NEWS
Silk Sonic
John Esparza*The Billboard staff had a hard enough time choosing our 100 favorite songs of 2021, but now we want to know: What one track was your personal song of the year?
Silk Sonic topped our 100-deep list with their silky-smooth ’70s-R&B-revival jam “Leave the Door Open,” which also crowned the Billboard Hot 100 back in April, and Olivia Rodrigo isn’t far behind with “Good 4 U” at No. 2 — plus her other Hot 100 chart-topper, “Drivers License,” is at No. 11 as well.
Some other highlights from our list: Dua Lipa’s year-end Hot 100 No. 1 song “Levitating,” Lil Nas X & Jack Harlow’s chart-topping team-up “Industry Baby,” and Taylor’s Swift’s extra-long rendition of “All Too Well” from Red (Taylor’s Version).
You might be feeling SZA’s “Good Days,” Wizkid’s “Essence” (featuring Tems) or Kali Uchis’ “Telepatía” — or maybe something outside our top 100 altogether. We’ve given you a write-in option just in case your song didn’t make our cut.
So make your voice heard and vote below for your favorite song of 2021. (And after that, make sure to vote for your album of the year here too.)
Fontaines D.C. have teamed up with Rosalía for their new collaboration, Where Is Gone?.
The song features on the Irish rock band's forthcoming album, Dopamine Chamber, which arrives on Friday (16.10.26). For guitarist Carlos O’Connell, working with the Spanish superstar is particularly special because of his own Spanish roots.
He explained: “I’ve admired Rosalía ever since her debut album, which I thought was absolutely beautiful.
“What excited me most was the way she continued to preserve Spain's musical traditions, something that felt spiritually connected to what we've been trying to achieve with Irish music. Having roots in both countries, it's been really special to witness. "She's an artist who has continued to amaze me at every point in her career.”
Frontman Grian Chatten has also described the collaboration with Rosalía as one of the most memorable achievements of his career.
He revealed that he felt "humbled" when she agreed to lend her voice to the band's album.
Speaking to NPR, Grian said: “I've always felt there's something almost like a single big idea that I'm personally trying to communicate to the world before I get old and die, if that makes sense. There's one thing I think I'll spend my life trying to express. I have a feeling she has a similar outlook. … I mean, she's an amazing arranger, composer and lyricist. It means so much that she wanted to sing on something we'd put together. It's definitely one of the highlights of my career.”
Rosalía's links to Irish rock music extend beyond Fontaines D.C. She also offered inspiration and helped develop the Spanish lyrics for U2's The Mirror Maker (Rosalía), a track from their forthcoming album, Carnaval de Luz.
During an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon last week, she spoke about frontman Bono, saying: “I don't know him personally, but he sent me a text explaining that he was working on a new project and had written a song called The Mirror Maker."
Rosalía joked that Bono had invented a few words of his own.
She recalled telling him: “I wasn't sure what to make of it, but I told him he could create his own language if he wanted to.”
She described the opportunity to collaborate with the 66 year old music veteran as a real privilege.
She added: “Bono is a legend.
“It's amazing.”
Bono recently revealed that he was worried about seeming like a stalker when he reached out to Rosalía to ask whether he could name the song after her.
