song of the week // playlist + a year in reflection

- January 05, 2026

Over the course of the past year, I set out to write 52 song reviews, posted every single Monday, and it has grown into something much bigger than I ever expected it to be. I focused on highlighting a diverse range of artists and genres, many of whom I never had the opportunity to write about before. I was able to spotlight so many of my personal favorites, along with deeper cuts, massive hits, and tracks I saw beginning to trend on social media that ultimately became defining songs of the entire year.

This series came from a desire to write about as much music as possible in a way that my long‑form album reviews or New Music Friday posts don't always allow. It gave me the freedom to explore any artist I wanted to - new or old - with the only real criteria being that the song had to speak to me in some way, or carry a story worth telling. While I love diving into full bodies of work, there are certain songs that deserve their own spotlight, inviting a deeper look into their cultural impact, artistic process, and the meaning woven into a single track.

Every single one of my most popular posts of 2025 came from this series, and it has been so exciting to see the reach these reviews have gotten. Several of them have even become some of my most‑viewed articles of all time across my entire blog. Often, it was the posts I least expected that ended up resonating the most, and it still surprises me every time to see which songs connect with readers. After over eight years of writing on my blog, it has been incredibly rewarding to watch my content continue to grow with each passing year.

By sticking to my rule of only featuring an artist once, I wanted to push myself to continuously search for new artists and songs to highlight. Because of that, I discovered countless tracks from artists I now absolutely love, and I'm so grateful to have found them through this project. As always, I put an emphasis on making sure each review was well‑researched and informative, paired with my own analysis and passion for the music. I truly feel like my music knowledge has expanded so much by keeping up with this series consistently.

I can't wait to continue the song of the week series into the new year and beyond. I'll keep aiming to highlight a different artist every week, though I may eventually restart the rotation and revisit a few favorites from 2025...who knows!

I also realized I never really gave a proper introduction to this series or my intentions behind it, so going into the second year felt like the perfect time to do so. There are still so many artists I love and haven't had the chance to feature yet, and I'm excited to spotlight them soon and to discover new ones I don't even know about yet! As always, I'm open to recommendations and requests for what you'd like to see featured next.

I also compiled all 52 songs from 2025 into one playlist titled the 1, which is inspired by the title for the very first song I ever featured in this series by Taylor Swift, and it felt especially fitting for the mission of spotlighting one song every single week. It will be updated every Monday, so feel free to check it out on Spotify and follow along if you're interested in keeping up with my new features.