Music is such a powerful thing that after 3 minutes of listening to a song, strong emotions you forgot you had are evoked. I feel like more recently it has been difficult to find songs that create such strong emotions because the most played music falls into genres like EDM and rap. While rap has the ability to be lyrically clever and EMD dynamic, they are not able to pull at the same emotions. Below is a list of 11 songs that I guarantee will make you feel some kind of way:
"Dreaming with a Broken Heart" - John Mayer
This song is most likely sitting in some playlist of yours currently not being listened to enough. When you listen to this song, it’s so emotional that you can’t help but feel like you are the one suffering from a broken heart. The moment I hear the first cord, my heart breaks. The lyrics mixed with John’s raspy voice make the whole song extremely sorrowful.
"Wish That You Were Here" - Florence and the Machine
When I first heard this song, it was near the end of my first semester of college; I hadn’t seen my family in months, tests were happening every other day, and I just wanted to go home. Florence Welch has such a powerful voice that she can emit any emotion to such an intense degree that it hurts. This song makes me long for the people I saw two minutes ago.
"New York" - Milk & Bone
This song is not much of a song as it is a story. When I listen to it, I not only feel like I am watching a movie, but I feel like I am the female who is narrating it. The song is about a girl who cheated on her boyfriend and is now going through the process of having to heartbreakingly admit it. I would like to preface that I have never cheated on a significant other nor currently am in a relationship, but when I listen to this song, I feel so incredibly guilty.
"Rivers and Roads" - The Head and the Heart
*Warning* If you are at a college 1000 miles from home, this song will hit you like a freight train and it’s going to hurt. This song is all about things changing and being dramatic distances away from the people you love. It describes being homesick so well that even if you are currently in your parents’ basement, you will be missing home by the time it is over. This song actually moved me to tears around the beginning of December after my first semester of college. I’m not sure if it was because of the stress of finals getting to me or just really missing home, but after listening to this song once, I could not control my emotions. So naturally, I listened to it on repeat for the next two weeks.
"How Will I Know" - Sam Smith
You remember the song “How Will I Know” originally performed by Whitney Houston? So fun, super bubbly, right? Now think of the exact opposite -- you have the exact same song by sung by Sam Smith. This song, as most songs by Sam Smith, is performed with so much emotion that it hurts. The exact same lyrics are sung by two different people, and the song goes from a fun, girly song to a sorrowful ballad and that being alone is something to get emotional about.
"Banana Pancakes" - Jack Johnson
"Banana Pancakes" puts me into a state of relaxation. When I hear this song, I just feel like everything is ok. The chord progression is extremely calming and immediately I just want to be in the world that Jack Johnson has created. I get such an intense craving to lie in bed, watch the rain, and eat banana pancakes. It a simple feeling that is brought out by a simple song.
"Good Enough" - Little Mix
I think most, if not everyone, at one point has wondered if they were good enough. This song will pull on that experience and magnify it 100x to make you feel so small and emotional. If you are not sitting down contemplating life by the bridge of the song, you might low-key be a robot.
"Fighter" - Christina Aguilera
This one is a bit of a throwback for my Christina fans. But even though it is an oldie, it’s a goodie. This song immediately makes you feel like a badass. Most of the songs on this list are depressing, but this one is empowering. Whenever I listen to this song, all I want to do tell off everyone who has ever done me wrong. Just be careful when listening to it at the gym, you might be so empowered that you think you can lift twice as much, but that’s probably not true.
"Landslide" - Robin Sherwell
Most people know "Landslide" by Fleetwood Mac. And yes it is iconic, but have you heard it by Robyn Sherwell? The song is about questioning one’s ability to cope with changing and surpassing the things that bring you down in life. Everyone has their own personal landslide, so it is easy to relate and that is why this song can call on those emotions so easily. This version just heightens the song’s experience with stripped vocals where you hear such raw emotion.
"Drunk on the Mic" - Mickey Shiloh
The artist of this song commits to the story and literally slurs her words. This song perfectly emits how when someone is vulnerable, they start spilling out their feelings. The singer’s tone changes as she faces different emotions with each phase of heartbreak, making it feel so much more real. This song makes me feel unnecessarily and uncontrollably angry and sad.
"Island in the Sun" - Weezer
Let’s end on a good note. The feels that hit me when I hear this song are the ones I want to be feeling my whole life. Like the title of the song, it makes you feel like you are chilling on an island. It is such a relaxing upbeat song, that it will literally release all of your tension.
