The 100 Best Songs of 2021

Apple Music
The 100 Best Songs of 2021

New Zealanders have always been grateful to Lorde for putting the country on the pop map—and her 2021 album, Solar Power, was a dreamy, summery delight. It was a great year for music from Aotearoa: SIX60’s “Pepeha”, sung in both English and te reo Māori, was another track the country couldn’t stop listening to this year, alongside TEEKS’ deeply smooth “These Hands” and Crowded House’s comeback album, Dreamers Are Waiting—not to mention the dazzling Tame Impala remix of standout track “To the Island”. But we didn’t only listen to local artists in 2021: Huge names like Ed Sheeran and Adele made dominant returns, and artists like Eurovision champs Måneskin, Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak’s Silk Sonic, Lil Nas X and Doja Cat brought the feels, the beats and the bars to the soundtrack of our year.

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