So it’s been a while since a new, fully formed pop star delivered a perfectly choreographed, hook-laden, danceable banger as well-executed as Normani did with her first sans-feature solo single, “Motivation.” The track throws back to rhythmic pop of the early 2000s -- as does its quickly viral music video -- but never gets too far away from Normani’s charisma and control, bringing the kind of precise, catchy pop music that defined the earlier years of the 21st century right to the center of 2019. -- Warning: Listening to “Someone You Loved” will induce feelings of heartbreak, remind you of your worst breakup and possibly leave you in tears.
Ambjaay has impressive time management skills, though, fitting in a Rihanna shoutout and four different reprises of the chorus, which includes a rhyming of "zapatos" and "nachos," along the way. 3 on the UK Singles Chart and at No. -- The HAIM sisters pour out anxieties and fears in the most spontaneous way in “Summer Girl,” a song that was written while the siblings were on tour and vocalist Danielle’s partner (and HAIM producer) Ariel Rechtshaid was diagnosed with testicular cancer. -- In 2019, Billie Eilish grew from hotly hyped alt-radio weirdo to pop’s ultimate tastemaker. The sunkissed single beamed with warmth and buoyancy, as Posty and Swae proved to be resilient romantics: Though their lovers are “scared of the unknown," both men provide ample security to be safety nets in their relationships.
The trio’s breakout hit "Trampoline," a lush alt-pop head-nodder with a snapping beat and an inspired whistle break, initially gained traction thanks to "Ghostin" is a song that you kinda feel guilty for listening to. This year Kacey Musgraves offered the world this metaphorical hug with "Rainbow," a sweetly affirmative lullaby about how you too are good and strong and worthy, even when you feel like digging a hole in the ground and going to live there forever. Born two months inside the new millennium, the 19-year old Jamaican-born singer-songwriter-rapper delivers a quiet confidence that avoids intimidation and instead feels like an invitation. “Was it really that long ago?” Clairo considers about her last fight with an ex, wondering if “I should let go” to the tune of wistful guitar strums. "Hey, yeah, whoa-ho, I'm on a roll” took over Twitter -- and club dance floors -- after the subversive reimagination of Nine Inch Nails' Britney and Rihanna have been quiet, Beyoncé has been experimenting, and Gaga has shapeshifted beyond the confines of the outré-pop that defined her turn-of-the-decade coming out party.
No need to think about this one too much; the rudimentary Spanish complements the song’s playful, unsophisticated beat. Would Combs make a great beer pong partner? -- Few artists in pop history have gone through as wild a first-decade career arc as Lana Del Rey, from blog buzz to backlash to pop stardom to cult fandom to, at the very end of it all, critical acclaim. 1 song. A major hit for the two on the FM airwaves, “Dancing With a Stranger” ranked No. But it’s a struggle to find a more direct pop lyric about the subject than “I feel so unstable/ F--king hate these people” from Charli XCX and Christine and the Queens' "Gone."
But to the song’s supporters, it’s not a flaw so much as an endearing quirk for the L.A. MC, whose breakout hit dominated much of the hip-hop conversation in early 2019. -- Anyone who claimed that Katy Perry had lost it got to eat their words in 2019, when the star unleashed "Never Really Over." Aided by A.G. Cook's nimble production, the lyric boils down the paranoia and isolation that can make any social situation feel claustrophobic, before busting apart with one of the year’s best outros, building the song’s chorus up until it explodes from the pressure. --Shelton returned to country airwaves in a massive way with the attention-grabbing, Southern rock-inflected “God’s Country.” From the song’s opening riff, Shelton immediately captivates.