February has come and gone, bringing with it 20 phenomenal new songs that I would personally like to recommend to you – yes you! – dear reader and lover of music. As always, I love all of these songs and ranking them is an arbitrary event which doesn’t really mean any of these are better/worse than the others, they’re all 8/10 or above in my book.

Before this month’s top 20, I just want to shout out the Billie Eilish: The World’s A Little Blurry that came out on Apple TV+ last Friday – if you have even a passing interest in Eilish and her brother (who features in this month’s round up) then I’d definitely recommend it. Never has being a popstar looked so miserable.

Some links

• Spotify Playlist for this month
• Weekly playlists: week 6 | week 7 | week 8 | week 9
• The best songs that came out in January

The 20 best songs from February that you might have missed!

20. John Hughes Movies by Maisie Peters

I had to google whether or not I’d seen any John Hughes movies and the ones I have seen (Flubber, Uncle Buck, Home Alone) probably aren’t the ones Peters is singing about here where the guy gets the girl – but that doesn’t diminish how infectious the hook is on this.

19. Real Love by George Cosby

Can’t quite land on whether I properly like this song or if George Cosby’s Elvis-like voice is just really rich and gorgeous – either way, Real Love is definitely worth a listen.

18. Meaningless by Charlotte Cardin

The way Cardin’s voice builds and how it sounds when it lands at that chorus is absolutely cracking.

17. 45 Fahrenheit Girl by Drew Sycamore

Never before has a song so effectively had me reaching through time and space to grab my pals and drag them to the dancefloor as 45 Fahrenheit Girl.

16. Overdrive by Conan Gray

In case you were wondering if Conan Gray was a one-good-album-and-done artist – he’s not.

15. Yours In The Morning by Patrick Droney

Wasn’t sure about this one and then the bridge came crashing in and yeah, nailed it. Probably not *cool* to say it, but what I wouldn’t give to go see something like this in concert.

14. We’re Good by Dua Lipa

Lipa has again rereleased Future Nostalgia this time with added moonlight and some new tracks – including the lead single We’re Good. Wasn’t fussed on it to begin with, but that Titanic video certainly is something and it’ll grow on you if you let it.

13. Walk Backwards by Maude Latour

Absolutely love a well-executed breezy pop song, absolutely love Maude, one of the best things going on in the genre at the moment, another excellent outing from her.

12. Only Wanna Be With You by Post Malone

Not sure who thought “25 years of Pokémon? We MUST get Post Malone to do cover of a Hootie and The Blowfish song!” but it is actually way way nicer than you’re probably expecting.

11. Spaceman by Nick Jonas

One day Nick Jonas is going to give us another Jealous-calibre banger, but until then we have Spaceman I guess. Sounds a lot like something from the last Justin Bieber album which I recently came around to, so I’m into it.

10. Be Kind be Zak Abel

The way those opening la la la’s hit is an injection of euphoria right into your ears that’ll have you soaring all day.

09. GLAM! by Allie X

Stratospheric disco pop from one of the genres most weird and wonderful.

08. That Kind Of Woman by Dua Lipa

Had the hook-melody for this rattling round my head since I first heard it, sorry-not-sorry that you’re about to have the same experience.

07. brokenhearted (together) by Joan + BEKA

A new age 90s heartbreak anthem that will have you clutching at your chest and sobbing as hard as you did after your worst breakup. Not sure what it is about that keyboard but it’s ripping me in two.

06. Beginning Middle End by Leah Nobel

Lara Jean Covey + Peter Kavinsky 4ever ❤

05. American Cliché by FINNEAS

Nobody does pop-musical-theatre quite like FINNEAS, couldn’t decide if this was properly good, but after watching that new Eilish documentary my increasing respect for Finneas has attached irrevocable fondness for anything he touches. A jaunty, infectious tune.

04. Way Less Sad by AJR

The muted piano in the first few seconds of this song are my heroin.

03. These Drugs by Baby Queen

I’ve said before how fucking much I love Baby Queen and her ability to weave poignant, perfect lyrics around excellent melodies, but I’d like to reiterate: what a talent. There’s a lot of extraordinarily good lyricism here but the best line has to go to “I am not a sycophant for a good time”. Who puts sycophant in a pop song and lands it? Incredible.

02. Tomorrow by Pale Waves

“Chuck, Chuck! It’s Marvin! Your cousin, Marvin Berry! You know that new sound you were looking for? Well listen to THIS!”

01. No Words Needed by Rebecca Ferguson + Nile Rogers

The ‘Wish we could push like this/Pull like this’ hook is luxury. It’s glitter and gold. It’s actual euphoria. Jesus Christ, music rarely feels this good.