#HitsOfTomorrow – A Weekly Rundown of the Should-Be Hits

Check out our list that features the likes of The 1975, The Killers and Duncan Laurence

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August 6, 2022

It’s August and the collaborations keep coming! This week, Calvin Harris has unleashed his second round of new funk could-be classics on “Funk Wav Bounces Vol 2” featuring everyone under the sun from Charlie Puth to Dua Lipa to Justin Timberlake to Snoop Dogg. While it lacks the freshness the first volume brought, there are likely some radio hits here, albeit safe and nothing too fresh. Snoop Dogg is likely to have better luck this week on his collaboration with BTS put together by producer Benny Blanco. Their single “Bad Decisions” will likely zoom up the charts and much more, rightfully so. Collabs continue with DJ Khaled bringing Drake and Lil Baby together for “Staying Alive” and, yes, it interpolates the classic “Stayin’ Alive” by The Bee Gees. While these tracks will make a big dent at radio and on streaming, here are this week’s Hits Of Tomorrow, the songs that deserve a little extra nudge, our should-be hits.

“Happiness (The Dance Floor Edit) – The 1975

The 1975 continue to hold a soft spot for me but last month, upon the release of their single “Part Of The Band,” I was a bit shocked at the lackluster response to their new era. Well, things are about to change and fans are going to get very happy as “Happiness” pivots the band to more upbeat territory (thanks in part to co-producer Jack Antonoff), and who’s going to stand in the way of love? Quite possibly one of their strongest pop records ever, it wouldn’t surprise me if the band gets a big hit with this one – deservedly so.

“Boy” – The Killers

Speaking of pop vibes, The Killers have managed for even longer than The 1975 to stay relevant and while at times they’ve found great success at it, at other times, they’ve seemed to be confined as yesteryear early-aughts heroes. “Boy,” a standalone track produced by the band alongside Shawn Everett and Stuart Price, is classic The Killers stuff, but thankfully with 2022 production that these days takes us back to 1988. The Erasure-esque style works and makes the track one of the strongest singles the band has released in years.

“Not Over Yet” – KSI, Tom Grennan

Boxer/rapper KSI has collaborated with singer-songwriter Tom Grennan on “Not Over Yet,” a single that shouldn’t work technically on paper but in fact works brilliantly because thematically and sonically the song offers the same level of excitement that the star usually brings to his fights. It helps that the boxer has an upcoming fight slated at the The O2 Arena on August 27. Whether he wins that fight or not, the single is a through-and-through winner and I hope it’s not seen as a novelty, but as a surefire win for the long haul for both talented artists.

“Electric Life” – Duncan Laurence

While his single “Arcade” continues to refuse to become irrelevant, Duncan Laurence has released his latest single “Electric Life”, an equally if not even more emotionally charged track that turns loss into hope. These days, genuine emotions are hard to come by and they are even harder to hear on the radio. So, Laurence’s success has been a welcome change and here’s hoping his latest gets the same kind of love and adoration that “Arcade” got since he’s the real deal, and we need some lyrical heft alongside retro-comfort production perfection.

“Blonde” – Maisie Peters

Maisie Peters has released another stand-out track this week with “Blonde” where we learn, yes, they do have more fun! The single is everything a summer single should be and as the rising star continues to make leaps artistically, this track may be the one that gets her into the big league. The single is a perfect add to countless playlists and radio would be foolish to not jump on this! Winner.

“Riverbed” – Matt Ryder, Birdy

What is it about Birdy’s voice that no matter what she releases, you almost instantly get emotionally invested. Here, the singer comes together with fellow Brit Matt Ryder on the beautiful, haunting and most melodious dance single “Riverbed”. The single is slickly produced and fuses electronica just enough to make it feel 2022 but also ready for radio and streaming. While neither artist is necessarily a hitmaker on Top 40, “Riverbed” is that rare occurrence of two artists that are highly underrated but come together to create a song that feels like a big record simply because they are able to thrive even more off of each other’s talents. Brilliant record.

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