BBC Radio 1’s Hottest Record of the Year 2022 revealed
Listeners to BBC Radio 1 have been voting for the station’s Hottest Record of the Year 2022.
The winner of the vote was revealed tonight in a special edition of Radio 1’s Future Sounds with Clara Amfo.
Paramore’s This Is Why is the track that topped the poll. It’s the lead single from the band’s sixth album and it debuted on Radio 1 as Hottest Record in September of this year, then went on to receive critical acclaim.
Speaking about why they think fans love ‘This Is Why’, Hayley Williams says: “We finished in time to get a song out before the end of 2022, and we were so pumped because we really didn’t want the year to end without coming back into the fold.
“It’s really meaningful because, you and I have talked about this a little bit but shows that we have played in the UK and specifically fans in the UK have been such a huge inspiration for the entire album and it means a lot, it’s really sweet that this won, what a surprise, it’s crazy.”
It may be a winner, but the track nearly didn’t make it on to the album – Zac Farro explains why: “Taylor kept this song alive for sure. Hayley and I kind of checked out of the record.
“It was the very last song we wrote for the album, so we were like ‘oh we’re good, we’re done, we got ten right?’ I don’t even know if we had that we were just kind of like ‘we’re done right’ and Taylor was like ‘well there’s one more song that has kind of a cool riff and I wanted to open it back up’ and thank god he did because it was the first song we put out and it was the album title.
“Going in and making that song was really cool because, not that we put too much pressure on ourselves, but it definitely felt the most free flowing of the whole record it was just kind of like sweet, we can try all of these tricks that we have accumulated along the way. It was really cool, so yeah it was really Taylor who saved the day on that one.”
Clara Amfo says: “Paramore are a great example of an established band who still make you feel excited and invested in what they do! The list this year was full of bangers but ‘This Is Why’ is instantly anthemic and I’ve no doubt we’re all going to be singing it at the top of our lungs when they hit the UK in April.”
The top five Hottest Records of the Year 2022 are:
- Paramore – This Is Why
- Loyle Carner – Nobody Knows (Ladas Road)
- The 1975 – I’m In Love With You
- Taylor Swift – Anti-Hero
- Arctic Monkeys – Body Paint
The Hottest Record in the World is unveiled every night on Radio 1 at 6pm in a slot known for launching and breaking new music. Sam Fender’s Seventeen Going Under was crowned Hottest Record of the Year in 2021, beating the likes of Adele and Billie Eilish to the top spot.