TuneZest

The long-awaited day is finally here—Happy Spotify Wrapped Day, everyone! This year's wait has felt longer than ever, and I know many of you, myself included, have faced some frustration. Wrapped was released later than in previous years, with minimal updates from Spotify about its release date. But at last, it’s here! I’m excited to share my Top 100 playlist with you all, along with my highlights and reflections on how my listening habits have shaped up this year. It’s clear that my music choices this year have been fueled by nostalgia, pop princess anthems, and a whole lot of repeat plays from previous years. Chappell Roan dominated my playlist with a whopping nine entries. This is especially impressive considering her relatively small catalog of 15 major releases, spanning The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess and her standout single, “Good Luck Babe,” which claimed my top spot. For me, her music soundtracked some of the year’s best moments—club nights with friends, living ro...

In the Wee Small Hours is the ninth album released by Frank Sinatra. Featuring arrangements by Nelson Riddle, it was released in April 1955—the same year that Elvis Presley experienced his first concert riot, Chuck Berry recorded his debut single, and Etta James released her debut album. At the time, Sinatra was entering his 40s, and his fan base had begun to dwindle. The second season of The Frank Sinatra Show flopped, leading to its cancellation. Sinatra was entering a dark period in his life. While recording this album, his marriage to his first wife, Nancy Barbato, ended, and his tumultuous relationship and eventual marriage to Ava Gardner suffered, with both struggling with jealousy over extramarital affairs. Sinatra referred to this work as "The Ava Album" because its themes centered on loss and hope amidst a crumbling relationship. Sinatra envisioned In the Wee Small Hours as a cohesive album rather than a collection of singles, which was the norm at the time. Drawi...