Looking for some motivation to help power you through the start of another work week? We feel you, and with some stellar new pop tunes, we’ve got you covered.
These tracks from artists including RM, Charli XCX, Dora Jar and more will get you energized to take on the week. Pop any of these gems into your personal playlists — or scroll to the end of the post for a custom playlist.
In March, Remi Wolf previewed her sophomore album, Big Ideas, with “Cinderella,” a single that wore its audacious instrumentation like a badge of honor. Funk guitar, jazzy synths, big-band horns and whistle blasts are coated in a nostalgic ‘70s glow by Wolf and co-producer Solomonphonic, resulting in a likable track with a lot of whirring parts; “Cinderella” allowed beamed out the personality that has made Wolf a quickly ascending pop star, but also matched its lyrical theme of constant motion with a tireless arrangement.
By contrast, “Toro” — one of two follow-up tracks from Big Ideas released last week, along with “Alone in Miami” — synthesizes the brash charm of “Cinderella” but more firmly centers its pop melodies, letting Wolf fully shine by avoiding a production pile-up. An ode to hotel-room sex, “Toro” immediately tosses out frothy lyrical details (“Dancing around and spilling wine, you look good / In my hotel robe,” she sings) and leans into a nu-disco strut, applying the funk from “Cinderella” to verses that sneak forward and a chorus that revs up.
And for her part, Wolf is a force of nature on the track, proudly declaring her lust and spinning around each bull-fighter simile with ease; if you still had doubts that Wolf had the chops to score a mainstream pop breakthrough, the second verse explosion on “Toro” should quickly put them to rest. Big Ideas arrives on July 12, and if this new single is any indication, Wolf’s second album could be one of the defining pop projects of the summer.
Here are some more new pop songs worth checking out this week…
A radio edit of RM’s new single has been released, but “Come Back to Me” earns its six-and-a-half minute run time by offering an evolving form of vulnerability: after starting out as an acoustic whistle-along, the song spirals upward toward a gorgeous crescendo, and RM handles the progression like a pro.
Congolese-Canadian singer-songwriter Lu Kala showed promise of past singles “Pretty Girl Era” and “Hotter Now,” but on “Who’s Gonna,” she’s paired with a nasty bass riff that matches her confidence, as well as a hook that could very well soundtrack a luxurious TikTok trend.
In the middle of a surprise Brooklyn appearance, a star-studded music video and the continued rollout of forthcoming album Brat is what may be Charli XCX’s most winning club banger in years: “360” is slippery yet magnetic, updating the brilliant bounce of her Pop 2 era for a wider audience.
“This song is an ode to the girl I wish I could be,” alt-pop artist Dora Jar says in a press release for “She Loves Me,” which communicates aspirational yearning through an enjoyable pop-rock merry-go-round, each section of the song spinning elliptically around her melismas until they all collapse.
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