AVC Immedia’s Best Songs of 2022 – UPDATED!
Audio
20 May 2022
JOHN BATISTE – FREEDOM
Helen: Never in my life have I wanted to don a shiny pink suit and dance through the streets as much as when I heard this! What a breath of fresh air John Batiste is – sort of a cross between Aloe Blacc, Leon Jackson and Lizzo – with oodles of soul, style and swagger. More please!
HOLD MY HAND – LADY GAGA
Euan: This is EPIC! It’s everything you’d expect when Lady Gaga does a song for the new Top Gun movie. It’s anthemic and overblown. Every trick in the book has been turned up to 11. The video gives clever nods to Berlin’s Take My Breath Away from the original movie and might just be responsible for a world shortage in wind machines.
THE KNOCKS FEAT COLD WAR KIDS – NOBODY BUT ME
Helen: With it’s mix of rock, dance and a bit of funk, this track sends me right back to the early 90s. Channeling their inner Primal Scream, The Knocks (featuring Cold War Kids) give energy and attitude in equal measures, culminating in a song that’s hard to sit still to. Take me back to the indie disco!
ED SHEERAN AND ANTYTILA – 2 STEP
Euan: Music doesn’t come any more 2022 than this. While Ed did his work safely in the studio, Anytila wrote their lyrics, recorded their vocals and filmed their video while serving on the front line in their native Ukraine. Whether you like Ed’s music, or not, this track will be part of history.
HARRY STYLES – AS IT WAS
Helen: Harry Styles. That’s right – I’ve chosen a former One Direction member’s latest offering as one of my favourite tracks of the moment. Why? (I hear you gasp in horror) Because it’s frickin’ awesome! Giving off some serious 80s John Hughes vibes, ‘As It Was’ might mark the turning point where Harry goes from a great little popstar to a grown-up songwriter producing some absolute belters!
JACK HARLOW – FIRST CLASS
Euan: This is so cool and so effortless. It’s a breezy rap track but still has enough bite stop it from being so light weight it floats away. This is huge around the world. Harlow’s infectious charm and smart lyrics are going to produce many a hit this year.
ALBIN LEE MELDAU – FORGET ABOUT US
Helen: If Eddy Vedder and Nick Drake had a love child in Sweden – it would be Albin Lee Meldau. ‘Forget About Us’ is a swirling, heartfelt, melancholic thing of beauty that somehow makes heartbreak song incredibly sing-along-able! What a breathtakingly gorgeous talent – can’t wait for the album.
A1 x J1 and TION WAYNE – NIGHT AWAY (DANCE)
Euan: Am I allowed to pick a track I don’t like? Well, it’s this one. I never want to hear it again, but I doubt they’d be bothered, I’m not the target market and the target market are loving it. It’s not just loved here, but around Europe too. It’s great to see the rest of world realise there’s more to British music than Adele, Ed and former One Direction members.
THE BLACK KEYS - WILD CHILD
Helen: Transporting you to the coolest of dive bars in 1970s U S of A – the Black Keys are back with their unique sound of thunderous, foot-stomping grimy blues-rock! As with most of their music – ‘Wild Child’ is infectiously catchy and will be an instant hit with fans. Watch out for them rocking the festival circuit this summer!