M A Y S O N G S

Hello, hi and welcome! This month I spent two weeks in Austria for my job and I wasn't able to listen to my Spotify as the wifi was pretty bad but I fell in love with some songs I hadn't listened to in a while on my Apple Music. 

All I'm saying is: expect a mixture of fairly new and sort of old music in this one.

LEGGO.

Beyonce -

Hold Up

Although I wasn't too overwhelmed with Beyonce's album - don't hurt me pls - this is my favourite song from it without a doubt. I also sing this to my brother and sister on Skype because it actually fits(the chorus mainly) in as either a love song for a partner, family member or friend. 

Favourite Lyrics: "Know I kept it sexy, know I kept it fun, there's something that I'm missing maybe my head for one. What's worse? Looking jealous or crazy? Jealous or crazy? Or like, being walked all over lately, I'd rather be crazy."

Ella Henderson - 

Yours. 

This is my favourite song of hers ever. She's one of my favourite female artists too(she's up there with RiRi, Jessie J and Amy Whinehouse). 

I've listened to this song a lot this month, especially at night and I can't describe how much I love it. It's a simple song that means so much. It's one of those songs I love watching her perform live on youtube(anyone else do that..?)

Favourite Lyrics: "I feel like I'm ready for love, I want to be your everything and more." 

Meghan Trainor 

Better 

 I feel like I can't make any more comments about how much I love this song, it was in my April faves, I've reviewed her album and spoke about it and it'll probably be in my December faves knowing me. I.just.love.this.song.

Favourite Lyrics: "I, was warned, but fooled, by charm. And you, you deserve to be alone." 

I Won't Let You Down

This is such an easy song to listen to, I love it. I also bought Meghan's album on iTunes and I've found I've been clicking this song first when I put my music on. 

Favourite Lyrics: "I know that you deserve better. You can't dance to beat of a heart that's broken, and you can't do this alone."

Woman Up

Such a fierce song, I hope this is a single it would be such a good song for summer. 

Favourite Lyrics: "All my girls raise your hands if you don't need a man, 'cus you're more than good enough."

Birdy

Wild Horses

I thought this was a Rolling Stones cover at first - yes I know Rolling Stones songs, my mum surprisingly liked them despite her being a soul/RnB kind of lass she also loved the Rolling Stones, The Eagles and The Beatles.

Anywaaay, back to Birdy's song that isn't a Rolling Stones' cover. I stumbled upon the song by accident actually, I didn't know her album was out and I saw on the BBC Radio 1 YouTube that she had done a live lounge of this song, when I heard her sing it live I fell in love and searched it on Spotify only to be blessed with her whole album being there. 

Favourite Lyrics: "I will survive and be the one whose stronger, I will not beg you to stay. I will move on and you should know I mean it."

Shadow

Another favourite. This sounds like a typical Birdy style song which is not a criticism at all. I could listen to her voice all day, this song especially.

Favourite Lyrics: "Only ever make me scared, 'cus only you ever take me there."

Deep End

This is quite an emotional song, if you're sensitive it could get to you, I like to listen to this song when I'm feeling a little low, it's really quite a helpful song for that. This song could be interpreted in different ways too; not necessarily about a relationship with a lover. 

Favourite Lyrics: "I don't know if you mean everything to me, and I wonder can I give you what you need?"

Amy Winehouse - 

Stronger Than Me

Obviously this is quite an oldie but Amy Winehouse never goes out of style, let's face facts. I was at my friend Mairi-Jane's and her flat mate was playing music whilst we chilled out and this was one of the songs, I totally fell in love with it again and the second I got home I listened to it over and over. God I miss you, Amy Winehouse. 

Favourite Lyrics: "Feel like a lady and you my lady boy. You should be stronger than me." 

Troye Sivan - 

YOUTH

 I'm a little late on this YOUTH band wagon but I actually wasn't the biggest fan of this song, I LOVE his album but this song I would always skip. I hadn't listened to him in a while and I saw Camila Cabello singing along to it on her snapchat and I re-listened(yes that's a word) to it and I started to really, really like it. I guess it was just a matter of going away for a while then listening to it again. 

Favourite Lyrics: "Tripping on skies, sipping waterfalls."

Jason Derulo - 

Get Ugly

I'm late on this band wagon too but I really love the bit after he says "get ugly" diddlydiddlydiddly.. 

God that made me sound like a Middle aged mum of three.

Drake

Too Good ft Rihanna

Yes my favourite man released Views and it took him a while to get it on to Spotify so I had to listen to it on tumblr(took ages to search for stuff). Any song that Rihanna and Drake make is an instant favourite of mine; What's My Name? Take Care, Work, now this. It needs to be a single please, please, please. 

Favourite Lyrics: "I don't know how to talk to you, I just know I find myself getting lost with you." 

Controlla 

Drake got Beanie Man on a song for the first time in how long..? Amazing. This is my favourite song on the Views album by far, I also love Too Good, With You and One Dance but this song beats all those. It reminds me of old RnB - I think Beanie Man has added to that vibe too. 

Favourite Lyrics: "You can't listen to me talk then go tell my story. It don't work like that when you love somebody."

ZAYN - 

fOoL fOr YoU

Damn Natalie, back at it again with another Zayn song. YES OKAY, I love him and you won't change me. I love this song, from the second I heard it way back in March I loved it. And so that is why it is in my playlist, still. 

I think this song is quite personal to him, if you listen to the lyrics you really get the emotion and feeling from it that he's actually singing to someone. 

Favourite Lyrics; "This love is tainted, I need you and I hate it."

Ariana Grande ft Lil Wayne -

 Let Me Love You.

I absolutely love this song probably more so than last month, I've had it in my head so much this month, I just love it. The lyrics are a bunch of innuendos but who doesn't love an innuendo right? RIGHT?

I also like Lil Wayne's verses too which is quite odd for me, he's not too crude so I guess that's why I enjoy listening to his rap bit. 

Favourite Lyrics: "I say girl you need a hot board, she said you need to stop f$%king with those thots boy."

Ed Sheeran -

Little Bird

Told you it would be a mixture of new and old.. I've been listening to this song a lot at night time, it's always been a favourite of mine but I think it's my all time favourite song of Ed Sheeran now. 

Favourite Lyrics: "And it's not complete yet, mustn't get our feet wet, 'cus that leads to regret, diving in too soon."

Jhenè Aiko - 

Spotless Mind

Another not so new one but it's Jhenè Aiko so does she ever get old? I love her music so much, it's ridiculous. The fact that her album Souled Out wasn't recognised in the industry is a liberty. I listened to this song a lot in Austria, it seemed to fit in with the whole vibe of nothing but nature and mountains. If you like chilled music, this is deffo a song to listen to. 

Favourite Lyrics: "Change in inevitable, why hold on to what you have to let go of?" 

James Arthur - 

Suicide

Those who don't know this song really need to get Spotify and listen, now. It's such a powerful song. I had completely forgotten about it but then Andrea Russett tweeted a photo of all her favourite songs at the minute and it was on there and I was like 'oh my god I love that song' so I listened to it again and again. And again. So, thanks Andrea Russett. 

Favourite Lyrics: "It ain't the knife, it's the way that you use it, how you abuse it in fights. It ain't about the life you feel you were given, as long as you're living it right."

Alessia Cara -

 Stone

Alessia Cara is so underrated it's frustrating, I love this song so, so much. It's so simple and beautiful.

Favourite Lyrics: "Someone's on my mind, I think I think too much."

So there you go, my May favourite songs! I can't believe it's almost June. 2016 is flying by! 

Thanks for reading, until next time.. 

Natalie xx

A P R I L S O N G S

Hello, hi and welcome! So, this month I feel like I've loved a lot of music - I don't know why but I just do. Some months I love the same five songs and others I love all sorts. 

It's quite a big one today so let's start?

Little Mix - 

Secret Love Song Part 2.

Comment: When I saw them perform this live on their tour(via YouTube, I didn't get tickets to their tour as they're not coming to Berlin :( ). I fell in love with it and i actually prefer it to part 1 now. I just think their voices work so well together, and their best songs are always stripped down versions(in my opinion).

Favourite Lyrics: "You and I both have to hide on the outside where I can't be yours and you can't be mine."

Hair. Ft Sean Paul.

Comment: When I first saw they had put Sean Paul in this I thought this could go horribly wrong BUT he actually works in it and I LOVE the music video. The only bit I don't like is the pizza guy, I think they kind of went a bit OTT with that but anyway.. to say I used to hate this song I actually quite love it now. 

Favourite Lyrics: "When you see him in the club just flick your hair don't show him any love, 'cus you've had enough."

ZAYN - 

fOoL fOr YoU.

Comment: I love, love, love this song. There's just something about it, maybe it's because it's just Zayn and a piano. 

Favourite Lyrics: "I care this time 'cus it's gonna defeat me but you won't believe me, believe me; 'cus i'm a fool for you."

TiO.

Comment: I dance around to this song in my pyjamas every morning as I get ready for the day. It's also one of the last songs I listen to before going to bed. I'm sure he made this song just for this purpose. Tyler Oakley also described it as his 'sloppy 3am anthem' me too babes.

Favourite Lyrics: ALL OF THEM.

BeFoUr.

Comment: This is most people's least favourite song but I love this song so much I don't even know why, it's just my kind of vibe. 

Favourite Lyrics: "So say what you wanna say, what you want now. Shame is, you won't say that to my face."

Ariana Grande -

Be Alright.

Comment: I have missed this queen and I can't wait for her whole third album. Ariana Grande is one of those people whose songs I always love. I honestly don't think out of all of her songs/albums I dislike any. I know the words to all of her songs and I love both of her albums. 

She's one of those people who I don't rave about enough, who I listen to so much but never write about her. I remember when her first album wasn't even out and she released 'Put Your Hearts Up'(2011 throwback), I was obSESSED with the song and I remember thinking 'imagine an entire album of her voice?!' 

Favourite Lyrics: "Baby don't you know all of them tears gon' come and go. You just gotta make up your mind, every little things gonna be alright."

 Let Me Love You. Ft Lil Wayne.

Comment: I always get excited when Ariana collabs with people because I always know it's going to be even more fire. There's only very few rappers that I get excited about seeing on a track and Lil Wayne is one of them(as well as Drizzy, Big Sean & Childish Gambino). I don't like Lil Wayne's solo stuff but I LOVE when he's on someone's track, I just think he makes the song 10x better. 

And I'm not going to lie, the second I heard this song I knew I would be obsessed. And I am. 

Favourite Lyrics: "She said I'm single and I'm her feature."

Kanye West -

Waves ft Chris Brown.

Comment: Now, I'm sure I wasn't the only one who rejoiced when Kanye finally let Spotify have his album 'The Life Of Pablo', I still don't understand the title but I guess I'm not a 'creative genius' so I'll let him get on with that malarkey.

After listening to the entire album a few times there's only three songs I couldn't stop listening to. I think Waves is honestly one of his best songs and should deffo be a single. Chris Brown sounds epic(yes I just used epic in a sentence in 2016) and I just think the song is beautiful. 

Favourite Lyrics: "Birds can't fly in a cage."

Famous ft Rihanna.

Comment: This is that song that you don't want to like, but you really, really do. I really like this song and I have to be honest and say this is probably my favourite from the whole album. As awful as the song is, there's something about it. 

Favourite Lyrics: "I can understand how it might be kinda hard for you to love a girl like me, I don't blame you much for wanting to be free." 

I Love Kanye.

Comment: 45 seconds of Kanye saying his name in every sentence but it's literal genius. He takes the piss out of people basically and I love it.

Favourite Lyrics: "What if Kanye made a song about Kanye, call it mr old Kanye, man that'd be so Kanye, that's all it was Kanye, I still love Kanye and I love you like Kanye loves Kanye."

Fleur East - Breakfast.

Comment: I didn't think much of Fleur when she was on X Factor - I didn't really watch that series but I knew who she was from her Bang Bang performance. When I saw she had an album out I didn't really react because I didn't think she'd be in my style of music but when I listened to it I was pleasantly surprised!

This song is my absolute fave and I can imagine listening to this is in the summer - it has such good vibes. It sounds like Janet Jackson wrote it, a very 80's, very classic yet new style. I like it, a lot. 

Favourite Lyrics: "I look way too good to stay inside my house, there ain't nothing left on Netflix, when I'm restless I get reckless."

Rihanna - Needed Me.

Comment: My queen finally released the music video to this where she kills another man and SLAYS MY LIFE. If you didn't know already I literally worship this freaking woman(I'm currently writing this eating sultanas, wearing a face mask and a huge Rihanna merch t-shirt from her LOUD tour..)

Anywaaay, this song gives me life and love and everything I need to be a functioning human. Thanks Ri.

Favourite Lyrics: "Didn't they tell you that I was a savage?"

Ella Mai - She Don't ft Ty Dolla $ign.

Comment: I found Ella Mai in such a weird way. Someone retweeted a vine of her singing onto my timeline and I was instantly in love with her voice. I couldn't find out anything about her from anywhere so I had to literally download Vine and search SO many singing profiles until I found one that posted new artists and I found her.

 I found her on Spotify and saw that she has a EP called 'Time' that was released this year. I honestly loved every song but this one is my absolute favourite. 

Favourite Lyrics: "Wish you good luck when you lonely, ima push red every time you phone me."

Jess Glynne - Don't Be So Hard On Yourself. 

Comment: I'm probably a little late with the Jess Glynne band wagon but I haven't listened to her properly until now. I actually started listening to her because I heard PointlessBlog and Zoella playing her in one of their vlogs and I liked the song. I then listened to her album and liked it, but this is my favourite and has been on repeat especially when I cook!

Favourite Lyrics: "Everyone trips, everyone falls, so don't be so hard on yourself no."

Jennifer Lopez - Ain't Your Mama.

Comment: If you asked me how many times this has been on repeat I couldn't give you an estimate. It's well over 50. 

The second Meghan Trainor previewed this on her snapchat I was like "I NEED THIS SONG IN MY LIFE." She wrote it for JLO and I'm pretty sure she's singing on the chorus with her. It's such a JAM. And it sounds so much like Meghan Trainor which is probably why I love it so much. I haven't loved a JLO song so much since like.. 2004. Good collab JLO. 

Favourite Lyrics: "We used to be crazy in love, can we go back to how we was?"

Bryson Tiller - Exchange.

Comment: Marcus Butler was playing this and I kind of started listening to it because of him. When I used to listen to the album on repeat I never really paid much attention to this song but when I saw Marcus listening to this I was like "why do I ignore this song?" I do this all the time, I ignore songs, then I hear it on vlogs or snapchats and like it through them.

Anyway, yes. I'm sure I've had a Bryson Tiller song in my monthly playlist every month this year.. He was in Berlin last week and I almost got tickets but I slept in late and the tickets sold out by the time I got to the place that sold them. My friend met him and I was so jealous. Literally just wanted to hear Been That Way live(and the other songs but mainly this one).

Favourite Lyrics: "I shouldn't of played no games with you, just levelled up my brain. Last time I saw you we didn't speak that was strange, guess there's nothing I could do, man it's true, exes change."

Charlie Puth - We Don't Talk Anymore. Ft Selena Gomez.

Comment: Blame this on Andrea Russett who went through a phase of constantly singing this on her snapchat. I started to like it through that. I don't really like Charlie Puth's music but I do love Selena Gomez so I guess that's why I really like it.

Favourite Lyrics: "We don't laugh anymore, what was all of it for?"

Drake - 

One Dance.Ft Kyla & Wiz.

Comment: Drake just knows how to make those tunes doesn't he? I dare you to listen to this song and not move one single bit? Couldn't do it? Impossible isn't it? I feel like I can't get sick of this song, ever. 

Favourite Lyrics: "I need a one dance, got a Hennessy in my hand, one more time 'fore I go, higher powers taking a hold on me."

Pop Style. Ft The Throne(Kanye West & Jay-Z).

Comment: Didn't think I'd like it. Love it. I didn't know that 'The Throne' were still going but apparently they are. I love Drake's voice in this especially. Jay-Z raps like two sentences, Kanye kind of takes over the song but it's Kanye. Let's leave it there.

Favourite Lyrics: "Turn my birthday into a life style."

TWENTY88(Big Sean & Jhenè Aiko) - London Bridge.

Comment: You don't even understand how happy I was when I found out Jhenè Aiko and Big Sean had teamed up together to create a duo called 'TWENTY88' and they had done an entire album together.

I think there were actual tears of happiness. 'Beware' was one of my favourite songs by them in like, 2013, so to have an entire album of them two is just heaven, they sound so amazing together.

Out of the album this is my favourite song - but it'll probably be different next month because I literally love every song, I'm not joking you.

Favourite Lyrics: "I don't mean to sound hysterical, but baby if you left, baby if you left - It'll be a historical disaster, the kids will sing about it, swear the kids will sing about it. Like the London Bridge is falling down."

Katy B - Who Am I. Ft Craig David & Major Lazer.

Comment: I've always loved Katy B, she's so underrated in the UK music playground, but I was really happy to see her release her album 'Honey'. I think I love this so much because I love Major Lazer, and Craig David just makes this song doesn't he? MISSED YOU CRAIG.

Favourite Lyrics: "Who am I if I'm not loving you, who am I if you're not living me." 

PARTYNEXTDOOR - Come and See Me. Ft Drake.

Comment: Literally heard this song on Jack Maynard's snapchat and listened to it again. When I first heard it I wasn't too sure if I liked it then after hearing it on his snapchat I just became a little obsessed with it. It's such a chilled out song, you can just vibe to it. Plus, Drake's on it so.. 

Favourite Lyrics: "Things change, people change, feelings change too. Never thought the circumstances would've changed you."

Meghan Trainor -

I Love Me. Ft Lunchmoney Lewis.

Comment: This is such a funky song, like a proper funk song. Meghan Trainor can really sing soulful or pop - she's one of my favourite female artists by far. 

Favourite Lyrics: "I don't mean to brag, I don't mean to boast I love all of y'all but I love me the most."

Better. Ft Yo Gotti

Comment: I am obsessed with this song, I can't even begin to explain how much I love it. I've told everyone I speak to to listen to this song. It is my JAM.

The beginning reminds me of Rihanna - Here I Go Again. It's probably going to be my song of 2016 if I'm honest.

Favourite Lyrics: "Finally I can breathe again the weight is off my shoulder."

Thanks for reading! This is what I've been loving during April! See you next month!

Natalie xx