Reading Time: 15 min read

15 Delicious Songs About Fruits [📷: Brent Faulkner / The Musical Hype; Ancelin Bonnet, NoName_13, OpenClipart-Vectors, Ryan McGuire, Shutterbug75, Steve Buissinne  from Pixabay]15 Delicious Songs About Fruit features music courtesy of Durand Bernarr, Kehlani, Kim Petras, Justin Bieber, Led Zeppelin, and Weyes Blood.

Well folks, let’s get FRUITY 🍎 🍌🍒 🍇 🍊 🍑 🍓 🍉!!! If you have followed The Musical Hype for a while, you’ll know that we’ve been FRUITY for some time.  We love fruit, and with the arrival of 🎧 15 Delicious Songs About Fruit, we continue our fruity ways. 🎧 15 Delicious Songs About Fruits serves as a sequel to past fruit-filled musical compendiums of the past: 🎧 10 Fruitastic, Fruity Songs About Fruit (2017) and 🎧 15 Nutritious Songs About Fruit (2018).  Additionally, there have been playlist dedicated to specific fruits like 🎧 10 Incredibly Peachy, Peach 🍑 Songs (2021), 🎧 13 Delicious Cherry 🍒 Songs (2022), 🎧 10 Utterly Sweet & Sour Lemon 🍋 Songs (2022), and 🎧 These 11 Songs Are Particularly Orange (2023). 🎧 15 Delicious Songs About Fruit encompasses a sampling of fruits and features music courtesy of 🎙 Durand Bernarr, 🎙 Kehlani, 🎙 Kim Petras, 🎙 Justin Bieber, 🎙 Led Zeppelin, and 🎙 Weyes Blood among others. So, grab your favorite fruit and partake of the nutritiousness and deliciousness of this fruit-loving musical affair 🍎 🍌🍒 🍇 🍊 🍑 🍓 🍉!!!


1. Kim Petras, “Coconuts”

💿 Feed The Beast 🏷 Amigo / Republic • 🗓 2023

Kim Petras, Feed The Beast [📷: Amigo / Republic]“My coconuts / You can put ‘em in your mouth…” Whoa, whoa! It doesn’t take long to understand that 🎙 Kim Petras is referring to anatomical coconuts 🥥 aka breasts on 🎵 “Coconuts”.  “Coconuts” arrived well in advance of her 2023 debut album, 💿 Feed The Beast, materializing in December of 2021. The 🏆 Grammy-winning, German transgender pop artist is being N-A-U-G-H-T-Y for sure! What is the audience expected to do with the coconuts? “Watch ‘em bounce up and down.” Of course, of course!

The sexual innuendo is ripe AF on “Coconuts.” In the first verse, Petras sings, “Look up, hot air balloons / All good things come in twos,” adding at the end of the verse, “Everybody love the twins.”  My, my, my.  She isn’t wrong? She also mentions literal twins in the pre-chorus (Mary-Kate and Ashley), while continuing to talk about her breasts.  Later, in the second pre-chorus, she continues to titillate, going so far to name them: Cartier and Tiffany. And, of course, you had to expect reference to “the double Ds.” Kim gets even dirtier in the post-chorus with the milky “Cocolicious / Drippin’ down your face / So delicious” lyrics. Like her 2022 EP 💿 Slut Pop, sex positivity is at the top of her list on 🎵 “Coconuts”.  It’s a bit campy and corny, mind you, but these coconuts exemplify that Midnight Heat 🕛 🔥 perfectly.  The sound of the record is infectious – shout out the star-studded production team 💪: 🎛 Rocco Did It Again!, Ryan OG, Vaughn Oliver, Housefly, Aaron Joseph, and Dr. Luke.

Appears in 🔻:


2. Lil Uzi Vert, “Strawberry Peels” (Ft. Young Thug & Gunna)

💿 Eternal Atake (Deluxe) – LUV vs. the World 2 • 🏷 Atlantic • 🗓 2020

Lil Uzi Vert, Eternal Atake (Deluxe) - LUV vs. The World 2 [📷: Atlantic]After more than a two-year hiatus, 🎙 Liz Uzi Vert returned with 💿 Eternal Atake (and 💿 Eternal Atake (Deluxe) – LUV vs. The World 2) in 2020.  The fun AF 🎵 “Strawberry Peels”, featuring Young Thug and Gunna, appears as the sixth track on LUV vs. The World 2. What is Uzi Vert getting at on the banger? Well, per Urban Dictionary, strawberry peels are slang for “Candy dipped in TCH, put in lean mixed with strawberry Fanta and trolli strawberry puff candy…” WOO! “Strawberry Peels” is a total banger. It’s brief but those strawberry peels are potent as fuuccck! Lil Uzi Vert enlists the services of 🎙 Young Thug and 🎙 Gunna, letting his featured guests drop their bars first.  A prime example – Thugga’s first verse:

Cop what I want, and my wrist and my style is on crunk and it’s real
Half of my niggas get high off a seal
Brand new pints and they all teal
I put my dick in her bladder, yeah, yeah
And I’m fuckin’ her friends and they all here.”

He also gives Young Thug the best part of record, besides the banging production that is (🎛 Wheezy) – the chorus! “Strawberry peels, strawberry peels…” – you get the idea.

Appears in 🔻:


3. Justin Bieber, “Peaches” (Ft. Daniel Caesar & GIVĒON) 

💿 Justice 🏷 Def Jam • 🗓 2021  

Justin Bieber, Justice [📷: Def Jam]“I got my peaches out in Georgia (Oh, yeah, shit) / I get my weed from California (That’s that shit).” There’s nothing profound about either of those lyrics 🏆 Grammy-winning pop superstar 🎙 Justin Bieber sings on his 📉 no. 1 Hot 100 hit, 🎵 “Peaches” and yet, it’s absolutely and utterly infectious to the nth degree.  He continues on the golden chorus of this 💿 Justice gem, “I took my chick up to the North, yeah (Badass bitch) / I get my light right from the source, yeah (Yeah, that’s it).”  While it seems that Bieber has this fruit-loving number on lockdown all by himself, he enlists the services of 🏆 Grammy winner 🎙 Daniel Caesar and 🏆 Grammy nominee 🎙 GIVĒON. This isn’t a game-changing record, yet the more you listen, the more you find yourself hypnotized and wooed.  In the context of Justice, Bieber loosens up (the profanity on the chill chorus), while still focused on the modus operandi, LOVE. Both Caesar and GIVĒON devote their verses to their respective lovers . “Peaches” is one of 2021’s crowd-pleasers.

 

Appears in 🔻:


4. Kehlani, “Tangerine” 

💿 blue water road 🏷 TSNMI / Atlantic • 📅 2022

Kehlani, blue water road [📷: Atlantic]“I get jealous, jealous of every sip / Pineapple water, I can taste it on your lips.” Ooh wee, 🎙 Kehlani!  The bops are endless on the 🏆 Grammy nominated R&B artist’s third studio album, 💿 blue water road. 🎵 “Tangerine” marks another elite moment.  Kehlani serves up sexy vocals and sweet lyrics.  “Tangerine” is supported by a rhythmic beat and sound production by 🎛 Happy Perez and Pop Wansel.  The backdrop isn’t earth shattering but sufficiently fits the sensual vibes. “Fireplace in wintertime / Heat me up, I’ll keep you warm,” Kehlani sings in the second verse, adding, “My sugar cane dangerous / Nectar on my face again.” Of course, the centerpiece is the tuneful chorus:

“Raspberry tangerine, honey (I can taste me on you) 

Vanilla bean, so sweet  

And you can get it in the mornin’, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah 

When you want it, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah 

Raspberry tangerine, honey.” 

  

Appears in 🔻 


5. Marvin Gaye, “I Heard It Through The Grapevine” 

💿In the Groove  • 🏷 Motown • 📅 1968

Marvin Gaye, In the Groove [📷 : Motown]Once the late, great 🎙Marvin Gaye took 🎵 “I Heard It Through the Grapevine” into his own hands, it was #GAME OVER for everyone else.  Maybe that’s not fair to 🎙Gladys Knight & The Pips, who totally ‘knocked it out of the park’ with the ‘original,’ but honestly, Gaye absolutely slaughters. “I Heard It Through the Grapevine” appears on Gaye’s 1968 album, 💿In The Groove. Examining In The Groove, the biggest song is undoubtedly “I Heard It Through the Grapevine.”  It is the perfect record with its moderate pace, colorful palette of sounds – backing vocals, horns – and most importantly, those transcendent, once-in-a-lifetime pipes of Marvin Gaye.  

 

The minute that THIS version kicks off, you feel moved – it just feels right, man! There aren’t really words sufficient to describe how Marvin transformed a great song into a truly game changing, unforgettable one.  Question: If there were a soul god, would he be Marvin Gaye? Totally not being sacrilegious… at least not intentionally…  

 

Appears in 🔻 


6. Fletcher & Hayley Kiyoko, “Cherry”

🎵 “Cherry” • 🏷 Capitol • 📅 2021

FLETCHER & Hayley Kiyoko, "Cherry" [📷: Capitol]On 🎵 “Cherry”🎙 FLETCHER (Cari Fletcher) and 🎙 Hayley Kiyoko (aka Lesbian Jesus), join forces to express their desires for a particular girl. Produced by 🎛 Jonah Shy, the backdrop sets up FLETCHER and Hayley for success.  Cari takes first blood, setting up how enticing this lady is.  “Your lips when you bite ‘em like this / And I’m blushing real hard got me moving my hips,” she sings on the first verse, adding, “You’re across from me / And it’s hard to breathe.”  On the chorus, she goes on to sing, “I want you on top of me like cherry.” Ooh la la! In the second verse, Hayley Kiyoko keeps the lustful vibe going.  “Your body’s got me / Out of my mind,” she sings, continuing, “Girl, I’m taking over / Grab your things, we’re going to paradise, paradise.” Both artists sing well, with the personality infused being the biggest selling point.  Ultimately, they make a fabulous, formidable team.  They do a fantastic job singing about pursuing love with a girl that makes them feel some type of way.  Their personalities, vocals, and solid production make this two-and-a-half-minute pop cut a surefire winner.

Appears in 🔻:


7. Jaron, “ORANGES” 

🎵 “ORANGES” • 🏷 Modern Art • 📅 2023

Jaron, Oranges [📷: Modern Art]“Cause every time I feel you, it feels like…” 🎵 “ORANGES,” of course! Well, maybe oranges weren’t the first feeling or fruit that came to mind, but that’s what 🎙 Jaron (Jaron Steele) serves up on the 2023 single.  “ORANGES” has a brief runtime, clocking in just over two minutes.  Even given the brevity, Steele serves up a surefire vibe – quite the aesthetic! The orange action commences with an enigmatic, ear-catching intro.  Sans beat initially, soon enough, a groove settles in, giving “ORANGES” more structure.  Adding further to that structure, at about :35 in, Steele begins singing.  There are only a few lyrics, mind you, with Steele singing at one point, “Can I take you back? Let me take you back home…” It leads to the key lyric, excerpted above, and capped off with citrus 🍊, sigh.  

Appears in 🔻:


8. Weyes Blood, “Grapevine” 

💿 And In The Darkness, Hearts Aglow🏷 Sub Pop • 🗓 2022

Weyes Blood, And In The Darkness, Hearts Aglow [📷: Sub Pop]“If a man can’t see his shadow, oh / He can block your sun all day,” 🎙 Natalie Mering aka singer/songwriter 🎙 Weyes Blood sings in the first verse of 🎵 “Grapevine”, the second single from her fifth studio album, 💿 And In The Darkness, Hearts Aglow.  Mering continues singing in the first verse, “He can make you small / He has the power to take his love away.” Clearly, matters of the heart are at play on “Grapevine” where Mering paints this guy in a sus light, yet, admits, “But I still think of him at night.”

“Grapevine” features superb songwriting, which continues well beyond the first verse.  The second verse, in particular, is clever, referencing the infamous fatal car crash of 🎭 James Dean and her own car break down. It contrasts the first, showing Mering’s range, but is also connected.  Likewise, the third verse, more like the verse, connects with the first two (“And it hits me for the first time / Now we’re just two cars passing by”).  Vocally, Natalie sings beautifully, never forcing things yet lacking no energy.  Musically, “Grapevine” has all the uniqueness expected from an alternative song – interesting harmonic progression, gorgeous, thoughtfully crafted instrumental ideas, and perhaps, most important, contrast. Also, worth shouting out is the utterly sublime production (Mering and 🎛 Jonathan Rado).   

Appears in 🔻 


9. Harry Styles, “Watermelon Sugar”  

💿 Fine Line 🏷 Columbia • 📅 2019 

Harry Styles, Fine Line [📷: Columbia]“Tastes like strawberries on a summer evenin’ / And it sounds just like a song.”  Apparently, the British pop singer 🎙 Harry Styles enjoys fruit, as 🎵 “Watermelon Sugar” marks his second fruit-oriented song (🎵 “Kiwi” being the first). “Watermelon Sugar” also marked the second single from his 2019, platinum-certified sophomore album, 💿 Fine Line.  ALSO, Styles would win his first 🏆 Grammy (Best Pop Solo Vocal Performance) for “Watermelon Sugar.” “Watermelon Sugar” is a total BOP.  Harry Styles sounds superb vocally. The huskiness and assertiveness of his vocal performance is awesome. Producers 🎛 Kid Harpoon and Tyler Johnson give him a top-notch backdrop to work with.  There are elements of rock and pop, as well as a dash of retro and vintage.  In addition to vocals, some of the ‘ear candy’ listeners are spoiled with includes acoustic and electric guitars, piano, keyboard, and  horns. Though “Watermelon Sugar” isn’t a deep, transcendently penned song, it is enjoyable and entertaining.  That begins with the love-centric, summery, and ‘fruity’ verses. It continues with the pre-chorus and capped off by repetitive but vibe-filled chorus, which highlights the titular lyric, “Watermelon sugar high.”

 

Appears in 🔻:


10. Tove Lo, “Grapefruit” 

💿 Dirt Femme 🏷 Pretty Swede / mtheory 📅 2022

Tove Lo, Dirt Femme [📷: Pretty Swede / mtheory]“Chokin’ on my hands all night /… Counting all the calories…” Hmm, doesn’t sound positive. In fact, it sounds like an eating disorder 😬, which is never good! The record shedding light on this eating disorder is 🎵 “Grapefruit,” which appears as the fifth track off  💿 Dirt Femme, the first independently released album by Swedish pop artist, 🎙 Tove Lo. An intense, rhythmic identity is established from the onset of “Grapefruit” thanks to a prominent synth.  In addition to the driving rhythm, Tove Lo impresses with her assertive vocals.

“The swans of ballet / Their skin and their bones, that’s not me…” Once more, Tove Lo references eating disorders in the pre-chorus, citing ballet dancer’s struggles with such disorders to maintain or lose weight for their craft. One of the biggest selling points on “Grapefruit” is its incredibly tuneful chorus, which is accompanied by a colorful backdrop.  Here, Tove Lo references a toxic grapefruit diet from her past: 

“One, two, grapefruit 

How am I back here again 

Three, four, lose more 

I know my mirrors are lyin’ 

Five, six, hate this 

Take back the body I’m in 

What I see is not me 

What I see is not me.”  

Beyond the chorus, the verses are tuneful too. The bridge marks another selling point for the Swedish standout on this Dirt Femme gem, though the lyrics are troubling, related to the eating disorder referenced: “But I’m learnin’ every time I feel out of place / That you are all I’ve got, oh.” 

 

Appears in 🔻:


11. Harry Belafonte, “Day-O (Banana Boat Song)

💿 Calypso🏷 Sony Music Entertainment • 📅 1956

Harry Belafonte, Calypso [📷: Sony Music Entertainment]“Day-o, day-ay-ay-o / Daylight come and me wan’ go home.” In 2023, the world lost a legend in 🎙 Harry Belafonte. The 🏆 Grammy-winner was a tremendous talent: singer, actor, and activist.  He was best known for his 1956 pop hit, 🎵 “Day-O (The Banana Boat Song)” (sometimes referred to as “Banana Boat”).  Even though Belafonte landed a hit with “Day-O” as the opener on his album, 💿 Calypso, the song is a traditional Jamaican folk song, performed in Jamaican patois. Furthermore, it is in call and response form (“Work all night on a drink a rum / (Daylight come and me wan’ go home)”).  The first time you hear “Banana Boat,” it is infectious as albeit.

“Banana Boat” commences with a dramatic performance by Belafonte, emphasizing the “Day-o” in a slow tempo. His tone and powerful pipes stand out to say the least. Soon enough, the calypso percussion kicks in in all its glory.  He leads the charge as the leader (the call), while the chorus masterfully responds with signature Daylight come and me wan’ go home lyrics.  Perhaps the most memorable moment besides dramatic opening and closing moments by Harry is the verse, “Lift six foot, seven foot, eight foot, bunch.” Memorably, 🏆 Grammy winning rapper 🎙 Lil Wayne samples this portion for his own hit, 🎵 “6 Foot 7 Foot”.  What more is there to say about 🎵 “Day-O (The Banana Boat Song)” – the music speaks for itself. 

Appears in 🔻 


12. Janet Jackson, “Strawberry Bounce”

💿 Damita Jo🏷 Virgin • 🗓 2004

Janet Jackson, Damita Jo [📷: Virgin]“Ooh baby / Let me be your playground / Push it out and catch it on the rebound / Turn it out, swinging from this pole.” Janet Jackson’s 2004 album, 💿 Damita Jo arrived at an inopportune time.  First, it followed the infamous Superbowl XXXVIII controversy – the nip slip.  Furthermore, it proved to be too sexually charged given those circumstances, unfair or not. 🎵 “Strawberry Bounce”,  a highlight, certainly didn’t make Janet suddenly ‘family friendly.’ Those strawberries aren’t edible, after all!

“La-la-la-la

La-la-la-la

I like to make it

You know I’ll make it

Now can you take it

Lose control!”

“Strawberry Bounce” ranks among the sexiest/most sexed-up moments from Damita Jo – carnal to the nth degree: “The way I work, it’s gonna keep you coming.”  Hmm, coming, huh? That’s one of many instances where Jackson totally titillates.  While there’s sexual innuendo, Jackson often provides enough details to show what she’s really going for.  Indeed, she makes us feel incredibly sleazy on the bridge: “I did a tease to bring you to yo’ knees baby / Broke you down made you feel sleezy / Then you said / ‘You fine muthafucka, I like it, I like it’ / (Lose control).” Gah-day-um, Janet!  “Strawberry Bounce” was produced by Jackson, 🎛 Terry Lewis, Jimmy Jam, Kanye West, and Roc The World. Notably, it samples both 🎵 “Can I Get A…” (🎙 Jay-Z) and 🎵 “Love Makes the World Go Round” (🎙 Deon Jackson).

Appears in 🔻:


13. Durand Bernarr, “Mango Butter”

💿 Wanderlust 🏷 DSING • 📅 2022

Durand Bernarr, Wanderlust [📷: DSING]“I’m a bad bitch and I’m that nigga / I don’t think you heard me, yeah.” Oh, we heard you, 🎙 Durand Bernarr – loud and clear! Well, the clarity lasts during the chorus of 🎵 “Mango Butter,” which appears as the ninth track on the R&B singer/songwriter’s 2022 album, 💿 Wanderlust. Beyond the chorus, um, those lyrics are wild…less intelligible (“I y’all nuh main uh / If you can take it, I don’t / Eatin’ none, makin’ edge”). Regardless of the songwriting (🤣), “Mango Butter” is incredibly groovy and definitely a bop. Bernarr penned it alongside 🎼 ✍ 🎛 Christopher Bivens, who also produces.  Durand blesses us with his soulful lead vocals. All parts of his voice are awesome, with his falsetto being absolutely to die for. Bernarr is accentuated by smooth, harmonized backing vocals, who help craft the playful nature of this joint. Perhaps the most entertaining part of the song, aside from the chorus, is the outro where Durand Bernarr explains what he means.  Sure, it’s still hard to decipher, but we gather than he’s “that nigga because I am that bitch / And because I’m that bitch is because I am that nigga.” Um, K…


14. Warrant, “Cherry Pie”

💿 Cherry Pie • 🏷 Sony Music Entertainment • 📅 1990

Warrant, Cherry Pie [📷: Sony Music Entertainment]“She’s my cherry pie / Cool drink of water, such a sweet surprise / Tastes so good, make a grown man cry / Sweet Cherry Pie.” Yes, say – rather, sing – that 🎙 Jani Lane! The late frontman of 🎙 Warrant kills it on the group’s big-time hit, 🎵 “Cherry Pie.” “I scream, you scream, we all scream for her / Don’t even try ‘cause you can’t ignore her.” Indeed Jani, indeed! Hearing “Cherry Pie” makes you reminisce on the rock of the past – that glorious, 90s hard rock sound 🤘! The guitars rip; the sound is robust and full of life.  Of course, the biggest achievements are those assertive vocals filled with ample personality as well as the catchy songwriting, particularly that addictive, infectious chorus.  Beyond the chorus, there’s are the “swingin’” verses: “Swingin’ in the living room, swingin’ in the kitchen / Most folks don’t ‘cause they’re too busy bitchin’.” Cherry pie: a delicious dessert and a fabulous, rock classic!

Appears in 🔻:


15. Led Zeppelin, “Tangerine” 

💿 Led Zeppelin III 🏷 Atlantic • 📅 1970

Led Zeppelin, Led Zeppelin III [📷: Atlantic]“Measuring a summer’s day / I only find it slips away to grey / The hours, they bring me pain.” Uh oh – #summer bummer! Let’s cut straight to the chase. 🎙 Led Zeppelin kicks ass and takes name, PERIOD 🤘! They are one of the greatest bands to ever live.  On their 1970 album, 💿 Led Zeppelin III, 🎙 Robert Plant and company delivered another gem, in the form of a fruit: 🎵 “Tangerine”.  Notably, “Tangerine” follows another fruity classic, 🎵 “The Lemon Song”.  “Tangerine” isn’t sexual like “The Lemon Song,” however, hehe!

 

“Tangerine, tangerine 

Living reflection from a dream 

I was her love, she was my queen 

And now a thousand years in between.” 

“Tangerine” was supposedly inspired by Page’s girlfriend at the time, Jackie DeShannon (“Does she still remember times like these?”).  Clearly, the love seems to be ended. Moving onto the sound of the record, it is unique from the jump. The unique sound is owed to the use of pedal steel guitar by 🎙 Jimmy Page which adds this folksy flavoring. The rhythmic nature of the pedal steel is quite a vibe. Page penned this gem himself, though there are some questions surrounding the lyrics. The song was first recorded with 🎙 The Yardbirds as 🎵 “Knowing That I’m Losing You”.  Moving beyond songwriting, the vocals (Plant) are stellar, and the rest of the instrumentation – fat bass line (🎙 John Paul Jones), stellar drumming (the late 🎙 John Bonham), and rousing lead guitar help craft 🎵 “Tangerine” into a surefire classic 🤘  

Appears in 🔻 


15 Delicious Songs About Fruits [📷: Brent Faulkner / The Musical Hype; Amigo / Republic, Atlantic, Capitol, Columbia, Def Jam, DSING, Modern Art, Motown, Pretty Swede / mtheory, Sony Music Entertainment, Sub Pop, Virgin; Ancelin Bonnet, NoName_13, OpenClipart-Vectors, Ryan McGuire, Shutterbug75, Steve Buissinne  from Pixabay]

 


the musical hype

the musical hype (Brent Faulkner) has earned Bachelor's and Master's degrees in music (music education, music theory/composition respectively). A multi-instrumentalist, he plays piano, trombone, and organ among numerous other instruments. He's a certified music educator, composer, and freelance music blogger. Faulkner cites music and writing as two of the most important parts of his life. Notably, he's blessed with a great ear, possessing perfect pitch.