#03.16.20

1. Zayn Malik — "Pillowtalk" Zayn may not have stolen our collective hearts quite like his ex-colleague Harry, but no Styles track matched what Zayn accomplished with “Pillowtalk.“ Until his 2016 solo venture, we only knew Zayn Malik as the tatted-up bad boy of One Direction. Apparently, there was way more going on behind those soulful doe eyes. His first solo single is a seething, sensual on-the-nose sex track that takes place — where else? — on a mattress. “Climb on board/We’ll go slow and high tempo,” he sings over an explosive, mid-tempo beat.

6. Zayn Malik and Taylor Swift — "I Don't Wanna Live Forever" Say what you will about the Fifty Shades of Grey franchise, but without it we may never have had The Weeknd’s “Earned It” or this powerhouse duet. Zayn and Taylor Swift’s vocals are lavender soft, gliding us through a bed of 808s and lyrics that yearn for what could be and could have been. “I don’t wanna live forever/ ‘cause I know I’ll be living in vain/And I don’t wanna fit wherever/ I just wanna keep calling your name until you come back home.” It helps that the track feels written by and for adults — complex and tastefully delicate  — a songwriting virtue you can’t quite say about all the hits on this list.