The five songs currently living in my head.
Music has always been one of the ways I understand my feelings. These songs capture where I am right now — what I’m thinking about, what I’m learning, and sometimes, who I’m missing.
Some remind me of you.
Some remind me of myself.
All of them tell part of the story.
If you’d rather listen than read, you can find all five songs here.
Looking for previous Top Fives?
I’ve always loved Summer Walker. Her sound, her voice, the way she can sing about something real and honest while still making you want to vibe and sing every word. “Something Real” speaks to what I want when it comes to love. Something genuine, something meaningful, something I can actually believe in. I love the music, the beat, and everything the song represents. And the Chris Brown feature makes me love it just a little more because it reminds me of someone who loves his music.
Khalid and Majid Jordan together already make this song special to me. I love the sound and the lyrics. “Got sparks in your eyes” always makes me think about the way you look at someone when you really love them. The kind of look that holds admiration, attraction, and everything you might not know how to say out loud. So much of this song feels like something I wish I could say to someone I love.
Mariah will always have a special place in my playlists, and “Ride” is one of those songs I can feel from beginning to end. Some of the lyrics make me laugh, some make me want to sing every word, and others feel like things I could genuinely say to someone I love. There’s confidence, playfulness, vulnerability, and so much love throughout the song. I especially love the idea of staying beside someone for life and knowing you’ve found something you don’t want to lose. Maybe part of why I love this song so much is imagining that the person I’m thinking about could hear some of these lyrics and think of me too.
I absolutely love The Great Gatsby, and “Young and Beautiful” has always felt so open and vulnerable to me. It asks the kind of questions no one really wants to think about. After all is said and done, after time passes and so much about us changes, will you still be there? Will you still love me? Will you still look at me the way you do now? I think what makes this song so meaningful to me is knowing that if someone I love ever asked me those questions, my answer would be yes. I want to know every layer of the person I love, including the ones I haven’t discovered yet. That’s how I know love has to be more than the physical, more than the surface, more than simply being young and beautiful.
I love H.E.R., and this song makes me feel good every time I hear it. “We Made It” speaks to me in two different ways. There’s the feeling of making it on your own, chasing your goals, becoming successful, and creating the life you’ve always wanted. But there’s also something beautiful about making it with someone you love. Building a life together, becoming successful together, seeing the world, and one day being able to look at everything you’ve accomplished and say, “We made it.” What a dream it would be to have everything you’ve worked for and look beside you to see the person you love there with you.
Since the very beginning…
The one song that has reminded me of you since the beginning.
How I felt from the very first moment I laid eyes on you.
And how that feeling continues to grow the more I get to know you.
From the surface I first discovered, to the depth you’ve slowly allowed me to dive into.
Here’s to learning every piece of you and loving every single thing you choose to show me.
And I’ll keep doing so—
for as long as you let me.
