2020 in Music.

What I listened to in '20.

No gigs, no festivals, and a lot less time on the road. A good chunk of this list got built at home rather than in the car.

Music did a lot of heavy lifting that year. Artists made records in their bedrooms, put on livestreams and found ways to keep going, and some of it is the best work they've done. These are the twenty that stuck.

*Standard warning: grown-up words and themes, especially the Cardi B one. You know the one.

Spotify playlist

Know Your Worth – Khalid, Disclosure

Disclosure and Khalid. Smooth, simple, and a reminder the Lawrence brothers can do soulful just as well as they do the big dancefloor stuff.

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The Birthday Party – The 1975

Notes on a Conditional Form finally turned up in May, in the middle of lockdown, and this is one of the quieter moments on it. The 1975 at their most self-aware.

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might bang, might not – Little Simz

From Drop 6, the EP Little Simz made during lockdown. Short, sharp and confident. It's nearly a warm-up for the brilliance of 2021.

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My High – Disclosure, slowthai

Disclosure again (sorry), this time with slowthai and Aminé. A proper weird one and that's the appeal.

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Snail – BENEE

BENEE, from New Zealand. Most people know her from Supalonely on TikTok, but this is better.

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Overkill – Holly Humberstone

Holly Humberstone's first EP came out right in the middle of lockdown, and she ended up being one of the best things to come out of it. More from her in 2021 and 2022.

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Spicy – Nas ft. Fivio Foreign & A$AP Ferg

Nas teamed up with Hit-Boy for King's Disease and sounded hungrier than he had in years. Fivio Foreign brings the Brooklyn drill energy.

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3 Hour Drive – Alicia Keys ft. Sampha

Alicia Keys and Sampha. Two of the best voices around on a gentle piano ballad. With a title like that, it was always going to end up on a list built in the car.

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I Know Alone – HAIM

HAIM's Women in Music Pt. III was a lockdown highlight, and this one was written before any of it happened and turned out to be the perfect song for it. The video's a line-dance routine, socially distanced.

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WHATS POPPIN – Jack Harlow

Jack Harlow's breakout, and the remix with DaBaby, Tory Lanez and Lil Wayne is the one to go for.

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WAP – Cardi B ft. Megan Thee Stallion

Look, I'm not going to explain this one. If you know, you know. If you don't, maybe don't play it at Sunday dinner.

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death bed – Powfu ft. beabadoobee

A TikTok song built around a sample of beabadoobee's Coffee. Much sadder than you'd expect from something that went that viral.

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Diamonds – Sam Smith

Sam Smith with disco energy again. Their third track in two lists, so there's clearly something there.

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Savage Remix – Megan Thee Stallion ft. Beyoncé

Megan Thee Stallion had a monster year, and getting Beyoncé on the remix and putting the money towards relief work in their hometown of Houston was class.

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Ain't It Different – Headie One ft. AJ Tracey & Stormzy

Headie One, AJ Tracey and Stormzy on one track. A UK rap dream team doing exactly what it says on the tin.

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Therefore I Am – Billie Eilish

Billie Eilish proving 2019 wasn't a one-off. The video was shot in an empty shopping centre, which is about as 2020 as it gets.

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Daisy – Ashnikko

Ashnikko, another TikTok one. Bright blue hair, a baby voice and a really dark streak. Mad, but brilliant.

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Boss Bitch – Doja Cat

Doja Cat from the Birds of Prey soundtrack. Ridiculous energy and a good pick-me-up for a dark year.

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Adore You – Jessie Ware

Jessie Ware's What's Your Pleasure? was a disco record released when every club in the country was shut, and it still worked. This is the gentlest track on it.

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Do to Me – H.E.R.

H.E.R. doing what she does best, smooth, understated R&B with lovely guitar work. She turns up again on the 2021 list with Kaytranada.

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