Melissa Kacar

"vampire" // Olivia Rodrigo "vampire" is the long-awaited first single off of  Olivia Rodrigo 's upcoming sophomore album,  GUTS .  After the massive success she had with   SOUR  in   2021 , she hasn't released any music at all and I really didn't know what to expect from her as an artist going forward. "vampire" starts off as a piano ballad, somewhat like "driver's license" in the structure and melody. It starts to take a turn as she builds to the chorus with "I used to think I was smart, b ut you made me look so naïve, t he way you sold me for parts, a s you sunk your teeth into me, b loodsucker, fame fucker, b leedin' me dry like a goddamn vampire".  It is such a powerful song to release for her comeback and honestly even better than most of the songs off her debut album in every regard. I am definitely looking forward to hearing the rest of her album when it is released in September! "Home To Another One...

To celebrate what was another great year of music, I compiled a list of my 23 favorite songs of 2023. This is a glimpse into some of my most-played songs that served as the soundtrack of my year through it all. Earlier this year, I started a monthly New Music Friday series where I highlighted some of the best releases of each month. This list includes the best of the best from all of those posts, as well as some new finds from throughout the year. To keep this list succinct and varied, I only chose one song from each artist. I have written in depth about many of these artists and their new releases throughout the year, which will be linked throughout if you are interested in reading more. I will be sharing even more in my post about my favorite albums of the year too! This is loosely ranked, featuring many of my all-time favorite artists, as well as some new artists I discovered this year.  Enjoy! ✨ "A&W" // Lana Del Rey "A&W" is one of the greatest songs...