"Pink Blood": Hikaru Utada Is on a Sexy, Self-Assured Journey
The Utadaissance continues. Hikaru Utada - Utada, if you're nasty - is having quite a moment already in 2021. With a mere tweet here and there and a live Instagram Q&A or two (yes, English music is coming, no, she still hasn't played Kingdom Hearts, you nerds), Hikki's still managed to strike a…
"Live To Survive": The Triumphant Return of MØ
MØ's back. (Everyone kind of just says "mo," but it's technically pronounced like meu.) The Danish superstar singer-songwriter, who you surely know and love best from the inescapable "Lean On" with Major Lazer and DJ Snake (at one point, the most-streamed song of all time), as well as "Cold Water"…
Sigrid's "Mirror" Is a Self-Assured Disco Pop Smash
"I love who I see looking at me in the mirror." Not so fast, Olivia Rodrigo. While the sound at radio might be steadily shifting towards something that resembles an early '00s pop-punk revival (which is great in its own right), last year's wave of disco-inspired pandemic pop ushered in by the…
'A Touch of the Beat...' Is Aly & AJ's Great Escape (Review)
“This truly feels like the album we were born to make.” The odds are relatively slim as it is for an act to get squeezed through the Disney machine, spat back into the world (Into The Rush, if you will) and still be making music over 15 years later. When it comes to Aly and AJ Michalka, who first…
SG Lewis' 'Times' Is the First Great Dance Record of 2021
"There was harmony in the music, there was harmony in the behavior of the people, and we had a good time..." You might not have known it, but SG Lewis is partially responsible for getting us through the pandemic. The 26-year-old London singer-songwriter-producer's had his hand in some of the…
'Heartbreaker': INNA Rounds Out 2020 With a Fresh Set of Bangers
It's Elena Alexandra Apostoleanu - otherwise known as INNA - to the rescue, yet again. The 34-year-old Romanian Queen of Pop™ spent the duration of 2020 keeping the pandemic off our brains with myriad pop bops and EDM bangers, including "Sober," "Not My Baby," "Discoteka" with Minelli and "Read My…
BoA's Only Getting 'Better' With Time
2020 marks BoA's 20th anniversary in the music industry, which she and her agency SM Entertainment celebrated in the form of cover tributes, retrospective Instagram accounts, magazine spreads, classic music video remakes and documentary specials. But she isn't just using this year to celebrate…
'Plastic Hearts' Is Miley’s Most Ferocious Rebel Yell Yet
"I'm everything they said I would be." Miley Cyrus was born to be a rock star. It's not as though her latest reinvention should be of much surprise to anyone: the signs were always there from the start. Ten years ago, Miley cast off the Hannah Montana wig and made her shocking (for that time,…
The Nostalgic, Necessary Escape of Kylie Minogue's ‘Disco' (Review)
"Dancе through the darkness, togethеr eternally..." An intergalactic phenomenon occurred on social media this past week - at least, in certain circles of Gay, Political and/or Stan Twitter™. In a feed almost exclusively dominated by hopes, fears and outrage from an anxious world awaiting the…
'Positions': Ariana Grande Is Horny on Main (Album Review)
"You might need a seatbelt when I ride it..." Ariʸᵘʰna Grande is in the mood. As arguably the reigning pop "It" girl of the moment, the "Break Free" singer is plenty confident in her skills, even if she doesn't always necessarily seem to feel comfortable with the idea of holding that position on…
'Dark Hearts': Annie Makes a Moody Return After a Decade (Review)
"Annie, Annie, they're playing our song / And for a moment I'm transported to where I'm from..." Nostalgia is at an all-time high in These Unprecedented Times™. While we're all stuck in lockdown, in tiers, in quarantine - whatever the case may be, on a day by day basis - the silence and general…
'The Rarities': Mariah Carey Emancipates Hidden Memories (Review)
Mariah Carey knows how to make a moment, darling - and how to properly honor a legacy. The Elusive Chanteuse is utterly unstoppable in 2020, generously blessing the Lambily in this time of need with the #MC30 celebration, including a complete suite of vinyl releases, an incredible memoir from the…