Melissa Kacar

The release of Justin Bieber 's My World 2.0 was a defining moment in pop culture history and signified the birth of one of the biggest phenomenon's the music industry has ever seen. My World 2.0  had an undeniable impact on music trends of the early 2010s and truly solidified him as the voice of a new generation. His career took off at lightning speed, propelling a then 16-year-old boy from a small town in Canada to a global sensation overnight.  My World 2.0  was Justin's first full length album, following the release of his debut EP called My World a few months prior in late 2009. Looking back on the release of My World 2.0 15 years later, I'm reminded of just how clear it was, even way back in 2010, that Justin was such a mega talent that had such a bright career ahead of him. To have a vocal range and an undeniable stage presence like he had at that age is so rare and a talent that has only continued to grow in the years to follow.  Justin's origin story i...

Chappell Roan 's breakthrough single "Good Luck Babe!" is a poignant and sarcastic farewell to the girl she once loved that couldn't love her back. In an email she sent to fans prior to the song's release, Chappell said that "Good Luck Babe!" is a song "about wishing good luck to someone who is denying fate". In the song's chorus she sings, "You'd have to stop the world just to stop the feeling". It was released in April 2024 as the first song in the next chapter of her career. At that point her debut album, The Rise and Fall of the Midwest Princess , had started to gain massive popularity around six months after its release. She was experiencing one of the biggest overnight success stories the music industry has ever seen, completely taking over pop music with her unique sound, powerhouse vocals, and captivating live performances. Of course, I say "overnight success" lightly, as Chappell has been working for nearly ...

"We Belong Together" by Mariah Carey   was released in 2005 as the second single of her tenth album,  The Emancipation of Mimi . It is widely credited with reviving her career in the new decade, following her chart dominance throughout the 1990s. It now serves as a testament to her strength artistry that she turned such a challenging period into a story of redemption and perseverance.  It also served as a significant new chapter in Mariah's career, following the release of two commercial failures with  Glitter  in 2001 and  Charmbracelet  in 2002. These records were released at a particularly low point in her personal and professional life, which was highly publicized at the time and she has since opened up about through the years. Despite these struggles, Mariah's resilience through that difficult period of her life shined through so brightly in her 2005 comeback album  The Emancipation of Mimi . This album fully represented a rebirth of Mariah a...

Mayhem  is a true return to form for Lady Gaga . The pop music pioneer herself has continuously found new ways to evolve and transform herself with each release. This time around, she went back to her dance music roots, which resulted in one of the best records of her entire career. With  Mayhem , Gaga revisited many of the same aesthetics and themes that were present in her art at the start of her career, with albums like  The Fame , The Fame Monster  and   Born This Way   - which were truly innovative records at the time and greatly shaped what the future of pop music became. At the same time, she offers a modern and matured approach to the music, which fully reflects who she is right now at this stage of her life. This album truly is mayhem - it's clear that Gaga drew from so many different influences that make up the tapestry of sound this album represents. From David Bowie, Queen, Michael Jackson, Prince and Madonna - the synthy 80s influences are amo...