Music of the Month: 6 Standout Songs from December

Music is nearing its final day of not just the year but the decade as well. Just before 2019 is a wrap, some of our favorite artists have debuted projects with new sounds and unexpected collaborations. Harry Styles blessed fans with a highly anticipated new album, and hip-hop artists like Russ and Lil Uzi Vert released some pretty banging singles after a year of waiting and predicting. With so much great new music to look back on, we picked our six favorite and most heavily rotated tracks from December. And as we do every month here at ONE37pm, we’ve curated and list of them all, just for you!

“Treat People with Kindness” is the 11th track on Harry Styles’s second studio album, Fine Line. The song opens with a theatrical chorus sung by a choir and then leads into warm-hearted verses about doing good and feeling good. The tune is individual in its own sense, sounding completely different from any other track on the album. “Treat people with Kindness” has become a commonly used catchphrase by Styles since 2017 and is featured on several of his merchandise pieces, resulting in a slogan adopted by his fan base.

In this slow-paced, reflective song, Alec Benjamin sings about overthinking and struggling to let go of his thoughts. “Mind Is a Prison” will be featured on his upcoming sophomore album, and a music video is set to follow shortly after its debut this month. Similar to his other songs, the Phoenix-born singer, who music critics have also described as a storyteller, effectively paints a picture through relatable lyrics and emotionally rich vocals for pop music consumption.   

Lil Uzi is back-back, and this time for good. “Futsal Shuffle 2020” debuted this month as the first official single for his long-awaited second album, Eternal Atake. The catchy boastful track is accompanied by a dance that Uzi released the choreography himself. The track was the third release from the Philadelphia-born artist this year, following “Sanguine Paradise” and “That’s a Rack.”

“Future Nostalgia” is the title track on Dua Lipa’s new upcoming album, Future Nostalgia. The track opens with a futuristic beat and quickly leads into verses packed with empowering and feminist lyrics. The U.K. singer told Rolling Stone that the song is “playful and fun” and produced by “not taking ourselves too seriously,” but fans collected a pop tune that undeniably showcases the artist's strengths. Dua’s unmatched vocals blended with self-assured wordplay create the perfect female alpha anthem.

In “The Worst in Me” KAYTRANADA and Tinashe join forces for the first time to create a bass-heavy chilled-out tune. A work of instrumental genius, the track is rich in texture, blending R&B vocals with Haitian-Canadian production. From start to finish, “The Worst in Me” is a total finely calibrated song, that only gets better with repeated play.

In the chill, heartfelt “Nighttime (Interlude),” Russ dives into relationship issues that have gotten worse with time. “Nighttime (Interlude)” marks the third track off the New Jersey-born artist's upcoming third studio album, Shake the Snow Globe. Written and sung with emotion, the track’s slow beat and reasoning lyrics, set a dark, late evening mood no matter what time of the day the song is played.