With finals week around the corner, it’s necessary to set aside time for some well-needed self-care, what better way to do that than by finding some new songs and artists for the stressful week ahead. Here are five songs to help you get through finals week.
Forevermore By Cuco
Omar Banos, better known by his stage name Cuco, is a singer/songwriter/ multi-instrumentalist artist from California. In 2017, Doris Munoz approached the artist and offered to manage him, saying “I just don’t want some old white dude to come through and Ritchie Valens you.” From there, the team released his song Lo Que Siento which by the summer sky-rocketed his career. His music is described as “Alternative Dream Pop”, a genre that is usually full of breathy vocals, guitar effects, synthesizers and 808’s. As for his song Forevermore, which was released earlier this year, Cuco uses a softer approach to his usual synth-pop and really focuses more on gentle guitar strums and a dreamy lo-fi melody. It’s definitely a song you can play when you’re getting a bit restless from studying to help you get back in the zone.
Transparent Soul By Willow ft Travis Barker
Willow Smith, the daughter of Will and Jada Pinkette-Smith, is an American multi-talented artist. She is a singer, songwriter, rapper, record producer, actress, and dancer. She first entered the world of music with her first single Whip My Hair in 2010 which has gathered millions of views. Since then her music career has taken a huge turn, in 2015 she released her debut album, Ardipithecus, under her stage name Willow. This album, which features her hit song Wait a Minute!, didn’t gain much traction until 2019 due to TikTok. Both the album and song fall under the “Alternative R&B” umbrella, it fuses a lot of different genre elements with traditional R&B to give its own unique sound. Now while that in itself is impressive, Willow has decided to try out a new genre of music, pop-punk. I have been a huge pop-punk/emo fan for years and I can say confidently that her song Transparent Soul, is a refreshing take on the genre. With its amazing vocals and loud drums by Blink-182 drummer Travis Baker, the song will definitely help head bang your stress away.
Magma by Chicano Batman
Chicano Batman is a four-member band formed in 2008. The band consists of bassist Eduardo Arenas, guitar and keyboardist Carlos Areval, lead vocalist Bardo Martinez, and drummer Gabriel Villa. They released their self-titled album in 2010, the album was full of soul. Ikey Owens, the keyboardist for Jack White, was in contact with them and offered them the opportunity to be the opening band. In 2015 their hard work paid off and opened up the opportunity for them to play at Coachella 2015. Their song Magma, is a song I listen to all the time when I study. With psychedelic soul influences and a nice mellow bassline, this song is a great oldies type song.
On My Shit By Snow Tha Product
Snow that Product is a Mexican-American rapper, singer, and actress from San Jose, Ca. Her career started when she released her first album titled Unorthodox in 2011. Her breakthrough happened when she released the song Holy Shit that was featured on 50 Cents’ website. A year later she was signed to Atlantic Records. In 2018, Snow split from Atlantic Records and has since been an independent artist. Producing, recording, and releasing her own music videos and songs. Her song On My Shit serves as a reminder of her self made success story, “The funnest thing about being 100% independent is I get to just do things differently! So, I challenged myself to make the beat, song and video in my living room“ said Snow in a Play Too Much interview.
The song itself is well-produced and her flow mixed with her sharp tongue gives this song a feeling that drips confidence. If you’re looking for a song and artist that’ll make you feel like a bad bitch this finals week, Snow’s your girl.
I Can’t Handle Change By ROAR
ROAR is the project created by singer and multi-instrumentalist Owen Evans from Phoenix, Arizona. Evans was formerly the frontman of Asleep in the Sea, but following their disbandment he created ROAR. The first album ROAR released was titled the same as the song I’m mentioning on this list, I Can’t Handle Change. Evans worked independently on this album, producing and arranging every song by himself. I Can’t Handle Change (the song) is a power ballad, this song is meant to bring out every sad emotion you have so you can let it out, and that’s why it’s on the list. Finals week brings up so many emotions and it can get overwhelming, you need to let it out and this song will definitely help you with that.
I hope you have a successful finals week and as always, please make sure to take care of yourself!
Give any of these songs a listen? Let us know! Tag us on Twitter or Instagram @HerCampusSJSU!