With The Female First Awards 2020 in full swing, this week we turned to the world of music after celebrating television, movies and video games.
Today, we’re taking a look at our five favourite singles released at some point within the past 12 months, before ultimately choosing just one to take home the accolade for Single of the Year…
WAP - Cardi B feat. Megan Thee Stallion
Celebrating female sexuality and the ability for a woman to choose whether or not she wants to show off her body and talk candidly about sex has been something that's been widely debated over the past few years, if not decades.
Cardi B teamed up with Megan Thee Stallion to tell everybody who had ever denied women a voice on the matter to sit down and shut the f**k up, with the release of WAP.
The track debuted at number one on the US Billboard Hot 100, breaking the record for the largest opening streaming week for a song in American history. It sat at the top of the chart for four weeks, also reaching the peak in countries including the UK, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Greece.
Gone are the days of women being used as sexual objects at the behest of men. Here, Cardi and Megan proved that when females grasp the opportunity to demonstrate their sexual prowess on a grand scale, the world will stand to attention.
Rain On Me - Lady Gaga feat. Ariana Grande
Another mindblowing collaboration this year came from Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande, both of which have been celebrated in recent times for their stunning vocal ability and performances in a variety of different entertainment mediums.
When they combined their talents for the second single from Gaga’s sixth studio album Chromatica, fans in both the United States and United Kingdom went wild, sending it flying to the top of the charts for a number one, week one debut.
Described by Gaga herself as a “celebration of tears”, the song applauds all of those who are able to show their emotion and then use the trauma of their past to come back stronger than ever before. In a year like 2020, the message couldn’t have been more timely or poignant.
Rain On Me would become one of the most streamed songs of the summer on Spotify, also being named the single most streamed song by a female artist globally during the season on the platform.
Billie Eilish - No Time To Die
Time and again, the upcoming James Bond movie No Time To Die has been delayed in the hopes that the coronavirus pandemic will be brought under control, allowing fans to return to cinema in their droves and make it one of the most successful movie releases in the franchise’s history. Fortunately for those who love Bond-related music, the theme for the flick was delivered by Billie Eilish right on time.
The airy effortlessness of Eilish’s voice is one that has resonated with people around the world, so much so that fans in the UK would make her Bond theme the first ever by a female artist to top the British charts.
Next year, the song will fight it out for the Grammy Award for Best Song Written for Visual Media and honestly, we can't see anybody else walking away with that prize.
Savage - Megan Thee Stallion feat. Beyoncé
Another entry on our nominees list here for Megan Thee Stallion, but this time as the lead artist, collaborating with none other than the timeless Beyoncé!
Dropped as the lead single from Megan's debut album Good News, the surprise remix was instantly met with critical acclaim thanks to the stunning chemistry the pair of artists delivered through a bunch of various musical styles, all boiled down into one incredible song.
Selling millions of units in the United States alone, the Savage remix reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100, also reaching the top three in the United Kingdom and the top three in Ireland.
If Megan Thee Stallion was hoping to prove herself in 2020, she’s done that and then some. Seeing where she goes next is going to be an exciting prospect.
Miley Cyrus - Midnight Sky
When you think of artists that seem to effortlessly evolve from one album to the next, Miley Cyrus is a name that should instantly spring to mind. She’s gone from child star, to wrecking ball-swinging pop star and now, fully-fledged rock icon, following the release of Midnight Sky.
Taking inspiration from the likes of Stevie Nicks (who she would later collaborate with on a remix of the track) as well as Blondie and Joan Jett, Cyrus cemented herself as one of the most exciting artists of the modern generation.
Speaking with Hits 1 about the inspiration for the track, Cyrus said she "just definitely want[ed] to feel like you are just in control of your own life and not trying to control anyone else's", referencing her "traumatic experiences" in recent years, such as losing her house in Malibu and "going through a really public breakup”.
In reclaiming control of her own life, Cyrus has put out some of the best work of her career to-date.
And the winner is…
Rain On Me!
Enjoy the song all over again by watching the incredible performance both Gaga and Grande put on during this year’s MTV Video Music Awards below:
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