11 Feverish, Sweaty, Temperature Songs | Playlist 🎧

1. Zayn, “Sweat”

💿 Nobody is Listening • 🏷 RCA • 📅 2021

“Oh, drippin’ down your body like gold / Slowly steamin’ up the windows.” Damn, that’s sexy! That’s definitely the intent on 🎵 “Sweat,” a standout from 💿 Nobody is Listening, the third studio album by 🎙 Zayn.  Honestly, “Sweat” is indeed steamy enough to make any and everybody sweat.

What’s cool about this particular record is how it incorporates funky cues from the 80s while also sounding perfectly at home in 2021.  Vocals remain Zayn’s calling card, but he also doesn’t do too shabby in the personality department.  Of course, when sex is involved, personality comes pretty naturally, right?

Also appears on 🔽:

🔗 🎧 Sweat 😓💦: 3BOPS No. 8 (2021)

2. Peggy Lee, “Fever”

💿 Things are Swingin’ • 🏷 Capitol • 🗓 1959

“You give me fever when you kiss me / Fever when you hold me tight / Fever in the morning / Fever all through the night.” Back in the 1950s, sex was forbidden.  Okay, not literally, but it was a more conservative time – check out 📺 Happy Days for some perspective! Anyways, the raunchy nature of some of today’s music just wouldn’t have flown in the days of 🎙 Peggy Lee, period.  That said, anyone who listens to 🎵 “Fever” knows it’s about sex, or at least, that’s what the purported fever will lead to.  To be fair, Lee didn’t originally record it, but her version is the definitive version.

Why is Lee’s “Fever” so hot? Well, besides the fact that it is so suggestive, it’s also quite sultry.  Furthermore, there’s something about those finger snaps, that robust string bass, and the key modulations – feverish for sure! Clearly, the lyrics are risqué, particularly given the times.  It’s naughty and has little to do with “Fahrenheit or Centigrade” as the lyrics state. Today, lyrics like “Chicks were born to give you fever” or “Fever when you kiss them” wouldn’t faze us or make us bat an eye in the least.  But back then, it’s clear this song was quite, um, titillating.

3. Dua Lipa & Angèle, “Fever”

🎵 “Fever” • 🏷 Warner • 🗓 2020

“I’ve got a fever, so can you check? / Hand on my forehead, kiss my neck.” The more 🎙 Dua Lipa, the better! On the brief 🎵 “Fever”, she is joined by Belgian musician 🎙 Angèle. In addition to Dua Lipa and Angèle as writers, there’s a team comprised of 🎙 Caroline Ailin, 🎙 Ian Kirkpatrick, 🎙 Jacob Kasher Hindlin, and 🎙Julia Michaels. Kirkpatrick produces giving them a sleek backdrop to paint over.  The sound is fresh and modern.

Dua Lipa gets off to a great start, unleashing matters of the heart.  “Before you came around, I was doing just fine,” she asserts on the first verse, before she begins to ‘come down with that fever,’ highlighted on the chorus.  It’s not a literal fever of course, but rather, a love fever.  Angèle contrasts on the second verse, as well as the bridge, singing in French, which feels fitting on a love-centric joint like this one.  They join forces after the Angèle bridge, with Dua leading the charge.  Also, Dua contributes to the French lyrics on the outro.  All in all, “Fever” is a fun, well-rounded pop joint.

Also appears on 🔽:

🔗 🎧 Fever 🤒: 3BOPS Nr. 6

4. Sean Paul, “Temperature”

💿 The Trinity • 🏷 Atlantic • 🗓 2005

Back in the aughts (hard to believe it’s been that long ago already), 🎙 Sean Paul truly resurrected reggae into the mainstream. Between his 🏆 Grammy-winning, 2002 debut, 💿 Dutty Rock and his 2005 sophomore effort, 💿 The Trinity, Paul dropped some truly infectious, kick-a$$ reggae hits.  Sure, Dutty Rock was the best of those two albums, but The Trinity yielded the mega-hit that graces this fever-, sweat-, and temp-driven list, 🎵 “Temperature.”

“Well, woman the way the time cold, I wanna be keepin’ you warm
I got the right temperature fi shelter you from the storm.”

Clearly, the temperature that Sean Paul is referring to isn’t the same as what you have when you get a fever (No 💩, 🕵️‍♂️).  Instead, it’s ‘sexual temperature,’ which we all know exists! “Bumper exposed and gyal, ya got your chest out” may be in patois, but it’s clear Mr. Paul is referencing booty and breasts. Furthermore, his endeavors are made clear when he asserts, “Haffi test the mattress out.” Surely, there’s no need to spell out what’s going down on that mattress on this infectious, stimulating dancehall joint 👉👌.

5. Drake, “Teenage Fever”

💿 More Life • 🏷 Cash Money • 🗓 2017

“I met someone new last night and we kicked it / And I’m going back there tonight / And you know what’s on my mind, this time.” 🎵 “Teenage Fever” represents one of 🎙 Drake’s smoother moments on his playlist-album, 💿 More Life.  Drizzy sings about his feelings about her.  Obviously, the fever – much like 🎙 Peggy Lee’s 🎵 “Fever” – has nothing to do with “Fahrenheit or Centigrade.”

“Out of body
That’s just how I feel when I’m around you, shawty.”

Clearly, he’s infatuated, feeling ‘some type of way’ to the point he sings, “This shit feels like teenage fever.”  Again, Drizzy is NOT physically sick.  Horny mind you, but not physically sick.

Also appears on 🔽:

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🔗 🎧 Fever 🤒: 3BOPS Nr. 6

6. Tinashe, “Cold Sweat”

💿 Aquarius • 🏷 RCA • 📅 2014

“This pressure ain’t for everybody / Weighing so heavy on my body, body.” 🎵 “Cold Sweat” is a lengthy, moody, grinding cut on 💿 Aquarius, the debut album by R&B singer 🎙 Tinashe. Even at its subtlest, “Cold Sweat” has bite and grit.

The sound of the record is a bit nebulous, but the quality – this vibe –bodes well for her.  By the end, she truly projects her lovely, somewhat underrated instrument.

“Spine, shivers, eyes, met
Head, in it, heart, set
Cold, on my mind, yeah
Ice, drippin’, cold sweat.”

Also appears on 🔽:

🔗 🎧 12 Songs That Are Truly Cold

🔗 🎧 Sweat 😓💦: 3BOPS No. 8 (2021)

7. The Black Keys, “Fever”

💿 Turn Blue • 🏷 Nonesuch • 🗓 2014

🎵 “Fever” serves as a highlight from 💿 Turn Blue, the 2014 studio album by the 🏆 Grammy-winning rock duo, 🎙 The Black Keys. Set in a minor key, the “fever” of which 🎙 Dan Auerbach speaks is potentially ‘deadly,’ at least figuratively speaking: “Fever cause I’m breaking / Fever got me aching / Fever why don’t you explain? / Break it down again / Fever got me guilty / Just go ahead and kill me…”

If you didn’t gather the reference to a relationship from the onset, it is later confirmed poetically: “Now if the cold, pale, light in your eyes / Reaches those horizon lines / You know not to leave her…” Obviously love can be a five-letter word, but “Fever” is a different five-letter word – GREAT.  By the way, the lushness of that last chord iis awe-inspiring (and intentionally detuned).

Also appears on 🔽:

🔗 🎧 Fever 🤒: 3BOPS Nr. 6

8. Prince, “Black Sweat”

💿 3121 • 🏷 NPG / Legacy • 📅 2006

In the 00s, the late, great 🎙 Prince certainly ‘tone things down’ compared to his heyday.  Nonetheless, the ‘more mature’ version still managed to be high effective and quite sexy in numerous instances.  A prime example is 🎵 “Black Sweat,” the crowning achievement from his 2006 album, 💿 3121.  Both “Black Sweat” and 3121 itself were nominated for 🏆 Grammys at the 49^th Annual Grammy Awards, but failed to win.

Regardless, “Black Sweat” finds Prince being both ‘true to self’ and fitting in with the R&B sound of the aughts.  This is a sleekly produced, minimalist record, with the drum groove and synthesizer work standing out.  Above all, the biggest selling point is Purple One’s falsetto, which is ripe to the nth degree.  Throw in ample swagger and a simple but hella catchy chorus and “Black Sweat” easily ranks at the top of Prince’s later work.

Also appears on 🔽:

🔗 🎧 Sweat 😓💦: 3BOPS No. 8 (2021)

9. Bee Gees, “Night Fever”

💿 The Ultimate Bee Gees • 🏷 Barry Gibb / Capitol • 📅 2009

“And that sweet city woman / She moves through the night / Controlling my mind and my soul…” Those pre-chorus lyrics hail from the 🎙 Bee Gees classic, 🎵 “Night Fever.” “Night Fever,” most notably, was a key record from the 1977 film/soundtrack, 🎦 💿 Saturday Night Fever.  While the Gibb Brothers had success prior to the ascent of disco, but obviously, when you think ‘disco,’ they’re among the top acts that come to mind.

Focusing on “Night Fever,” like so many fever-fueled songs in general, it’s not about physical fever. This is all about the nightlife and ultimately ‘getting down’ in the sack.  “In the heat of our love / Don’t need no help for us to make it,” they sing, continuing, “Gimme just enough to take us to the mornin’.” Of course, the centerpiece of this groovy, 70s dance gem is the infectious, incredibly memorable chorus:

“Then I get night fever, night fever
We know how to do it
Gimme that night fever, night fever
We know how to show it.”

10. The All-American Rejects, “Sweat”

🎵 “Sweat” • 🏷 Interscope • 📅 2017

In 2017, the emo, punk-pop collective 🎙 The All-American Rejects, fronted by 🎙 Tyson Ritter, returned with two new singles: 🎵 “Sweat” and 🎵 “Close Your Eyes”. On “Sweat,” Ritter packs some punch vocally.  He still sounds boyish (even being 33 at the time), but also gives us some bite.  While the music has a laid-back quality on the verses, it gains steam on the chorus, which is expectedly catchy.

“Sweat! Sweat! Sweat!
I’m making you
Sweat! Sweat! Sweat!”

No, this isn’t a particular poetic joint – depth isn’t the modus operandi.  It does, however, suit the emo script.  See verse two:

“I’m not a basic dude
But I’m just a waste of you
I know it’s hard to face the music that I play to you
Like I’m dropping a bomb...”

Much of “Sweat” is predictable but that’s not necessarily a bad thing 👌.

11. James Brown, “Cold Sweat”

💿 Get on the Good Foot • 🏷 UMG Recordings • 📅 1972

“When you kiss me / When you miss me / Hold my hand / Make me understand / I break out – in a cold sweat.” Woo! 🎙 James Brown was definitely a vibe back in the day.  Guess what? The late, great icon is still a vibe today.  The man had countless hits including the incredibly sweaty 🎵 “Cold Sweat” from his 1972 album, 💿 Get on the Good Foot. The lyrics were always few, but the groove and the ‘funked-up’ arrangements were always on-point. “Cold Sweat, Pt. 1” represents another surefire bop for the Godfather of Soul.

Like most of the feverish, sweaty, temperature songs that grace this list, “Cold Sweat” is about love (and sex).  On the first verse, James Brown asserts, “I just want, our love to last,” later adding, “I just want to satisfy your pulse.” Interestingly, on the second verse, he shifts some of the focus to himself, singing, “I don’t care, about the way you treat me darling / I just want, you to understand me honey.” Also, worth noting, Brown drops an important shout out to his great saxophonist, 🎙 Maceo Parker.