Entertainment

The Definitive Ranking Of Drake's 'Views' Songs

by Mary Grace Garis

It’s here! It’s here! It’s finally here! Drake’s long-awaited album, Views, was released on Friday to sounds of fans everywhere screaming for joy. Aside from listening to the whole thing on repeat since the moment it was released, all I can do is sit back and smile, because thank god there is now more Drake in the world. In fact, there is now a lot more Drake in the world, because the track list for Views is out of this world. With 20 new songs, Drake has given us all a gift with this album. A very long, very wonderful gift. No, seriously, these songs are amazing. Of course, some of the songs are a bit better than others, which is why I couldn’t help myself: I had to create a ranking of Drake’s Views tracks.

But before you chastise me for even trying to create some sort of imposed order to an otherwise perfect album, recognize that I’m only trying to help. With 20 new songs for the world to sink our teeth into, it’s important to know which ones are the ones people are going to be playing on repeat for the rest of 2016. So, prepare yourselves, Drake fans. I’m about to do something semi-blasphemous, but only because I know your time is precious. When it comes to discovering a new album after a long week, you gotta get to the good stuff as soon as you can.

So here it is. All of the songs from Drake’s Views ranked according to their awesomeness.

20. "Keep The Family Close"

You know what, if this was a mid-album track then I probably wouldn't put it in last place, but, as an opener, I can't help but find it extremely underwhelming. The first two minutes you just wait for something to happen and then around the two minute mark the track starts trying. I don't know, it just doesn't quite do it for me, so you can skip through this one.

19. "Fire and Desire"

I'm also not 110 percent what kind of vibe this song is going for, is it like, "sexy but boring?" I'm glad that Drake thinks I'm a "real ass woman," but this isn't going to make me leave my boyfriend. Probably.

18. "Childs Play"

Uh, I'm sorry, guys, the song itself isn't bad, but I can't get behind that gross intro.

17. "9"

There's a nice sparkliness to this track, but it passed by without event. I just finished brewing my morning coffee and realized it was over, so maybe it's the track you start your day with instead of the track you use to kick off the night.

16. "Redemption"

It seems like Drake is trying to make amends with a lot of women here, and he's very respectful about not trying to win them back... I think. There's one part that confuses me:

I know you're seein' someone that loves youAnd I don't want you to see no one elseI don't want you here with someone elseI don't wanna do this with no one else

So he's not trying to get involved with her because she's now with a guy who cares about her, or he's jealous and doesn't want her with anyone else? Shrug. Anyway, I appreciate the content because the approach sounds a bit more sincere than Justin Bieber's "Sorry," yet the song itself isn't an immediate knock-out.

15. "Faithful (Featuring Pimp C & dvsn)"

Thus far this has been Drake's most successful attempt to seduce me, I'm glad that he can recognize that I'm a strong independent working woman and he's going to be true to me while I'm out working overtime. Then again, after listening to "Redemption" can I really trust him? This gets the number 15 spot for making me question his intentions.

14. "Grammys (Featuring Future)"

Drake and Future are co-touring together this summer, as a result of their musical chemistry and friendship, and as a result "Grammys" is a solid song. However, I don't see it winning any awards soon. When Future shows up in the track sounding like, no joke, it is a sad, sad, garble. He redeems himself shortly thereafter, but it's hard to overcome fully.

13. "U With Me?"

There's a pleasant bump to this, and yet this is still early in the album enough where at that point I still had to answer the titular question with, "I don't know, Drizzy, I don't know." Really, VIEWS gets better as it goes along.

12. "Hype"

This has a steady sort of energy and it's a name-dropping good time, just not a stand-out track necessarily.

11. "Feel No Ways"

You know what, Drake? I feel this feel:

I try with youThere's more to life than sleeping inAnd getting high with youI had to let go of us to show myself what I could do

Let this song be a low-key way to make your lowlife, anti-ambitious ex scamper off as you follow your dreams.

10. "With You (Featuring PARTYNEXTDOOR)"

This will get a nice little shoulder-shake going, and sometimes you just need that in a song.

9. "Controlla"

There's definitely a prettiness to this track, it's just a tonal wonderland, and that's how it cracked into the top 10.

8. "Still Here"

It's an awesome beat and energy burst to revitalize you halfway through the album, and it kind of makes you feel like you do not want to mess with Drake. So great.

7. "Too Good (Featuring Rihanna)"

Unpopular opinion? While this isn't a life-changing track necessarily, I find this way better than the duo's most recent collab, "Work." Maybe that's because "Work" really didn't do it for me in the first place, or maybe that's because Rihanna's vocals are really crystal clear and delightful here.

6. "Pop Style"

This one is weird, because there's an eeriness to it and at times it also sounds like the chirping of a faulty computer...? I mean this all in the best way, though.

5. "Summers Over Interlude"

What is this?! There's guitars?! And singing?! Honestly I love this little breath of fresh air (it clocks in under two minutes, which makes it a fitting interlude), but I can't say I understand it entirely.

4. "Views"

So is this song really worthy of the album title? I mean, listen, about 30 seconds in the track becomes totally fire, or whatever the kids are saying, but it maybe gets a bit repetitive. It's a gem, definitely, just not quite the crown jewel.

3. "Weston Road Flows"

There’s a really amazing vintage hip-hop vibe here that blends in an expectedly delicious way with Drake’s take-no-prisoners rap drawl. It kind of loses me around the three minute mark, although luckily the song's on it's way out by that point anyway.

2. "One Dance (Featuring Wizkid & Kyla)"

This is such a fun song, and Drake doesn’t sound like he’s droning at any point, which is usually my one critique. Also Wizkid and Kyla's bridge really adds something playful to the track, it's just a wonderful addition.

1. "Hotline Bling"

Oh, please, like this wasn't going to be the number one spot. Still incredible.

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