Earlier this year, I wrote an article called “14 things from 2014 that I’m bringing back”: a short
piece on reminiscence of the past, nostalgia for my teen years, and a craving for authentic
pop music and culture.
I have always been a pop girlie. Even though I wish I could enjoy obscure music with 3
monthly listeners on Spotify, the truth is I find comfort in feel-good music and ‘Top 40’ songs.
However, for these last couple of years, I was finding it harder to relate to the newer kind of
pop music. The one that seems specifically pre-made to go viral on TikTok, with a catchy
chorus and absolutely nothing else to it – no soul, no depth, no meaning. And of course, it’s
not like pop music is the deepest thing ever – it is, in fact, known for being relatively shallow.
But even shallow lyrics can have a soul to them, a concept. I guess that’s what I was
craving.
I was missing the eras where artists would make the effort to build a concept around their
music, and to deliver art that was not ‘disposable’, but long-lasting and memorable. That’s
what 2024 had in store for us :)! Just like that, 2024 replaced 2014 as my favourite year in
terms of music and culture.
That being said, I present to you a brief recap of iconic moments that we’ve seen this year
(in chronological order):
- Igual que un Ɣngel
Who else but Kali Uchis to start off the year with ethereal, flowery vibes?
You may know her from her viral song telepatĆa, from 2020 (You know I’m just a flight away,
if you want it, you can take a private plane, a kilĆ³metros estamos conectando, y me prendes
aunque no me estƩs tocando ), and in January this year, she reappeared magically with
beautiful album, an unexpected collab with Peso Pluma (Mexican singer of a music genre
completely opposite to Kali’s work), and a shimmering music video where she looked
gorgeous, and very pregnant, to everyone’s surprise.
If you missed it, give Igual Que Un Ćngel a listen! The music video is a masterpiece, and
the song has angelic vibes (sent from heaven down to earth). She served fairy, she
served feminine divine, she served concept āØ - Good luck, babe!
When I first listened to this song, I had to listen to it on repeat for a full day – I just get
obsessed like that. I told my sister: how did Chappell Roan manage to write the best song of
the 80s in 2024?!
Not only did it make it to #1 god-knows-how-many weeks in a row (sorry I’m not a stats girlie), but it quickly became an iconic song with a message about comp-het and how it feels to
reject your true identity. Back in my days, the only sapphic representation we had in pop
music was Hayley Kiyoko with Girls like girls; who would have thought that a decade later,
we would have an open and proud song about sapphic love topping the charts? Truly a
game changer - Hit me hard and soft
Billie Eilish delivered, in her own words but also in my opinion, her best album so far. A zero-
skips masterpiece that brought us songs such as Lunch, Chihiro, Birds of a feather, and
Lāamour de ma vie. When the remix dropped for Lāamour de ma vie I once again had to
listen to it on repeat for several days – as it happened through the year with many other
iconic songs. Did they put crack on this or what?
- Brat
All I can say is: what. an. album.
By far my favourite event of the year (and potentially the decade) was to live in real time
through Brat Summer – to be there on the day that Brat dropped, to give it a listen expecting
just regular dance music with catchy lyrics, and to finish the album completely changed and
ready to have, well, a brat summer.
With tracks such as 360, Apple (and its respective dance), Von Dutch, and Guess, Brat was
kinda full of a new set of club classics. It was all about wearing green, going out in shorts
and greasy hair, smudged makeup from the night before, and having a cigarette for
breakfast at 4pm. Brat summer, you will always be iconic
However, Brat was not only about partying (well, almost, but it had more to it).
Oh, to be on stan Twitter days before the release of the Girl, so confusing remix, wondering
who was it directed to? Was it Marina? Was it Lorde? And then to listen to the masterpiece
that was that remix with Lorde.
For context: the original Brat album features the track āGirl, so confusingā, with lyrics clearly
directed to another female artist, as Charli sings: well, I donāt know if you like me; sometimes
I think you might hate me, sometimes I think I might hate you, maybe you just wanna be me
[ā¦] we talk about making music, but I donāt know if itās honest, canāt tell if you wanna see me
falling over and failing.
The song describes an awkward, parallel relationship between two women in the same
industry, who are constantly being compared and portrayed as rivals, and although there is
not a ārealā conflict between them and they have friendly interactions occasionally, there is an
uncomfortable conversation waiting to happen. The Girl, so confusing remix with Lorde is
that uncomfortable conversation.
The story behind the remix, from interviews with Charli xcx, is that Charli sent a voice
message to Lorde right when Brat came out, explaining that the track was about her, but that
it was not ill-intentioned. Lorde replied immediately, saying that she had heard the album
already, and she knew the song was for her.
She then suggested to remix it, and these queens gave us the best remix in the album
Lordeās response is immaculate (sorry but her pen never fails, as Charli says, sheās all about
writing poems), and if you havenāt listened to it, Iād forever recommend it as a song about
female friendship and breaking stereotypes about women having to be rivals instead of
friends. - Short n’ Sweet
Since Espresso was released back in April, we were all seated and waiting for Sabrinaās
sweetest album. Imagine my surprise when she announced that Short nā Sweet would be
released on my birthday?! Are you serious???
Anyway. Sabrinaās concept of, well, being horny and sparkly, is ground-breaking in the sense
of: why should girls not celebrate their sexuality? Why should girls not have fun and be
unapologetically hot? Why should girls not be the ones to ask: have you ever triedā¦ this
one?
Starting with Espresso, then Please Please Please, then Taste (and the random Sabrina x
Jenna Ortega kiss that we didnāt know we needed), she built up enthusiasm for her new
album – and she did not disappoint.
With songs such as Bed Chem, Juno, and Slim Pickings (the one with the Grindr notification
sound), Sabrina gave us a playful, shiny new album with the concept of: IāM SO [ā¦
HORNY, and Iām all here for it.
- The VMAs
Iām not even expanding on this one, because I bet we all remember.
Sabrina Carpenter making out with a transgender alien on the same night as Chappell Roan
performing Good luck, babe! on a Joan of Arc suit and burning a castle?!
Lives were changed - The great impersonator
As a person who loves Halloween season, Halseyās impersonator gig was all I needed
during October. In case you missed it, Halsey released her concept album The Great
Impersonator, which plays with the question: if she had been born in different decades,
would she still have been an artist? How would her music have been different?
For several days before her album was out, Halsey posted a daily impersonation of artists
that inspired her, as well as the song within the album that was associated with the artist.
With impersonations of Dolly Parton, Amy Lee, Fiona Apple, David Bowie, among many
others, Halsey proved not only that she has excellent music taste, but also that she truly is
The Great Impersonator. The album is beautiful as it is tragic, but it is one of the most honest
and raw of her works. Give it a listen if you feel like crying while smiling and realizing life is
precious! - Eat the world: Marina’s book tour
As you can tell from my 2014 article, Iāve loved Marina since she was Marina and the
Diamonds, and this year, although she did not release new music, she debuted in poetry
with her book Eat the World, a collection of poems about love, life, and navigating through
the passage of time.
I had the chance to see her in Manchester during one out of five book tour sessions she held
in October. There I was, signed copy in hand, sitting on the second row, seeing Marina with
my own eyes and holding back tears, because, what????? Marina was right there in front of
me????? And she signed my copy of Eat the World????????
Marina talked about her career, her plans, her constant fighting against the expectations of
womanhood (to marry, to settle down, to have kids, to never age), and though I had always
seen her as a role model, I had never seen her as such a relatable person: she is the cool
rich auntie that some of us aspire to be. And she was kind enough to give us a hint about her
next album, coming in 2025 – she said weāre going to love it. <3 - Wicked
From that weird āholding spaceā interview to BoqTok (the Boq side of TikTok), Wicked is
absolutely everywhere on the internet and has broken the barrier between theatre kids (as
myself), and, well, normal people. Ariana and Cynthia delivered an insane performance and
clearly poured their souls on representing Glinda and Elphaba – and it shows. If you havenāt
seen it, please go watch it. I arrived at the theatre with no previous knowledge of Wicked
(besides what I knew from Glee), and left feeling the need to know everything about the
Wickedverse (Ozverse??) and singing Popular all day (housemates are SICK of it). Go
watch it āØ
- A Nonsense Christmas
A wrap for a perfect pop year: Sabrina Carpenter singing Christmas carols and inviting
Chappell Roan and Kali Uchis to her special?? Are you KIDDING me??
The announcement of A Nonsense Christmas felt to me (and many others, Iām sure of it) as
opening a present containing a summary of the best year ever – and although I havenāt seen
it yet, Iām going to dare say it will be my favourite Christmas special. Oh, 2024, donāt end yet
:( you will be missed and remembered xx