How 11 Of Our Faves Made Valentine’s Day Lovely For Fans

We get further and further away from the season of love and its peak, Valentine’s Day, every day. But this year, some of our favorite artists gave us surprises we’ll cherish all year long. From A-listers like Katy Perry and Bruno Mars to rising stars like Gracie Carol and grentperez, our playlists and hearts are fuller than a festive box of chocolates. Here’s how 11 of our faves made us feel like they were our personal valentines!

Katy Perry And Musicians On Call

Musicians On Call is an incredible charity focused on improving lives with the power of music, and this year, they made V-Day special for hospital patients and staff! Katy Perry invited hospital staff members in Las Vegas to see her amazing PLAY residency, and as jealous as we are, they deserve it so much for working so hard. MOC also put together performance videos from Aloe Blacc, Cece Winans, Dolly Parton, and Ingrid Michaelson into a fun “Musical Valentine” compilation they sent to over 5,000 hospitals across the US. 

And on the east coast, Rachel Platten gave performances at two New York City hospitals before Kendra Scott offered 100 hospital caregivers pieces of their jewelry collection. We love that Musicians On Call’s Valentine’s celebration spanned states, mediums, and industries! We’re sure this was a day that hospital staff and patients will never forget.

VIC MENSA

VIC’s discography was already immaculate, but he somehow found a way to make it even better with his new Vino Valentino EP! Across four songs – which include collabs with DIXSON, Malik Yusef, Do or Die, and Petter CottonTale – VIC assures a lover he’ll treat her like royalty, praises her appearance, and asks to take their relationship further. The ‘Cancer’ interlude adds a little something for people who don’t have a Valentine this season, describing a relationship VIC had to walk away from for his own good. Vino Valentino shows off his impressive ability to tackle universal subjects like romance with a unique, multi-faceted view and his own deeply personal voice.

Stream the full project right here! 

grentperez 

What better way to celebrate a day all about love than releasing a whole song about why you love someone? grentperez did not only that but also gave us his gorgeous debut EP, Conversations With The Moon. The main single, ‘Why I Love You,’ compares seeming opposites in a relationship to things like “August rain into the summer” and “the color into boring shades of gray.” It’s an adorably detailed song that even Cupid would have on his playlist rotation!

‘Why I Love You’ is a song about a relationship that seems too chaotic for its own good, but somehow just works. This song really brings out the perfect imperfections within a relationship, talking about the inconvenience and moodiness that this person brings, but you ultimately love those factors because that’s what makes them who they are. On top of that, to me, it makes the relationship that much more fun.

grentperez

Saweetie & H.E.R.

You already know we at THP love a good collab, especially when it’s with two of our favorite ladies in music! Saweetie teamed up with H.E.R. for what’s already one of our top songs of 2022, and as soon as you listen to the bouncy ‘Closer,’ you’ll see exactly why we love it so much. Between the fun bassline, H.E.R.’s velvety vocals, and Saweetie’s luxuriously clever rhymes, this is truly a team-up we’ll never forget.

Silk Sonic

We didn’t think the combination of Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak could get any sweeter, but they proved us wrong by delivering a stunning cover of Con Funk Shun’s track ‘Love’s Train’ that we can’t get enough of! It has the signature retro Silk Sonic flair we all know and love while giving a new interpretation of a romantic 80s classic. We’ve shamelessly had this on repeat at THP HQ since it came out. Come on, you can’t blame us. What’s not to love?

JC Stewart

JC proved once again why he’s one of our favorite rising singer-songwriters with the release of ‘Love Like That,’ his first release of 2022 that sets the stage for a year full of wistful musings and heartfelt lyrics – like what we’ve come to love from him, but more elevated than ever. And not only did he give us this gorgeous song, but a haunting live performance of it! We’re not crying… there’s just something in our eyes… 

I wrote ‘Love Like That’ after I’d had a few tough conversations with the people I loved around me. I realized I’d been fully prioritizing work over everything else and forgetting about the stuff that actually matters in life. This song is really an apology to those people and a promise to always put them first.

JC Stewart

Gracie Carol

Perfect for fans of Kelsea Ballerini and Maddie & Tae, Gracie Carol is our new reigning princess of country love songs! Her Valentine’s Day gift to us this year was the 808-tinged ‘Old School Love,’ a celebration of that OG romance full of respect and chivalry. There’s just enough of a balance between classic twangy country, catchy pop sounds, and pretty vocals that will play on loop in your head. And that electric guitar at the end? Incredible!

Russell Taylor

After being recognized as an Artist “You Oughta Know” by VH1, you’d think that an artist is at the top of their game. But Russell Taylor has proven he has much more up his sleeve since earning that title in 2013. His latest single, the V-Day treat that is ‘Cherry,’ shows off his forward-thinking production talent and emotive vocals that pack a punch. This release really is sweeter than a cherry.

We have all had that special kind of “love” that is no good for us, but we keep going back because it feels so damn good. Team-make it sweet, and make it hurt! ‘Cherry’ is for us, it’s our anthem!

Russell Taylor

Issam Alnajjar

If you don’t already have Jordanian superstar Issam Alnajjar on your radar, now’s your time to hop on the bandwagon! Issam brightened our Valentine’s Day with his latest music video, ‘Taawadt Aleiki,’ which means “I dated you” in Arabic. There’s something effortlessly cool about both the song and video, and it’s been living in our minds rent-free all week. Between Issam’s confidence and the stunning atmosphere of the music video, we can’t get enough!

Shooting the music video was a lot of fun. I got to experience new things, I was FLYING – it really felt like an adventure! I love how with every music video, I keep surpassing myself and each video is getting better than the one before. I don’t know what to expect next. 

Issam Alnajjar

How did you spend your Valentine’s Day? Which of these releases or events was your favorite? Let us know in the comments below or hit us up on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter!

And for more new releases you need in your rotation, click here.