My Music Chart: February 2021

It's that time again, albeit a few days after I should have posted this. Whoops. Is anyone really reading these anyways?? Who knows haha. Regardless, I still enjoy them and being nerdy, keeping track of what I am listening to. I feel like February has been a brilliant month for music and so here is the rundown of my Top 20...

All the stats are on the up for the month, mainly because after a really dismal January (only by my own standards) I made a concerted effort to listen to more. While I did listen to more songs overall, I did repeat play a lot more too. I have definitely been going back to the same songs a lot this month. 

There were only a couple of re-entries this month coming from Britney Spears and Spice Girls. I have mentioned before that Spice Up Your Life is a song that my daughter seems to love so it gets a lot of playtime. If this also counted the number of times we end up watching a video of the song on youtube it would probably be permanently sitting at number 1.

Seven of the tracks from January remained on the chart with 'All Dressed Up' from Raye seeing the biggest drop of ten places, down to number 16. I am still listening to her album a lot as it is really superb as evidenced in the fact that another of her tracks, 'Secrets' a collaboration with Regard, saw the biggest climb for the month, up to six places to number 7. If you haven't had a listen to it, I strongly recommend it.

Last months number 1, 'I Know This Club' by Bingo Players & Ida Corr clung in near the top of the chart, only dropping 2 places to number 3 as did the Years & Years version of 'It's A Sin'. Both brilliant tracks that don't seem to be going anywhere yet for me.

As in January, there have been a fair few dance tracks that have made up the majority of the new entries. I have to say, I have noticed that generally, it seems there is a lot of new music out there that sounds inspired by the sorts of house music I was listening to back in the 90s and I am loving it. Some of what I have been listening to literally samples some of those 90s classics and it doesn't get much more classic than Nightcrawlers 'Push The Feeling On'. 'Friday' feat Mufasa & Hypeman is an absolute bop for sure, bringing the absolute classic right up to date. Some melodies, tunes and rhythms just never die and this is one of them. This hit the chart at number 18 but I reckon it may be around on the chart again next month.

I must confess that despite having the most recent Kylie Minogue album 'Disco' since release in November 2020 it has been a bit overlooked in terms of the chart. It is a really solid album but, oddly for me, I just haven't revisited it very much. That being said, her collaboration with Dua Lipa for a single version of 'Real Groove' most definitely has my attention, hitting the chart at number 13. Dua Lipa is one of my favourite artists at the moment and she seems to be on almost absolutely everything which I am totally here for. 'Real Groove (Studio 2054 Remix)' is a camptastic disco-tinged feel-good track.

When it comes to a song from a RuPaul's Drag Race contestant there is a certain standard (for want of a better word) which you can expect the song to be... I'll leave you to insert your own descriptor! I'm not throwing shade here though, I frequently enjoy the efforts of the queens taking to music and they have appeared on the chart before but even I can call them for what they are. This month saw the release of yet another Ru-Girl release but I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. 'Outside In' from Tia Kofi is a really good, solid dance-pop track. I would actually go so far as to say that for me, it is probably the best song ever released by a Drag Race contestant. It does have an element that sounds like it could have been recorded by RuPaul herself but that isn't a bad thing. With its throbbing bass and a memorable hook, I can imagine this being played towards the end of the night, drink in hand as another cracking night draws to a close. Tia Kofi was a great contestant on the show and a massive personality and I really hope to see more music from her if this is the standard that she is aiming for. Take a look at the video:

Going back to the 90's nostalgia, it is great to see and hear Ultra Naté with new music. This time in collaboration with Angelica Ross and Mila Jam on their new track 'Fierce'. Hitting number 11 this month, it is exactly as the name suggests. With a lyrical vernacular that borrows heavily from the ballroom scene, trans and drag culture comes through in abundance on this track. If you are wondering what I mean, watch Paris Is Burning or the series Pose and you will get it. It is inspiring and uplifting, commanding the listener to 'werk', be 'legendary', bring the 'shade to the dancefloor' and get those 'tens across the board'. I reckon this could end up being huge in the clubs, if and when they eventually reopen.

Jumping right up the chart to number 2 now, with a new entry from Tiësto. I've loved Tiësto since back in his days with Trance music. I know a fair few people feel he 'sold out' when he started collaborating with more commercial artists but I have continued to follow him nonetheless. 'The Business' is a deep, dark, brooding track that really belongs bellowing out of speakers at an excessively obnoxious volume in a club for sure. I actually did listen to it in January too but apparently not quite enough for it to chart. It made up for it this month!

That neatly brings me to this months number 1. On paper, it is a very unusual collaboration and is probably one we would have never asked for. Nevertheless, it is a collaboration we got and actually, listening to it, it's absolutely the one we never knew we needed. Michelle Visage joins pop legends Steps for the single release of 'Heartbreak In This City' in what is the pop record of the year so far, and probably 2021 to be fair! It is exactly what you would expect from a Steps track. Insanely catchy, irresistible to dance to (we're still waiting for the video and official video people!) and quite literally a slab of pop perfection. I imagine you have already heard it but if you haven't you might wanna kick away that rock and head to the dancefloor in your mind (for now). It actually wasn't released until February 25th which means I racked up 17 plays in just 3 days which for me, is probably a dubious record of some sort. I liked the song on the album anyway but I absolutely adore the single release. As well as the added vocals from Michelle it has had some musical arrangement tweaks which elevate the track well. I reckon this might be around on my chart for a while to come yet...

So to that wraps it all up for this month with the full chart just below. As always, if you have any music recommendations or tracks you think I really should be listening to, drop me a comment below or drop me a line via Twitter.