2018 in Music: Top 25 Songs in Pop
What is even pop music in 2018? Rap? Hip-hop? Country? But fret not, here is my take on some of the best pop songs of the year, again in no particular order.
No Tears Left to Cry (Ariana Grande) - Hands down one of the best pop songs I have heard this year. Absurdly addictive.
My My My!, Dance to This (Troye Sivan) - Downtempo, as downtempo as it can get, with perfect vocal backing from reigning pop queen Ariana Grande.
Baby Forgive Me, Honey (Robyn) - Robyn's return from hibernation is easily the best thing to happen in 2018.
Nobody (Mitski) - Undergirding all that slinky bassline and thumping beats is a searing take on loneliness that's downright anthemic.
Party for One (Carly Rae Jepsen) - Rae Jepsen's masturbatory nod is not the only detail that takes the pop breakup anthem a notch higher, it also lies in the silky-smooth synths and the infectious hook. Can't wait to hear her new album whenever it drops.
Nuestro Planeta (Kali Uchis ft. Reykon) - Completely dance-worthy material from Karly-Marina Loaiza's genre-defying debut.
She Loves Control (Camilla Cabello) - Another latinate dance-floor scorcher, but hey why not when it's this foot-tapping!
Space Cowboy (Kacey Musgraves) - Not only the best pop song, but the best song of this year. Period.
Made for Now (Janet Jackson ft. Daddy Yankee) - A frothy, tropical ode to living in the moment.
Immaterial (SOPHIE) - "I could be anything I want / Immaterial boys, immaterial girls / Anyhow, anywhere, any place, anyone that I want / Im-ma-ma-material, immaterial," sings SOPHIE, and that, in short, sums up everything you need to know about this stratospheric pop song.
Hot Pink (Let's Eat Grandma) - The SOPHIE touches are evident, but point me to an industrial pop banger as insane as Hot Pink.
Roll Burbank Funk (The Internet) - Funky. Check. Bouncy. Check. Buoyant. Check. Give it a listen already, will ya?
Give Yourself a Try, Love It If We Made It (The 1975) - Where Matty Healy & co. turn in one of the most potent, impassioned songs of their career, and it's a scream.
Pick Up (DJ Koze) - A delectable blend of French House and trippy melancholia, harking back to Daft Punk's One More Time. Which, in my opinion, can never be a bad thing, can it?
MJ (Now, Now) - A sparkling pop number for a pop deity!
Redemption (Kendrick Lamar) - Pulitzer Prize winner Kendrick Lamar joins hands with LOVE. collaborator Zacari and Babes Wodumo for an upbeat dancehall cut that might sound a lot like Drake's Too Good and One Dance, but the celebratory Afrobeat vibe is hard not to groove to!
BOY (Charlie Puth) - The lyrics are blah, but musically the production is impeccable and catchy, a deeply melodious pop tune riding on a synthy bassline that gives enough room to let Puth's falsetto come through very well.
Other notable mentions: Ruston Kelly's Faceplant, Mariah Carey's Giving Me Life ft. Slick Rick & Blood Orange, Blood Orange's Charcoal Baby, Twin Shadow's Too Many Colors, and Drake X Michael Jackson's Don't Matter to Me.
No Tears Left to Cry (Ariana Grande) - Hands down one of the best pop songs I have heard this year. Absurdly addictive.
My My My!, Dance to This (Troye Sivan) - Downtempo, as downtempo as it can get, with perfect vocal backing from reigning pop queen Ariana Grande.
Baby Forgive Me, Honey (Robyn) - Robyn's return from hibernation is easily the best thing to happen in 2018.
Nobody (Mitski) - Undergirding all that slinky bassline and thumping beats is a searing take on loneliness that's downright anthemic.
Party for One (Carly Rae Jepsen) - Rae Jepsen's masturbatory nod is not the only detail that takes the pop breakup anthem a notch higher, it also lies in the silky-smooth synths and the infectious hook. Can't wait to hear her new album whenever it drops.
Nuestro Planeta (Kali Uchis ft. Reykon) - Completely dance-worthy material from Karly-Marina Loaiza's genre-defying debut.
She Loves Control (Camilla Cabello) - Another latinate dance-floor scorcher, but hey why not when it's this foot-tapping!
Space Cowboy (Kacey Musgraves) - Not only the best pop song, but the best song of this year. Period.
Made for Now (Janet Jackson ft. Daddy Yankee) - A frothy, tropical ode to living in the moment.
Immaterial (SOPHIE) - "I could be anything I want / Immaterial boys, immaterial girls / Anyhow, anywhere, any place, anyone that I want / Im-ma-ma-material, immaterial," sings SOPHIE, and that, in short, sums up everything you need to know about this stratospheric pop song.
Hot Pink (Let's Eat Grandma) - The SOPHIE touches are evident, but point me to an industrial pop banger as insane as Hot Pink.
Roll Burbank Funk (The Internet) - Funky. Check. Bouncy. Check. Buoyant. Check. Give it a listen already, will ya?
Give Yourself a Try, Love It If We Made It (The 1975) - Where Matty Healy & co. turn in one of the most potent, impassioned songs of their career, and it's a scream.
Pick Up (DJ Koze) - A delectable blend of French House and trippy melancholia, harking back to Daft Punk's One More Time. Which, in my opinion, can never be a bad thing, can it?
MJ (Now, Now) - A sparkling pop number for a pop deity!
Redemption (Kendrick Lamar) - Pulitzer Prize winner Kendrick Lamar joins hands with LOVE. collaborator Zacari and Babes Wodumo for an upbeat dancehall cut that might sound a lot like Drake's Too Good and One Dance, but the celebratory Afrobeat vibe is hard not to groove to!
BOY (Charlie Puth) - The lyrics are blah, but musically the production is impeccable and catchy, a deeply melodious pop tune riding on a synthy bassline that gives enough room to let Puth's falsetto come through very well.
Other notable mentions: Ruston Kelly's Faceplant, Mariah Carey's Giving Me Life ft. Slick Rick & Blood Orange, Blood Orange's Charcoal Baby, Twin Shadow's Too Many Colors, and Drake X Michael Jackson's Don't Matter to Me.
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