Let's just say it's been quite a week.
13. Justin Bieber - Intentions (Feat. Quavo)
Okay, we're getting better with each release. Apart from the "look at me I'm giving away money," video, Intentions is actually good. The beat is soft and malleable while Justin Bieber's voice sounds genuinely enticing for the first time this era.
12. Anne-Marie - Birthday
We did ask for a birthday anthem and it looks like we've got one. Anne-Marie's return comes by way of an off-kilter, post-PC Music pop song with a big, ratchet chorus.
11. RAYE - All Of My Love (Feat. Young Adz)
We've been really impressed with everything RAYE has been releasing of late and this is no different. All My Love is a sleek, seductive song that doesn't sound like anything else happening commercially right now.
10. Griff - Good Stuff
British teen Griff released an excellent EP last year and now she's followed it up with a soaring ballad. Good Stuff is bare-boned, exposing her sincere, precise songwriting.
9. Hayley Williams - Cinnamon
We weren't expecting so much new Hayley Williams music at once but we've now got five songs from PETALS FOR AMOR. Cinnamon is the quirkiest of the bunch, exploring yet another dimension to her solo work.
8. Carly Rae Jepsen - Let's Be Friends
Carly Rae Jepsen has returned with Let's Be Friends, her first single since last year's Dedication record. Jepsen has written some of the best love songs in pop history but this time she's going in the opposite way. Let's Be Friends is a cheeky breakup anthem following the positive, "let's be friends" mantra with, "then never speak again."
7. The Pussycat Dolls - React
Most suspected that we'd never see another The Pussycat Dolls single but 12 years after their last album Doll Domination they have returned with React. It's is a sweaty pop song aiming more for Eurodance than hip-hop - an interesting choice given the pop atmosphere right now. That move turns out to be the right one, giving Scherzinger a chance to let loose over a perky, enticing beat.
6. Victoria Monét - Morning
Victoria Monét has followed up last year's excellent Ass Like That with a slow-burning R&B cut Moment. Monét is building quite a reputation as a purveyor of fine R&B and Moment shows just how much appreciation she has for the genre in its purest form.
5. Eilish Gilligan - I Just Want To Look At You
One of Australia's finest pop vocalists Eilish Gilligan is back with her first cut of the year I Just Want To Look At You. It's an angelic song frozen in time with shimmering synths and meditative guitar work.
4. Nicki Minaj - Yikes
Yikes! It's been quite the week for Minaj. She beefed with Meek Mill on Twitter and has followed it up with one of her most cutting songs in ages. Minaj always used to go hard on teaser tracks (see Lookin Ass) and it's good to hear her back to her spiteful best.
3. Joji - Run
88Rising's Joji won so many hearts on SLOW DANCING IN THE DARK and it looks like he's about to do it all over again with Run. It's an instantly affecting piece of melancholy.
2. Låplsey - Womxn
We've come to know Låpsley for beautiful, gentle moments but she's stepped out with a whole bop Womxn. Womxn verges on the edge of being a dance track, giving us wobbly bass and soaring vocals. "I look, I breathe, I feel like a woman," she sings in the buoyant chorus instilling herself with positivity and visions of a brighter future.
1. Christine & The Queens - People, I've Been Sad
Christine & The Queens, one of our finest purveyors of pop, has released a new single People, I've Been Sad. Apart from her collaboration with Charli XCX, this is the first single she's released since 2018's Chris and sees her right back on fine form. People, I've Been Sad is an emotionally powerful ballad full of elongated vocals and tense melodies.
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