Whatever your plans are while you go out with your girlfriend, date, wife, or person of interest, make sure to have the right mood. Here are some songs you can listen to on Valentine's Day.
1. Mayer Hawthorne - “Shiny and New”
Mayer Hawthorne is a Motown soul revivalist. Most of his songs are about romance and heartbreak. “Shiny and New” is from his debut album Strange Arrangement from 2009. Basically, the song is expressing how this woman makes Hawthorne feels and with him expressing it.
2. Belle and Sebastian - “Funny Little Frog”
Coming from Belle and Sebastian’s album The Life Pursuit, lead singer Stuart Murdoch wrote this song about the idea of the woman than the actual person. The thoughts and ideas of this woman give him this odd itch from the throat because he doesn’t have the urge to speak to her. It’s clever and a catchy tune. Maybe this song can state how you really feel for your Valentine.
3. Landon Pigg - “Falling in Love at a Coffee Shop”
This is from 2009’s The Boy Who Never; Landon Pigg’s “Falling in Love at a Coffee Shop,” is that acoustic, adorable, easy-listening tune of weakening for loving someone at a coffee shop. It is sentimental, like imagining he was into the barista, or the possibility of a regular that he has routinely have seen. Who knows, but the song is charming.
4. Tyler the Creator - “Perfect” feat. Kali Uchis and Austin Feinstein
From Tyler’s latest album Cherry Bomb, this has more of Kali Uchis doing mainly the verses and Tyler mainly doing back vocals and both partaking in unison through various verses. And Austin Feinstein is featured for the closing of the song with eerie guitar playing and a hook with his voice distorted. “Perfect” is asserting that they can be perfect together but the actuality of being together is in question (one of them is scared). Typical complication in the modern dating-verse.
5. Daniel Caesar - “Get You” feat. Kali Uchis
Another Kali Uchis appearance in another romantic single. Toronto native, Daniel Caesar released a single in November 2016 called “Get You.” It is about how lucky he is to have this person and it is about praising that someone. Uchis does the feedback verse towards Daniel’s serenades. Check out Daniel Caesar’s other singles as the 21-year-old has a lot of potential to take on the R&B main stream.
6. Whitney (band) - “No Matter Where We Go”
Didn’t want to confuse you from the deceased all-time great Whitney Houston. This is Whitney, a band from Chicago, Illinois. Their debut album Light Upon the Lake was one of the best albums to come out last year. “No Matter Where We Go” has that folk, country feel while circulating that indie rock, jam band cultivation. The single sounds like a summer anthem while having your significant other by your side.
7. Beyoncé - “Love on Top”
Adding the Queen on this Valentine’s list is necessary. From her fourth album 4, she was still gaining fame from her solo artist and in the early phases of the Jay-Z relationship. Retro-pop style, very upbeat and of course the song commemorates Jay-Z on how he respects her and puts her love…on top. Congratulations with the twins!
8. Frank Sinatra - “The Way You Look Tonight”
Originally performed by Fred Astaire for the film Swing Time, it even won an Academy Award in 1936 for Best Original Song. Of course, this single has been popularly covered by jazz artists, but in the 1920s through 1960s jazz was beloved. Sinatra covered “The Way You Look Tonight” on his 1964 album “Sinatra Sings Days of Wines and Roses.” The song is about how he may feel down, but looking at her face can make him happy and fulfilled again; the effect of her presence. Sinatra’s swagger and the big band orchestra to provide the composition, this song should provide the perfect serenade on Valentine’s Day.
9. Ella Fitzgerald - “My Funny Valentine”
This list couldn’t go on without having Fitzgerald’s iconic “My Funny Valentine.” It has been performed by several artists like Chet Baker and Frank Sinatra. Ella Fitzgerald sets the bar for this jazz standard single. Remember, being someone's Valentine is to be someone's favorite.
10. Janet Jackson - “That’s the Way Love Goes”
You cannot go wrong with Janet Jackson. Her fifth studio album Janet was a different transition from her previous albums serving more of a slow, R&B funk. “That’s the Way Love Goes” was her lead single for the album and was one of the biggest hits in 1993. Janet is telling you how love is blind and you have to play along, and if Janet is telling you to go with the flow…you go with the flow with Janet! You can’t go wrong with Janet Jackson.
11. D’Angelo - “Untitled (How Does It Feel)”
D’Angelo’s “How Does It Feel,” is from his second album Voodoo and was released 17 years ago. Written by D’Angelo and Raphael Saadiq, this song is about making love and pleasing his woman. It’s very sultry and seductive. If you need to set the mood with your love one, this is the guaranteed tune for the sexy time.
12. Babyface & Mariah Carey - “Every Time I Close My Eyes”
In case you didn’t know who is Babyface, Kenneth Brian Edmonds is a producer and song writer who has won 11 Grammy Awards and 26 number-one R&B hits throughout his career. “Every Time I Close My Eyes” came out in 1997 from the album The Day. Mariah Carey served as back up vocalist, providing one of the most passionate love songs. This song should make you feel thankful for who you are with.
13. K-Ci & Jojo - “All My Life”
Released in 1998, K-Ci & Jojo were the other half of Jodeci and left to be a duo debuting their studio album Love Always. “All My Life” was one of their most successful songs. Some of you millennials may not have heard of this song but this is a classic R&B love song of all time. There was a time where this song was on the radio constantly. According to the song title, it is quite suitable for Valentine’s day.
14. Donny Hathaway - “A Song for You”
I don’t expect you to know Donny Hathaway; he is an iconic jazz and soul singer and great pianist. He was a major force in soul music in the 1970s. His stardom was brief as he died at age 33 in 1979. Hathaway’s brilliance is shown in “A Song for You,” originally recorded by Leon Russell, but Hathaway’s version carries a sincere, forgiving tone, in regards what the song is about. It’s about singing this song alone to her, just to show how much he loves her.
15. Etta James - “At Last”
This timeless classic “At Last” should be on everyone’s Valentine’s playlist. Etta James' signature song with her vocal dynamics and tone alterations makes this tune anthem for romance. Some intimate slow dancing will be commencing for all you lovers.
