Fire's Chill Pick - January 2026

 Hi everyone, it’s Fire back with the first Chill Pick article of the year!! I hope you guys are having a wonderful 2026 so far! So I think it’s only fitting to kick off 2026 by reviewing one of the best charting songs on the Hot 100 right now!



Zara Larsson - Lush Life

Release: June 9, 2015

Genres: Dance-Pop, Electropop, Tropical House, Brazilian Bass

I remember when I first started chart-watching in 2017 how surprised I was when I found out “Lush Life” flopped in the US despite being a huge worldwide hit. Back in 2016 I remember the song being utterly massive—it didn’t get much radio play where I live but I just felt like it was super widely talked about. It may have been because in 2016 I always confused this song with “I Took A Pill In Ibiza” by Mike Posner haha. Now I’ve always loved “Lush Life” since I first heard it, but the song seeing a huge resurgence in 2026 made me revisit it. And that’s when I realized that even calling it my favorite Zara Larsson song was underrating it. Because I’ll just say it—”Lush Life” by Zara Larsson isn’t just one of the best pop songs of 2016, but of the 2010s as a whole. I’ve been utterly hooked on this song the last few weeks.

The production is extremely sunny and boppy—the Brazilian Bass bassline fused with the tropical house percussion makes the song a top tier track of the tropical house trend of the mid-2010s and it hasn’t aged a day.

Lyrically, “Lush Life” follows a story of Larsson getting over a crush that may have given her a rush, but was in the end fleeting. She may have had regrets with that crush, but it’s in the past and she’s gotta keep dancing her heart out till the dawn and then not be done when morning comes. Then the end of the song sees Larsson fall for someone new who gives her the same rush and allows her to live her lush life. Ultimately this new crush is what allows Larsson to leave her old crush in the past and live her day as if it was the last all night and all summer the way she wanna. It's a wildly fun song about getting over a fling and getting back in the game and Larsson’s exuberant and loose delivery absolutely sells it.

So overall...fun lyrics, equally fun delivery, production that hasn’t aged a day, and one of the catchiest pop hooks in recent memory...I give it a 10/10!! I’m so glad this is seeing a resurgence and I‘ll say it—if this becomes a hit this year, it’s an early frontrunner to top my best list!! If you somehow still haven’t heard this song, check it out!! And please, let’s make this a hit!

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