This week saw the release of a ton of great new pop music. Ariana Grande made her grand return to music with a brand new album, causing the internet to play the songs on repeat and dissect all the telling lyrics. Bleachers‘ self-titled fourth album also came out, which has both danceable tunes and tracks that could soundtrack a late-night car ride.
Check out the rest of Uproxx’s Best New Pop Music roundup below.
Ariana Grande — “We Can’t Be Friends (Wait For Your Love)”
Ariana Grande waited a few years before putting out a new record with Eternal Sunshine, but the time she’s taken to herself has paid off. If the lead preview “Yes, And?” represented Grande’s carefree attitude over gossip, the follow-up single “We Can’t Be Friends (Wait For Your Love)” is still poppy, but provides more insight into the star’s emotional state during her divorce. As the album was inspired by the movie of the same title, Grande pulled visual inspiration for her latest music video also. In it, she has her memories of the relationship erased, while painfully watching them replay, then fade from view.
Bleachers — “Jesus Is Dead”
“Jesus is dead, and so’s New York,” Bleachers’ lead singer Jack Antonoff declares on one of the highlight songs from the band’s new self-titled album. Throughout the track, he mourns the loss of a particular era of the city. The bands and labels and the music scene he once was familiar with are long gone, leaving him missing it and hoping for a return. It also ends with another killer sax solo, giving the rest of the band time to shine throughout the record.
Laufey — “Goddess”
Laufey’s “Goddess” is the focus track from her forthcoming Bewitched: The Goddess Edition deluxe album — and for good reason. It is probably one of her most powerful songs across her discography so far, as she rejects the notion of being placed on a pedestal. The rising star and Grammy Best New Artist nominee described it as her “most honest” piece of work which she wrote alone at a piano.
“Someone had fallen in love with the version of me they’d seen on stage, just to find that I wasn’t what they projected once I was off stage,” Laufey described in a statement. “They deemed me to no longer be a shiny thing when the glamour wore off, reduced to skin and bone.”
Girl In Red — “Doing It Again Baby”
Girl In Red is just a few weeks out from dropping her new album I’m Doing It Again Baby. Now, she has treated fans to the title track. “I tried to force myself to write some sappy-try-hard meaningful lyrics when really all this song was supposed to be, was the soundtrack of feeling absolutely on the top of the world,” she shared about the process behind creating it.
FLO — “Walk Like This”
After FLO had an incredible 2023, they are turning up the heat even higher for the new year. As the girl group’s first new song in 2024, “Walk Like This” is a fiery and confident anthem that finds the band shouting out their men. They are also slated to perform at Coachella and NYC’s Governors Ball pretty soon, so fans will get an opportunity to hopefully sing along to the catchy jam.
Matt Champion, Jennie — “Slow Motion”
Ahead of Matt Champion’s upcoming debut solo album, he released a new collaboration with Blackpink’s Jennie called “Slow Motion.” The track starts off as a gentle ballad, with Jennie’s voice being the first introduction to pull listeners into their world. Once they’re comfortable there, Champion starts to appear in the background, then as a duet — all while the instrumental shifts to a heightened electronic beat.
Luke Hemmings — “Shakes”
Luke Hemmings from 5 Seconds Of Summer is stepping out for some more solo music. “Shakes” prefaces his upcoming album, Boy, which is set to drop in late April. “It initially started in New York as one of the earliest songs that was written for this,” he told Rolling Stone about more of the backstory and the song’s creation process. “I was experimenting with writing from other people’s perspectives and observing. Almost in a Lost In Translation way, where you’re observing the world and real life seems a bit intense. That’s where the chorus came from.”
Conan Gray — “Alley Rose”
Previous Uproxx cover star Conan Gray is carrying himself through the heartbreak and range of emotions on “Alley Rose.” Written about the downfall of his own relationship, Gray puts his entire heart on full display. “But I swore hands were made for fighting / I swore eyes were made to cry / But you’re the first person that I’ve seen / Who’s proven that might be a lie,” he sings, struggling through the pain and betrayal.
D4vd — “My House Is Not A Home”
D4vd’s “My House Is Not A Home” paints a vivid picture of the pain and heartbreak he’s felt when it comes to feeling distant from his family. He was also struggling after moving to Los Angeles, feeling lonely, and falling in love with people he probably shouldn’t have. He comes to his senses by the song’s closing lines, “The house we called our home has fallin’ to pieces on its own / I know that you’re better off alone / Babe, I could fix you but I won’t.”
Maggie Lindemann — “One Last Time”
Maggie Lindemann recently dropped her new EP, Headsplit, where she dives into all the darker aspects of relationships. On “One Last Time,” she admits she’s “losing track of who I once was” and seems to be admitting that it’s better to let go and say goodbyes than be unsure of her identity.
