11 Babe or Baby Songs Poised to Tickle Your Fancy | Playlist 🎧

11 Babe or Baby Songs Poised to Tickle Your Fancy features songs by Chappell Roan, Donna Summer, Lil Nas X, NLE Choppa, and Tommy Richman.  

Babes, are you ready? Ready for what, you ask? Why, the unveiling of 11 Babe or Baby Songs Poised to Tickle Your Fancy! The criterion is simple: each song must feature the word babe or baby in some form or fashion.  Naturally, many songs feature these nouns, so, 11 Babe or Baby Songs Poised to Tickle Your Fancy will have a follow-up musical compendium.  Until then, let’s dive into 11 Babe or Baby Songs Poised to Tickle Your Fancy which features songs by Chappell Roan, Donna Summer, Lil Nas X, NLE Choppa, and Tommy Richman. Oh, baby, baby, baby!

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1. Chappell Roan, “Good Luck, Babe!”

2. Tommy Richman, “MILLION DOLLAR BABY”

3. Ava Max, “Million Dollar Baby”

4. Cigarettes After Sex, “Baby Blue Movie”

5. George McCrae, “Rock Your Baby”

6. David Guetta, Anne-Marie, Coi Leray, “Baby Don’t Hurt Me”

7. Donna Summer, “Love to Love You Baby”

8. NLE Choppa, “Lick Me Baby”

9. Patti Austin, “Baby, Come To Me” (with James Ingram)

10. Lil Nas X & Jack Harlow, “INDUSTRY BABY”

11. Player, “Baby Come Back”

1. Chappell Roan, “Good Luck, Babe!”

“Good Luck, Babe!” // KRA International, Inc. / Island // 2024

“I don’t wanna call it off / But you don’t wanna call it love / You only wanna be the one that I call baby.” Chappell Roan is comfortable with her sexuality in her thrilling, breakout hit, “Good Luck, Babe!”.  Her girlfriend, however, is struggling with accepting her sexuality, complicating their relationship.  “You can say that we are nothing, but you know the truth,” Roan asserts in the first verse, adding, “And I guess I’m the fool.” Being queer in a heteronormative world can be tough, and Roan’s girlfriend didn’t reach a level of comfort. Roan paints the picture of the end of this relationship because of these unfair, unfortunate circumstances (“Think I’m gonna call it off / Even if you call it love / I just wanna love someone who calls me baby”). The damage has been done.  In the chorus, she wishes her luck suppressing her sexuality to fit the heterosexual narrative of the word:

“You can kiss a hundred boys in bars

Shoot another shot, try to stop the feeling

… Make another excuse, another stupid reason

Good luck, babe (Well, good luck).”

Roan, Justin Tranter, and producer, Dan Nigro composed this colorful, dynamic, meaningful, and thoughtful song.  The sound is alternative pop with a standard rhythm section, programming, and strings.  Chappell is an awesome singer who shows off the versatility of her instrument.  Most importantly, the epic “Good Luck, Babe!” addresses a prevalent issue within the LGBTQ+  🏳️‍🌈 community and how complicated same-sex relationships can be and dispels the myopic view/myth that queer relationships as merely sexual.

Appears in 🔻: 

• Chappell Roan, Good Luck, Babe!: Beaming with Pride 🏳️‍🌈 No. 32 (2024)
• 40 Best Songs of 2024 (So Far)
• Songs That Reference Coming Out, Vol. 3 🌈 (2024) 

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2. Tommy Richman, “MILLION DOLLAR BABY”

“MILLION DOLLAR BABY” // ISO Supremacy / PULSE // 2024

“Cause I wanna make it (so badly) / I’m a Million Dollar Baby (don’t at me).” WOO! “MILLION DOLLAR BABY” from Tommy Richman is a vibe from the opening tip.  The moment this sugar honey iced tea comes on, it is straight fire! It was produced by Max Vossberg, Jonah Roy, Mannyvelli, Sparkheem, and Kavi.  The production team kicks ass and takes names. The groove is infectious to the nth degree. Between it and the gimmicky ‘chopped and screwed’ vocals in the intro – “Do it, baby, do what I should think / Do it-do it, baby, do what I could think” – it gets you hype TF up!

Besides rad production, the melodies are infectious and tuneful. The lyrics are confident and fun. “I ain’t never rep a set baby / I ain’t do no wrong,” Richman sings (*raps melodically) in the chorus, continuing, “I could clean up good for you / Oh, I know right from wrong.” Richman’s vocal performance is intriguing.  His tone is ear-catching. He oozes with soul and swagger. A prime example of this swagger: “VA next (Yeah, yeah), I’m at they neck (Yeah, yeah) / I’m running up a check (Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah).” If you need a translation for what Richman’s saying, he’s saying his home state, Virginia, has got next. Tommy Richman ‘did the damn thang’ on “MILLION DOLLAR BABY”.

Appears in 🔻: 

• Bops That Pop: May 2024
• 40 Best Songs of 2024 (So Far)

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3. Ava Max, “Million Dollar Baby”

Diamonds & Dancefloors // Atlantic // 2023

“Million Dollar Baby” commences Diamonds & Dancefloors, the sophomore album by pop musician, Ava Max.  This slickly produced number (Cirkut, David Stewart, and LOSTBOY) that screams dancefloor.  Not only is it readymade for the club, but it also mentions those diamonds from the album title: “Diamonds / She turns tears to diamonds / Tryin’ / To find that silver linin’.” Max sings marvelously, imparting the tale of this miracle who, “Broke out of her chains, turned the fire into rain.” Judging by the lyrics, this girl has been through everything, and “got danger on her mind,” yet, again, she’s a “ma-ma-ma-ma… miracle.” ’ Fun songwriting, electrifying production, a catchy chorus, and awesome vocals from Max make “Million Dollar Baby” a surefire bop.

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4. Cigarettes After Sex, “Baby Blue Movie”

X’s // Spanish Prayers / Partisan // 2024

“Baby blue movie with always4tuesdays / And her love, Sarah, at Brooklyn House Hotel.” Greg Gonzalez and Cigarettes After Sex… where are you going with “Baby Blue Movie”? “Don’t you understand / Don’t you know the love that you wants all the love that you needed…” Hmm, thought-provoking.  The third single and seventh track from X’s is unique. Not straightforward, Gonzalez commented to The Line of Best Fit that the song’s story “is intentionally meant to be more cryptic storytelling wise than the lyrics I usually write.” I concur. First things first, a baby blue movie is softcore porn. There are two verses brief verses written similarly.  Notably, the pre-chorus and chorus feature more lyrics than the verses, which speaks to the nontraditional structure of “Baby Blue Movie.” Both the pre-chorus and chorus are memorable and tuneful. Gonzalez sings superbly from start to finish.  His cool, calm, and collected voice remains tried and true.  Also, the instrumental – the sound of the record – is marvelous.  Clocking in at over four minutes, “Baby Blue Movie” is so hypnotic and mesmerizing that it’s finished before you know it.  Even if it takes some decoding and deciphering, Cigarettes After Sex released another intriguing, worthwhile song.

Appears in 🔻: 

• Bops That Pop: June 2024
• 13 Marvelous MOVIE Songs (2024)

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5. George McCrae, “Rock Your Baby”

Rock Your Baby // Rhino Entertainment // 1974

“Woman / Take me in your arms / Rock your baby.”  Sometimes, it takes only one big hit to cement a musical legacy. For George McCrae, it is his influential, no. 1 hit, “Rock Your Baby”.  “Rock Your Baby” is, indeed, “smooth like butter” – perfect for the dance floors back in the day.  Even though disco isn’t the sensation in the 2020s that it was the 1970s, “Rock Your Baby” still feels like a slice of dance music heaven 😇.  Notably, this record influenced one of the most iconic disco songs of all time: “Dancing Queen” by ABBA.  That alone tells you that Mr. McCrae had it going on 💪!

Supported by that celestial instrumental, it also helps that McCrae has an angelic instrument on his hands.  His voice is stunning.  He never forces things or over sings.  What he serves up is just right – cool, calm, and collected.  Like “I Get Lifted” from his 1974 album, Rock Your Baby, Richard Finch and Henry Wayne Casey (KC) – members of the legendary KC & The Sunshine Band – wrote and produced the track. “Yeah! Hold me tight / With all your might / Now, let your lovin’ flow / Real sweet and slow.” Ooh la-la, George! “Rock Your Baby” remains the sugar honey iced tea to this day!

Appears in 🔻: 

• George McCrae, Rock Your Baby: Dance Gemz 🕺 💎 🎶 No. 8 (2023)
• Incredible Songs: 1970s, Vol. 2 (2023)
• 13 Songs That Totally ROCK 🤘 (2023)

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6. David Guetta, Anne-Marie, Coi Leray, “Baby Don’t Hurt Me”

“Baby Don’t Hurt Me” // Warner Music UK Limited // 2023

Question: “What is love?” That is a deep, deep question.  Back in 1993, Haddaway had an incredible song about it: “What Is Love”.  Well, 30 years after the Haddaway classic, David Guetta, Anne-Marie, and Coi Leray sample it on their collaborative single, “Baby Don’t Hurt Me”.  Anne-Marie (singing) and Coi Leray (rapping) handle the vocal duties on this dance-pop cut.  Meanwhile, Guetta, alongside Toby Green, and Mike Hawkins handles the production.  The backdrop is slick as you’d expect, with the beat and rhythmic synths thriving. Even though “What is Love” fuels the chorus of the song (performed by Anne-Marie), there are also original lyrics. Anne-Marie performs the first verse, pre-chorus, chorus, and during the drop.  The love – well, mostly the sex – is lit. The love is sus – a bit sketchy – judging by the lyrics.  Coi Leray takes a similar approach, focusing on the sexual endeavors, asserting, “On my body, he givin’ me kisses / I’m wet when I’m with him, I pop it like Adderall.”  Day-um, girl! Both ladies make their modus operandi crystal clear, propelled by an ear-catching backdrop. All in all, “Baby Don’t Hurt Me” is an enjoyable dance/pop joint.  Is it the second coming? No, but it doesn’t need to be either.  Guetta remains a great producer.  The decision to sample Haddaway was a smart one.  Anne-Marie does her thing, while Coi Leray takes it even more risqué.  Won’t change lives but should give a playlist – particularly the sex playlist – a spark.

Appears in 🔻:

• 13 Songs Filled with HURT (2024)

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7. Donna Summer, “Love to Love You Baby”

Love to Love You Baby // UMG Recordings, Inc. // 1975

“Ah, I love to love you baby.” One of the sexiest records of all time belongs to the late, great Donna Summer.  Keeping it real, “Love to Love You Baby” (Love to Love You Baby, 1975) is the musical equivalent of an orgasm.  Affirming the musical orgasm are prevalent sensual moans by Summer, sure to turn anyone on.  Couple those moans with that killer, rhythmic hi-hat, and “Love to Love You Baby” is the perfect soundtrack to a lit sexual encounter.  While the song avoids explicitness lyrically, it remains risqué to date. It’s the moans where Summer perfectly stimulates superb ‘lovemaking.’ Lyrically, there aren’t many words, but Summer makes them worthwhile, painting a lustful picture.  “When you’re laying so close to me / There’s no place I’d rather you be / Than with me,” she sings calmly and coolly in the first verse.  She turns up the heat on the second, asserting, “Do it to me again and again / You put me in such an awful spin.” Oh, the power of the D… Those signature moans, she’d make anybody blush!

Appears in 🔻: 

• Donna Summer, Love to Love You Baby: After Dark 🕛 🌃 No. 36 (2021)
• 21 Songs About the Universal, 3-Letter Word, SEX (2022)
• 15 Must-Hear, Throwback Vibez, Vol. 4 (2022)

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8. NLE Choppa, “Lick Me Baby”

Me vs. Me // NLE Choppa Entertainment Inc. / Warner // 2022 

“Climb on this dick, know it’s a long journey, but it’s yo’ throne.” Oh, snap, NLE Choppa (Bryson Potts)! He’s packing! The Memphis, Tennessee rapper is not shy when it comes to sex (see “SLUT ME OUT” and “SLUT ME OUT 2”). On his 2022 album, Me vs. Me, he aggressively encouraged her to “Lick Me Baby”.  The 16^th and penultimate track was produced by Johnny Goldstein.  Potts is backed by a dramatic, minor key backdrop, anchored by a banging, ill beat.

“I want you to lick me, baby (Want you to lick me, baby, brrt)

This dick make you crazy (Make you crazy, brrt)

And don’t you tempt me, baby (Tempt me, baby, brrt)

‘Cause this Glock ain’t got safety (Glock ain’t got safety, brrt)”

The chorus sums up NLE Choppa’s desires and thinking with his penis. The horny rhymes run rampant on “Lick Me Baby.”  The first verse alone has no shortage of inches – I mean, sexed-up lyrics! “Lick me, fuck me, touch me, suck me, slut me (Slut me),” he spits, adding, that he’s “Addicted to pussy, I am a druggie (I am a druggie) / Dark skin, sweet on the inside, my nutty buddy (Mwah).”  He also implores her to “Fuck me slow, ride me on a ten-speed like we on the road / I’m ‘bout to blow, she let me paint her face like Picasso.” At least the sex is artistic.  The second verse is also dirty. He memorably spells: “L-I-C-K M-E B-A-B-Y / F-U-C-K M-E L-A-D-Y.” What a breakdown, Mr. Potts!  And, for good measure (and he measures more than adequately, per his earlier rhymes), “Can you lick me? Suck on me like a New York glizzy / Pull out and then I nutted on her titties / She told me nut up in her, then I told her bitch, please.” “Lick Me Baby” is NSFW through and through.  It’s also not the least bit deep.  NLE Choppa is bricked up, or at least that’s what he’s giving on this sex-positive (but non-baby-making) joint.

Appears in 🔻:

• NLE Choppa, Lick Me Baby: Midnight Heat 🕛 🔥 70 (2024)
• 11 Thrilling, Unapologetic Lick Songs (2024)

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9. Patti Austin, “Baby, Come To Me” (with James Ingram)

Every Home Should Have One // Craft Recordings. / Concord // 1981

“Baby, come to me / Let me put my arms around you / This was meant to be / And I’m, oh, so glad I found you.” Patti Austin (1950 – ) duetted with the late, great James Ingram (1952 – 2019) on “Baby, Come To Me”.  “Baby, Come To Me” appeared as the fifth track from Austin’s album, Every Home Should Have One, released in December 1981. “Baby…” initially debuted on the pop charts in 1982, but didn’t reach its peak position, no. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, until February 1983.  What propelled it? Playing as the soundtrack to a legendary soap opera: General Hospital. The Rod Temperton-penned / Quincy Jones-produced gem is Austin’s only top 40 hit. She charted four other songs on the pop charts. Her second-highest entry was a second duet with Ingram, “How Do You Keep The Music Playing” which peaked at no. 45.  Although Austin would eventually win a Grammy, “Baby, Come To Me” wasn’t nominated – “How Do You Keep The Music Playing” was nominated instead, and lost.

The instrumental introduction of “Baby, Come To Me” sets the tone for the song.  “Baby” benefits from classy, smooth, adult contemporary R&B production.  The accompaniment comprises warm electric keys, a prominent, robust bass line, a sickening groove, picturesque synths, and strings.  Celestial! The first voice heard is Patti Austin.  She serves up smooth and sultry vocals.  Her tone is exquisite.  She never breaks a sweat.  James Ingram sings alongside Austin during the chorus.  He takes the reins in the second verse. His tone, like Austin’s, is warm, but also, grittier and more dynamic.  In the second chorus, the vocal chemistry is sweet. His falsetto and ad-libs catch the ears. The commanding bridge is performed by both artists, starting with Ingram followed by Austin.  Patti lets loose more in the third iteration of the chorus with a freer vocal.  Besides elite performances by Austin and Ingram, the songwriting is elite too.  The harmonic progression stands out throughout. The change of key scheme during the chorus keeps the listener engaged. Lyrically, matters of the heart never grow old, with the chorus yielding the most memorable lyrics. Excerpted earlier, the chorus continues:

“Need you every day
Gotta have your love around me
Baby, always stay
‘Cause I can’t go back to livin’ without you.”

Patti Austin, assisted by James Ingram, delivered a tour de force with “Baby, Come To Me”.  This song never grows old.

Appears in 🔻:

• Patti Austin, Baby, Come To Me: Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 146 (2024)

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10. Lil Nas X & Jack Harlow, “Industry Baby”

MONTERO // Columbia // 2021

“I ain’t fall off, I just ain’t release my new shit.” Anyone who thought that Lil Nas X would be a one-hit-wonder was tripping.  The Grammy-winning, unapologetic, openly gay pop artist has been ‘eating it up’ throughout his career.  He kills it on “INDUSTRY BABY” ( MONTERO), collaborating with red hot rapper Jack Harlow. Harlow doesn’t lie when he asserts, “I didn’t peak in high school, I’m still out here gettin’ cuter”). Lil Nas X and Jack Harlow on the same track? Magical. How about throwing in the production genius of Take A Daytrip and Kanye West?  The sound of the record is epic with hard-hitting drums and bright, accented brass.  Unsurprisingly, samples shape the backdrop, which fuels both artists.  I love the sheer confidence of Nas as well as the fact he doesn’t shy away from who he is: “I don’t fuck bitches, I’m queer, hah / But these niggas bitches like Madea, yeah, yeah, yeah, ayy.” Harlow gets his in too, beyond the ‘cute’ line cited earlier: “I sent her back to her boyfriend with my handprint on her ass cheek.” Damn, Jack!  “INDUSTRY BABY” is one of the best songs of Lil Nas X’s career, PERIOD. A shame that the eighth-best song of 2021 didn’t win the Grammy for Best Melodic Rap Performance at the 64^th Annual GRAMMY Awards.

Appears in 🔻: 

• Awesome Songs: July 2021
• An Alphabet of Random Songs (2021)
• Best Songs of 2021: Top 20 

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11. Player, “Baby Come Back”

Player // Universal Music Operations Limited // 1977

“Baby come back, any kind of fool could see / There was something in everything about you.” Soft rock band Player is best known for “Baby Come Back”. “Baby Come Back” appears as the second track on the band’s 1977, self-titled album. The unforgettable chorus continues, “Baby come back, you can blame it all on me / I was wrong, and I just can’t live without you.” Word. “Baby” reached no. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was penned by J.C. Crowley (keys, backing vocals) and Peter Beckett (lead vocals, electric guitar).  Dennis Lambert and Brian Potter produced it. 

The instrumental is one of many selling points. The record features an electrifying drum groove (John Friesen), robust bass line (Ronn Moss), and smooth keys (Crowley).  The guitar sounds marvelous too, with the best moments occurring during the chorus where the volume is turned up, as well as a lit solo that concludes the song. Over the silky smooth, lush instrumental, Becket delivers compelling, nuanced lead vocals. Throughout the verses, he maintains his composure, never over-singing. Matters of the heart dominate. “But when the morning comes, I’m right back where I started again / And tryin’ to forget you is just a waste of time,” he sings in the first, echoing the sentiment in the second, “But as the sun goes down, I get that empty feeling again / How I wish to God that you were here.” In the chorus, which is tuneful to the nth degree, he’s assisted by epic, harmonized backing vocals (Crowley and Moss). With such elite verses and a chorus for all ages, fittingly, there’s a change of pace during the bridge section. With a diverse harmonic progression and separating itself from everything that precedes it, the bridge makes the song even better. “Baby Come Back” is one of those timeless rock classics where the music speaks for itself.

Appears in 🔻:

• Player, Baby Come Back: Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 61 (2024)

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11 Babe or Baby Songs Poised to Tickle Your Fancy (2024) [📷: Brent Faulkner / The Musical Hype; Atlantic, Columbia, Concord, Craft Recordings., Island, ISO Supremacy, KRA International, Inc., NLE Choppa Entertainment Inc., Partisan, PULSE, Rhino Entertainment, Spanish Prayers, UMG Recordings, Inc., Universal Music Operations Limited, Warner; Wendel Natan from Pexels]