The 10 best songs that deserved their ‘Flowers’ in 2023, from SZA to the Stones
It wasn’t just Barbie that made 2023 all about girl power.
From chart-leading ladies SZA and Miley Cyrus to “Barbie” soundtrack standout Billie Eilish to blockbuster-tour titans Beyoncé and Taylor Swift, women rocked many of the best songs of 2023.
There was even a black female songwriter — Tracy Chapman — behind a historic country hit, Luke Combs’ cover of “Fast Car.”
And when the nominees for the 2024 Grammy Awards were announced last month, women ruled — make that, owned — the Big 4 categories: Album, Record and Song of the Year, plus Best New Artist.
In fact, there is only one man — former “Late Show” bandleader Jon Batiste — among the eight nominees for Record of the Year.
Still, a couple of octogenarian gents were not about to fade away: Even as both Mick Jagger and Keith Richards turned 80, the still-rocking Rolling Stones gave us a dose of testosterone.
Here are the top 10 tracks that deserved their “Flowers” in 2023. And for the worst, go here.
For more from the Post, see the best and worst movies of the year — and the best and worst of TV.
1. SZA, “Kill Bill”
After squeaking in her long-awaited sophomore set, “SOS,” at the end of 2022, SZA made like Uma —Thurman, that is — and killed it with her first No. 1 single.
“I might kill my ex/I still love him though/Rather be in jail than alone,” she coos on this hypnotic bop, sounding at once sweet and sinister. A revenge fantasy never sounded so dreamy.
2. Miley Cyrus, “Flowers”
Although it’s not like Cyrus ever really went away, she made the pop comeback of 2023, spending eight weeks at No. 1 with this unshakable smash that saw the former Disney Channel darling rise triumphantly from the ashes of her very public — and very nasty — breakup with “The Hunger Games” actor Liam Hemsworth after just eight months of marriage in 2019. Ten years after last topping the charts with “Wrecking Ball” in 2013, her career was in full bloom again.
3. Billie Eilish, “What Was I Made For?”
We were all living in a “Barbie” world in 2023. And the all-star soundtrack to Greta Gerwig’s summer blockbuster featured everyone from Lizzo and Sam Smith to cast members Dua Lipa and Ryan Gosling, who memorably warbled “I’m Just Ken.” But leave it to Eilish to nail the existential crisis at the pink heart of it all.
4. Victoria Monet, “On My Mama”
After writing for the likes of Ariana Grande and Chloe x Halle, this in-demand diva was the R&B breakout of 2023, scoring seven Grammy nominations last month, including a Record of the Year nod for this swaggy slay. “I’m so deep in my bag/Like a grandma with a peppermint,” Monet boasts, flexing with her pipes as well as her pen.
5. Tyla, “Water”
This 21-year-old South African songstress brought Afrobeats to the Top 10 of both the R&B and pop charts with a sexy-cool house groove that is dripping in vibes.
6. The Rolling Stones featuring Lady Gaga and Stevie Wonder, “Sweet Sounds of Heaven”
As the Stones’ first album of original material since 2005’s “A Bigger Bang” — and the first since the 2021 death of beloved drummer Charlie Watts — “Hackney Diamonds” was a nostalgic, stomping victory lap from a band that didn’t owe us anything else. And with Gaga and Wonder — on vocals and piano, respectively — making it an epic event, “Sweet Sounds” is seven-plus minutes of gospel-blues righteousness that takes the Stones to the edge of glory.
7. Beyoncé, “My House”
From her “Renaissance” tour to the theatrical film, Bey had already given the Hive plenty to buzz about in 2023. Then in the closing credits of her concert film, she casually drops another banger. After throwing it back to “Homecoming” with some horned-up hip-hop, allowing Mrs. Carter to show off her own rap skills, the track goes to the club underground with a fierce techno-house beat.
8. Kylie Minogue, “Padam Padam”
There was a distinct lack of hot summer bops in 2023, but at least the queer community had the electro ecstasy of this certified Pride anthem.
9. Luke Combs, “Fast Car”
Thirty-five years after Tracy Chapman released this wistful beauty, “Fast Car” found new life — and a new audience — through the country superstar’s cover that rode all the way to No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100. And in addition to her raking in all those royalties, it was great to see Chapman get her props as the first black songwriter to win Song of the Year at the CMA Awards.
10. Taylor Swift, “Cruel Summer”
There was nothing cruel about the summer that Swift had with her blockbuster Eras tour — not to mention the kickoff of her romance with NFL star Travis Kelce. And to top it off, the synth-pop shimmer of this resurrected track from 2019’s “Lover” took it all the way to No. 1.
