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Barack Obama Shares His Favorite Songs of 2023

"Let me know if there are any artists or songs I should check out," the former POTUS wrote.

Barack Obama

Barack Obama

Nathan Congleton/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images

Barack Obama is taking the aux. With just three days left of 2023, the former president of the United States revealed which tunes he was grooving to the most over the past year, featuring pop music, country, R&B and more.

The annual list comes on the heels of Obama’s yearly book and movie favorites, which the ex-POTUS shared earlier this week. In 2023, he had exactly 28 tracks on repeat, with highlights including “TQG” by Karol G and Shakira, “I Remember Everything” by Zach Bryan feat. Kacey Musgraves, “Sprinter” by Dave and Central Cee and “America Has a Problem” by Beyoncé feat. Kendrick Lamar.


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The A Promised Land author also included Megan Thee Stallion’s “Cobra,” Tyla’s “Water,” Mitski’s “My Love Mine All Mine” and Victoria Monét’s “On My Mama.” “Here are some of my favorite songs from this year,” he wrote on Instagram Friday (Dec. 29). “Let me know if there are any artists or songs I should check out.”

Mr. Obama’s music taste has long been known to be diverse, as documented by his song lists over the past few years. In 2022, he shouted out music from artists such as Lizzo, Rosalía, Ari Lennox, Ethel Cain, Steve Lacy and Omar Apollo. A few — Beyoncé, Kendrick Lamar, Zach Bryan — were featured on both his 2022 and 2023 playlists.

The 44th prez also typically shares his favorite songs of the summer every year, with his seasonal jams of 2023 including Boygenius, Ice Spice, Luke Bryan, Nicki Minaj and Leonard Cohen.

See Obama’s full 2023 favorite songs list below:

This article was first published by Billboard U.S.

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Kneecap Blasts Norwegian Government at Oslo Festival, Accusing It of Funding ‘Genocide’ Against Palestinians
Matt Cardy/Getty Images

Mo Chara, DJ Provaí and Móglaí Bap of Kneecap performs on the West Holts Stage during during day four of Glastonbury Festival 2025 at Worthy Farm, Pilton on June 28, 2025 in Glastonbury, England.

Music News

Kneecap Blasts Norwegian Government at Oslo Festival, Accusing It of Funding ‘Genocide’ Against Palestinians

The Irish rap trio went after the Norwegian government over its investments, which are currently under scrutiny, at Øyafestivalen.

Irish rap group Kneecap – which has drawn a storm of criticism, support, attention and legal action over the past half-year – continued to speak out about the war in Gaza during an afternoon set at the Øyafestivalen in Oslo, Norway, on Friday (Aug. 8).

Right before the trio of Mo Chara, Móglaí Bap and DJ Próvaí took the stage, an English-language white-text-on-black-background message played on a video screen, accusing the Norwegian government of “enabling” the “genocide” against the Palestinian people via investments held in the county’s sovereign wealth fund (referenced as “oil pension fund” in the message). “Over 80,000 people have been murdered by Israel in 21 months,” the band’s message continued. “Free Palestine.” The message was greeted readily by a cheering audience. Most estimates (including those from health officials in the area) place the Palestinian death toll at more than 60,000. That number does not distinguish between civilians and Hamas militants. An estimated 18,500 of those killed were children.

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