Former President Obama rounded out his year-end best-of lists with a playlist of his favorite tracks of 2023 on Friday. This year’s edition features a broad mix of genres, from country to rap to reggaeton.
The former president’s 2023 song list was topped by perennial feature Jon Batiste, alongside indie star Mitski, the chart-topping rapper Megan Thee Stallion and 24 other picks.
The globe-trotting list also featured Mexico’s Yng Lvcas, Nigeria’s Burna Boy and the U.K.’s Dave, among a slew of other international artists.
It marks the ninth annual playlist since Obama began the tradition while still in office in 2015. He has also released summer addendums in recent years, keeping the American public in the loop on his music, book and movie taste.
Obama released his annual movie list on Wednesday, and his 2023 book list last week.
The former president insisted this summer that his media lists — which often seem to feature a younger taste than that of an average 62-year old — are things that he actually enjoys.
“Here’s the bottom line of my playlists and my book lists and my movie lists: I am very scrupulous about making sure that this is stuff that I actually like,” Obama told “Patriot Act” host Hasan Minhaj in June. “I will confess that there are times on the playlists, on music lists, where I will get suggestions because it’s not like I got time to be listening to music all the time.”
“So typically, at the end of the year, what happens is folks will be like, ‘Man, you need to listen to this. This is good,’” he continued. “But unless I’m actually listening to it, watching it, reading it — I won’t put it on there.”
Obama's full list of his favorite 2023 songs can be found here.
