Melissa Kacar

"Basic Being Basic" by Djo Djo is back with the lead single off of his upcoming album The Crux ! "Basic Being Basic" is such a playful and simultaneously thought-provoking look at internet culture and superficiality. Of course, Joe's signature enigmatic performance style is on full display, as he sings about yearning for deeper, more meaningful connections. In a press release, he said that it is a "kind of a shot fired to anyone who's trying to be of the moment." It may be too early to say, but I can definitely see The Crux becoming one of my top favorite albums of the year - I can't wait to hear more from it! "The Abyss" by The Weeknd The third and final installment of The Weeknd 's After Hours trilogy of albums is here with Hurry Up Tomorow . "The Abyss" comes toward the end of the sprawling hour and a half long album, symbolizing much of what this end of an era means for him as an artist. It also features uncredited ...

Ariana Grande has reached the incredible milestone of having 14 songs reach over a billion streams each on Spotify! Over the past 10 years, Ariana has amassed over 39 billion streams on the platform and has become a member of the coveted Spotify Billions Club more than any other female artist. This achievement comes as no surprise, as Ariana has been a streaming titan for over a decade and was one of the first to embrace the early streaming era of the early 2010's long before many of her peers in the industry did. "It's a really absurd number – I can’t really wrap my head around the number," Ariana said in the Billions Club episode. "This really shook me a little." She has always been one of my favorite artists and this felt like the perfect time to rank all of her record-breaking songs that are in the Spotify Billions Club, as of February 2024. All of these are staples in her long and ever-growing list of hits. Several more songs are already on the brink o...

"A&W" // Lana Del Rey Lana Del Rey is back and she's cooler than ever! "A&W" represents so much of what Lana is about as an artist and showcases every side that makes her music so special. It is a seven-minute masterpiece that takes the listener on such an emotional journey, with some of her most heart-wrenching and vulnerable lyrics yet. "I'm a princess, I'm divisive, ask me why why why I'm like this, maybe I'm just kind of like this", she sings in the first half of the song. The switch-up in the trap-inspired second half was so unexpected and feels like an ode to some of her early unreleased work. I already know that Did You Know There's A Tunnel Under Ocean Boulevard is going to be a top contender for my favorite album of the year, just based on how much I love this song and the title track alone! I could go on and on about "A&W", but I'll save it for when I write my full review of the album next month...

2022 was yet another great year for music! This list is made up of a mix of artists that are long-time favorites as well as many new discoveries across a range of genres. This is always my favorite post to write every year, I love looking back at all of the great art that was released in the past year and sharing some of the highlights with you. Several of these albums I also wrote dedicated long-form reviews for, which are linked throughout if you are interested in reading more! Harry's House // Harry Styles Harry Styles delivered yet another incredible release that easily is my favorite album of the year. "Imagine it’s a day in my house or a day in my mind. What do I go through? I’m playing fun music. I’m playing sad music. I’m playing this, I’m playing that. I have doubts. I’m feeling stuff. And it’s all mine," Harry said in an interview with Zane Lowe for Apple Music earlier this year. Harry's House was the perfect next step for Harry and is a great evolution t...