1. “Back 2 Life” by Letoya Luckett

Letoya’s new single, “Back 2 Life,” from her upcoming album, Until Then. My obsession with this song still has yet to be pinpointed; is it the generality of it (the beats, the flow), the video, or perhaps it is the concept behind it all? Her lyrics speak loudly on the abstraction of failing relationships, something many people have experienced more than once in their lives: “Maybe we’ll survive/Maybe it’s a lie/ To keep our love alive/ But I know you want to ride/So, I gotta get back to life/ Back to reality…” The words not only hit home, but they especially bring forth this idea that people tend to fantasize a better future for this relationship when they know that they’re already living a broken one that may never be fixed.

1. “Shape Of You” by Ed Sheeran

I’ve never found myself to be much of a Ed Sheeran fan, however, who could resist a sexy dancehall tempo from a cute and scruffy redhead? NO ONE!

1. Starboy Album by The Weeknd

As Rolling Stones Magazine puts it, The Weeknd’s “…songs will explore love as either a tortured form of codependency or transactional pornography…” but it is the way that he has always gone about it that makes his music both sexually energetic and captivating. Though I did have some mixed emotions about the album, it still found its way on my top favs chart.

4. “Grass Ain’t Greener” by Chris Brown

Brown does something most of us usually never have the guts to do when it comes down to an ex-lover in this new single from his up and coming album, Heartbreak on a Full Moon. “You ain’t the girl that you used to be/ You had somebody that really cared/ How you f*ck it up…it’s not fair,” an opportunity to call an ex out for the wrong they’ve done and the hurt they’ve put you through. Looks like Whitney Houston wasn’t the only one rooming at the heartbreak hotel!

5. “I Don’t Wanna Live Forever” by Zayn & Taylor Swift

I can’t seem to put my finger on why most of my top favorites deal with relationship pressures, but I can say that the duet between Zayn and Swift was surprisingly well done. Though, I would have to say that it was Swift’s pondered vocals that attracted me most to the song: “Wonder if I dodged a bullet/ Or just lost the love of my life? Two individuals, far away from each other, missing one another…it really pulls at the heart strings.