Song · Michael Kiwanuka
“Hero” by Michael Kiwanuka
From the album KIWANUKA (2019)
“Hero” by Michael Kiwanuka appears on 14 radio countdowns from 11 stations between 2019 and 2025. It was first released in 2019 on the album KIWANUKA. Its best result is #11 on the WXPK Top 107 Songs of 2019. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #38 indie & aaa song of 2019, #1,441 indie & aaa song of all time, #279 of the '10s and #488 of the '20s.
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"Hero" arrived in late October 2019, a week ahead of KIWANUKA, the third album from English singer-songwriter Michael Kiwanuka, and it's a snapshot of how that record was built. Danger Mouse and Inflo produced it, and Kiwanuka wrote it with Inflo and Brian Burton.
Kiwanuka handles the acoustic and electric guitars and the bass as well as the lead vocal, while Inflo covers drums and organ and adds background vocals. Wired Strings bring the strings, which Richard Woodcraft engineered; he also recorded and mixed the track, with Kennie Takahashi sharing the recording. It's a small, tight circle making a big, warm sound, and the album around it went on to win the 2020 Mercury Prize.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz.
RockLists rankings
Indie & Adult Alternative
All Rock Formats
Year-end countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 81 | 90.9 The Bridge Kansas City, MO | 90.9 The Bridge Top 90 Songs of 2019 | 90 |
| 2019 | 25 | Lightning 100 Nashville, TN | Lightning 100 Top 200 Songs of 2019 | 200 |
| 2019 | 49 | The Current Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN | The Current Top 89 Songs of 2019 | 89 |
| 2019 | 49 | WRNR 103.1 Annapolis, MD | WRNR Top 103.1 Songs of 2019 | 104 |
| 2019 | 22 | WFUV New York, NY | WFUV Top 90 Songs of 2019 | 90 |
| 2019 | 11 | 107.1 The Peak Westchester County, NY | WXPK Top 107 Songs of 2019 | 107 |
| 2020 | 47 | Exit 97.7 Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY | WEXT Top 97 of 2020 | 97 |
| 2020 | 26 | WRNR 103.1 Annapolis, MD | WRNR Top 103.1 Songs of 2020 | 104 |
| 2020 | 25 | Indie 102.3 Denver, CO | Indie 102.3 Top 102.3 Songs of 2020 | 103 |
| 2020 | 79 | WXPN Philadelphia, PA | WXPN Top 100 Most Played Songs of 2020 | 100 |
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 1175 | WYEP | WYEP Countdown to Fall 2022 | 603 |
| 2022 | 126 | The Colorado Sound | The Colorado Sound Top 1055 Colorado Sound Songs of All Time | 1055 |
| 2024 | 185 | The Colorado Sound | The Colorado Sound Top 1055 Songs of the 21st Century | 1055 |
| 2025 | 759 | 90.9 The Bridge | 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the 21st Century | 909 |
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