Pop chart-toppers, indie show-stoppers: The Day 6 music panel unpacks 2019's top hits

This year delivered a massive wave of incredible new music. 

We asked Day 6's music panelists to unpack some of the best songs of 2019, and to share their personal favourites. 

Here's what they had to say. 

Best new artist

J.S. Ondara

Growing up in Nairobi, J.S. Ondara was a huge Bob Dylan fan, Odario Williams, host of the CBC Music program Afterdark, told Day 6's Brent Bambury.

"When he scored a green card lottery to the United States, he chose Minneapolis to move to because Bob Dylan's from there," he said.

Ondara combines Kenyan flavour with a "rootsy, very earthy" sound, said Williams, who describes the singer-songwriter as a mix between Jack Johnson and Tracy Chapman.

"I just like the storytelling involved in it as well," he said.

Billie Eilish

This teen artist from Los Angeles has redefined what a popstar can be, while drawing from the golden age of songwriting, said Nate Sloan, musicologist and co-host of the podcast, Switched on Pop.

"Her lyrics have this kind of wit and dexterity that you would not expect from a 17-year-old," he said. "And the dark, minimalist kind of unclassifiable sound world that she and her brother Finneas create together seems like a really exciting new direction in music."

N0V3L

Melissa Vincent, consulting editor at BeatRoute, a Canadian magazine for music fans, calls this Vancouver-based group "urgent" and "fresh." But they're also a bit of a throwback.

"[It] reminds me of an era of early post-punk, where everybody had their sights set on the dance floor and disco wasn't the bogeyman," Vincent said. "It was something that could really collectivize listeners around something that, at its core, was designed to make people move."

Watch Vancouver-based band N0V3L's music video for To Whom It May Concern

Best sing-along track

Juice by Lizzo

"She just took the year over with her big, beautiful personality," said Williams, whose favourite lyric from the song is the opening line:

Mirror, mirror on the wall

Don't say it, 'cause I know I'm cute

Williams said, "I love it — just love it."

Grease Monkey by Uranium Club

"Grease Monkey is the most extraordinary and bizarre love song I think I've heard in a long time that really calls to attention our relationship with machines," Vincent told Day 6.

"A friend told me this really funny story about how they were just driving, and they were playing this album, and they had to turn off the song because it was too much — like there was too much going on that it was distracting them. 

"They had to pull over and kind of recalibrate afterwards."

STFU! by Rina Sawayama

Sloan says he sometimes turns the television on and thinks of this line from the song STFU! by Japanese-British artist Rina Sawayana:

'Have you ever thought about taping your big mouth shut? 

'Cause I have, many times, many times

"The way the song careens between, like, metal and these gentle textures, I just think it's a really unique blend," he said. "And I find it again very cathartic to sing along to."

Best 2019 album

Jaime by Brittany Howard

If you're looking for an album to inspire some deep, personal reflection, Williams recommends Jaime, the debut solo album from Alabama Shakes frontwoman and guitarist Brittany Howard.

"She wrote this record while doing some soul-searching. [She] and her partner decided to hit the road and just travel through America, and at the end of that travel, she wrote this album, and it's fantastic," Williams told Day 6. 

"It's a great travel companion, no doubt."

Reward by Cate Le Bon

Slightly "spooky," with a bit of a goth sound, Cate Le Bon's album Reward gets Vincent's vote for top album of 2019.

"I love the way that she tackles big themes on this album," Vincent said. "It's a compelling listen, but it's not a challenging one. And every guitar lick, every drumbeat, every horn section feels meticulously placed."

Ventura by Anderson .Paak

"It's like a tour through a half-century of music history," Sloan said, of the latest album from California artist Anderson .Paak. "There's appearances from Smokey Robinson, Lalah Hathaway, Brandy, André Benjamin from Outkast, and it's got a funky vibe and a political message."

More music we loved

Tomb Mold

Vincent says a major highlight of the year for her was seeing Toronto death metal band Tomb Mold "rising to the top of everybody's consciousness."

Toast by Koffee 

Williams describes Jamaican dance hall artist Koffee's song Toast as "an infectious tune I think everyone needs to hear."

All I Want For Christmas Is You, by Mariah Carey

Twenty-five years after the release of Mariah Carey's All I Want For Christmas Is You, the holiday tune has finally reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

"And I think that's something worth celebrating," said Sloan.

Listen to our panel's top picks in our playlist below

Click 'Listen' near the top of this page to hear the full conversation.