When you find yourself with a big silly crush, totally ready to have your heart broken because you’re so thrilled for all the gooey bliss that precedes it, there’s nothing you need more than some JAMS to dance out all those feelings! All those happy feelings! All those sad feelings! All those oh-my-god-I-just-noticed-their-stubble-on-their-jawline or oh-my-god-their-eyes-are-like-the-best-prettiest-eyes-I’ve-ever-seen feelings! Read on and dance on!
1. Love Bug by the Jonas Brothers
Okay, so this song is deliciously soft. Joe Jonas mumble-whisper-singing “I never thought that I’d catch this love bug again” curls your tummy in all the sweetest, butterfly-y ways. It’s tender and soft and he’s singing about being speechless, breathless, all wound up in this surprising new love. And then the Jo-Bros HIT YOU with those hard guitar slams and everything is intense and Joe is SPEECHLESS! OVER THE EDGE! JUST BREATHLESS!
It’s a masterpiece.
2. Kiss Me by Sixpence None the Richer
It’s so cool how Sixpence None the Richer, a band composed of faerie people, wrote this faerie love song for us mortals to enjoy. It’s the musical equivalent to seeing your crushes perfect sweet smile and feeling like the sun and moon and all the stars are sparkling in your ribcage. Thanks, Sixpence None the Richer.
3. Make Me Feel by Janelle Monae
How could Janelle Monae’s bisexual bop be left off this list? Take all your dumb, love-struck feelings and groove them out. Thrust your hips and shimmy your shoulders so long as you feel that magic in your belly and heart. You’re powerful, with a little bit of tender. It’s an emotional sexual bender.
4. You Make My Dreams by Darryl Hall and John Oates
Think you’ve never heard this song? If you’ve seen an eHarmony ad, you’re wrong. This is the arguably one of the most groovable songs to bop your head to and imagine a montage of you and your crush dancing and frolicking and totally in luv while flowers bloom in sync with your joy.
5. Anything by Carly Rae Jepsen but especially Cut To the Feeling
Queen of the Universe, Carly Rae Jepsen puts words to one of the most frustrating but also wonderful feelings of blossoming luv: that feeling of building romance, but with a strong desire to just get straight to the passionate peak of it.
I wanna cut through the clouds, break the ceiling
I wanna dance on the roof, you and me alone
I wanna cut to the feeling, oh yeah
I wanna cut to the feeling, oh yeah
I wanna play where you play with the angels
I wanna wake up with you all in tangles, oh
I wanna cut to the feeling, oh yeah
The song also just sounds like how that feels. Also, Carly Rae Jepsen is the greatest living musician. So. Also recommend by Carly Rae “I Really Like You” (self-explanatory with the title), “Run Away With Me, (this millennium’s best use of saxophone), and the classic “Call Me Maybe.”
6. Accidentally In Love by Counting Crows
We of course all know that all songs featured on the Shrek soundtrack are sacred artifacts, and also jams. Overshadowed by its sibling Shrek banger, “All Star,” it’s easy to forget the very jammable “Accidentally In Love.” But this makes a phenomenal song to holler alone in your car driving around and thinking about how much you’d like to kiss their stupid perfect face.
7. Take a Chance on Me by ABBA
It’s, scientifically speaking, impossible to be unhappy while listening to ABBA (unless it’s a sad ABBA song but you get what I mean) and therefore a song coaxing someone into taking a leap of faith into love and passion and happiness with that sweet ABBA groove is flawless. Like most ABBA songs, “Take a Chance on Me” has that headstrong unabashedness mixed with a sense of vulnerability that you just can’t get anywhere else.
8. Dream Boy by the Prettiots
This is one of those songs where the songwriters really just cut open the Teen Girl Heart and poured out the contents into a song, then backed it with ukulele.
Won’t you please just be perfect right away?
Not too nice or too mean and hopefully not gay?
Won’t you please just do everything right the first time
And know without me saying just exactly what’s on my mind
9. I Could Fall In Love With You by Selena
How could this list conclude with anything but the absolute slow jam of all silly crushes? Selena did not lilt out that perfect warble on the words “I could fall in lOoOove with YoOoOou” for us to not cry in the shower at one am thinking about how nice our crushes hands are.
And there we have it. Nine perfect bangers for your budding love story. Good luck, and be gentle with your heart.
Image sources: [thumbnail] [that gif literally right above this]