2025 Edition: Recommended Western songs for winter drives — the latest tracks and timeless hits

Soft Spotkeshi

keshi – Soft Spot (Official Music Video)

If you’re looking for a heartwarming track perfect for winter drives, you should definitely check out keshi’s music.

This piece features delicate, dreamlike soundscapes and emotional lyrics, marked by minimalism and a sweet, memorable melody.

It blends lo-fi, R&B, and alternative pop, capturing everything that makes keshi so compelling in a single song.

Included on the album “Requiem,” released in September 2024 via Island Records, this track expresses the anxieties and fragility of love—something that will resonate deeply when listened to on the road.

It’s recommended not only for couples seeking a romantic mood, but also for anyone who wants to savor a solitary, contemplative moment.

Love Me Like You DoEllie Goulding

Ellie Goulding – Love Me Like You Do (Official Video)

This is a song where you can hear Ellie Goulding’s very beautiful singing voice, shaped by a life close to music since childhood.

The lyrics may be composed of simple words, but they are more than enough to portray a happy woman, and it’s a quintessential example of how simple lyrics can convey a powerful message.

LuckyErika de Casier

Erika de Casier – Lucky

Known for contributing songs to NewJeans, rising artist Erika de Casier released this lead single from her 2024 album “Still.” It opens as a dreamy piano ballad, then springs to life when breakbeats kick in.

The mellow, atmospheric sound makes it perfect for a winter night drive.

Lyrically, it conveys the happiness that comes from a deep connection with a loved one and the positive impact that person has, warmly enveloping the listener.

The music video shows people walking alone along the seaside, which would also pair well with a leisurely driving scene.

Evoking the vibe of 90s R&B while incorporating contemporary elements, the track is sure to appeal to a wide range of listeners.

Beautiful ft. Colby O’Donis, Kardinal OffishallAkon

Akon – Beautiful (Official Music Video) ft. Colby O’Donis, Kardinal Offishall

It’s been nearly ten years since its release, yet the song feels anything but dated.

It portrays a man’s feelings as he tries to win over a woman he fell in love with at first sight.

Whether you’re a man or a woman, you’re bound to fall for Akon’s one-of-a-kind vocals.

FocusAriana Grande

Ariana Grande – Focus (Official Video)

If you’ve got a crush, this is the song you’ll want playing in the car when the two of you go for a drive.

Its straightforward message combined with a lively tempo makes it an easy listen.

It’s also likely the song many people know as one of her standout tracks.

thank u, nextAriana Grande

Ariana Grande – thank u, next (Official Video)

With a refined singing voice that is languid and tinged with melancholy yet undeniably present, paired with a modern, sophisticated track, the superb classic “thank u, next” is a song that global pop star Ariana Grande released without prior notice on November 3, 2019.

It became Ariana’s first No.

1 on the Billboard charts, and along with lyrics that thank past lovers, bid them farewell, and declare her resolve to step forward on a new path, it stands as a pivotal masterpiece in her career.

Neither clinging to the past nor forcing a false positivity, this graceful, elegant breakup song might be the perfect soundtrack for winter—a season that bridges the end of one year and the start of the next.

liMOusIne (ft. AURORA)Bring Me The Horizon

Bring Me The Horizon – liMOusIne ft. AURORA (Live from Japan)

A single track that exudes a fantastical, melancholic mood—like the scenery you glimpse from a car window driving through a snowy landscape.

Bring Me The Horizon’s fierce metal sound weaves a perfect harmony with AURORA’s delicate, ephemeral vocals.

The lyrics, centered on self-destructive emotions and toxic relationships, seep into hearts chilled by winter’s cold.

Included on the May 2024 album POST HUMAN: NeX GEn, the song made its live debut that August at Chiba’s ZOZO Marine Stadium to great acclaim.

It’s a track you’ll want to play on a winter night, driving along snowy roads as you face yourself—one that can prompt you to reexamine the conflicts and anxieties deep within.