For all the haters who said Barack Obama doesn’t curate his end-of-the-year playlists, the former president has once again dropped his annual list of favorites. Complaints that Obama was having an intern create his playlists first swirled in 2023. But think about it: he has two daughters in their 20s, there’s no way he’s not at least aware of the cutting edge of new music.
Obama even refuted these claims in a June 2023 interview with Hasan Minhaj, first stating that “it’s not like I got time to be listening to music all the time.” However, while he gets a lot of recommendations from people around him, he clarified, “Unless I’m actually listening to it, watching it, reading it, I won’t put it on there.”
So rest assured that, once again, Barack Obama is sharing his tried and true favorites of the year. His watch list was decently varied, as were his book recommendations. He, of course, included wife Michelle Obama’s November 2025 title, The Look, a new collection of photos celebrating her elegant and evolving style. To this, he attached the disclaimer, “And obviously I’m biased.”
But the annual playlist is where a lot of people gravitate for a glimpse into the former president’s taste in music. Usually, it’s pretty indie-centric, but this year there was a good mix of genres.
Barack Obama’s End of the Year Playlist
The list includes a blend of pop, hip-hop, rap, and a decent amount of international music. In a surprising twist, it seems that no one told Barack Obama to listen to Hayley Williams’ new album. It seems like something he’d like.
Pop came through with Olivia Dean’s “Nice To Each Other”, BLACKPINK’s “Jump”, Lady Gaga’s “Abracadabra”, Chappell Roan’s “The Giver”, Laufey’s “Silver Lining”, Alex Warren’s “Ordinary”, and Drake’s “Nokia”.
He dabbled with hip-hop and rap, listing Kendrick Lamar and SZA’s “Luther”, Burna Boy and Travis Scott’s “TATATA”, Gunna’s “Just Say That”, Chance the Rapper and Jamila Woods’ “No More Old Men”, and Roe’s “Stay”. Similarly, there were a few neo-soul, R&B, and jazz-fusion songs like Stacey Kent’s “I Wish I Could Go Traveling Again”, Kacy Hill’s “Please Don’t Cry”, Victoria Noelle’s “In the Name of Love”, Khamari’s “Sycamore Tree”, and Obongjayar’s “Not In Surrender”.
Obama also named some Afrobeats, reggae, and international tracks. These include Ganavya’s “Pasayadan”, Olamide’s “99”, Lil Naay and Mike Towers’ “Pending”, Rosalia’s “Sexo, Violencia Y Llantas”, Mora and De La Rose’s “Aurora”, Jombriel’s “Vitamina”, and Xavi and Manuel Turizo’s “En Privado”.
Rounding out the list are Bruce Springsteen’s “Faithless”, The Beths’ “Metal”, Jason Isbell’s “Bury Me”, Everything Is Recorded, Sampha, and Florence Welch’s “Never Felt Better”, I’m With Her’s “Ancient Light”, and finally, Jay Som and Jim Adkins’ “Float”.
Photo by Meg Oliphant/Getty Images
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