Song for every moment: A NYE playlist

Editor’s Note: Hosting a party to bring the new year in? The splainer team and fam have the perfect crowdsourced playlist for all stages of the New Year's house party.

Song to ‘get the party started’

• ‘Don't Be Shy’ by Rouge: Arunima’s party starter track is this 2000s number which always gets her friends singing and grooving. 
• ‘Khabar Nahi’ from ‘Dostana’: For filmy fans, Abhishek has just the song that’ll get you going. It is guaranteed to make everyone sing along—especially Shreya Ghosal’s part. 
• ‘The Ketchup Song (Aserejé)’ by Las Ketchup: A quintessential beach party song, this is Aarthi’s recco which she claims will 100% get everyone’s feet tapping! 
• ‘Alors on danse’ by Stromae: Excuse our French but nothing can get a party started like this slow EDM which literally translates to “and so we dance”!
• ‘Desolè’ by Gorillaz feat. Fatoumata Diawara: This is Raghav’s pick as he likes to start things off with some RnB while people are still arriving, settling in and pregaming—UK band Gorillaz are the “best in the business” for that, he adds. 
• Lakshmi says it’s always the classics—sillier the better—that get people on the floor. She recommends something as literal as Pink’s ‘Get The Party Started’. 

One must-play dance floor track on your NYE list 

• ‘Latoo’ from ‘Ghajini’: This is one of Arunima’s house party classics.
• ‘SexyBack’ by Justin Timberlake: Also on Arunima’s house party hit.
• ‘Please Please Please’ by Sabrina Carpenter. Abhishek especially loves this track as “it has everything. Your random brain says dance n’ show.”
• ‘Fanaa’ from ‘Yuva’: A must-have on any AR Rahman fan’s playlist. Aarthi loves it because you can scream to this song at the top of your lungs!
• ‘Chaiyya Chaiyya’ from Dil Se: It is simply criminal to not have this song at a desi party IYKYK.
• ‘Taambdi Chaambdi’ by Kratex and Shreyas: This is a brilliant Marathi release from this year which will set your dance floor on fire!
• ‘I Gotta Feeling’ by Black Eyed Peas: Aarthi says the BEP classic is a must-listen closer to midnight on New Year’s eve.
• ‘Love Me Again’ by John Newman: For Raghav, this song is “pure nostalgia, not just for its inclusion on FIFA 14 but also for its celebration of a hyperlocal genre from a bygone era—northern soul.” 
• ‘Chammak Challo’ from ‘Ra One’: Lakshmi says there is no song ever written more likely to get even the shyest guest on the dance floor.

For winding down at the end of the night…

• ‘We are the People’ by Empire of the Sun: By this point in the party, Arunima don't care about other people and puts her indie fave on to unwind.  
• ‘Ishq Nachawe’ from ‘Kho Gaye Hum Kahan’: Going fully filmy, Abhishek suggests this song. 
• ‘Shape of my Heart’ by Backstreet Boys: A big BSB fan, Aarthi finds the genuineness in the song quite calming. 
• ‘Legion’ by TesseracT: The ever-practical Raghav is thinking about cleaning up the party mess. You’d be surprised just how much Daniel Tompkins’ singing here emotionally resonates with him when he’s collecting empty beer bottles and doing newspaper-pocha on the wet, sticky floor.
• ‘Call Your Friends’ by London Grammar: Yash puts this one on when he’s feeling nostalgic. The smooth blend of verses gets him hooked every time.
• ‘Baby Can I Hold You’ by Tracy Chapman: Yeah ‘Revolution’ got a lot of love, but Lakshmi is here to remind you that Tracy Chapman has got a whole lotta gems to chill you out. 

For a mellow NYE get-together 

• Flowing Fades by Saccades: Arunima likes to play this album because it is comfortable listening to and pleasant enough to not be too loud. She recommends checking out artists like Jungle and Photay—who give off a similar vibe. And for the old school folks: Nazia Hassan.
• The Cost of Dreaming by White Moth Black Butterfly: Raghav’s album pick features Tompkins on vocal duties again, but the vibe ditches metal for pop—with more focus on synthesisers, melodies and introspective lyrics. The desi flavour: Delhi scene stalwart Keshav Dhar co-wrote and produced these tracks, and added some guitarwork.
• Vitamin String Quartet: High of the Bridgerton fame, this quartet has covered plenty of pop songs—from Sia’s ‘Cheap Thrills’ to BTS to Paramore. Aarthi suggests leaving their entire discography in the background.
• Autumn Love by Death Cab for Cutie: For Yash, it is a heartwarming mid-tempo ballad that captures the essence of self-liberation with its beautiful harmonies and uplifting tone, standing out in the album for its optimistic charm.
• As the middle-aged person in the mix, Lakshmi recommends Patricia Kaas—late 1980s/90s French pop at its best. Far less pretentious than Edith Piaf and less predictable than Adele.

PS: Stand-out tracks from the discographies have been added to splainer’s party playlist on Spotify!