By Adrianna Bodruk
Photo credit: https://www.pexels.com/photo/white-apple-airpods-on-white-table-3825517/
As this semester (and this year) both come to a close and I wait eagerly for my Spotify Wrapped to arrive, I want to share some of my favorite music releases from the past few months. Since August, a number of great songs have been released, some of which were released by my favorite artists.
Here are my top 5 favorite songs released during the Fall 2022 semester:
5) “Just A Little” - Sarah Cothran
If you aren’t familiar with Cothran or this song, you are most likely familiar with Cothran’s iconic cover of “As The World Caves In,” originally by Matt Maltese. The viral cover has amassed 106M views on YouTube to date. Cothran’s song, “Just A Little” was released on September 30 and is the fifth track on her debut EP, “i hope you’re happy.” This song, along with “Baby Why” are my favorites on this EP. Cothran’s voice is fantastic and I think it stands out among other new artists right now.
Beer released this heartbreaking ballad August 26. This single will be included on her second studio album, which has not been released yet (but I am looking forward to it)! Beer’s voice sounds so pretty on this track, and it is quite evident how much her voice has matured over the last few years. Whimsical and melancholy - this song sounds like it came out of a fairytale (but a sad one, if that is possible).
“Dopamine” was released September 9 and is the sixth track off of Wang’s new album, MAGIC MAN. This song, along with “Come Alive,” are my favorite tracks off this album. One aspect that makes Wang unique, in my opinion, is his raspy voice. I think it is more noticeable on “Come Alive,” than on “Dopamine,” but I really like the way his voice sounds in “Dopamine.” The chorus is my favorite part of this track.
NIKI is one of my favorite singer-songwriters (along with Taylor Swift and Julia Michaels). I think she is a very intelligent songwriter and her songwriting abilities are impressive. Her highly-anticipated second studio album, Nicole, was released on August 12. “Milk Teeth” was released as the eighth track on this album. The heartfelt, melancholy lyrics in this song are so poetic, and the metaphors that NIKI wrote in this song are quite clever.
Out of the many songs I’ve added to my playlist over the course of the semester, there are very few that I have loved just after the first listen. “Die For You,” released November 4 off of Joji’s new album, SMITHEREENS, was a track I couldn’t get enough of after hearing it for the first time. This is also true for my other favorite song from this album, “Before The Day Is Over.” It is not unusual for Joji to release sorrowful tracks, and these songs are no exception. I really like the way both of these songs sound and I think Joji’s vocals are great on both of these tracks.