The Year of Pop Girl Music

Let's discuss The Girls.

If you are online, you should already know that this has sort of become The Year of music releases. Just like how 2023 was the year of Divorce; 2024 is the year of pop eras. Not all of the girls I’m going to list are necessarily “pop,” but you know… popular girls, that my audience should be well aware of. I decided there’s been enough music news, that… I just have to go on the record discussing a lot of the big ones, discuss what I’m excited for, what I want from them. It goes without saying, I can’t really cover every single music release of this year, but I tried my best. I will be covering these artists in ABC order.

ARIANA GRANDE.

Ariana Grande’s album, Eternal Sunshine, is releasing on March 8th. INSANELY close, now that I really think about it.

She released Yes, And? in January, and it feels as though the response was less than great. I mean, on social media. It did go #1, and Twitter is far from the real world, but it feels as though the response was overall lukewarm from the General Public as well.

I have some takes on how Ariana navigates music, and how a lot of her fanbase responds to her, but that’s not the topic at hand today. Personally, I found Yes, And? to be a very well-crafted and smart song. I love how she used the sample; I love how she paid tribute to Paula Abdul with her music video. All around, I think Ariana had a decent vision for this single. The remix… the less we say about that the better. I wish we got a second single. I really miss when rollouts were fully realized. I’m sure the era will continue after she drops the album, but… I wanted a second single for the album rollout.

Being said, if this album keeps up with the influences Yes And? has, and if the sound remains consistent, this could be her best work to date. Insanely hot take, but I’m quite optimistic for this project. I see a lot of speculation about this and that, the title, whether it’ll be a “concept album” and… I don’t know about all of that, but I do assume this will be a dance-heavy album, and I think it will sound really great… probably.

BEYONCÉ.

Oh, this is the big one.

I wasn’t watching the super bowl because… obviously I wasn’t, but I felt such a RUSH experiencing the timeline that night. You just HADDD to be there. Every update. I couldn’t stop pacing my bedroom that entire night. I wish I had recorded my live reaction to the video she posted to her Instagram, because I nearly drove myself into a panic attack, I couldn’t believe it was real life. I will never experience that excitement again. I wish I could bottle up that feeling and keep it saved. ACT II is being released on MY BIRTHDAY, March 29th. Oh my God!!!!! If she announced Tour Tickets tomorrow, without having heard anything other than TWO SONGS… I would have to cop tickets. I would go broke.

TEXAS HOLD ‘EM is an instant classic. One of her definitive hits already. A country song making such chart HISTORY, three decades into her career. But 16 CARRIAGES is something really special. 16 CARRIAGES is what makes me most excited for what the lyrical content of the album will be like. What themes she may be tackling on the album. Both tracks are also just… new vocal highs, she continues to amaze me. I also love the layering, the vocal production, just wow. The single cover of 16 CARRIAGES particularly just feels like instant iconography of her career as well. I can see that shot of her in the hat as becoming a staple, it’s simple yet stunning.

Now….… Beyoncé… please, listen to me. Look. At. Me. I accepted what I got with ACT I. I literally saw you live, we got to see a concert film, I accepted the era is over… but, please. Bring music videos back. This isn’t even just about you, we, a society, are in a music video DROUGHT. I just praised Ariana’s video for Yes And? but even then… it was ultimately a Paula tribute video in a parking garage, and not many appreciated that as much as me. I want music videos that are MOMENTS back… and I believe if Beyoncé wanted to, Beyoncé could do just that. Her last visual was BLACK IS KING and, even though people kind of overlooked that era because of The Lion King of it all, I consider it to be her best visual storytelling to date. We need her back.

CHLÖE

I was less certain on adding acts who don’t have albums slated for release yet, but Ms. Chlöe Bailey announced her upcoming single, Fuck Your Status, dropping tonight, and I will be tuned in! I can’t say for sure whether this marks the start of a new era, but I quite liked most of the tracks on In Pieces, so if we were to get another Chlöe album this year… I would be tuned in.

I know some people prefer Chlöe and Halle as a duo, and to be sure Ungodly Hour remains one of my favorite albums of all time. I definitely would want them in the booth together again. However, I like seeing their solo projects as well, both in acting and in music. Watching Chlöe perform is something so serious. You can talk as much talk as you want, but the talent is still the talent at the end of the day.

DUA LIPA.

Dua Lipa’s current era has been interesting. I feel as though the tides have started to shift in Houdini’s favor, especially after she slayed that Grammy’s performance, but let it be known I have been here since DAY ONE. Houdini is a great song. Nobody can tell me otherwise. Training Season was released a bit too late. We had already heard 80% of the song weeks before she decided to drop it, but it’s a very good pop song, nonetheless.

Neither track has been topping the charts, which leads to people saying she should scrap the album altogether. I don’t care! I think those people are boring!!! I want Dua Lipa to follow through on this era and if it flops, IT FLOPS!!! That builds character. Every great pop act has a flop era, and if they don’t have a “flop” era, they have an era that performed worse than their other eras, which makes it a “flop” by comparison. You just have to commit!! I mean, she still doesn’t have an album title, release date, or cover, so… maybe she will just restart the era if the songs don’t take off, but I don’t think she should.

I don’t even think all is lost with this era. One thing about Dua Lipa is she will PUSH a track. Comparing this era to Future Nostalgia is unfair considering part of the reason she pushed the FN tracks for years after its release is because she couldn’t do much of an era during the pandemic, but still… she PUSHES the tracks she creates. She gives them time to breathe, she doesn’t just drop them and then walk away. This era could grow into something bigger than it is currently. I will certainly stream anything Dua Lipa drops, because the music is always of a decent quality. I can’t think of a song of hers I’ve heard and said, “wow… this sounds terrible.” She’s consistent! Also, I appreciate Dua Lipa’s work ethic. She gives performances, she makes appearances, she releases visuals, and she releases consistently… I can criticize this era, but it also is an era. She understands the importance of showing up!!!

HALLE.

Literal Mother Halle Bailey has been teasing music pretty consistently lately, most recently with a snippet that she’s been pushing on Instagram and TikTok. There have been talks of an album for over a year now, as well. I don’t know if that will be this year, but it is very safe to say that she will be dropping something soon. Though, there have been some alleged issues with her label and her music releases, so… nothing is certain, I suppose.

If you know me, you know I find Halle to be one of the most talented people in the world. I quite liked Angel; I found the music video for it to be particularly stunning. She sounds incredible on the snippet she’s been posting. Anything Halle puts her vocals on, I’m generally going to like. Her voice… it’s just too good.

KACEY MUSGRAVES.

Ms. Kacey Musgrave literally JUST released another song as I was editing this issue… almost as if she knew!!!!!! Anyways, her album is coming March 15th, and I’m expecting greatness from it. When she announced her new album, Deeper Well, I started contemplating writing an issue in apology of star-crossed until I just lost all interest. Considering I quite liked that album when almost nobody else did, it's safe to say it would take a lot for me to dislike a Kacey Musgraves project. I just enjoy her musicality.

I consider Deeper Well (single) to be amongst her most effective lyricism. Just so peaceful sonically, with relatively simple yet personal and largely relatable lyrics. I love songs about growth, growing out of certain things or people. It just connects. This album might heal me.

Too Good to Be True instantly connects with me as well. I can tell this album might be the one she made for me. I also love to think of this track in the context of her career. In an obvious sense, it lyrically links to Oh What a World (and other songs from Golden Hour) but from a new perspective. I also believe sonically this era has been more resonant to Golden Hour than to star-crossed, but with a more, at times bittersweet, older perspective. I believe that to be for all the better, as much as I like star-crossed.

MEGAN THEE STALLION.

I’m not entirely certain when or if Meg has an album release slated for 2024, but given her current single track-record, I think it’s safe to assume some type of new project is imminent. Anyways, of course Hiss is just that song, I want to raise some commotion for Cobra. Cobra was a GREAT!!! song, and one I still keep going back to.

The sound of this era, the rock-esque influences in the instrumental, the consistently insaneeee visuals… I was quite the Traumazine enthusiast before, but if she keeps going down this route, whatever album she may be building up to, might be her big one. Regardless, though, Meg thee Stallion knows great music. With her in full creative control of her career, I will be excitedly seated for whatever she may drop next.

GRAMMY AWARD WINNING MILEY CYRUS.

I wasn’t sure if I wanted to include Miley, but after deciding to add some artists who were releasing singles, I can’t include one and not the other, right? Anyways, I love Miley Cyrus. The song she’s releasing tonight is a collaboration with Pharrell, and I find the little clip she posted to be so endearing. She knows how to entertain.

Speaking of knowing how to entertain, can we just appreciate Miley’s appearance at the Grammy’s, really quick? How great Miley looked, how she had quite probably the best vocal performance of the night. Can we appreciate that? How her second speech was iconic? Like, let’s have the conversation. Say what you will about her discography, I have my own notes! But Miley Cyrus just radiates star quality.

NORMANI.

WE MADE IT… WE MADE IT… WE MADE IT. FINALLY ON THE OTHER SIIIIIIDE FINALLY FOUND THE URGE TO SMIIIILE. If you somehow missed it, Normani announced her debut album is coming, and no matter WHAT… I’m happy, because I finally live in a world where I will have a Normani album. I’m not entirely sure what direction the album will take, or whether any of her previous singles are attached to it, but I’ve been a Normani fan for a full decade. I will be very happy to support whatever comes my way. I am of the belief that every song she’s released in the past decade has been varying degrees of good to excellent. Motivation changed my life and both it and Wild Side have two of the best videos of the past decade. I can’t imagine a Normani era underwhelming. She just has IT if you let me tell it.

SELENA GOMEZ.

If you know me, you know Selena has been a part of my life for a very long time. I have supported her through a lot. Unfortunately, her recent behavior has been quite upsetting, though not the topic at hand today, perhaps I’ll expand on this on another date, but… I’m sure you are aware what this pertains to. I have, however, kept up with her recent releases. If I’m not mistaken, Love On is the lead single to an upcoming album, whereas Single Soon served as a standalone single, but I also heavily associate the two. They share a similar sound, they were released within a few months of each other, they just go hand-in-hand to me.

I think the idea of Single Soon is very cute and fun, and Love On has its moments (LOVE the second verse) but something about the production of both songs sound so… GarageBand? I'm no expert on production, but they don’t sound great to me. The music videos are fun! I’ll probably keep tabs on this era, but I’m not really a fan yet. Selena says she’s more invested in acting currently, so maybe she’s just not in her music bag right now.

TAYLOR SWIFT.

I’m sure you already know all about Taylor’s album, considering her announcement shook the internet a bit. I refuse to comment until we hear a single. I want her to make an era out of this. I find making an announcement just to not follow up with any music until the album release to be the worst rollout possibly at this point. I know Midnights took up literally every top placement on the charts, but I miss Actual Eras so bad. I’ve said that, like, five times in this issue alone. I get that Taylor is busy on the ERAS tour… but, like, please??? Taylor Swift is currently the most famous anybody could possibly be. She could make this so fun, if she wanted to!!!

Anyways, I don’t care to speculate much about the sound of this album, because I find it easier to meet Taylor where she’s at. Taylor has been one of my favorite artists since I was literally six years old, so I know she never goes for the same exact sound twice. Until I get a single or the album, I won’t try to beat her to the punch. I do think it’s easy to judge what certain subject matters (Thee London Boy) will be discussed, though. No matter what, this will be one of my most streamed albums of the year. It goes without hearing.

TINASHE.

BB/ANG3L Part 2 just has to get here… yesterday. If you haven’t streamed BB/ANG3L, I do recommend it, but be prepared to get aggravated because it is, like, 5 seconds long. It’s also just pure excellence, and despite being single length, grows in such a vast and insane way. Every listen gets better, a new song stands out in a new way.

It’s hard to undersell Tinashe as an artist, but she’s simultaneously all too overlooked. If you look at the totality of her impact, and really listen to her music, and by really listen - I mean REALLLLLLY examine what she’s doing… it’s hard not to be gagged. And then you watch her performances, and she’s quite visionary. She’s operating on another level from her peers.

TYLA.

Tyla is the most recent artist I’ve gotten into, and every single release I’ve heard of hers has gotten me obsessed, just immediately Love at first listen. I don’t have much else to say. I find her to be soooo fab, both musically and her fashion sense. Diva!!! Her self-titled debut album is coming next month, the 23rd of March. I will certainly be streaming. I’ve become one of Tyla’s Tygers!

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Of course I couldn’t cover every upcoming music release, and plenty of artists will tease music but not confirm anything, so… I’m keeping my eye out for just about every and anybody, but these were a few of the ones I’m most excited for. What music releases are you most looking forward to in 2024? Let me know in the comments below!