10 Favorite Songs of 2024

by Tyler Glover, Aprille Hanson-Spivey & Julian Spivey

Photos: Island Records, Columbia Records, Republic Records & Interscope Records

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10. “Die With A Smile” by Bruno Mars and Lady Gaga 
Bruno Mars and Lady Gaga have always been favorites of mine. I have had the privilege to see both of them in concert. Both were extraordinary. When I heard the news they had teamed up for a song, I made sure that I was one of the first to hear it when it was released. They didn’t disappoint. It is such a romantic and soulful song. Life is fragile, and we aren’t going to be here forever. When the world is ending, they’d want to be next to each other, and because of that, they could “die with a smile.” It is one of the year’s best. It was nominated for Song of the Year at the Grammys but did not manage a Record of the Year nomination. This blew my mind! This song is two of today’s hottest artists doing what they do best. TG

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9. “Dammit Randy” — Miranda Lambert
Miranda Lambert has been my favorite female artist for years, and her 10th studio album, Postcards from Texas, did not disappoint. However, I wouldn’t say it’s one of her best albums. I’d classify it as steady Miranda. It’s nothing groundbreaking, but it’s something her fans can enjoy that sounds like what they’re used to hearing from her. While her single “Wranglers” was a fiery hit and could have easily made my top songs, I’d have to give it to “Dammit Randy.” Written by Lambert, Jon Randall and her husband Brendan McLoughlin — had no clue the former cop was a songwriter, but when you’re married to Lambert, maybe you can absorb some of that talent — the song is about leaving someone behind. According to a July article from Whiskey Riff, Lambert explained during one of her concerts that the song was about “somebody who you need to get the hell away from because they don’t serve you anymore.” She has also mentioned the song is about the excitement of starting with a new label, Republic and Big Loud Records, after leaving Sony. It’s relatable to anyone who has moved on to something new. It’s a short tune at just two minutes and 59 seconds, but it packs a punch with lyrics like, “You were livin’ in the dark, but you couldn’t see the light of day / We were picture perfect, but you couldn’t put it in a frame.” AHS

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8. "White Lies, White Jesus and You" by Katie Pruitt
Katie Pruitt had one of my favorite songs of 2020, “Loving Her,” a beautiful song about same-sex love. Now, “White Lies, White Jesus and You,” off her latest album Mantras, is among my top songs of 2024. It’s a devastating look at people failing to respect and love others because of their sexual identity or preferences and the hypocrisy of using religion. The line: “speaking of some things I’ve put behind me: white lies, white Jesus and you” might be the best all year. JS

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7. “We Can’t Be Friends (Wait For Your Love)” by Ariana Grande 
Ariana Grande is an artist that I have always liked. I would hear her singles and usually enjoy them. She just wasn’t an artist I followed and made sure I listened to every song on every album. I decided to listen to her eternal sunshine album this year and became an Arianator. This song is my favorite song on that album. Grande is singing about a failed relationship and how she cannot be friends with her ex. Sometimes, you love someone so much that you cannot hang out with them and pretend you don’t want to be back together. Sometimes, you must move on and let that person leave your life. However, Grande hopes they will get back together one day. She will wait for him. My favorite lyrics in the song are: “I don’t wanna tiptoe, but I don’t wanna hide/But I don’t want to feed this monstrous fire/Just wanna let this story die.” It is such a heartbreaking song but one of the year’s best. TG

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6. “But Daddy I Love Him” — Taylor Swift 
Taylor Swift’s 11th album, The Tortured Poets Department, included 16 tracks, with another 15 added for The Anthology extended version. It’s one of those albums the listener must digest over time. I’ll admit when I first heard it, it didn’t grab me like Midnights or Folklore did. However, I believe it’s one of the most profound albums of her career, with several standout songs that continue to unveil new gems of wisdom with each listen. Because of this, it’s tough to pick a standout track with so many to choose from, so I can only really choose one of the best: “But Daddy I Love Him.” The song, written by Swift and Aaron Dessner, focuses on a controversial love story and how people should not interfere with relationships that are none of their business. Swift sings from the female character’s perspective about her “wild boy and all this wild joy” and how she will not let the “most judgmental creeps” get in the way of the love she’s found. In the end, her family comes around. While there was some controversy about the song “attacking” religious people with several lyrics — like “Sarahs and Hannahs in their Sunday best / Clutching their pearls sighing ‘What a mess’” — as a person of faith, I didn’t hear it that way at all. I can understand how some might take it that way, but that’s likely the people who are more concerned about using their faith as a weapon of judgment rather than being Christ-like to others. The song absolutely pokes at people who use their faith that way. The song is full of beautiful, powerful lyrics. My favorite lines are: “I’ll tell you something right now / I’d rather burn my whole life down / Than listen to one more second of all this bitching and moaning / I’ll tell you something about my good name / It’s mine alone to disgrace / I don’t cater to all these vipers dressed in empath’s clothing.” AHS

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5. "Cherokee Purples" by American Aquarium
Nostalgia can be a powerful thing. American Aquarium’s B.J. Barham knows that well. Some of his best work of the last decade has been built around nostalgia, and that feeling can come out of nowhere from something as simple as a sandwich, as he mentions in the excellent “Cherokee Purples” from the band’s latest album The Fear of Standing Still. The song is a beautiful tribute to memories of a grandmother and the simplicity of one’s youth. It’s a slice-of-life song, something Barham is one of the best at crafting today. JS

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4. “I Can Do It With A Broken Heart” by Taylor Swift 
Anyone who knows me knows that Taylor Swift is THE artist of my life! Swift has a way of writing songs about her own life that reach her fans and help them feel seen and heard in this crazy world. This song is a clear example of that. At the beginning of her world-spanning and record-breaking Eras Tour, Swift and her boyfriend of six years, Joe Alwyn, broke up. Swift did not let it deter her from continuing to deliver for her fans on the tour. However, she was going through severe pain and heartbreak while having to put on a smile and give her fans all she had. In this song, Swift sings that even though she was in her beautiful outfits and smiling, she was really going through it. This song is such a powerful anthem for those struggling badly but who have to go to work and still live. Even through the pain, we have to go on. She sings, “I was grinning like I’m winning/I was hitting my marks/Cause I can do it with a broken heart.” Many times this year, I cried in my car and listened to this song to help empower me to get through my day despite the pain. TG

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3. “Texas Hold’ Em” — Beyoncé 
“Texas Hold’ Em” was the most-played song on my Spotify Wrapped this year, which is crazy because I’ve never been a huge Beyoncé fan. I’ve liked a few of her songs but never actively sought out her music. But with all the bro-country stuff dominating the Nashville music scene, I really wanted to give her “country” album, Cowboy Carter, a shot. Released in March, it’s the second in a trilogy of albums and her eighth album overall. “Texas Hold’ Em,” the first single, is the most country-ish song on the 27-track album. It’s a catchy, upbeat song that makes you want to line dance in a honkey tonk somewhere. It was written by Beyoncé and five other writers, Brian Bates, Elizabeth Lowell Boland, Megan Bülow, Nathan Ferraro and Raphael Saadiq. The gem of this song is the phenomenal musician Rhiannon Giddens, who plays banjo and viola on the track. My main criticism is the weird last lines: “Furs, spurs, boots / Solargenic, photogenic, shoot.” But just because it didn’t quite stick the landing doesn’t mean it wasn’t a fun, top song of the year. AHS

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2. "Flower of the Everglades" by Joe Stamm & Charles Wesley Godwin
I had the pleasure of seeing Joe Stamm Band perform “Flower of the Everglades” at the Peacemaker Festival in Fort Smith, Ark., in October, and I can say for certain it’s one of the few times a live performance of a song has ever made me teary-eyed. It was already one of my favorites of the year, from his Allegheny EP, but hearing the tale of a woman refusing to give up her home in the eye of a powerful storm and the reasons why one would do such a thing was a memorable moment. Stamm, along with Charles Wesley Godwin, who both co-wrote the song and collaborates on it vocally, have crafted such a beautiful tragedy of a woman who grew up an orphan, married a rich man, found the home she always dreamed she’d one day have and going down with it in a blaze of glory. “Flower of the Everglades” sounded like an instant country classic from my first listen.   JS

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1. “Good Luck, Babe!” by Chappell Roan 
Earlier this year, many of my co-workers became instant fans of this artist and wanted me to check her out. After about two weeks of endless chatter about Chappell Roan, I decided to look into her. When I heard “Good Luck, Babe!” for the first time, I realized what all the hype was about. This song is my favorite song of 2024 and deserves to win Record and Song of the Year at the upcoming Grammy Awards ceremony. In this song, Chappell Roan is singing to a girl who she is in a situationship with. The girl keeps her sexuality a secret and appears to the world as a heterosexual. Chappell Roan is telling her that she can “kiss a hundred boys in bars” but “you have to stop the world just to stop the feeling!” She is telling her good luck with that. The lyric where she says that you have to stop the world just to stop the feeling is very powerful. Sometimes, people act like we can turn off our feelings, but that is a very hard thing to do, if not impossible. This song exemplifies why Chappell Roan is such an exciting new artist. I cannot wait to see where her career takes her.  

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What was your favorite song of 2024?