Favourite Songs of 2023

At the end of 2022 I wrote a post sharing my favourite songs from that year. You can see it here: https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2022/12/favourite-songs-of-2022.html

I thought it would be cool to do one for 2023 as well, so here are my fave songs from last year. :)

 

XG- SHOOTING STAR

In January Japanese girl group XG released their 3rd single SHOOTING STAR, along with the track LEFT/RIGHT. I actually first featured XG on the blog, their debut single Tippy Toes was one of my favourite songs of 2022 and I included it in that post.

SHOOTING STAR, an R'n'B/hip hop style song, was my first fave song of the year. I also really liked PUPPET SHOW (see below).

Watch the music video here: https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2023/02/weekly-music-video.html

 

Denise Julia- bum 2 me 

Filipina R'n'B singer Denise Julia's single bum 2 me was my favourite song of the summer. It came out in April but I didn't come across it till July. It's from her debut mini album Sweet Nothings (Chapter 1) which was released in November.

Listen to the bum 2 me audio here: https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2023/07/weekly-music-video_26.html

 

Gen Neo- Losing Game

Singaporean singer Gen Neo released the single Losing Game in July, which is an English language pop/R'n'B song. In addition to the original version, there are also guitar and piano ones. I featured a live performance of the guitar version in my Live performances 2023 post (see below). 

Losing Game was Gen's 6th English single, following on from last May's Called it Love. It's about struggling in love and feeling like you're in a losing game. The original is my favourite version. Here is the official lyric video:

 

Visit this post to see the live performance of the guitar version, plus a link to the piano version: https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2023/09/live-performances-2023.html

 

SZA- Snooze

Another song I liked this summer was Snooze by American singer SZA. Her real name is Solána Imani Rowe and she started her career by self-releasing her debut EP See.SZA.Run in October 2012. It was followed by the EP S in April 2013. That July she signed to Top Dawg Entertainment (their first female artist) and released her 3rd EP Z through the record label.

In June 2017 SZA brought out her debut studio album Ctrl, which debuted at No. 3 on the US Billboard 200 chart. Her most successful singles to date include All the Stars with American rapper Kendrick Lamar, which was the lead single from the 2018 superhero film Black Panther, Kiss Me More with American rapper and singer Doja Cat, Good Days, Kill Bill and Slime You Out with Canadian rapper and singer Drake. I Hate U and Snooze were also hits.

Kill Bill was SZA's first No. 1 single and the Slime You Out collaboration with Drake was her second No. 1 on the Us Billboard Hot 100. She released her second album SOS in December 2023 and it became her first Billboard 200 No. 1. SOS is set to be released as a reissued deluxe version under the name Lana, later this year. Her latest single is Rich Baby Daddy, a song with Drake and American rapper Sexxy Red.

SZA considers her music to be a mix of many genres, including R'n'B, pop, rock, jazz and folk, which was influenced by the different types she grew up listening to. She is also a songwriter, having written songs for artists such as Beyoncé  and Rihanna.

Snooze was released in April, the 6th single from SOS. It's about feeling like you're the one putting all the effort in to make a relationship work. In addition to the original version, there is an acoustic version featuring Canadian singer Justin Bieber which was released in September.

The music video premiered in August and was shown a lot on the UK music channels during the summer and autumn. It features SZA and several love interests, played by Justin, American actors Young Mazino and Woody McClain, and American record producer Benny Blanco. There is also a scene where SZA dances for a robot!

Listen to the acoustic version with Justin here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=muPO1c6pxXg

 

For more on SZA visit these links: 

Official site: https://www.szasos.com/

Official FB page: https://www.facebook.com/sza

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sza 

YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCO5IQ70V7l-XpHW40HwaGsw

XG- PUPPET SHOW

In September XG released their debut mini album NEW DNA. My fave song from it was PUPPET SHOW, which came out on the same day. Visit my post about NEW DNA to see the music video for PUPPET SHOW, along with other singles from the mini album: https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2023/10/xg-debut-mini-album.html 

Tyla- Truth or Dare

Finally, just making the list is Truth or Dare by South African singer Tyla. It's from her upcoming debut album Tyla, which is due for release on 1st March this year (my birthday!). Following on from her hit single Water (released in July with a music video coming out in October), Tyla brought out Truth or Dare as a promotional single on 1st December, along with two other tracks, Butterflies and On and On.

Truth or Dare is a mix of the South African genre amapiano, Afrobeats and Western pop and R'n'B. I like this better than Water, to honest and think it has a lot of potential to become Tya's next hit! :)

This is the official visualiser and features the lyrics on screen.

 

 Update 8/2/24: There's now a music video for Truth or Dare:

 

 

To pre-save the album/listen to the tracks as they become available, visit this link: https://tyla.lnk.to/tyla

Hope you liked the post! :) What were your favourite songs of 2023? I liked a few by Asian artists. I'm a longtime fan of J-pop and K-pop and it's been good to explore other types of music by artists from Asia. :)