The 40 best songs of 2025

After the success of singles ‘Diet Pepsi’ and ‘Aquamarine’, we were all left wondering one thing: what would Addison Rae do next? The answer came in pink hair dye and this whispery, world-building track, which cemented the TikTok influencer turned pop star as Gen Z’s ultimate It girl with a sound distinctly her own. With nonchalant lyrics dosed in nostalgia, breathy vocals reminiscent of early days Kylie Minogue and soft, effortless percussion, ‘Headphones On’ is nothing short of irresistible.

The title track from Bad Bunny’s Debí Tirar Más Fotos is the crowning glory of a sublime album that’s a love letter to his native Puerto Rico. Blending elements of rap, Latin pop and reggaeton to create a deceptively dance-worthy backing track, ‘DTMF’ (translated to ‘I should have taken more photos’) is both a touching sentiment and an absolute belter of a song. 

Every song on Rosalía’s frankly mind-melting LUX takes listeners on a journey. Opening with hopeful, cinematic strings, paired with Rosalía’s sublime soprano, ‘Reliquia’ swells into a bombastic, crashing crescendo, before finally bursting into its unexpectedly glitchy ending. Inspired by the Peruvian Santa Rosa de Lima, the surreal and introspective prose sings of body parts left all over the world. But it suggests a more personal experience of loss too, painting the image of a woman who has given her heart away one too many times. This is true storytelling both lyrically and sonically. 

It would be easy for me to argue that virtually all the songs on CMAT’s third album are up there with the best released this year, but the stonking title track ‘EURO-COUNTRY’ best encompasses what is so moving, addictive and relatable about the record. By pairing a patchwork of country and pop sounds with nods to traditional Irish music and lyrics about her complex relationship with her homeland and stifled upbringing – ‘I never understood what this way of living could do to me / All the mooching ‘round shops, and the lack of identity’ – ‘EURO-COUNTRY’ is a gut wrencher of an anthem with a tumbling surrender of a chorus.

Gangster rap may not be the most conventionally beautiful of music genres, but there is patent, resounding beauty to Westside Gunn’s ‘055’. Atop a soulful, careening instrumental that leans heavily on a sample of the Jean Johnson Singers’ There Is No Greater Love, verses by Westside and Stove God Cooks boast of riches and success, cars, jewellery and calamari. The gorgeous sample, the extravagant boasts, the uproarious noise of Westside Gunn’s adlibs – it all radiates triumph. ‘You don’t have to die in order for you to hear what heaven sounds like,’ says longtime Westside collaborator AA Rashid in the spoken word outro – and that’s true, audial paradise is right here.

As 2026 approaches, NYC-based singer and producer Jamie Krasner is poised to be handed the baton of ‘ethereal electronic pop girlie of the year’ by Oklou, largely thanks to the sleeper success of this lead single from her third studio album. Beginning with sugary, glittery synths that give way to mournful, Caroline Polachek-esque vocals lamenting the breakdown of a relationship, it steadily builds into a triumphant, emotionally charged chorus backed by shredding guitar and chaotic breakbeats. It’s a great showcase of Krasner’s genre-defying production.

Every so often, a piece of art comes along that perfectly nails the queer experience. This year, Chappell Roan delivered that gut-punch with ‘The Subway’, a melodramatic, gloriously over-the-top ’80s-soaked anthem. In the dazzling way only she can, Roan bottles the ache of lost love with stunning precision, building to an outro that’s destined to echo through stadiums. Girls, gays and theys everywhere felt this one deep – and its dreamy pull is one that will hook us in again and again. 

FKA twigs’ third studio Eusexua is a lush homage to the sweaty, grubby dancefloors of Europe’s dingiest clubs. Piercing out of the headsy, metallic techno soundscape is ‘Childlike Things’. This fun-filled homage to J-pop features an unexpected guest appearance by North West who sings almost entirely in Japanese against a bubblegum sweet ‘dum, dum, dum’ singsong. It’s Twigs at her most playful: blending imagination and innocence with cherub-like vocal delivery to bring the fantasy to life. 

Released when Doechii took home her first Grammy for Best Rap Album with Alligator Bites Never Heal, ‘Nosebleeds’ is effectively the rap star’s victory lap – and a big one at that. Instrumentally, it opens with buzzing, brash bass and departs to a lighter, bubbly melody – but it’s all grounded by her growling vocals, gleaming with lyrical wit and narrative depth. Theatrical and self-referential, like all of her best work, the rapper references Kanye West’s legendary speech from the 2005 awards as she boasts about her success, effectively cementing herself into music history once and for all: ‘Everyone wanted to know what Doechii would do if she didn’t win / I guess we’ll never know’. Listening, you can’t help but want to join in her celebrations.

Few debut albums seem to have sparked as much excitement in 2025 as Oklou’s long-awaited Choke Enough, and the dreamlike ‘ict’ might be my favourite track of the whole brilliant bunch. With its sci-fi synths, a bright yet faraway-sounding trumpet refrain and girlish vocals singing sparse lyrics about running for ice cream trucks, it’s a wistful, atmospheric lullaby of a song that I’ve had on repeat all year.

I can’t say I knew what Duane Reade was before West End Girl dropped. Now I’m never going to forget this chain of American pharmacies, from which an incriminating bag is stuffed with ‘sex toys, butt plugs, lube’ in one of the more memorable lyrics in Lily Allen’s brutal divorce album. The gut-punch lyrical content is offset by a shimmering, dreamy sound that is laden with hooks, and Allen sounds serene as she sings about the horror of discovering that her husband’s pied-à-terre was not in fact a ‘dojo’ but a shag pad. So devastating in its content, Pussy Palace should come with a trigger warning.

PinkPantheress came into her own with the 2025 Fancy That mixtape. She’s still got her trademark sugary, autotuned sound, but in this song – all about hooking up with a drug dealer – she’s lost some naivety, and has zeroed in on her singular vision that shows no regard for the rules of genres. The deliciously synthy Underworld sample (‘Dark & Long (Dark Train Mix)’) underpins the whole song, while Pink’s deadpan lyric delivery (‘I like the fact that we don't communicate / As long as you don't tell all your best mates’) along with crashing drum ‘n’ bass beats transforms the addictive electronica melody into a catchy pop song. Despite the vintage samples the track is distinctly modern, and undeniably Pink. 

On first listen, ‘Spike Island’ is a classic Pulp hit: a catchy indie-pop anthem, with witty, if a tad opaque, lyricism. But a closer inspection reveals that behind all that synth lies Jarvis Cocker’s anxieties about selling out artistically only to fade into irrelevancy. Or perhaps anxiety is the wrong word; he seems to ultimately decide that as long as he still gets to sing, everything will be alright. Given the fact as a 62 year old he still performs, and sounds, like he did in 1996, it’s hard to disagree.

Portrait With Firewood, a 2018 album from UK bass musician Djrum, remains one of my favourites of all time – it’s a meeting of classical chamber music and strobey dance floors in a way that feels genuinely fresh and moving rather than gimmicky or over-ambitious. ‘A Tune For Us’, released as a single this year, has a similar contradictory flavour: luscious, tinkly piano is paired with rich, chocolatey cello, giving way to soft breakbeats and rippling percussion. Orchestral, multi-layered and delicately emotive, it feels like a journey to finding clarity.

If there’s one thing you can be sure of on a Weeknd album, it’s bangers – and arguably the biggest previously-unheard smash on Abel Tesfaye’s 2025 album, Hurry Up Tomorrow is this one. ‘Open Hearts’ is a skyward synthpop hit à la ‘Blinding Lights’, ‘Save Your Tears’ and ‘Take My Breath’ (and was created with those tracks’ super pop producer/writer Max Martin), which is achieved with a carefully concocted blend of irresistible influences: Hi-NRG ecstasy, flashy trance, throbbing French electro. Oh, and it has a belter of a hook (this is the Weeknd, after all).  

Alex G is an artist seemingly incapable of messing up. With every album his style gets sharper, shinier, more refined, more recognisably pop, but never compromising on its innate Alex G-ness. The meandering, probing, cliche-averse indie songwriting is still present on 2025’s Headlights, but on tracks like album opener June Guitar everything seems slicker than usual. Even the artist’s trademark weirdo pitched-up vocals can’t destabilise the resolutely smooth mood. The whole thing is capped off with a climactic accordion solo, which is surely something worth celebrating in 2025.

Baxter Dury – a 50-something Marks & Spencer's Leonard Cohen in a slate grey suit – makes for an unlikely squelchy electro-house kingpin, but this might be his catchiest single yet. A call-and-response bottomless-brunch banger with south London vocalist JGrrey, Allbarone is the song you didn’t know you needed about the complex charms of high street cocktail chain All Bar One. In essence, it’s a porn star martini you can dance to.

The brilliantly cheeky ‘Manchild’ combines disco sheen and country sass into the prettiest roasting a fuckboy’s ever received. Sabrina skillfully uses playful melodies to mask the barbed lyrics aimed at her emotionally immature ex (we can all take a wild guess who that is). If it weren’t for her charm, we’d almost be recoiling at the insults. Because really, who else can get away with lines like, ‘Stupid, or is it slow?/ Half your brain just ain’t there,’?

Turnstile’s ‘BIRDS’ is full-throttle hardcore. With its one-note build-up and eventual full-blown sonic explosion, it’s a song that refuses softness and dives into pure pit energy. Drums crash, guitars churn, vocals shove forward. It’s far from pretty. But once the floor clears, a secondary emotion kicks in. Out of the rage comes a sense of transcendence – a feeling experienced by the thousands who have felt it necessary to see the band on their world tour this year.

On ‘The Sofa’, Wolf Alice singer Ellie Rowsell delivers an emotional suckerpunch cloaked in deceptively airy vocals; it takes a listen or two to realise the blow’s coming. The song is defined by tension – between settling down and clinging to the wildness of youth, between chasing ambition and just wasting time on the sofa, half-watching reruns on the telly. As Rowsell ruminates languidly, the piano swells beneath her vocals, building to a string-laden crescendo that feels hopeful, and a little bit devastating.

Playboi Carti’s almost overwhelmingly long album Music may have some dud tracks – hey, you can’t win them all – but one absolute belter is ‘Rather Lie’. Eschewing the usual rage rap sound he’s become so known for, Carti enlists The Weeknd (on their third collaboration so far) and Keith Lawson to provide a melodic, chest-clutching chorus. The lines ‘I’d rather lie than confuse you, girl / Truth is, we lapped them, they want us gone / Truth is, they can’t handle me at the top,’ acts as a double entrendre for the cost of fame, while Carti’s unusually warbled vocals got the internet debating the use of AI within the track.

Packed into the sub-two-minute runtime of Jim Legxacy’s ‘father’ are tales of a resolute upbringing and an intimate, charming love story, all hitched to an intoxicating chopped sample. Legxacy’s 2025 mixtape black british music (2025) is a glorious collage of styles and sounds, but there is none finer than the sample here; a snippet of George Smallwood soul tune ‘I Love My Father’ is chipmunked and spliced into a motif that sounds in turns like ‘father’ and ‘bother’. Genius beat-making from one of the UK’s breakout stars of 2025.

After patiently waiting for five years, and having to sit through a number of commercial flops that came in the form of disappointing movie soundtracks, Lady Gaga fans have finally been rewarded with the electrifying ‘Abracadabra’. We’re going back to peak Gaga weirdness with this one: it’s got gibberish, witchy lyrics and a glitchy, industrial beat, all while Gaga’s powerhouse voice delivers hook after hook. 

Initially written as a poem, ‘Free’ is Simz at her most lyrical. Backed by dreamy orchestral arrangements, she calls for renewal and growth while juxtaposing verses on love and fear. She raps, ‘I think fear can be exposed in abundance of wealth / And then creeps in when you’re not loving yourself / Fear can be dressed in the form of protection / Fear can be the culprit of slowing progression’. It’s a strong message on the power that love can have in transforming one’s outlook on a fear-riddled world. That’s something we could all be reminded of once in a while. 

Charli xcx has never hidden her admiration for the Velvet Underground (once calling them ‘the apex of fine art’) and on ‘House’ she really made the most of the opportunity to work with Velvet’s co-founder John Cale. On another planet to any of BRAT’s slick dance-pop confessionals, ‘House’ has creaking viola, looming orchestral heaves, Cale delivering a rumbling, gravelly poem, and a climax that blares with post-industrial distortion, clattering beats, harsh screams and demented wails. Not only is it a fascinating teaser for Charli’s upcoming soundtrack for Emerald Fennell’s Wuthering Heights, it’s an excellent reminder that, even after all the BRAT hype, she’s still got a serious appetite for making groundbreaking avant-pop.

Aaaand she’s back. After the folksy, hazy deviation from her Antonoff-infused previous album Solar Power (2021), Lorde has stormed back into 2025 with her banger ‘What Was That’. Does it pack the same sense of palpable urgency as the singles from Melodrama? Arguably not, but it does comprise a satisfying build of energy and the same introspective sense of nostalgia we love her for.

I saw Adrienne Lenker’s band supporting PJ Harvey last summer and was bowled away by the unreleased ‘Grandmother’ and its first incarnation as a wistful 10-minute country rock epic. Now drastically recalibrated into something more dreamy and electronic for Big Thief’s Double Infinity album – with forceful eastern-tinged backing vocals from venerable US multi-instrumentalist Laraaji – I think the song’s heart is harder to find but still very much there, an expression of love for Lenker’s grandmother (who raised her) tied to a bittersweet acceptance that all things will pass. ‘Gonna turn it all, into rock and roll’ she sings, anticipating her grief to come.

American musician 2hollis has shrouded himself in internet lore, garnering a heavily online fanbase for his futuristic sort-of-rapping style that combines Playboi Carti-informed grandiose basslines with sincere teenage sentimentality reminiscent of early Justin Bieber. Taken from his newest album star, this song starts with a chunky bass and surprisingly switches up halfway through, ditching the trap vibe in favour of explosive hyperpop. With a light echo on his voice, he sings, ‘when the flashlights go, and you fall out of control.... get home safe, baby, secure on the phone.’ It would almost be sweet if the instrumentals weren’t so bonkers. 

Isabella Lovestory’s music is known for rampant raunchiness. It’s boisterous pop tinged with reggaeton and perreo, and ‘Vanity’ is a testament to the Honduran artist’s talent that it is excellent without doing any of the above. The instrumental is swaggering, pacey dance-pop, all rippling synths, whumping bass and steady escalating chords; the lyrics are cripplingly anxious and bleakly lonesome, Lovestory questioning her self-worth and own reality. The hook declares ‘vanity is cruelty’, pleading with her own reflection – there’s existential depth in this otherwise irresistibly tidy pop song.

After a vintage year in 2024 (Brat Summer 4eva!), there’s been a disappointing dearth of proper dancefloor hits in 2025, but this funky little garage number from producer-of-the-moment Sammy Virji and grime superstar Skepta is a notable exception, featuring an ear-wormy sped-up sample of 90s R&B singer Brandy and an effortless flow from the veteran rapper over a banging two-step beat.

In this EP Kai Bosch ditches the rulebook and leans into instinct — and it pays off. ‘Popstar of Your Dreams’ is a bold, glammed-up anthem about chasing stardom with zero apologies. ‘Everybody says “fake it to make it”, so what you gonna do when I’m the fakest bitch around?” he quips, riding high on shimmering synths and a racing beat before hitting a chorus that’s absurdly catchy. With sharper production and a real spark in his stride, Kai sounds like he’s finally on the path he was always meant to take — and he’s gunning for a podium finish.

If anything could sum up being ‘soooo back’, it’s Robyn dropping a new song for the first time in seven years. And a euphoric floor filler at that. Apparently the heady ‘Dopamine’ took 10 years to cook up, so thankfully it delivers. With Daft Punk-style robot voices, shimmering arpeggiated electronics, exultant synths, a punchy four-to-the-floor beat, and yearnful, lovelorn lyrics, Robyn relies on her classic formula here, and it works. 

Two years ago, RAYE took social media by storm with ‘Escapism.’, a song about being a ‘heartbroke bitch’ out on the town in six-inch heels. And this year, with a handful of Brit awards and Grammy nominations under her belt, she’s done it again. ‘WHERE IS MY HUSBAND!’ heralds a new era for RAYE: this is jazzy, groovy, retro pop, with (similarly retro) lyrics about one woman’s desperate search for commitment. Trying to keep up with RAYE’s surprising vocal twists (yes, we’re talking about that insanely catchy, fast-paced bridge) is half the fun.

There’s no denying that ‘gossip’, the snappy, camp track released back in the summer by Aussie dance-pop duo Confidence Man and former Little Mix star JADE, is, well, a bit weird, but that’s precisely why it’s so good. It’s little more than a juvenile back-and-forth between JADE and Janet Planet – featuring lines like ‘I don't beat around the bush (no, no, no, I never do) / I don't mean to mess about (but I wanna message you)’. And they definitely don’t beat around the bush – with its ridiculously funky bassline, breathy vocals, hissy drums and bouncy synths, ‘gossip’ is one hell of a bop.

Japanese pop juggernaut YOASOBI — aka producer Ayase and vocalist Ikura — are reaching new international highs. After storming Coachella and Primavera, and selling out shows from London to New York, their shimmering new banger ‘Watch Me!’ was an instant hit with fans. Inspired by a novel from Witch Watch creator Kenta Shinohara (yes, it’s also the theme song for the anime adaptation), the track fuses sleek electropop with candy-coated hooks and their unmistakable kawaii flair. The result is a dazzling, high-octane earworm that makes Mario Kart’s Rainbow Road look practically beige.

Haim returned just in time for festival season with this bittersweet hit. With a blissful sound but angsty, introspective lyrics, Danielle, Alana and Este lament the pain that comes with being in a long-term relationship. Haim’s dreamy, pop-rock sound is as good as ever, and lends itself perfectly to this nostalgic-feeling track that captures the ennui and confusion that is so often a part of modern love. This song provided the ultimate soundtrack for every single girl this summer.

Lola Young’s had quite the year. After her 2024 single ‘Messy’ blew up back in January (and we mean really blew up – it was number one for four consecutive weeks, and remains stuck on a loop in my brain most days), we were left wondering what on earth she could possibly release next. Then came ‘d£aler’, a song of addiction, self sabotage and escape – with a fresh, ’80s sound and a slightly less boppy chorus. It’s short, sweet and perfectly catchy, feeling somehow brand-new and nostalgic all at once – a great tune to blow those ‘one hit wonder’ allegations right out the water.

Of all the dark and haunting prose on Japanese Breakfast’s For Melancholy Brunettes (& sad women), the lyrics to ‘Mega Circuit’ may be the most sinister of all. The boppy guitar shuffle unnervingly clashes with words contemplating the manosphere. Zauner embodies the character of a girl in the midst of these radicalised ATV-riding, gun-bearing ‘incel eunuchs’, naively convincing herself that she could be the ‘home [they] need’. It’s not necessarily a song to have on repeat – nobody wants to spend too long thinking about Andrew Tate and his disciples – but it’s definitely a poignant, menacing reflection of our times.

The intro to ‘Sports Car’ sounds like it’s been lifted from a 2000s Pussycat Dolls album. And when you get into it, the lyrical content is frighteningly similar, too. But it’s this toying with new and nostalgic influences that has affirmed Tate McRae as one of the most exciting pop stars working right now. This single from her second album So Close To What is a metaphor for various parts of her life, including the adrenaline rush of love and sex, and potentially alluding to her sudden rise to fame. But whatever’s going on beneath the surface, one thing is guaranteed: it slaps. 

Winter felt like a particularly long drag this year, but the release of a deluxe version of Role Model’s 2024 album Kansas Anymore, which features the gleeful, bouncy track ‘Sally, When The Wine Runs Out’, was exactly the kind of uncomplicated bop we all needed to brighten the days. It went viral after the artist (real name: Tucker Harrington Pillsbury) started inviting ‘Sallys’ onto stage during the North American leg of his tour to boogie through the bridge with him and it’s actually worthy of all the attention. Don your headphones and embrace the silly, exhilarating energy of, ‘Heard through the grapevine / she can be a diva / cold like Minnesota / hotter than a fever’: a solid, summer-ready pop song.