Life at E.l.f. isn’t all work and no play. And often those worlds collide. One such example: the company playlist, a compilation of employees’ favorite songs that lives on Spotify and can often be heard during internal events.
The list grew out of one of Tarang Amin’s company-wide weekly emails, a tradition that started in the early days of the pandemic as a way for the CEO to share updates and stay connected with the team. Amin would write about matters both personal and professional, and the emails proved to be so popular, he’s continued them long after lockdown ended.
Week number 220’s email was titled “My Playlist,” and in it, Amin detailed a recent trip to New York. He talked about meetings with external investors, as well as an internal “Ask Me Anything” session, in which attendees can, well, ask him anything, work-related or not. “I always say that I want to be a big company without big company behaviors,” he wrote. “I’ve seen what happens when an organization gets very large: suddenly you don’t know people in the office and you find yourself getting matrixed and siloed. These sessions are one of the ones we keep that sense of familial closeness thriving.”
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During that trip to New York, so many people asked about his musical taste that Amin decided to share some favorite songs in his email from his personal playlist of 500 — ranging from Childish Gambino’s “This is America” to Sophie Ellis Baxter’s “Murder on the Dance Floor” — and asked the team to share their favorites with him.
Here, E.l.f’s favorite jams.
Adele
“Hello,” “Set Fire to the Rain,” “Someone Like You”
Alicia Keys
“Empire State of Mind (w/ Jay-Z),” “Girl on Fire”
Beyoncé
“Halo,” “Texas Hold ‘Em”
Bob Marley and the Wailers
“Could You Be Loved”
Bruce Springsteen
“Dancing in the Dark”
Carlos Santana
“Maria Maria”
Colbie Caillat
“Bubbly”
The Corrs
“Breathless”
Daft Punk
“Get Lucky”
Ellie Goulding
“Love Me Like You Do”
Elvis Presley
“Can’t Help Falling in Love” (and the UB40 version as well)
Eminem
“Lose Yourself,” “Love the Way You Lie” (with Rihanna)
Farruko
“Pepas”
The Gipsy Kings
“Bamboléo,” “Volaré”
Lizzo
“Truth Hurts”
Red Hot Chili Peppers
“Californication,” “Can’t Stop”
Sabrina Carpenter
“Feather”
Taylor Swift
“Cruel Summer”
The Weeknd
“Blinding Lights,” “Starboy” (with Daft Punk)
U2
“With or Without You,” “Where the Streets Have No Name,” “Beautiful Day”