13 Canadian tracks encapsulating our year

By Nalyn Tindall

With Spotify wrapped, making waves once again, and exposing the most vulnerable for their fascinating taste in music, the masthead decided to do them a favour and compile our favourite songs. Who cares if your top artist of 2023 was “Brown Noise,” tell your friends you listened to these Canadian hits instead. Here are our top picks for our favourite Canadian songs this year.

Anna-Giselle Funes-Eng, Multimedia Editor

“I’d Have to Think About It” by Leith Ross

I love Leith Ross with all my heart! I got to see them play live in June and they are majestic. I love how romantically dramatic this song is. I listen to it whenever I feel like screaming in a soft indie-folk way.

Caelan Monkman, Managing Editor

“Gigafire” by Half Moon Run

Half Moon Run is a band that continuously impresses me. The Montreal trio is consistently reinventing itself, with their latest album, Salt, being no exception. While the album is full of solid tracks from start to finish, “Gigafire” is a personal favourite of mine. The deep growls of the electric guitar paired with a lush arrangement of strings and piano make for a truly cathartic listening experience, not to mention frontman Devon Portielje’s stellar vocal performance on the song.

Talia Saley, Food Editor

“Sk8er Boi” by Avril Lavigne

I grew up listening to Avril Lavigne and she has been an iconic Canadian artist in my life. Whenever I hear her songs on the radio, or in public, I’m transported back to my childhood. It makes me feel rebellious whenever it listen to her!

Vanessa Tiberio, Social Media Manager

“Fever Pitch” by Hotel Mira

This song is by Vancouver-based Indie-rock band Hotel Mira, one of my favourite bands for the past six or so years. “Fever Pitch” catapults listeners into the sunny embrace of summer vibes with upbeat melodies and a strong, boppy chorus. I can’t help but nod my head along to the beat of this song while a smile inevitably forms across my face when I listen to it.

Mariana Schuetze, Editor In Chief

“Edge of the Earth” by The Beaches

One of my top songs from this year is “Edge of the Earth” by The Beaches. In 2023 I started working at TMU’s radio station, Met Radio, so I’ve been slowly getting introduced to a variety of new songs. The Beaches’ latest album, Blame My Ex, has been charting on Met Radio’s charts for a bit now, so I came across their songs a couple of times. Ever since I listened to “Edge of the Earth,” it hasn’t really come out of my mind. It’s a really fun song, I really like the beats and their vocals on this song, really makes me want to get up and dance.

Grace Henkel, Arts Editor

“A Case of You” by Joni Mitchell

I love it because the lyrics and guitar strumming are so raw. Joni’s vocals tell a painful and beautiful story that feels timeless. I have so much nostalgia attached to that song.

John Vo, Managing Editor

“Say it Right” by Nelly Furtado

In the plethora of proclaimed quintessential“pop princess” albums, Nelly Furtado’s Loose remains a classic on 2000s playlists and in any trashy club wanting to appeal to the masses. For me, “Say It Right” is the perfect representation of the album: sensual, confident and catchy as heck.

Khushy Vashisht, Features Editor

"i wanna be your right hand" by Nemahsis

This has been my favourite Canadian song of the year because of the imagery it sets and how it perfectly captures feelings of turmoil, inferiority and determination fuelled by said turmoil.

Sarah Grishpul, Film Editor

“You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet” by Bachman-Turner Overdrive

This song brings me back to memories of my dad and my weekly driving trips. We would blast “You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet” on the radio along with several other classic hits from the '70s, '80s, and '90s. During these trips, we'd often break out in rhythmic headbanging and off-pitch singing while tearing down the road to the public library. Since moving away from home and adopting a public transit commuter lifestyle, those small memories of carpool karaoke feel utterly nostalgic.

Tara Khoo, Social Media & Graphics Director

“Music Box” by Leith Ross

I saw them live this year and it was the most beautiful experience ever. I love listening to this song after a long day.

Sena Law, Fashion Editor

“glo up +” by dci. and damn drone

Featured briefly in Spotify’s Rap Caviar playlist, “Glo Up +” is featured on Different Dimensions 1.5, a summer collaborative project by Toronto artist damn drone and dci. from Montreal. This energetic track features dynamic vocals over an enchanting instrumental, taking influences from genres of hip-hop, pop and plug-n-b. The two artists compliment each other in their vocal deliveries and range, giving us this summer (and frankly, year-round) bop.

Khadijah Ghauri, Graphic Design Manager

“Virginia Beach” by Drake

This is my favourite song because I’m a huge fan of Drake, and he’s truly my Canadian legend!

Nalyn Tindall, Music Editor

“In Too Deep” by Sum 41

Whenever I feel the need to dive back into childhood nostalgia, this song does the trick. The raw intro instantly transports me to the back of my parent's 2005 Ford Focus, driving to elementary school and listening to the local radio station playing rock hits from “the 80s, 90s and now.” To me, Sum 41 is the epitome of early 2000s Canadian rock. I can turn on this hit any time throughout the year to gain an instant burst of energy. From the epic guitar riffs to the catchy chorus, this song will always be a masterpiece in my books.

What was your top Canadian song of 2023? If you’re having trouble deciding, listen to the playlist of our favourite Canadian songs here on Spotify.

CanCulture team members share the Canadian artists on their year-end Spotify Wrapped

The most exciting part of the year for Spotify users all around the world is in December, when Spotify Wrapped is released. Since 2016, the streaming platform has shown listeners what their year looked like in terms of their listening habits.

Especially after another year of COVID-19 restrictions, it was interesting to see what and who we had on repeat throughout the year. At CanCulture, of course, there were many Canadian artists who made it into our team members’ Spotify Wrapped. Check out the unique Canadian artists that we spent a lot of time listening to this year!

Jon Bryant

A Canadian artist who hit number two on my 2021 Spotify Wrapped is alternative singer-songwriter Jon Bryant. I first discovered him in 2015 and he has appeared on my Spotify Wrapped every year since. Based in Vancouver, Bryant has covered every genre from folk to pop to rock to alternative and everywhere in between. His newer acoustic songs are equally balanced by his later, more heavily produced music, meaning that he has a song for every taste. However, what draws me to his music the most is his authentic and meaningful lyrics. I hope to see him on my Spotify Wrapped next year and the year after that!

- Olivia Wiens, Arts & Books Editor

“Come Back” by Mustafa

At the beginning of this year, I vowed to do everything I could to get out of the funk of 2020, so I listened to a lot of upbeat music to try and ring in the good times. That was reflected in my Wrapped 2021 playlist with a lot of Afrobeat and Afro House appearing on my top songs of the year. But one song stood out to me: “Come Back” by Mustafa.

The song just didn’t fit into the rest of the playlist and I had to think long and hard as to why I listened to it so often. It actually makes a lot of sense. I recently went through a lot of profound changes, and was aware that a chapter in my life was coming to a close and I would never experience it again. It’s around that time that I would listen to the song incessantly because it expressed my own feelings better than I ever could.

The song is poetic, simple, beautiful, tragic and I’d go as far as to say, magical. It only has one verse, with eight lines, and the production is also very economical. The production by James Blake and Toronto’s very own Frank Dukes leaves a lot of room for Mustafa’s enchanting voice to lure us into a sort of magical realm. His delivery is soulful, measured and combines perfectly with his lyrics, which read more like a poem rather than a conventional song. There are two parts that always get to me: when he sings “I miss not knowin’ I was poor,” which speaks of a loss of innocence, and a longing for the days where maybe ignorance was bliss. But the line that really does it for me is when he implores “Please come back/ At least in my dreams.” He first delivers these lines during a quiet moment in the song, just before we hit the emotional climax of the journey he takes us on. Right when he delivers those lines, the looping production comes back and delivers a real moment of catharsis.

The song has the quality of most great songs, that it feels incredibly personal to the artist singing it, but it can also speak to so many people going through a variety of things. The song was written as an ode to his friend, fellow Torontonian and musician, Smoke Dawg, who was tragically killed in 2018 in Toronto. This only adds to the beauty of the song, but also serves as a testament to Mustafa’s artistry, in that as a listener, I’m able to use these very poignant and personal lyrics to reflect on what I may be going through.

The song and the rest of his debut album, When Smoke Rises, explore grief and the acceptance of it. “I created a project that’s exploring a sorrow that you don’t have to interrupt, a sorrow that can be made to feel beautiful, elegant and hopefully honour whoever was lost,” Mustafa told The Guardian. That’s something we can all learn from. I’m happy it was part of my year. It’s a reminder that loss is a part of life, and there’s actually beauty in that.

- Nganji Kimonyo, Contributing Writer

Drake & The Weeknd

In my top five artist list from my Spotify Wrapped this year, I had two Canadians. Neither of them is a surprise, considering they're two of my favourite artists. They were Drake, who was at number one, and The Weeknd, who was at number five. Drake dropped his long-awaited sixth studio album, Certified Lover Boy, a couple of days before my birthday, so I definitely had that album streaming nonstop. When it comes to his music overall, I’m always playing his songs, no matter my mood or where I am. He just makes music that everyone can listen to at all times of the day and that’s why I listened to him so much. The same goes for The Weeknd’s music as well.

- Bana Yirgalem, Contributing Writer