Whilst I was in Memphis I became a reporter for The Daily Helmsman newspaper for one semester. The University print newspaper had daily editions in both digital and print formats distributed across the city.
The Daily Helmsman
The Daily Helmsman
The songs we slept on: Under the radar smashes
By Luke Chapman
P!nk featuring Cash Cash – Can we pretend
Can we pretend this song wasn’t done so dirty by the public? A collaboration no one knew they needed in their lives, the euphoric feeling of “dancing on tables with fake ass shoes” is endowed through the sheer confidence and fuckery of P!nk’s vocals, instantly making me want to find shit shoes and get way too drunk. This club banger brings remnants of P!nk’s older songs “So What” and “Get the party started”, beautifully created with an ode to her old self, while mixing a fresh new twist on 2019 music. The second single from “Hurts 2B Human” flopped, peaking at number 88 in the UK charts, COME ON PEOPLE.
Alice Merton – Funny business
Merton’s first single “No Roots” was a BOP, gaining airplay across the world, and securing a spot on Radio 1’s playlist, the funky bass and catchy lead brought the German/British born, American/Canadian raised singer’s name to the attention of the public. She then released “Funny Business” as part of her album campaign, seeing her riding in cars and breaking hearts with a vocal confidence empowering the listener in a similar manner that Lizzo makes us want to annihilate all fuck boys. Channeling the inner workings of “No Roots”, “Funny Business” brought a side to Merton we hadn’t yet seen, soon to be honed with her debut album “Mint”, the single didn’t even chart in the UK, an absolute travesty of events, Merton deserves more. TECHNICALLY this one was released in 2018, but it gained its little traction in early 2019, allow it.
L Devine featuring INDIIA – Naked Alone
I cannot express to you enough how incredible this song is, if you do one more thing in your life, listen to this song at full volume dancing in your car, WORTH.IT. Bass, vocals, percussion, lyrics, every part of this song will put a spring in your step, confidence in your walk and sass in your ass. Devine may have been vulnerable while “touching herself at the thought of you”, but every part of this outright banger legitimises the strength in your spirit and will make you want to fuck shit up. A mood i fuk wit.
Teamwork. Nina Nesbitt and AJ Mitchell – Afterhours
A very peculiar collaboration between 18 year old American singer AJ Mitchell, popular Scottish songstress Nina Nesbitt, and LA production duo Teamwork. The dark and catchy electronica song hails a strong synthy chorus, grabbing vocals and clever production to leave a well polished smash hit that should’ve been. You may have never heard this one, but give it a bang and it’ll all make sense.
Gabrielle Aplin – Nothin really matters
Nothing really does matter, including this song apparently. First brought to my attention by a friend, I loved this on first listen. The only other work I’ve heard of Aplin’s was “The power of love”, not sure where she took her departure from sadness and melancholy, but the new brand works. The meticulously made synth pop bop weirdly reminds me of a ribena advert, speaking volumes to its vibe. The calm confidence brought by Aplin’s vocals fuels a singalong theme making you wanna hold a one man dance party to the upbeat bash, check it out, grab a ribena, and get dancing.
Cyn – Holy Roller
The Detroit based singer signed to Katy Perry’s record label gained radio play across the UK with this one, just not much. The song opens with the famous lyrics “I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, but I came to your apartment in a car with a dent”, ok close enough? “Holy Roller” draws aspects from so many areas, sounding remnant of grungy rock, bubblegum pop and dark electronica all rolled into one, combined with GENIUS almost comical lyrics, this song is truly a masterpiece. A culmination of pure skill, talent and wit, “Holy roller” is worth 4 minutes of anyones time.
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2019 has been a great year for music, we’ve seen a stream of bops coming out, but many may not have necessarily hit the mainstream. As we slowly creep towards 2020, I wanted to take a look at the songs which have been criminally underrated, offensively mistreated, and horrifically overlooked. These are the songs which should’ve been chart toppers, but alas never came through. These are the misjustices of 2019, they deserved better from us, but now’s the chance to vibe along to these relatively unknown songs, so crank the volume, and lets give these artists what they deserve.