This week in the best new pop music saw some flirty tracks and tenacious tunes. Demi Lovato teamed up with Sam Fischer for a vulnerable song, Finneas shared a fan-favorite to streaming services, and Victoria Monét debuted a sweltering single.
Each week, Uproxx rounds up the best new pop music. Listen up.
Demi Lovato — “What Other People Say” Feat. Sam Fischer
After weeks of teasing, Demi Lovato and Sam Fischer have finally revealed their soaring collaborations “What Other People Say.” The song is Demi’s way of shirking her past and looking towards the future by leaning on her fluttering vocals to deliver lyrics about her previous drug use and social anxiety.
Finneas — “American Cliché”
Finneas shared the grandiose single “American Cliché” this week, which started as a fan-favorite at live shows. But the singer finally decided to record the song and debut it as a single after being “bullied” by fans asking for its release. “I just wanted you to know, your cyber bullying absolutely worked and is absolutely the only reason I went back to it and produced it,” he said about the track.
Victoria Monét — “F.*.C.K”
It’s been less than a year since Victoria Monét shared her well-received LP Jaguar. Now, Monét returns with a sultry single about friends-with-benefits. “‘F.*.C.K. is a nod to the millennial and gen Z mindset,” she said in a statement. “We do not have to be confined to traditional commitment ideals, and instead, embody the freedom to be intimate when and with whom we mutually, please! I wanted to give that non-binding friendship intimacy an official name…the way we see it, if you’re never in a relationship, you technically can never break up.”
HER — “Fight For You”
HER put on a spectacular performance of “America The Beautiful” at the Super Bowl this weekend, but that’s not the only piece of music she shared. HER debuted the powerful track “Fight For You,” which appears on the upcoming LaKeith Stanfield-starring film Judas And The Black Messiah. “The song was so fun to make, especially making something from that time the late ’60s, early ’70s is one of my favorite eras of music,” she said about the track.
VanJess — “Caught Up” Feat. Phony Ppl
R&B sister duo VanJess released their shimmering EP Homegrown this week, and on it arrived the irresistibly groovy track “Caught Up.” Harmonizing their ethereal voices over a disco-infused beat, VanJess sing of looking for comfort in a romantic partner.
Raveena — “Tweety”
26-year-old pop-soul star Raveena first made a name for herself with her self-released 2019 debut album, Lucid. The album drew critical acclaim and even landed her the opportunity to perform on NPR’s coveted Tiny Desk series. Now launching into a new era, Raveena shares the sparkling tune “Tweety.”
Jeremy Zucker, Chelsea Cutler — “Emily”
After attracting a wide audience from their 2019 joint EP Brent, Jeremy Zucker and Chelsea Cutler have once again teamed up to share a collection of songs in the form of Brent II. The follow-up EP debuted this week and with it came the quiet love ballad “Emily,” which sees the two songwriters harmonize gentle melodies over a softly strumming guitar.
Lucky Daye — “On Read” Feat. Tiana Major9
The last we heard from Grammy-nominated singer Lucky Daye, he had released his 2020 LP Painted. Now, Daye is bringing his soulful music into the new year. Teaming up with Tiana Major9, Daye shares the laid-back track “On Read,” which boasts twang-infused guitar chords over a rolling beat and closes out with Daye delivering a few lines of spoken-word poetry.
Oliver Tree — “Out Of Ordinary”
Pop boundary-pusher Oliver Tree made a splash with his head-turning bowl cut and debut LP Ugly Is Beautiful. Now returning with his first track of the new year, Tree shares the bubbly song “Out Of Ordinary” as a somber reflection on the woes of suburban life and the tolls it takes on someone who pushes back against the idea of a cookie-cutter perfection.
Dasha — “Shiny Things”
Cutting-edge singer Dasha flaunts her ’00s sensibilities with her buoyant new single “Shiny Things.” “This song is all about confidence in the person you’re with and within yourself,” Dasha said in a statement about the track. “The ‘shiny things’ are everything that other people have that you don’t. Instead of letting that lead to insecurities you gotta focus on all the shiny things that you have that others don’t.”
Some of the artists covered here are Warner Music artists. .
