... and in case embedding doesn't work, here's the direct link instead.
Prayer and a Bible - Megan Woods
As always I have to start off this list with a recommendation from Simon as he always sends me links to the best songs. I think this might be my favourite of his recommendations this year. It's not my usual fare, but it's just got a certain charm that I can't resist.
And I found healin' / In those ancient words of wisdom
I found what I was missin' / Livin' on a prayer and a Bible
Buzzkill - Lanie Gardner
I have absolutely no memory of how I came across this song, but I love its energy. I think I heard it in a TV series, and immediately used soundhound to add it to my list ... but my google skills are coming up short, so it might just have been that I heard it on the radio instead.
Take Me to Church - Hozier
So, I've been living under a rock, and only actually heard this song this year. A good friend of mine would quote it whenever I mentioned going to church on a given Sunday, and I had NO idea what he was talking about ... until I suddenly heard it on TikTok one day, and went "Oh ... OH!!!"
... so now I tease him that I automatically think of him whenever I hear it ;-)
Affirmation - Savage Garden
Before we left for New Zealand, Henriette and I made a joint playlist to listen to on our long drives. We ended up vastly underestimating how long time we'd spend in the car, and probably listened to it 6 or 7 times all the way through! This was one of Henriette's additions, and I'm back in the car, driving through gorgeous scenery whenever I listen to it.
idk - Allison Eide
A random TikTok find, but I was instantly hooked. It's got a good rhythm, and I really like the message. I might not know the answers to everything - but I know the one who'll see me through it all.
The Life of a Showgirl - Taylor Swift, Sabrina Carpenter
Taylor Swift seems to be a bit hit-and-miss for me, but every now again she releases a song that I just can't resist. I don't know that I would even have heard this, if it hadn't been for a friend sending me the spotify link, but for awhile there we'd constantly quote it to each other, and now it's just a firm part of my 2025 soundtrack.
I'm Always Talking to Jesus - Newsong
Another recommendation from Simon, and one where I actually want to be able to say "I'm in this picture and I
I'm always talking to Jesus / And He's always talking to me
A comfort again and again / Oh, what a friend
He's always listening
I'm always talking to Jesus / Telling him all of my troubles
I know: wherever I go, I'm not alone / He always hears me
New Heart - Crash Adams
Another song I found thanks to TikTok - I first heard the version where Sophie Powers freestyled a rap as one of the verses, and that version is still my favourite, but unfortunately not available on Spotify. It is ridiculously catchy, and I get the chorus stuck in my mind at the drop of a hat ... but I love it all the same.
A Feeling We Can't Hide - Lyra Vesperi
Simon introduced me to Lyra just a few months ago, and I immediately fell in love. The music is so catchy, and could easily work as a soundtrack to a cartoon I used to read as a child ("Elverfolket" to any other Danes out there). I had a VERY hard time deciding which song to choose, and could just as easily have picked "Dance Upon the Green", "Your Only World" or "An Oath Made in Ale" but ended with this one, as it's the one that most consistently has me tapping my foot in response.
Goodbye Yesterday - Elevation Rhythm & Gracie Binion
We sang this at Arc Church Copenhagen the Sunday my sisters and I visited, and I couldn't get it out of my head afterwards. You rescued me out of the mess I was in
You traded my sorrow for something to sing
Now, I'm dancin' on the grave that I once lived in
Free Like - Maddie & Tae
This has almost the same vibe to it as "Shoot Tequilla" by Tigirlily Gold which was on my list a few years ago. Instant add :-D
Dusty Bible - The River Sons
Another recommendation from Simon. In fact, there were quite a number of songs I could have added by The River Sons, but this one ended up being my favourite. Even when we stop talking to him, God is never far away - "he just sits idle".
Like Jesus - Ross King
I have a feeling Simon is even more heavily represented on this list than usual X-D Because yes, this is a recommendation from him too. The lyrics by themselves instantly earned them an inclusion on this list.
wanna be like Him when He tells the Pharisees the depth of their own sin
But I don't really wanna be like Jesus, later
When He dies for them
I refuse to pick and choose / The parts of Jesus that are easiest to bow down to
And I won't use / His name in vain to prove
Who I want Him to be / That's just idolatry
I wanna be like Jesus
I don't want Him to be like me
DON'T - LØLØ
Okay, first of all - WHAT is up with English-speaking people using Ø instead of O??? I've seen it so many places, and it makes me roll my eyes every time. Ø is its own letter with its own sound, people!!! It's not just a fancy way of writing O.
... Aaaaaaanyways ...
A random TikTok find that immediately appealled to me. Weirdly enough the singer reminds me a LOT of the actress who plays the mother in "How I Met Your Mother".
God of Promises - Newsboys
I've loved Newsboys ever since I first discovered them back in 1996. I even got to hear them in concert at a music festival in New Zealand. So I'm always pleased when I see that they release something new.
I See a Light - We Are Messengers
Picking just one song by We Are Messengers was hard y'all!! At one point I think I had four or five contenders. But "Joy Comes in the Morning" has always been one of my go-to comforts, so at the end of the day, I knew this song had to make the cut.
When the night comes / Hope is still bright.
Tears may fall in the evening / But joy comes in the light.
Matter to You - We Are Messengers
... I couldn't stick to just one though. The entire album "Where the Joy Is" is worth a listen, but these were my two favourites. Once again these songs come curtesy of Simon, which I guess comes as a surprise to absolutely nobody ;-)
All I really want is to matter to you.
Close - We Are Messengers
I know, I know!!! But you guys, the lyrics to this one!!! This is a longer quote than I usually add, but give it a read anyways.
God, You know the the tears I've cried / And the times I couldn't breathe
Oh, You never left my side / So I rest here at Your feet
I know You're working all things for my good / In the way that only You could
Maybe the why just don't matter / What if it's not for me to know
Maybe the point is just to trust You / Find the faith to let it go
Cause sometimes falling feels like flying / It's the only way I know
So I won't hurry through the heartache / If it's what it takes
To draw me close
Make America Danish - Maximillian Tee
I kept wavering about whether or not to add this song - another TikTok find, made popular in the beginning of the year, when Trump first started talking about purchasing Greenland. It somehow seemed too silly to deserve a place on this list ... but honestly, isn't silly exactly what we need sometimes?
Forget fast food, we're bringing the charm
Butter cookies and Carlsberg on every farm
Make America Danish, it's time to reboot.
Redesign the White House, make it cute
God Is With Us - The Afters
Simon sent this to me waaaay back in January, and I immediately teared up when reading the lyrics - but had no idea how much they would come to mean to me. The message is much the same as "Closer" by We Are Messengers, so I considered only adding one of them - but they approach it so differently, so in the end, I had to include both.
Where is God in the heartache?
Where is God in the fear?
Where is God when it hurts so bad that you can't hold back the tears?
Where is God in the sickness that the prayers didn't fix?
When it don't make sense, where is God in all of this?
Haven't we all had times where we ponder this question?
He is right here where He's always been
He never left, and He never will
Where is God?
God is with us
He is right hеre where Hе's always been
It's where He'll be 'til the very end
Where is God?
God is with us
Lost in the Weeds - Christian Music Creations
Changing music styles completely. I don't know if it's quite right to call this 'country', but it's definitely more country'ish than I usually listen to, yet there is something about it that just appeals to me.
I was lost in the weeds / but you found me there.
The Carousel Waltz - Richard Rodgers
And finally, a bit of an unusual addition as I don't often include classical music here. But thanks to a friend of mine, I fell in love with this arrangement over the year, and thought it a fitting conclusion to my playlist.
