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15 Songs You Might’ve Slept On -- And Shouldn't Have -- In 2015

We rounded up the ones that didn't quite land on your radar.

You know 2015's hits. You heard "Can't Feel My Face" and "Bad Blood" and "Hotline Bling" about a million times each and you grooved to all of them a million times each.

But an astronomical amount of music dropped in 2015. So much, in fact, that it's scientifically impossible (says us) for you to have listened to it all. By that logic, you definitely missed out on some awesome jams through no fault of your own. That's where we've got you covered.

Here's our list of songs that might've slid by you undetected this year -- and how to fix that.

"Holding On" - Disclosure Featuring Gregory Porter

These twin masterminds never disappoint. Disclosure have an impeccable talent for pairing their addictive beats perfectly with appropriate vocalists, and with "Holding On," they stretched a bit farther than the pop arena to collaborate with jazz legend Gregory Porter. The result was another electronic earworm that fused seamlessly with Porter’s warm, soulful voice. Another instant win for Howard and Guy Lawrence. --Nadeska Alexis

"Want Something Done" - Oddisee

Oddisee’s The Good Fight gave us “Want Something Done,” a track that addresses issues with music (and specifically with hip-hop) directly. “Glorifying music that’s abusive and a threat to us/ And if you got a message in your records, you collectin’ dust,” he raps on the track. It’s an excellent cut because it works on many levels. It’s the kind of joint that makes fans bop their heads while looking in the mirror and within. --Andres Tardio

"Waitress" - Hop Along

The way Hop Along singer Frances Quinlan delivers the word "just" 25 seconds into this song -- like an ugly wheeze folded into a sigh of complete desperation -- will make you reevaluate your entire diction. For that reason, the Philadelphia band's latest album, Painted Shut, absolutely cannot be slept on. It's an air-tight 10-track collection of gripping mini-narratives, but few are more immediate than "Waitress," a high-stakes musical short story you can rock the hell out to. --Patrick Hosken

"Mine" - Phoebe Ryan

She got our attention when she mashed R. Kelly’s “Ignition (Remix) with Miguel’s “Do You...,” but her original song, "Mine" deserves a listen as well. Don’t believe me? Just ask Taylor Swift. It’s a mid-tempo song about hitting a rough spot in your life, but owning up to the good and the bad and accepting the fact that all these experiences are “mine.” --Christina Garibaldi

"Low Brow" - Chelsea Jade

There's a hummingbird heartbeat that runs through "Low Brow" by New Zealand singer Chelsea Jade, yet, when you listen to the track, released in June, you feel grander. That duality is also echoed in the lyrics -- she yearns for attention from a half-assed lover, while knowing that she deserves more. Jade, who has opened for Lorde and claims her Beacons EP to her name, is ready for bigger things -- and we're hoping that means a U.S. pop debut. --Emilee Lindner

“King Pt. 4” - Big K.R.I.T.

The day Big K.R.I.T. doesn’t have to appear on this list will be a great day in hip-hop. Instead, despite immense talent, being signed to Def Jam and becoming one of rap’s most buzzed about artists a few years back, Krizzle excels primarily in the underground -- a position and struggle which he grapples with here. On the jazzy It’s Better This Way mixtape cut, K.R.I.T. flows for two minutes straight with a passion that, at times, borders on anger: “I got a chip on my shoulder the size of a boulder,” he raps, later adding, with astute self-awareness, “I'm a prisoner to my mission, screaming, ‘Listen!’/ Lord, I wish I could stop.” Nah -- don’t stop. --Adam Fleischer

"Moments" - Tove Lo

With all due respect to Mrs. Carter, Tove Lo's "Moments" turned out to be just the antidote for our current fixation on all things flawless. Building to a soaring hook, the Swedish singer's filter-free slice of electro-pop is a wailing exaltation for all the girls that are a little rough around the edges, the hell-raisers. A love song that celebrates diving into "all the don'ts"? Definitely a do. --Rebecca Thomas

“Wild” - Troye Sivan

A YouTube sensation forays into pop music — sounds like a predictable recipe for a flop, right? But no one’s made a better or more graceful transition than Troye Sivan. It’s hard picking just one song to highlight from his stellar EP Wild, but I’m going with the titular track because of its gorgeous complexity. At face value, it’s a bright and brooding piece of synth-pop, but you soon realize it has an underbelly of darkness and pain. At 20 years old, Troye writes with the maturity of someone twice his age, but he also talks about young love the way only someone who’s living and struggling through it could. And as an openly gay man who’s breaking down stigmas in pop music (using the word “he” as a pronoun shouldn’t be a shocking thing!), I think he’s one of the most important young artists today. --Madeline Roth

"Chateau Lobby #4 (In C for Two Virgins)" - Father John Misty

Freaky folker Father John Misty cemented his reputation as a master wit and verbal wonder on his second album, I Love You, Honeybear, nailing his signature combo of snark and cynicism on the hypnotic “Chateau Lobby 4 (In C for Two Virgins).” Over a lazy mariachi vibe he paints weird, vivid images ("I wanna take you in the kitchen/ Lift up your wedding dress someone was probably murdered in”) while professing his love in a shoulder-shrugging, but kind of honest way that makes you wish you could say exactly what's on your mind just like he does. --Gil Kaufman

"Antidote" - Travi$ Scott

Travi$ Scott's debut album, Rodeo, is a captivating listen from beginning to end, and in addition to the nearly eight-minute masterpiece that’s

"3500," the Houston-bred rapper/producer also delivered a noteworthy hit with “Antidote.” There’s something strangely hypnotic, intoxicating and sinful about the track, which makes makes me, personally, feel lame for listening to it before dark, when the fun really begins. Travi$ brings a very raw energy to his music that’s hard to duplicate, so give this one a spin. It’s definitely lit, at the night show. --NA

"Man Of The House" - Fashawn

On The Ecology -- released through Nas’ Mass Appeal Records -- Fashawn continued to open up about life in what’s becoming his trademark introspective style. “Man Of The House” is a standout example of how descriptive and honest he can be as an MC. The track, about growing up too fast, having an absentee father and trying to do better for his daughter, is candid and inspiring. Much like the man who signed him, Fash is proving to be a talented MC with a compelling story to tell. --AT

"On The Regular" - Shamir

Shamir Bailey talks more smack on this treasure-trove of a song than his 21 years could have possibly allowed. Then again, given the singer's massive presence, he's absolutely earned that right. "On The Regular" -- a disco-hop jam that dropped in 2014 but saw new life this year on his debut album, Ratchet -- proves Shamir's prowess as a master blender of genre, style and expectations. This is him on the regular, so you know. --PH

“Pass The Vibes” - Donnie Trumpet & The Social Experiment

On a free album of more than a dozen horn-filled, intricately rapped jams, the Surf closer surprisingly offered neither of those qualities. Instead, it’s a groovy, mesmerizing sing-along; a display of perfectly executed simplicity with few lyrics and even fewer reasons not to play it on a loop. Catch the vibes. --AF

"Fan The Flames" - Sheer Mag

At first listen, "Fan The Flames" by Philly rockers Sheer Mag sounds like it was recorded on some equipment they found at a garage sale, but if it sounds fuzzy, it's only because they wail so hard. That's what it's all about -- adding that rough edge to a perfectly crafted pop song because, after all, that's what "Fan The Flames" is. From the tricky guitar riffs, the distorted sing-along vocals and the chorus' on-beat march, Sheer Mag will have you either channeling your inner punk at a party or stopping everything to dance on your own. --EL

"River" - Leon Bridges

A sweet, soulful gospel hymn that rolls in gradually, Leon Bridges' "River" is the pick-me-up you could've used countless times throughout 2015. The 26-year-old Texas singer's debut LP, Coming Home, winds through exciting Motown rhythms and brassy grooves and lands square at "River," an acoustic prayer that's as airy as the wind but heavier than the body of water in the title. Enlightenment has never before sounded this wonderful -- and this easy. --PH

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