GloRilla‘s hit single “TGIF” has been crowned ‘Best Song of the Year’ by TIME in their annual year-end list.
Published on Monday (December 9), the publication noted that the songs “were selected with our list of the 10 Best Albums of 2024 in mind, so to showcase a greater range of music, no artists appear on both.”
Among songs like Beyoncé‘s “Riiverdance,” Kendrick Lamar‘s “Not Like Us” and Kehlani‘s “After Hours,” Big Glo holds down the top spot for her single-ladies anthem.
“For GloRilla, being single is a supernatural experience,” reporter and critic Stephen Kearse writes of the track. “When the Memphis rapper isn’t in a relationship, she’s not just free from headaches and responsibilities; she’s powered up, unstoppable, glowing. She spends ‘TGIF’ toasting to this enhanced state over seismic bass kicks and a cinematic horn loop that brings to mind Godzilla ascending from the Pacific.
“Her bullish delivery elevates her mundane boasts — feeling good, looking ‘fine as hell, ‘ sporting a fresh mani-pedi — into titanic flexes. This ode to Friday clubbing isn’t self-empowering: It’s a display of power.”
Rihanna is famously a huge fan of the song as well, helping launch it to viral status over the summer when she made a video to it.
As Rih lip-synced and got down to the hook “It’s 7 p.m. Friday/ It’s ninety-five degrees/ I ain’t got no n-gga and no n-gga ain’t got me,” the camera panned to A$AP Rocky.
Confused and amused by his partner’s energy, he hilariously responded by saying: “Where my drink at, man? I’m too old for this shit.”
GloRilla’s banner year has her topping multiple year-end lists, and Billboard recently named the Memphis native as the hottest female rapper in the game for 2024.
Noting that she suffered a bit of a sophomore slump in 2023 after singles like the Fivio Foreign-assisted “Cha Cha” failed to hit like her breakout songs “F.N.F. (Let’s Go)” and “Tomorrow 2” the year prior, Billboard highlights how she “made a triumphant comeback and reclaimed her mojo when she struck gold with ‘Yeah Glo!’ at the top of 2024.”
“The swaggering track zoomed into the top 30 of the Hot 100 and showcased her resiliency as a rapper who refuses to buckle under pressure,” journalist Carl Lamarre writes. “Her torrid streak continued with the top 15 Hot 100 record ‘Wanna Be’ featuring Megan Thee Stallion and the summer hit ‘TGIF.’”
Lamarre continued: “Everyone felt GloRilla’s momentum, as pop behemoths Rihanna and Taylor Swift applauded her efforts, saluting her as rap’s newest ‘IT’ girl of the moment. Kamala Harris even phoned her up at the tail-end of her campaign to win over youth voters during her run against Trump.
“The proverbial cherry on top came when GloRilla netted the highest opening week in 2024 for a female rapper, when her debut album GLORIOUS entered at No. 5 on the Billboard 200 with 69,000 album-equivalent units – doubling the release of her spring mixtape Ehhthang Ehhthang.”
