If anyone tells you 2024 was anything less than an absolute win for new music, they clearly spent the year with their head stuck in a bin. While the world outside might have been doing its best impression of a dumpster fire, our headphones have been blessed with an embarrassment of riches. From bright-young-things becoming even brighter to established faves finding new gears, the last twelve months have delivered more golden moments than we can count.
That's where this list comes in. Over the next few days, we'll be celebrating the very best tracks 2024 had to offer – from chart-destroying anthems to underground gems that deserve their moment in the spotlight. So grab your party hat, pour yourself something fizzy, and join us as we count down the defining songs of 2024.
50. Self Esteem feat. Moonchild Sanelly – Big Man
While Queen once put on dresses to hoover, Self Esteem and Moonchild Sanelly’s ‘Big Man’ struts around in oversized suits doing the dishes. “Me and Moon wrote a song from the perspective of a good boyfriend,” Self Esteem explains. “The ones that see that you’re working your tits off so they go and get yet another thing you’ve ordered and missed the delivery of from the post office.” As Self Esteem’s first original release since ‘Prioritise Pleasure’, it’s a perfect reminder of what we’ve been missing. Two of music’s most uncompromising voices trading verses over some of the sharpest pop imaginable, creating something that works as both cultural commentary and pure musical adrenaline. When the results are this good, who needs subtlety? DAN HARRISON
