Music You Need to Hear from 2020 (Exposing My Spotify Wrapped!)

Music You Need to Hear from 2020 blog post cover

Every December, Spotify signals the end of the year with personalized Wrapped playlists rounding up users’ most-streamed songs. Despite how well you may think you know your own music taste, Spotify’s data doesn’t lie! Surprises are always guaranteed—whether it’s a song you listened to for three days straight early in the year and have since forgot about, or you just didn’t realize how obsessed you were with an artist or album track.

Press play on my official Top Songs of 2020 playlist below, featuring 100 of the year’s best bops from Jessie Ware, Dua Lipa, Tame Impala, Chloe x Halle and more. I’ve loved having this on repeat as I reminisce on the past 12 months of music!

Now, for one of the most anticipated “Best Of” lists of the year, let’s break down the Top Albums of 2020!

My Top 10 Albums of 2020 (according to Spotify)

Rina Sawayama's Sawayama album cover

10. Rina Sawayama, ‘SAWAYAMA’

Most played track: “Comme Des Garçons (Like the Boys)”

Jessie Ware's What's Your Pleasure album cover

9. Jessie Ware, ‘What’s Your Pleasure?’

Most played track: “In Your Eyes”

Sam Smith's Love Goes album cover

8. Sam Smith, ‘Love Goes’

Most played track: “Diamonds”

Sevdaliza's Shabrang album cover

7. Sevdaliza, ‘Shabrang’

Most played tracks: “Darkest Hour,” “Oh My God”

Lady Gaga's Chromatica album cover

6. Lady Gaga, ‘Chromatica’

Most played tracks: “Rain On Me” (with Ariana Grande), “Sour Candy” (with BLACKPINK)

The Weeknd's After Hours album cover

5. The Weeknd, ‘After Hours’

Most played tracks: “Too Late,” “Blinding Lights,” “Alone Again”

Dua Lipa's Future Nostalgia album cover

4. Dua Lipa, ‘Future Nostalgia’

Most played tracks: “Levitating” (feat. Madonna and Missy Elliott) [The Blessed Madonna Remix] (Club Future Nostalgia exclusive), “That Kind Of Woman” (Jacques Lu Cont Remix) (Club Future Nostalgia exclusive), “Fever” (feat. Angèle)

Selena Gomez's Rare album cover

3. Selena Gomez, ‘Rare’

Most played tracks: “A Sweeter Place” (feat. Kid Cudi), “Let Me Get Me,” “Look At Her Now,” “People You Know,” “Dance Again”

Tame Impala's The Slow Rush album cover

2. Tame Impala, ‘The Slow Rush’

Most played tracks: “Breathe Deeper,” “One More Year,” “Glimmer,” “It Might Be Time,” “Is It True”

Disclosure's ENERGY album cover

1. Disclosure, ‘ENERGY’

Most played tracks: “Reverie” (feat. Common), “Expressing What Matters,” “Ecstasy,” “Etran” (feat. Etran Finatawa), “Lavender” (feat. Channel Tres), “Get Close,” “Who Knew?” (feat. Mick Jenkins), “Douha (Mali Mali)” (feat. Fatoumata Diawara), “ENERGY”

Despite the music I highlighted each month in my Favourites playlist, here are some statistically-proven takeaways from my 2020 streaming habits:

  • My most streamed album of the year was 2019’s ‘Bubba’ by Montreal DJ-producer Kaytranada. Evidently, I was very excited to see his live show in the spring (RIP 2020 concert season.)
  • I was a big fan of dance remixes—anything to lift my spirits during long work days and workouts!
  • My favourite artists, including The Weeknd, Lady Gaga and Sam Smith, did what had to be done, contributing to the soundtrack of the year. But I was also thrilled to discover new artists like Sevdaliza and Rina Sawayama with fresh sounds and stories and I can’t wait to see what they bring in 2021.

The Best of the Best Albums of 2020

You know a great album as soon as you hear it—when each song flawlessly blends into the next and you want to sing, scream, shout, dance, cry, etc. the whole way through.

As I look back on the incredible bodies of work we were gifted this year, I’d firmly rank ‘After Hours’ (The Weeknd), ‘What’s Your Pleasure?’ (Jessie Ware) and ‘The Slow Rush’ (Tame Impala) as my top 3 albums of 2020. 😍

This year may have been dark, but thanks to so many incredible artists, music was a bright spot for all of us. Can’t wait to start building my 2021 playlist! 🎶

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Take 5 with Reuben James

Reuben James Interview

As an accomplished artist, songwriter and producer for the likes of John Legend, Tom Misch and Disclosure, there’s little that Birmingham-based Reuben James can’t do.  

Reuben, who many will recognize as Sam Smith’s former pianist and frequent collaborator, broke out onto the jazz scene last year with the release of Adore. His seven-track debut EP cemented his status as a fast-emerging one to watch. 

Out today, his sophomore EP Slow Down was originally scheduled for release last Friday, June 5. In solidarity with the #BlackLivesMatter movement, Reuben joined artists like Chloe x Halle and friends HONNE in delaying their release dates by a week. “Proud of the movement and proud to be Black,” Reuben wrote on Instagram. 

To celebrate the official release, I called Reuben over Zoom to chat about slowing down, genre labels and Canadian surprises. 

How does it feel to have Slow Down out for everyone to hear, especially given everything going on around the world?  

It’s a crazy time right now. We’re getting a lot [of news coverage] and there have been a lot of marches and protests going on here as well. It’s time for change and this is all for the right reasons. I feel like people need to use music to escape what’s going on so hopefully my music can bring some healing to people that need it right now. It’s my second baby out into the world and it’s scary, but at the same time I’ve worked really hard to put it together so I’m happy it’s coming out.  

Your sound crosses from soul to R&B to jazz and back again. How would you describe it, and what are your thoughts on genre labels? 

I’ve got such a broad influence of music, but if I had to pin it down I’d say jazz-influenced R&B. There are so many new names for genres now. People say neo-soul or jazz hop…I don’t even know. But I like to think mine is in the category of good music. I think there’s only two genres – good music and not so good music. Hopefully mine comes in the good category! But definitely the music that I’m making now is R&B with jazz harmony and beats flowing on top. 

Does the EP title have added significance for you as we’ve collectively slowed down in quarantine? 

When I wrote “Slow Down,” the title track, I’d been touring with Sam for almost seven years, so my life was super fast fast fast, and it was like the world was craving the opposite. Obviously, everyone’s all about instant gratification and ordering things on Amazon and getting it the next day. You’re also thinking about social media and work and there’s just so much going on and so much stress and anxiety. Now everyone’s craving nature and doing yoga, meditation and exercise. I was definitely craving that. This quarantine situation has made it so everyone’s kind of forced to slow down and I feel like people can use the EP as a tool to just escape for 20 minutes and really relax and listen to some smooth sounds. 

Are there any artists you’ve worked with who have really challenged you musically, in terms of exploring new influences or recording styles? 

Sam definitely challenges me musically. Sam’s an incredible top line lyricist; melodies just flow out so you really have to be on your game and be organic in the moment. As soon as I told Sam that I was starting to put out music, they’d be posting about it, telling people about it and giving me feedback and the best advice. I know that Sam’s got my back and is the most supportive friend I could dream for in the world. 

Also, working with Bruno Major was amazing. The first time I saw Bruno, he opened for Sam in early 2013 at St Pancras Old Church in London and he was unbelievable. We’ve been friends since then. Bruno is very particular and he really wants to strive for kind of the most poetic and beautiful lyric. I come from more of a chords and grooves background and I’ve got chords going through my head 24/7, whereas I do have a lot to say lyrically but I have to take my time. That’s something that I’ve been working on improving and Bruno’s been a big part of that inspiration for me. His lyrics are like, very expensive sounding. 

Have you learned anything about yourself being on the road so much that you wouldn’t have discovered otherwise? 

You have to be comfortable being away from your friends and family for so long, but you create your new family on the road. I definitely grew up fast and have learned about a lot of different cultures. The joke here is a good friend of mine is in Vancouver and I got out to Canada with Sam, and the first thing I did was called him and was like, I’m here, can you get me at this place?  He said, Where are you? I don’t know that place. Anyway, turned out I was in Montreal and just assumed that he’d be around the corner. It was ridiculous. He was like, Bro, Canada’s a big place. I know that now. 

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Playlist: Black Excellence

Black Lives Matter Music Playlist

In place of June’s Favourites list, I will be sharing multiple posts spotlighting Black creators + businesses. Today and every day, Black Lives Matter.

There’s a conversation going on right now that we all need to be part of and it covers racism, discrimination, equality and basic human rights. Why, in 2020, are Black men, women and non-binary people still being treated as “less than”? Why must they live with a weight on their shoulders simply because of the colour of their skin? We need to say their names, know their stories and uplift their legacies: George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Eric Garner, Trayvon Martin… and we need to recognize that there are far too many stories.

Change starts with each and every one of us. Over the past two weeks, the #BlackLivesMatter movement has spread internationally as people make their voice heard any way they can — through protests, signing petitions, educating themselves and their peers, lobbying government officials, and uplifting the voices at the heart of this movement. I want to do my part on this blog by amplifying my favourite Black creators and brands.

You may have heard several of these artists on previous playlists, but here’s your chance to get to know them better! Press play, check out the full tracklist and read more about three of my favourites below.

Playlist: Black Excellence — Full Tracklist

  1. “Good as Hell,” Lizzo
  2. “Do It,” Chloe x Halle
  3. “In The Morning,” Jay Prince
  4. “Chocolate.,” Kiana Ledé feat. Ari Lennox
  5. “Eleven,” Khalid feat. Summer Walker
  6. “The Worst In Me,” KAYTRANADA feat. Tinashe
  7. “COFFEE,” Kelly Rowland
  8. “When You Hold Me,” Braxton Cook
  9. “Stormy Weather,” Tinashe
  10. “Pretty Little Fears,” 6LACK feat. J. Cole
  11. “B.S.,” Jhené Aiko feat. H.E.R.
  12. “Give Me A Reason,” R.LUM.R
  13. “Addicted,” Jon Vinyl
  14. “Happy Without Me,” Chloe x Halle feat. Joey Bada$$
  15. “Savage Remix,” Megan Thee Stallion feat. Beyoncé
  16. “Sunflower Seeds,” Bryce Vine
  17. “Midsection,” KAYTRANADA feat. Pharrell Williams
  18. “Can I,” Kehlani feat. Tory Lanez
  19. “OTW,” Khalid feat. 6LACK & Ty Dolla $ign
  20. “Grinding All My Life,” Nipsey Hussle
  21. “This Is America,” Childish Gambino
  22. “If You’re Not There,” Reuben James feat. Braxton Cook
  23. “Motivation,” Normani
  24. “Die A Little Bit,” Tinashe & Ms Banks
  25. “Boys,” Lizzo
  26. “Boys Should Never Cry,” R.LUM.R
  27. “FDT,” YG & Nipsey Hussle
  28. “Hang on in There,” John Legend & The Roots
  29. “Mad,” Solange feat. Lil Wayne
  30. “Get Up, Stand Up,” Bob Marley & The Wailers
  31. “Freedom,” Beyoncé feat. Kendrick Lamar
  32. “Cold,” R.LUM.R
  33. “All The Stars,” Kendrick Lamar with SZA
  34. “Correct,” MNEK
  35. “Think About Me,” dvsn
  36. “Wrong Places,” H.E.R.
  37. “I Want You,” Tayla Parx
  38. “Build,” Justine Skye & Arin Ray
  39. “Catch Up,” Chloe x Halle & Swae Lee feat. Mike WiLL Made-It
  40. “Love’s In Need Of Love Today,” Stevie Wonder
  41. “Self,” Noname
  42. “Trip,” Ella Mai
  43. “Making A Choice,” R.LUM.R
  44. “Bigger Love,” John Legend
  45. “My Line,” Reuben James feat. Col3trane, Jay Prince, Vula & Soweto Kinch
  46. “Surfacing,” R.LUM.R
  47. “Honeymoon Phaze,” MNEK
  48. “Rocket Man” (Cover), CammWess feat. John Legend
  49. “What If I (Still Feel),” R.LUM.R
  50. “16 Shots,” Vic Mensa
  51. “Moment,” Victoria Monét

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