Halsey dropped their first solo single in what feels like ages with the emotionally rocking “The End.” Sabrina Carpenter announced her forthcoming Short N’ Sweet album and jumpstarted the album’s rollout by releasing “Please Please Please” alongside a video co-starring Barry Keoghan. Carpenter and Halsey joined the fold of already-in-progress album rollouts for Gracie Abrams and Omar Apollo, and Charli XCX’s Brat finally arrived in its entirety, though one song in particular has fans theorizing and exploring every internet rabbit hole. That’s before mentioning impressive offerings from newcomers Jana Diab and Will Swinton.
Check out all of that and more in Uproxx’s Best New Pop Music roundup below.
Halsey — “The End”
Just a heads up: “The End” will make you wish you could hug Halsey. The acoustic ballad plucks at every possible heartstring as the three-time Grammy nominee softly details their immense battle with chronic illness, feeling like “damaged goods” and wondering if someone would stick around they “knew it was the end of the world.” “Long story short, I’m lucky to be alive,” Halsey said in a statement. “Short story long, I wrote an album. It begins with ‘The End.’ Out now.” Following the song’s release, Halsey confirmed she’d been diagnosed with “Lupus SLE and then a rare T-cell lymphoproliferative disorder” and expressed their gratitude to “get back where I belong.” Halsey hasn’t announced an album’s title or release date yet, but she unofficially begun the rollout on this website.
Sabrina Carpenter — “Please Please Please”
Sabrina Carpenter is a petite pop star, but her pop songs are massive. “Espresso” sits at No. 6 on this week’s Billboard Hot 100, and “Please Please Please” figures to join it in the chart’s top 10. The video puts Carpenter’s all-but-confirmed romance with Barry Keoghan on chaotic display — racking up over 14.7 million YouTube views in three days. Carpenter’s ability to write a concise yet widely resonant hook remains unmatched: “Heartbreak is one thing, my ego’s another / I beg you, don’t embarrass me, motherf*cker, oh / Please, please, please.” Please, can Short N’ Sweet drop sooner than August 23?
Gracie Abrams — “Close To You”
Speaking of albums that need to release, like, yesterday, Gracie Abrams is preparing to drop The Secret Of Us, her sophomore full-length studio album, on June 21. “Close To You” serves as the album’s second single behind “Risk,” and while the extroverted, fantastical romantic undertones of “Close To You” align seamlessly with “Risk,” Abrams first teased “Close To You” seven years ago. Abrams stretches daydreaming to the fullest extent, and the “Close To You” lyric video exemplifies every video made by best friends during a sleepover, which is the utmost compliment.
Charli XCX — “Girl, So Confusing”
Who did Charli XCX write “Girl, So Confusing?” about? Charli XCX might never confirm it publicly, but the reckless speculation all points toward Lorde. You don’t need to know the answer to enjoy “Girl, So Confusing,” because Charli XCX turns the plights of being a woman (or girl, as it were) into a dance-pop banger. Perturbed about the cattiness invading your friend group? Dance it out! And the best part is that “Girl, So Confusing” is just one of 18 new Charli XCX songs available to blast. Brat (and its deluxe version) is firmly in no-skips territory.
Alexander 23 — “Brown Eyed Baby”
Alexander 23 has been teasing “Brown Eyed Baby” online for a while, and fans finally received it in its full form. “I love this song so much because it sounds like a dumb little love song, but it’s really about needing someone you can’t have,” Alexander 23 wrote on Instagram. Leave it to the acclaimed songwriter to also describe his song better than this writer could.
Omar Apollo — “Less Of You”
Omar Apollo’s range knows no bounds, it would appear. Apollo folded his God Said No album announcement into the release of “Dispose Of Me,” an evocative, slow-burning single written from the wreckage of heartbreak. “Less Of You” chimes in from the opposite end of the sonic spectrum, immersed in an uptempo, techno palette, while presenting similar questions and insecurities: “I wish it didn’t have to be true / Was last night the end of me and you?” We’ll have to wait until June 28 to understand the full scope of God Said No, but it feels safe to go ahead and declare that “Less Of You” will absolutely rip every night of Apollo’s God Said No Tour.
Will Swinton — “Letting Me Down”
Will Swinton’s crackly yet smooth vocal tone is immediately striking. In “Letting Me Down,” the emerging New Zealander’s latest single, Swinton employs it to lament unrequited love (“Oooh, I’m tired of loving you / You always letting me down / I’m hung up while you’re out of your mind”) and lingering in a relationship dynamic that only hurts him (“Love me when you’re gone / Hate me when you stay”). Let “Letting Me Down” to be your gateway drug to Will Swinton’s EP, Better Days.
Glass Animals — “A Tear In Space (Airlock)”
Glass Animals will release their I Love You So F***ing Much album on July 19 and embark on a subsequent Tour Of Earth later this summer. “A Tear In Space (Airlock)” will surely be a highlight in the eventual setlist. The bouncy, melodic single captures the essence of the pulsating and obliterating feeling when utterly infatuated with someone.
Jana Diab — “Escape Plan”
Jana Diab made an emphatic introductory statement with “Escape Plan,” her debut label single since signing with Interscope Records. It exudes an immersive energy because Diab is so effortless with her vocal delivery, which is especially impressive because the lyrical subject matter is heavy. It also helps that Diab literally glides through her hometown Cairo, Egypt in the Kid Apollo-directed video.
Jenna Raine — “Hypothetically”
Jenna Raine dedicated “Hypothetically” to “the overthinkers,” so I felt seen. “I’ve spent a lot of nights thinking about the people in my life and who would be there for me at my absolute worst,” the Dallas-born pop singer added in a statement. “This has been a thought I’ve struggled with for quite some time, and I’m excited that I’ve been able to encapsulate the meaning in a song.” The lilting single highlights Raine’s vocal dexterity and solidifies her as an artist to watch.
