Pop

Guess who’s back? Eminem’s new album might be called The Death of Slim Shady, but his alter ego was alive and well on this tongue-in-cheek lead single, which prominently interpolates Steve Miller’s “Abracadabra” to drive home its magical motif. “Houdini” is a nostalgic throwback to the Slim Shady hits of yore (“The Real Slim Shady,” “Without Me,” etc.), and it was the perfect final trick for the bleach-blonde icon. – KATIE ATKINSON

MICHELLE, the predominantly queer collective out of New York, is at it again with another world-class pop track. Following the February release of their GLOW EP that showcased their ever-expanding capabilities, the sextet released “Oontz,” one of their most infectious earworms to date. From Sofia D’Angelo then Jamee Lockard followed by Emma Lee and Layla Ku, the quartet of vocalists seamlessly switch out singing about a deceitful partner and their inability to stay away over a seductive bassline. It’s the perfect song for moving past heartbreak by belting out “You’re deceptive, girl/ You’re nothing like the person that I thought you were” on a crowded dance floor.  — TAYLOR MIMS

In 2024, only one musical act can say they gave a universal hand gesture new meaning: the recently debuted global girl group, KATSEYE. Formed in front of the world on HYBE x Geffen Records’ Dream Academy competition in 2023, their earworm of a pop song, “Touch,” undoubtedly became their breakthrough this year — and its viral double-shaka, alternating pinky-to-thumb dance move, recreated by thousands of fans (affectionately known as EYEKONS), fellow idols and casual TikTok users alike, made the smash all the more addictive. — DANIELLE PASCUAL

In between the star-studded collaborations (“Woman Commando”) and buzzy singles (“Last Heartbreak Song”) housed on Ayra Starr’s stunning sophomore album, The Year I Turned 21, lies “Orun.” A plaintive midtempo winner that juxtaposes the jovial notes of highlife against Ayra’s heart-wrenching breakdown of her mental health journey, “Orun” perfectly captures the constantly contradictory cyclone of emotions that come with early adulthood. — KYLE DENIS

They said Lil Baby fell off, but I’m not sure if they heard this song. Thanks to Central Cee, we got a very rare U.K. and Atlanta collab that connected the trenches in America’s South to the ends across the pond. Produced by Ghana Beats & geenaro, this beat bangs in the whip and bangs on your gym playlist as you walk around your local Planet Fitness throwing plates around. Don’t let the hook gas you into going band for band with your favorite rapper, though: It’s the holidays and your family deserve gifts. — ANGEL DIAZ 

Who says an artist needs to stay in one genre lane? Certainly not Beyoncé, who continued to buck hard against the music industry’s conventional mindset with “Texas Hold ‘Em,” from her country album Cowboy Carter. Like Renaissance before it — which shined a deserved spotlight on the Black and LGBTQ+ trailblazers behind disco, house and dance/electronic music — Carter and its lead single traces and then integrates the Black roots that laid the foundation for country music. With its uptempo, banjo-driven and folk-vibed track, the single immediately caught fire, netting the barrier-breaking cultural ambassador an historic first No. 1 on Hot Country Songs, and her ninth No. 1 as a solo artist on the Hot 100. — G.M.

This was the rap assassination of Franz Ferdinand, as it kicked off a rap world war for the ages. Everything about this song was theater: the hidden feature, the old-school sample, Kendrick coming out of nowhere — like Sting during his Crow era, when he used to come down from the rafters to wreak havoc on whoever was in his path. The moment was pure hip-hop, and reminded everyone that moments like this matter more than numbers ever will. And no, I didn’t forget about Future, who sets a beautiful table for Metro to tease the West Coast boogeyman’s sneak attack with the “Eazy-Duz-It” sample. — A.D.

With opening track “360,” it takes all of a nanosecond to get lost in the Brat appeal: let the A. G. Cook-produced synths wash over you, disappear into the pop culture references (“I’m everywhere, I’m so Julia”), embrace your brattiest self (“I don’t f–king care what you think”). You’re the star of the show from the very instant that the first synth echoes over the speaker, through Charli’s final “Bumpin’ that.” Enjoy the ride. — J.G.

Welcoming Peso Pluma to her musical world, Kali Uchis’ “Igual Que Un Ángel” is a groovy, disco-tinged tune infused with soulful R&B. The song, which is about an unattainable princess, flaunts the stark contrast between Kali and Peso’s vocals: hers is silky and soothing, his is nasally and gravelly. “Igual Que Un Ángel” peaked at No. 1 on the Hot Latin Songs chart in January, and became Uchis’ highest-peaking song to date on the Hot 100, reaching No. 22. The song was also nominated for record of the year at the 2024 Latin Grammys. — J.R.

No matter what the actual time and temperature, whenever “TGIF” was playing in 2024, it was 7:00 p.m. Friday and 95 degrees. That might sound a little balmy for early sundown hours — U.S. rep Ayanna Pressley certainly seemed to think so — but GloRilla’s heat is a dry one, and an intoxicating one at that, so much so that no less a pop icon than Rihanna had to let her star hubby know about it in particularly in-your-face fashion. It was the biggest driving factor in one of the best breakout years for a rapper this decade — and before long, 60,000 fans showing up to see Big Glo do her dance may be a pretty regular thing. — A.U.

It wasn’t the caffeine-injected “Espresso” but her breezy “Please Please Please” follow-up that earned Sabrina Carpenter her first Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 hit in her superstar breakout year. Produced by pop architect Jack Antonoff, the yacht rock-tinged “Please” had everyone double-clapping and belting “motherf—ker” with a country twang as SC begged a lover not to embarrass her again. “I know you’re craving some fresh air, but the ceiling fan is so nice,” she sings, while adding to her list of cheeky innuendos. In what was a very crowded year for pop music, “Please Please Please” solidified that Sabrina was largely competing with herself for the top 40 song of the summer. — M.S.

Tinashe’s pop prowess reached new heights with “Nasty” – and while the track gave her a grand return to the Hot 100, it did even more for the masses, as it empowered many to ask: “Is somebody gonna match my freak?” The sultry, strip-club-ready inquiry became an undeniable force in all formats, from airplay and streaming to viral dances and certainly no shortage of “match my” memes. — M.M.

With heart-wrenching lyrics underscored by a pulsating beat, Ariana Grande’s “We Can’t Be Friends (Wait for Your Love)” seemingly takes notes from Robyn’s similarly poignant “Dancing on My Own.” But on her standout eternal sunshine track, Grande carves out her own lane — letting her soft tone and trademark runs take center stage, singing about the internal battle between loving someone or letting them go. And its music video, which is a loving homage to the 2004 Jim Carrey film that inspired her latest album’s title? Yup, it’s just as devastating and beautiful as the record itself. — D.P.

Two of 2024’s hottest female MCs (and one hip-hop GOAT contender) join Tyler, the Creator on Chromakopia standout “Sticky.” Playground chants, clanging cowbell and chest-rattling bass give GloRilla and Sexyy ample space for a well-earned victory lap in 2024, while Weezy flexes his inimitable wordplay without breaking a sweat (“standing like ovation on business occupation”). Even so, it’s Tyler’s show, and he steals the spotlight with a braggadocious growl about “f–kin’ who I wanna” and risking his neck (literally) between the sheets. Ask the chiropractor to bring a mop. – J. Lynch

We all get by with a little help from our superstar collaborators, you couldn’t have asked for a smarter pairing in 2024 than Post Malone and Morgan Wallen — the latter helping the former make his entrance to the country world, and the former helping the latter clear whatever hurdles remained to him becoming absolutely unavoidable in top 40. More importantly than doors opened, the two of them just sound awesome on record together here, and both are perfect conduits for a song about mutually assured romantic destruction that sounds like more of a blast than any real-life alcohol-fueled breakup has ever actually been. Teamwork makes the dream work, indeed. — A.U.

From the first sweet-yet-foreboding notes of the TTPD opener, Swift dips her toes into the goth-girl realm and delivers such darkness and longing that it’s impossible to not feel her ache — heightened by Posty’s tender backing croon (“I love you, it’s ruining my life”) — or to take the song off repeat. Aided by the tragic black-and-white visual featuring a nod to the Dead Poets Society via cameos from Ethan Hawke and Josh Charles as her captors alongside one Austin Post — who is also her love! Oh, the delicious heartbreak — the song reached the peak of the Hot 100 for two weeks. (Should’ve been longer.) — A.C.

Behold the beauty of modern TikTok discovery: a few delicious snippets of funked-up R&B music can make a complete unknown become the voice of one of the biggest hits of the year. “Million Dollar Baby,” Tommy Richman’s breakout smash, didn’t zoom into the top 10 of the Hot 100 and spend several weeks in that frame because of any cogent messaging or artist intrigue, but because it was a great hang: the plump bass line, clinking synths, tons of hi-hat and most importantly, Richman’s buttery falsetto, singing about repping Woodbridge, Virginia and some vaguely characterized relationship drama. It didn’t matter — anyone could warble along with “Million Dollar Baby,” that old-school bounce and his upper-register harmonies beguiling enough to jump off the For You page and onto top 40 radio. Ultimately, “Million Dollar Baby” transcended its viral-smash status, its impact anything but ephemeral. — J. Lipshutz

When you have 88.7 million followers on TikTok, it’s hard to imagine anything you drop not immediately catching fire. But viral dance queen Addison Rae did not break into the Hot 100 until this year’s “Diet Pepsi,” which bubbled up to No. 54 on the chart. “My boy’s a winner, he loves the game/ My lips reflect off his cross-gold chain,” Rae purrs, reaching into her ripped blue jeans and pulling out 1990s Americana images like a Gen Z Lana del Rey. The echoing synth lays the foundation for Rae’s ethereal voice, which floats above a whomping, mid-tempo rhythm and pulls no punches as she whispers, “Untouched, XO/ Young lust, let’s — (ah),” on the pre-chorus. “When we drive in your car, I’m your baby (so sweet)/ Losing all my innocence in the backseat,” she sings breathlessly. That is, until the immaculately placed key change takes the whole thing subterranean, and Rae switches from coquettish passenger to authoritative driver, like she’s handing you her empty can so she can focus on the road. — C.W.

One of a staggering seven different songs nominated in various categories for the Grammys, “Bodyguard” is maybe musically the simplest — though also the most engaging, with lyrics about the protective nature of love and what people are willing to do for it. But it’s the Beyoncé flair that makes the song come alive, her vocals at times purring (“Leave my lipstick on the cigarette”), at times delivered with a sly wink (Sometimes I take the day off just to turn you on”), but always with her entire soul in it. Produced by Raphael Saadiq, there are elements of his slinky-cool soul, building to a tightly distorted guitar solo during which Bey’s vocals really begin to soar, which elevates the song beyond what it could have been in anyone else’s hands. — D.R.

If 2024 was the year niche pop stars finally had their long-gestating (and long-deserved) major mainstream breakthroughs, then it was only right that two of our definitive slightly left-of-mainstream pop icons got on a track together. Informed by the lore of the two stars being mistaken for one another early in their careers, Charli and Lorde’s “Girl, so confusing” remix dials up the confessional nature of the original Brat cut by allowing the New Zealand Grammy-winner to share her side of the story. “I was so lost in my head/ And scared to be in your pictures/ ‘Cause for the last couple years/ I’ve been at war with my body/ I tried to starve myself thinner/And then I gained all the weight back,” she reveals, effortlessly bending her usual vocal approach to fit the robo-sing-rap cadence Charli employs on the A. G. Cook-produced track.

In another universe, this could have been a victory lap celebrating both artists’ winding journeys to the top of the pop ecosystem. But – in a move that only underscores Charli’s impulsive genius — “Girl, so confusing” was a song born out of real life that’s committed to remaining grounded in that messy and complicated reality. Equal parts reactionary and revelatory, “Girl, so confusing” is a towering peek inside the psyches of two of pop’s most important women. — K.D.

Billboard’s first charts, published more than a century ago, ranked sheet music sales—and made no mention of musical styles. The concept of distinct genres arose later to help market physical recordings and radio stations. Now, the streaming era has made genres all but irrelevant, as evidenced by Shaboozey’s marvelous milestone hit, “A Bar Song (Tipsy),” which has received more than 1.69 billion on-demand global streams and spent 19 weeks at No. 1 on the Hot 100, tying the record set by Lil Nas X’s ‘Old Town Road’ in 2019. With its universal lyric of struggles and release, its acoustic guitar intro, its hand-clapping rhythms and its nod to J-Kwon’s ’00s hip-pop smash “Tipsy,” Shaboozey’s country-pop-rap gem has been a genre-busting, culture-crossing phenomenon. — T.D.

Throughout her career, Eilish has at times faced criticism for her whisper-toned vocals, with some haters suggesting that she doesn’t have the range to switch up her sound. She swiftly proved them wrong with “Birds of a Feather,” which features a wildly catchy post-chorus where Eilish emotionally belts the skyscraping proclamation, “I’ll love you ’til the day that I die!” The gorgeously lush pop-rock radio banger, which hit No. 2 on the Hot 100, was easily one of the go-to love songs of the year — with countless fans using it over on social media to soundtrack their happiest moments of 2024. — R.A.

“That’s that me espresso” is the kind of huh? chorus lyric that either prevents a song from having any chance of becoming a major pop hit, or ensures it’s going to be one of the biggest and most unforgettable pop hits in recent memory. In the case of Sabrina Carpenter’s superstar breakthrough, it was of course the latter, with the line serving as the foam on top of what was already one of the most unmistakable, invigorating and naturally addictive singles of 2024. With that perfectly titrated chorus, a sleek post-disco groove and more winking throughout than George Costanza with grapefruit juice in his eye, “Espresso” proved undeniable and ubiquitous — and the fact that it already feels years in the rearview for Carpenter by now is how you know she’s gonna be a big star for a long time. — A.U.

Chappell Roan is not like most artists, to say the least, and that’s abundantly clear on “Good Luck, Babe!” While most vocalists scale up to a high note at the end of a lyric, the Missouri singer-songwriter begins each line of this chorus in her upper register before sliding down to deliver irony-drenched well wishes to a former lover in denial about their queerness. The verses are every bit as strong as the glistening chorus, all playful, pillowy synths and easygoing ‘80s beats as Roan coaxes and pouts, subtly flexing her vocal range and irrepressible personality. But on the spine-tingling bridge, Roan achieves a level of sublime pop perfection most singers spend years grasping at, spitting out savage disses (the institution of marriage may never recover from “you’re nothing more than his wife”) and howling “I told you sooooooo” before the song pivots to an unexpected, gorgeous bit of Paisley Park psychedelia on the outro. No wonder it wasn’t just her first Hot 100 entry – it’s also her first top 10 hit, and surely not the last. – J. Lynch  

As the epic Kendrick Lamar v. Drake beef escalated this spring, fans of both hip-hop heavyweights debated who would emerge as the victor. But the nail in The Boy’s coffin was “Not Like Us”: Arriving less than 24 hours after Dot’s eerie “Meet the Grahams” missive, he dropped a diss track for the ages, equal parts scathing and entertaining. His relentless character assassination of Drake undeniably struck a chord (“and it’s probably A minorrrrr”), from the “certified pedophile” allegation (which Drake denied, and is at the heart of his most recent legal filing) to the “OV-Hoe” call-and-response. But Mustard’s infectious beat, characterized by its booming bassline, titillating snares and finger snaps, cemented it as a West Coast anthem — one that’s since taken over clubs, cookouts, sporting events, bar mitzvahs and of course Lamar’s “The Pop Out: Ken & Friends” Juneteenth concert, where he performed it five consecutive times.  

His victory lap was far from over: “Not Like Us” notched Lamar his fourth Hot 100 No. 1, broke the record for most weeks at No. 1 on Hot Rap Songs with 25 weeks, and garnered five nominations ahead of the 2025 Grammys – including record and song of the year. And come February, Lamar could take “Not Like Us” all the way to Super Bowl — the thing Drake claimed he was as big as on 2023’s J. Cole-assisted “First Person Shooter,” where Cole’s “Big Three” claims set all of this in motion — for the ultimate checkmate. — H.M.