13 Captivating Songs That are Alive & Well | Playlist 🎧

13 Captivating Songs That are Alive & Well features Beyoncé, Kanye West, Moses Sumney, Sia & Years & Years.

Question: Are you feeling

 🎵 “Dead Inside”, 🎙 Muse? If so, this latest compendium is sure to make you not only ALIVE, but ALIVE and WELL.  That’s right, in the 66^th musical compendium released in the year of our lord, 2022 on The Musical Hype, being ALIVE is key 🔑.  How so? Well, every song on 🎧 13 Captivating Songs That are Alive & Well features the word, ALIVE – duh!

Worth noting, five of the songs from 🎧 13 Captivating Songs That are Alive & Well are reprised from the miniature list, Alive: 5ive Songs No. 36 (2022). Of course, there are plenty more ALIVE songs where that come from.  Some of the musicians contributing to this ‘alive and well’ affair include 🎙 Beyoncé, 🎙 Kanye West, 🎙 Moses Sumney, 🎙 Sia, and 🎙 Years & Years among others. So, prepare to be rejuvenated – fully alive, well, and thriving – after checking out 🎧 13 Captivating Songs That are Alive & Well!

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1. Sia, “Alive”

💿 This Is Acting • 🏷 RCA • 📅 2016

“I was born in a thunderstorm / I grew up overnight,” 🏆 Grammy-nominated pop singer/songwriter 🎙 Sia sings on 🎵 “Alive”. She adds, “I played alone, I played on my own / I survived.” Sigh, sometimes, we must fight through adversity.  “I saw my life in a stranger’s face,” she asserts in the second verse, “And it was mine.” Wow.  In this powerful highlight from 💿 This Is Acting (2016), Sia expresses her story of survival even with the odds stacked firmly against her (“I had a one-way ticket to a place where all the demons go / Where the wind don’t change / And noting in the ground can ever grow”). The authenticity is pronounced and quite relatable, all told.

Sia, known for her sharp pen, gets some assistance in the songwriting department.  She wrote this uplifting, second track from This Is Acting alongside 🎼 ✍ Adele (!) and 🎼 ✍ Tobias Jesso Jr.  From the production end of things, 🎛 Jesse Slatkin helps to construct a powerful backdrop fitting for Sia’s distinct, commanding pipes.  Those pipes shine brightest on the simple but fitting chorus.  Here, Sia asserts, “I’m still breathing, I’m still breathing / I’m alive, I’m alive.”  It’s this resilience, despite many misadventures, trials, and tribulations, that makes “Alive” so puissant.

Appears in 🔻:

• Sia, “Alive”: Music Lifts 🎶 🏋 2 (2022)
• Alive: 5ive Songs No. 36 (2022)

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2.Beyoncé, “Be Alive (Original Song from the Motion Picture “King Richard”)”

🎵 “Be Alive (Original Song from the Motion Picture “King Richard”)” • 🏷 Parkwood / Columbia• 📅 2021 

“It feels so good to be alive / Got all my family by my side…”  🏆 Grammy-winning R&B/pop singer 🎙 Beyoncé rarely (if ever) disappoints – she’s a cultural icon.  Once more, the highly respected, highly decorated musician ‘brings the heat’ on 🎵 “Be Alive,” an original song from the motion picture,  King Richard (yeah, the movie that starred 🎭 Will Smith, which he won an 🏆 Academy Award for but also slapped Chris Rock). Beyoncé deservingly earned an 🏆 Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song though ultimately lost to 🎙 Billie Eilish and 🎙 FINNEAS – the James Bond song frequently wins, if you haven’t noticed.

Focusing on “Be Alive,” Beyoncé serves up powerful lead vocals. She’s commanding but in total control, never growing overwrought.  As impressive as her lead vocals are, what about those glorious, harmonized vocals? I love the warmth of her tone that’s introduced at the beginning. In the intro, she prefaces the eventual chorus, which is memorable and quite tuneful.  The chorus, excerpted above, continues as follows:

“…Couldn’t wipe this black off if I tried

That’s why I lift my head with pride

Now we’re sitting on top of the world again, huh.”

In the verses, Beyoncé focuses on fighting and working hard to attain success – it wasn’t easy and wasn’t absent adversity.  Also, like many of Yoncé most recent songs, there’s clearly a sense of black achievement and black excellence.  One other note. Superb production work, courtesy of 🎛 Dixson who co-writes, provides the perfect palette for Beyoncé to sing over. Take one listen to “Be Alive” and you won’t question why it was nominated for an 🏆 Oscar.

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3. Kanye West, “Keep My Spirit Alive” (Ft. Westside Gunn, & Conway the Machine)

💿 Donda • 🏷 Def Jam • 🗓 2021

“More than anything / You can take it all, but the Lord on my side,” Kanye West sings in the chorus of 🎵 “Keep My Spirit Alive,” a welcome moment from his 10^th studio album, 💿 Donda. He continues, singing, “Spirit won’t die, die / Oh, oh, my life / Is in Hands, so I don’t stress, I pray and strategize.” “Keep My Spirit Alive” appears as the 16^th track on the 27-track juggernaut.  The 🏆 Grammy-winner is joined by two of his contemporaries: 🎙 Westside Gunn, and 🎙 Conway the Machine.

“Keep My Spirit Alive” is produced by West, with plenty additional cooks in the kitchen:  🎛 BoogzDaBeast, 🎛 Ojivolta, 🎛 FNZ, 🎛 Dem Jointz, 🎛 Rico Nichols, and 🎛 Darius Woodley – WOO! Westside Gunn (“Hundred-round drum didn’t jam when my shooter tried to spray it, thank God (Thank God)”) and Conway the Machine (“No weapon formed against me ‘cause I’m covered in the blood / Layin’ in the hospital when I got shot, fam”) don’t disappoint, dropping the first and second verses respectively. In addition to his melodic chorus, West appears in the third verse. During that verse, he alludes to 🎦 Black Panther and God’s mercy, omniscience, and wonder-working power (“Give it all to God and let Jesus reimburse you”). Amen!

Appears in 🔻:

• Alive: 5ive Songs No. 36 (2022)
• Keep: 5ive Songs No. 37 (2022)

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4. Rae Sremmurd, “Look Alive”

💿 SremmLife 2 • 🏷 Universal Music • 🗓 2016

“I’m so far out of sight / Yeah that sounds about right / Kill this cup, not my vibe / Be the highlight of my night.” Need a chilled-out banger? 🎙 Rae Sremmurd tend to excel in this department, led by the mellow 🎙 Swae Lee.  Of course, his more assertive bro, 🎙 Slim Jxmmi deserves credit too.  Still, on 🎵 “Look Alive” from the 2014 album 💿 SremmLife 2, it is Lee’s hook that makes the gem.

The hook continues as follows:

“Look alive, look alive

We can start with something light

I can get you so right

I just need an invite.”

Slow and chill, that infectious hook that latches the first time you hear it – best part of the whole song. Adding to the allure is awesome production work courtesy of 🎛 Mike WiLL Made-It and 🎛 Shod. They definitely set the boys up for mad success.

Appears in 🔻:

• 13 LOOK Songs Totally Worth Listening To
• Alive: 5ive Songs No. 36 (2022)

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5. blackbear, “half alive”

💿 everything means nothing • 🏷 Beartrap, LLC / Alamo / Interscope • 📅 2020

“I’m driving through Mulholland / Wish I’d swerved and never fallen / Shoulda seen right through the gap between her thighs.”  Woo! Suffering from heartbreak, the pain that🎙 blackbear is experiencing is the listener’s gain throughout the course of his 2020 album, 💿 everything means nothing. Despite his unfortunate experience on 🎵 “half alive,” the song represents one of the grooviest blackbear joints to date.  The rhythmic, soulful ‘disco’ guitars add additional spirit – some S-P-U-N-K.

Even so, our tatted-up singer is still all messed up by love. “Take my heart, my clothes / Take everything I own,” he sings in the pre-chorus, later adding, “Lay me down to rest / Lay me down to die / No one makes it out alive.” Yes, there’s some tempo and danceable vibes propelling blackbear, but his heart continues to be heavy.  Furthermore, he’s wasted AF – a coping mechanism revealed on the centerpiece, the chorus:

“I’m at the bar downtown

The one we used to go to all of the time

Already halfway dead

The way you left me, girl, I’m half alive

… I was super drunk, I was hella high

I’m at the bar downtown

The one we used to go to all of the time

And I’m half alive.” 

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6. STRFKR, “While I’m Alive”

💿 Miracle Mile • 🏷 Polyvinyl • 📅 2013 

“Just keep telling myself to live my life alive / Like everything else just keep on breathing and live.” There are no misses on the very enjoyable 💿 Miracle Mile. 🎵 “While I’m Alive” opens the 2013, third full-length LP by indie-pop/indie-electronic band, 🎙 STRFKR (formerly Starfucker), strongly. It’s safe to say that 🎙 Josh Hodges, 🎙 Shawn Glassford, 🎙 Keil Corcoran, and 🎙 Patrick Morris bring the heat.

“While I’m alive

I live my life

While I’m alive

The colours and the sound

While I’m alive

I live my life

While I’m alive.”

“While I’m Alive” sports an irresistible, danceable groove.  Electronic cues sweeten things while the soulful guitar is the ‘cherry on top.’  Catchy and well written, the theme of “While I’m Alive” is getting past the past, broken relationships, and, of course, living “while I’m alive.”

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7. Rick Ross, “Made It Out Alive” (Ft. Blxst)

💿 Richer Than I Ever Been • 🏷 Epic • 📅 2021

💿 Richer Than I Ever Been marks the 11^th studio album by 🏆 Grammy-nominated rapper, 🎙 Rick Ross. On the eighth track from the album, 🎵 “Made it Out Alive,” things are more melodic compared to much of the LP.  Ross is joined by 🎙 Blxst. 

Unlike 🎵 “Can’t Be Broke” which precedes, 🎵 “Made it Out Alive,” features more rhymes from Rick Ross, which is always a pro. Blxst delivers the soulful, real-talk chorus, a nice complement to the bars by Rick on the first and second verses.

“Remember all them nights we didn’t have no lights

Tryna be a star, I had to earn my stripes

Took a wrong turn, had to make it right

Don’t cry ‘cause I made it out alive…”

As for Ross’ flow, it is on-point; agile, hard-nosed, and vintage (“Negativity grow like weeds in the flowerbed / Seen Gs turn into fiends, get a thousand years / Amphetamines, the meth told on a nigga steps / Everybody turnin’ state, be careful what you rep.”) Woo!

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8. Years & Years, “Make It Out Alive”

💿 Night Call • 🏷 Polydor • 📅 2022

On 🎵 “Make It Out Alive,” the penultimate record from 💿 Night Call, synth-pop collective 🎙 Years & Years is on the struggle bus.  Well, specifically, 🎙 Olly Alexander, the sole remaining member of the British collective.  In “Make It Out Alive,” Alexander struggles to get past an ex.

While “Make It Out Alive” sounds bright, set in a major key, lyrically, it’s incredibly emotional.  Olly’s feeling for his ex-bf consumes him, and he doesn’t know how he gets past this. “All I ever see is blue / You are so hypnotisin’,” he sings in the second verse, adding, “The color of your eyes, I’ll never get over you.” The chorus sums up his feelings and the overall sentiment, perfectly:

“Every word twists like a knife

And I’m left here high and dry

I don’t know if I’ll make it out alive

And I’m pushin’ it to the edge

‘Cause I just want to forget

I don’t know if I’ll make it out alive.”

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9. Bazzi, “Young & Alive”

🎵 “Young & Alive” • 📅 2020

“Ridin’ my bike like I’m too young to drive / Careless and free like it’s 2005 / Had to chill the fuck out, take a trip outside /To have fun with my friends like I’m young and alive.” In 2020, twenty-something pop artist 🎙 Bazzi (Andrew Bazzi) was feeling 🎵 “Young & Alive”. He lacks no swagger.  His melodic lines are rhythmic, influenced by hip-hop, incorporating a pop-rap sensibility.  Andrew casually throws in f-bombs that totally match the chill, youthful vibe.  The first utterance of fuck occurs in the chorus, at the top of the track.

The lyrics are reminiscent, as evidenced in various sections of the “Young & Alive.”  In the first verse, Bazzi sings, innocently, “We ain’t gotta fuck or nothing / We could hold hands or somethin’.” The same ‘innocence’ turns into more in the pre-chorus, as he sings, “But when the night gets late and we’re too fucked up / Please don’t tell your mom, don’t wanna mess this up.”  Beyond the colorful lyrics and easy-going performance, the backdrop supporting Bazzi is pretty strong, further bringing out the best of him – in a mellow sort of way.  Relatively simple, Bazzi doesn’t seem to take himself too seriously, and that’s part of the charm.

Appears in 🔻:

• 13 Songs Bound to Make You Feel Young Again
• Alive: 5ive Songs No. 36 (2022)

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10. Lil Wayne, “Best Rapper Alive”

💿 Tha Carter II • 🏷 Cash Money • 📅 2005

“The best rapper alive (Huh, yep), the best rapper alive (Huh, yep).” So, was there a time that 🎙 Lil Wayne was indeed the 🎵 “Best Rapper Alive?” Oh, for sure! The 🏆 Grammy-winning rapper had a highly successful run in the 00s particularly.  “Best Rapper Alive” is easily one of his best songs from one of his best albums, 💿 Tha Carter II (2005). Mind you, this was prior to the biggest album his career, 💿 Tha Carter III (2008).

“Bring the crowd in, I’m loud in living color

It is Weezy Fuckin’ Baby, got these rappers in my stomach

Yummy, I’m taking it, I ain’t askin’ them for nothing.”

Gah da-yum! Lil Wayne exhibits no shortage of cockiness and confidence on “Best Rapper Alive.” Another prime example comes from the third verse, where he asserts, “Fuck up with all these rookie MCs? / Whew, smell like a bunch of pussy to me.” Jesus! Oh, and at the end of the verse, Weezy is even classy: “It’s just a victory lap, baby, I’m just joggin’ /… The motherfuckin’ best yet, sorry for cussin’.” Interestingly, that final line has a backstory.  Anyways, also worth noting on this gem is the sample: The 🎙 Iron Maiden classic,  🎵 “Fear of the Dark”. Woo! #Turn Up!

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11. Moses Sumney, “Keeps Me Alive”

💿 Græ • 🏷 Jagjaguwar • 📅 2020

“It keeps me alive / It keeps me alive / It keeps me alive / It keeps me breathin’ right.” The intimacy of 🎵 “Keeps Me Alive” is appreciated.  In this highlight from his 2020 double album, 💿 Græ, 🎙 Moses Sumney is accompanied merely by soulful guitar.  His vocals are soulful, spoiling us with a masterful falsetto that sounds effortless.

“And yet, the holy grail beckons

‘Hey, your chalice could still be filled someday by someone’

Childlike curiosity about my fate

Is the only thing that makes me stay…”

Græ is one of the best albums released in 2020.  It’s also one of the most complex albums – it takes several listens to digest and fully analyze. “Keeps Me Alive” is one of the few songs on Græ that might be strictly characterized as pop or R&B, depending on how it sounds to you.  It is, indeed, a special record by a truly captivating musician.

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12. Andy Grammer, “Good to Be Alive (Hallelujah)”

💿 Magazines or Novels [Deluxe] • 🏷 S-Curve • 📅 2015

“I’ve been grinding so long, been trying this shit for years / And I got nothing to show, just climbing this rope right here…” Okay, 🎙 Andy Grammer – dropping that s-bomb on us! What exactly is the shit that Grammer has been ‘trying’ on 🎵 “Good to Be Alive (Hallelujah),” from his 2015 album, 💿 Magazines or Novels [Deluxe]? How about a little background first before answering!

Prior to issuing the deluxe edition of Magazines or Novels, Andy Grammer had a surefire gem on his hands with 🎵 “Honey, I’m Good.” which clearly elevated his profile.  He would earn another hit, though less successful, with “Good to Be Alive (Hallelujah).” On “Good to Be Alive,” the production work is gimmicky though Grammer sounds utterly ebullient! He has good reason to sound ebullient.  Basically, he’s thankful for the success he’s achieved, asserting, “Feels good to be alive right about now.”  So, connecting it all together, that ‘shit he’d been trying’ – finding and carving out success.  Now that he’s finally achieved some, he’s thankful and it feels pretty sweet.

Appears in 🔻:

• 10 Secular Hallelujah Songs
• Thankful Songs 🙏🎶 11
• Thankful 🙏🎶 3: 5ive Songs No. 62
• Gratitude: 20 Gracious, Thankful Songs
• Alive: 5ive Songs No. 36 (2022)

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13. Bee Gees, “Stayin’ Alive”

💿 How Can You Mend a Broken Heart • 🏷 Capitol • 📅 2020 

“Ah, ha, ha, ha, stayin’ alive, stayin’ alive.” Cutting straight to the chase, 🎵 “Stayin’ Alive” is the quintessential disco song, period.  🎙 Bee Gees have many, many hits, but none is bigger and more recognizable than “Stayin’ Alive.” The record is an entire vibe and even though it hails from a different music era, it remains fresh and relevant.

“Well, you can tell by the way I use my walk

I’m a woman’s man, no time to talk

Music loud and women warm

I’ve been kicked around since I was born.”

Woo! So, why is “Stayin’ Alive” still ‘alive and well’ today? It’s timeless to the n^th degree.  The groove is utterly infectious, making you want to get up and dance.  The production (Bee Gees, 🎛 Karl Richardson, and 🎛 Albhy Galuten), idiomatic of disco back-when, is slick and impressive, even four decades later.  The falsetto vocals remain ripe, with few other bands rivaling those high-flying head vocals, ha-ha.  Furthermore, what about the personality and the swagger Bee Gees exhibit? There’s no shortage of confidence.  The chorus, of course, is the centerpiece – tuneful and recognizable by those older and younger.  Even so, the bridge – “I’m goin’ nowhere, somebody help me / Somebody help me, yeah” – is sweet in its own right. Wanna know how to write a kick ass pop record? “Stayin’ Alive” by Bee Gees is an exemplary blueprint.

“Whether you’re a brother or whether you’re a mother

You’re stayin’ alive, stayin’ alive

Feel the city breakin’ and everybody shakin’

And we’re stayin’ alive, stayin’ alive

Ah, ha, ha, ha, stayin’ alive, stayin’ alive

Ah, ha, ha, ha, stayin’ alive.” 

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13 Captivating Songs That are Alive & Well [📷: Alamo, Bazzi, Beartrap, LLC, Brent Faulkner, Capitol, Cash Money, Columbia, Def Jam, Epic, Interscope, Jagjaguwar, The Musical Hype, Parkwood, Polydor, Polyvinyl, RCA, S-Curve, Universal Music, Adrienne Andersen, Andrea Piacquadio, Andre Furtado, Djordje Petrovic, Edu Carvahlo, luizclas, Pexels, Samir Jammal, Vlad Chețan, Wendy Wei]

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