For a self-proclaimed music enthusiast, I sure have a strong tendency to listen to the same ten songs over and over again. I think it has a lot to do with my fondness towards familiarity. Nonetheless, sometimes I get frustrated knowing that there is plenty of good music out there that I have yet to discover. Hence, I've been trying to squeeze in some time to step out of my little "music bubble". Guess what? I found out that there are other artists that can make me feel things the way Taylor Swift and Phoebe Bridgers do. Shocker.

I'm delighted to recommend these five wonderful artists that should be in your playlist starting today:

These past few years have witnessed an impressive amount of young talent bringing colours to the music industry. Billie Marten is another young force to be reckoned with. In fact, I think she has got to be one of today's most polished songwriters. Her lyrical skills are incredibly refined. Even if the prominent jazz/indie folk influence across her repertoire may not necessarily be your cup of tea, you cannot dismiss the maturity and wisdom that she ever so effortlessly exudes in her lyrics. 

Currently, I am in love with her second full-length album Feeding Seahorses by Hand, particularly its second track titled Mice. In one interview, she mentioned that the song was written when she was feeling "empty and lacking a lot of purpose" (sounds a lot like yours truly). With lines brimming with self-awareness like "I can doubt myself and then I'll doubt you" and "To me, I am my only vice", it's impossible to not resonate with her music.

Billie Marten's music doesn't demand for your attention; rather, it's much like that one friend who is more than happy to accompany you as you study/work, do chores or simply lie in your bed hearing the pitter-patter of the rain outside. Even in Flora Fauna (her third full album) in which she experimented with productions that mark a departure from the mostly acoustic-led sound in the two preceding albums, there's still beautiful subtlety underneath. While that is true, when you do pay attention to her, her music can be the reason to shut down everything else that's going on around you for just so you can indulge in an introspective experience she can bring you with her profound lyricism.

I truly have to thank Spotify from the deepest of my heart for this one. When Joy Oladokun's song heaven from here first came up when I put my "Discover Weekly" playlist on shuffle, I remember thinking, "Wow, THIS is the artist that we should be paying attention to." I am not exactly the most erudite in terms of vocal abilities, but as a listener, I can say with great confidence that she has so much versatility in her voice. This versatility is translated into the range of genres that she has explored and excelled in: pop, folk, R&B, ballad...you name it.

One of the things I love about Oladokun's music is its rawness. When I listened to i see america (a track off her 2020 full album in defense of my own happiness) for the first time, I found myself hanging on to each and every word recounting her story as a woman of colour. That is how you know the artist is not just a great songwriter, but also an astounding storyteller. Also, Poison off her first album Carry is, dare I say, one of the best songs I have stumbled upon this year. The way she writes and sings about the detrimental pleasure gained from a perilous, doomed relationship - calling it "a dagger draped in jewelry" - is everything I believe a ballad should be.

When I read her update, I was brought back to my primary school years. The girl and I barely talked to each other. The only time we would interact would be pre-Annual Sports Day and the D-day itself. We were in the same sports house and regular participants of the 100-metre sprint race. During every tryout, she and I would always compete against each other. The girl would consistently come in first place, and I second. No matter how hard I ran.

I'm not the happiest that I've been. I know that I'm not doing what I really want to do. Nothing is going according to my "perfect" post-graduation plan. My day starts at 7.20 a.m, I babysit until 5 p.m. (which involves a lot of chasing after my nephew who crawls and climbs onto furniture like rent is due. Seriously, do infants/toddlers ever get tired?), do chores in between, spend time with my family after dinner, and I only have around two hours at night for myself before I get too tired to even watch one anime episode. I'm devastatingly anxious about the future. I'm most certainly not getting married. I feel like the world has moved on while I am stagnant. Everyone else has already achieved something- quick on their feet, while I am nowhere closer to where I want to be. Everything feels like a race. I'm terrified of falling behind. I'm scared of not being able to take the perfect next step that will help me move forward and catch up with the others.

That explains my spiraling into anger, discontent, anxiety- and everything in between. 

I don't talk to many people nowadays; I do have a couple of friends that I stay in touch with. Talking to them has helped me to gradually change my perception on the whole "figuring things out" stuff. Nobody ever has things really, really figured out. If people say that you will know absolutely everything about who you are and what you want to do after four years of degree, I'll tell you this: you know less about who you are and what you want to do after those years- and that's perfectly fine. If I have learnt anything these past few months, it's that the only perfect next step that exists is the one that the Almighty has planned for you.

If the perfect plan that He has planned for me for now is to devote myself to my family, watch my nephew grow into the beautiful boy that he is today, then I will embrace that. I believe in the concept of rizq (sustenance). What's meant for me will find its way to me in the most timely manner. What I can do now is commit to my present responsibilities, keep trying, keep praying, count my blessings, and see the beauty of the present.

"If you are grateful, I would certainly give you more." (14:7)

May we get not what we want, but what we deserve.