 2022 too. Anyway enough about me, back to superstar (or should I say Alien Superstar lolol).
Beyoncè, as we all know, released her seventh studio solo album Renaissance in 2022 and apparently it’s the first instalment of a trilogy project?! Mind. Blown.
Beyoncè took us to Studio 54 (New York’s most legendary club ever) with this album, saying: “Creating this album allowed me a place to dream and to find escape during a scary time for the world. It allowed me to feel free and adventurous in a time when little else was moving. My intention was to create a safe place, a place without judgment. A place to be free of perfectionism and overthinking. A place to scream, release, feel freedom. It was a beautiful journey of exploration. I hope you find joy in this music. I hope it inspires you to release the wiggle. Ha! And to feel as unique, strong, and sexy as you are.”
I still can’t get over that I thought America Has A Problem was going to be Beyoncé’s anthem about the social injustices we’ve been facing, only for it to be about how much of a bad bitch she is… and I love it. My fave tracks are I’m That Girl, Cozy, Alien Superstar, Cuff It, Energy (featuring Beam), BREAK MY SOUL, Church Girl, Plastic Off The Sofa, Virgo’s Groove, Move (featuring Grace Jones and Tems), Heated, Thique, All Up In Your Mind, America Has A Problem, Pure/Honey and… Summer Renaissance. So the whole album.
P.s. Myself and my BFF (hey Hannahface if you’re reading this) are still waiting for the Summer Renaissance tour to be announced… and the VISUALS! Manifesting – it usually seems to work 🙂
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