Pop’s perennial hitmakers came correct. Last week’s offerings were defined by collaborations and remixes. Charli XCX and Lorde worked it out on the remix. Ariana Grande, Brandy, and Monica brought “The Boy Is Mine” full circle. Gracie Abrams, whom Uproxx recently profiled, welcomed Taylor Swift on to Track 5 of her The Secret Of Us album, but perhaps the most surprising collaboration of the week was Paris Hilton and Rina Sawayama?
Check out all of that and more in Uproxx’s Best New Pop Music roundup below.
Charli XCX & Lorde — “Girl, So Confusing”
Before Brat released, Charli XCX declined to confirm whom “Girl, So Confusing” is about, but the widespread assumption was Lorde. That hunch was confirmed with “The Girl, So Confusing Version With Lorde,” effectively clearing the air between them. Lorde’s verse is so brave, which seems like a trite descriptor, but it is. Lorde sings of being oblivious to Charli’s feelings toward her because she had been “so lost in my head” and “at war in my body.” The song is still a club banger, but now it’s also a poignant reflection on perceived envy and silent self-consciousness.
Gracie Abrams Feat. Taylor Swift — “Us”
Taylor Swift’s Track 5 lore is rich, but it’s richer now that Gracie Abrams carried on the tradition to her sophomore album, The Secret Of Us. According to this fantastic video posted by Abrams, “Us” featuring Swift was written between 2 a.m. to 6 a.m. and involved Swift using a fire extinguisher. The best part is that such an epic backstory pales in comparison to Abrams’ and Swift’s stunning duet, which they performed for the first time at Swift’s third London The Eras Tour show on Sunday, June 23.
NewJeans — “Supernatural”
NewJeans’ “Supernatural” possesses the superpower of time travel, as Pharrell co-produced and co-wrote the song that drew from his production on Manami’s “Back Of My Mind” from 2009. “Supernatural” feels simultaneously nostalgic and timeless in all of its all-consuming, love-drunk glory. The song is billed as a “double album single” alongside the previously released “Right Now” and its Takashi Murakami-directed video.
Ariana Grande, Brandy & Monica — “The Boy Is Mine (Remix)”
The anonymous boy at the heart of “The Boy Is Mine (Remix)” is the least relevant participant. Grande honored Brandy and Monica’s original 1998 chart-topper on the Eternal Sunshine tracklist because she’d “always wanted to re-imagine” it, and she was honored to have Brandy and Monica boost the remix. The process was cathartic for everyone involved, as Monica told Entertainment Tonight, “The process of the new collaboration did a lot of closing the gaps” between her and Brandy. She additionally noted she “fell in love” with Grande and Max Martin’s reimagined version of a song she used to believe “should not be touched.” Same, Monica.
Post Malone Feat. Blake Shelton — “Pour Me A Drink”
“Fourty hours got me goin’ out my mind / Dallas dropped another game in overtime,” Post Malone sings to open “Pour Me A Drink,” so at least one interpretation of Post’s latest country song must be that the Dallas Cowboys drove Post Malone to alcoholism. Cowboys fandom will do that. Beyond that, “Pour Me A Drink” further proves that Post seamlessly fits into country, and it would be entirely unsurprising if F-1 Trillion album, his newly announced album, becomes the biggest release of his career.
Maren Morris & Julia Michaels — “Cut!”
Maren Morris and Julia Michaels hold it together until they combust on “Cut!” The uninhibited pop single is as relatable as they come, as Morris chronicles all the ways in which she keeps up appearances (“Clear mind from therapy / Yoga four days a week / How does she do it?”) for everyone else but refuses to lie to herself once she’s alone (“I’m screaming, ‘Cut’ / “I need a moment to just / Let my tears fall where they want / Honestly, f*ck”). And honestly, the next time someone asks me why I’m such a mess, I plan to respond with, “Every good show / Just needs an intermission.” Morris will release her five-song EP Intermission on August 2.
Suki Waterhouse — “Supersad”
Last week, Suki Waterhouse announced Memoir Of A Sparklemuffin will be released on September 13. “Supersad” initiated the proceedings. “I tried to write a nineties song you could hear playing at the mall in Clueless or as an opening track for Legally Blonde,” Waterhouse said in a press release statement. And now I can’t stop wishing the song was on a nineties rom-com soundtrack.
Paris Hilton Feat. Rina Sawayama — “I’m Free”
A new Paris Hilton song would be exciting. A new Rina Sawayama song would be exciting. So, by definition, Hilton’s “I’m Free” featuring Sawayama is a treat. The lighthearted, club-ready single holds deeper meaning for Hilton, who said in a statement, “A song can change your life, and that’s what ‘Free’ by Ultra Naté did for me. I heard it for the first time at a club in New York City shortly after being released from the Provo Canyon School where I experienced mental and physical abuse.” It’s a resonant first taste from Hilton’s Infinite Icon album due out on September 6.
NIKI — “Blue Moon”
NIKI will drop Buzz, her third LP, on August 9, and that dates feels too far away after hearing “Blue Moon.” The slow-building, melodic single finds NIKI alone and lamenting meeting someone “just a little too soon / On the wrong blue moon.” Her controlled vocals help her intricate lyrics (“Take it from the wolves / To make it out the woods together is an art / We couldn’t do such a thing”) hit soft enough for the listener to truly soak in the devastating reality of having to reconcile circumstances out of her control.
Zedd Feat. Bea Miller — “Out Of Time”
“Out Of Time” was a longtime coming — the longest lead time of any Zedd song, actually. “I started writing ‘Out Of Time’ back in 2015, making it the longest time I’ve ever worked on a song,” the Grammy-winning DJ said in a statement. “It was and still is one of my favorite compositions I’ve ever created.” Zedd described Bea Miller as “the missing piece of the puzzle,” and it’s true: Miller’s exquisitely voice complements Zedd’s swelling electro sonic palette. “Out Of Time” is the first single released ahead of Telos, Zedd’s first full-length album since 2015.
