Top10 WorldWide Music Selection From Concerty - January 2025

Gims - CIEL (FRANCE)

Let’s start our new year in France, where Congolese-French pop singer/rapper Gims had a winner carried over from last year. His single “CIEL” came out in November 2024, and it is off of his new record “Le Nord se souvient” also from last year. You can hear the African music influence on the beat, especially at the beginning before the first verse starts. Gims puts on a nice, technically impressive vocal performance - this track is definitely more in the pop category than in the hip hop category for the famous artist.

Rosé - APT. feat. Bruno Mars (NEW ZEALAND)

It’s rare to see a young girl born in Auckland, New Zealand have a fruitful career in K-pop. Yet this is exactly what happened to Roseanne Park, aka Rosé, who has been a member of the girl group BLACKPINK from its inception. Last year, she ventured into solo production (as so many in the most successful K-pop bands do) with the release of her solo debut album “Rosie” last year. For one of the tracks, he got none other than American all-around music star Bruno Mars to do a feature. Her native country of New Zealand seems to not have forgotten about her either, as her collab with Mars, “APT.” was trending high among local music fans on Spotify all last month.

Mrs. GREEN APPLE - ライラック (JAPAN)

The Japanese rock band Mrs. GREEN APPLE certainly has a name that will catch your eye. However, evidently, that would not be enough for them to stay on the Japanese music scene - with some breaks - for over a decade now. For that, they need to put out hit after hit. In fact, in January, multiple of their tracks occupied the top 10 spots on the Japanese Spotify charts. Out of those, here’s “ライラック," for your listening pleasure.

Bad Bunny - DtMF (COLOMBIA)

Colombia is a nation that has produced many international music stars in recent decades - just think of Shakira, Feid, or Karol G. However, in January 2025, it was rapper and reggaeton singer Bad Bunny from Puerto Rico who dominated the local charts, with his recent hits such as “DtmF”.

Annika Aakjær - Luk Mig Ind (DENMARK)

Meanwhile up North in cold Denmark, local pop singer and actress Annika Aakjær came out with a hit of her own, “Luk Mig Ind” in November 2024, which continues to be popular into the new year as well.

Tito Double P - Rosones (Mexico)

Up next, let's go to Mexico.  Tito Double P is quite a fresh face on the local music scene, having come out with his debut album "Incómodo" just last year, in August 2024., which became an instant chart-topper in his home country. And he has not slowed down since, as his new single, "Rosones," has also become a hit.

 

Majka - Csurran, Cseppen (HUNGARY)

This single out of Hungary has made some news in the political world as well, as it is widely considered a satire by rapper Majka of the long-reigning right-wing Fidesz party and Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, heading the government since 2010. The artist was not a politically active one up until now - if anything, he was considered in PM Orbán’s sphere of influence because of some of his gigs on a commercial TV station close to Fidesz. No matter where you stand on local Hungarian politics (most of our readers understandably stand nowhere), it is undeniable that a lot of people listened to this track in the country.

The Weeknd - Cry For Me (CANADA)

This is a track off of Canadian R&B superstar The Weeknd’s brand new album. “Hurry Up Tomorrow," which came out just last month. It is not one with some big-name feature, yet it managed to become one of the biggest hits on the record.

As the title suggests, this is not a happy club banger, as The Weeknd is singing about being heartbroken over a girl not picking up his calls. His signature head/falsetto voice is in sharp contrast with the heavy, deep, distorted synths on the beat, but that is very intentional, and it is a very enjoyable listen.

Anuv Jain - Jo Tum Mere Ho (INDIA)

And now to India. The most populous country on earth has quite a distinct taste in music, a lot of it directly tied to the local film culture. Mainstream Western or Eastern songs rarely become hits there. This was the case last month as well, when local artist Anuv Jain’s indie pop track "Jo Tum Mere Ho" was among the most popular listens with Spotify users in India.

Jin - Running Wild (HONG KONG)

As we wrote above, members of successful K-pop bands often venture into solo projects, After Rosé, here’s another prime example of just that, with Jin from BTS coming out with a new solo pop track “Running Wild,” which - unsurprisingly has been popular in many Asian countries, such as Hong Kong.