The Best Songs of June 2024 // New Music Friday!
"So I" // Charli xcx
Brat summer is officially here! 💚 I've had Charli xcx's new album on a constant repeat all month, it's absolutely one of the best records released this year so far. I have so many thoughts that I will be sharing in my upcoming full review, but until then I thought I'd share a few of my favorites! I usually only share one new song from each new album release on these lists, but between the standard album, the deluxe, and an extra special remix that were released this month - I couldn't resist to highlight them all!
The first song I wanted to share from this album is the stunning "So I", which is paying tribute to Charli's friend and collaborator, SOPHIE, who passed away recently. This song is a beautiful memorial to her life and legacy, and the lasting impact she made on all who knew her and love her. It is an incredibly emotional moment from this record and among the best she has ever made to date.
"Spring Breakers" // Charli xcx
I have been non-stop listening to the ripped audio of "Spring Breakers" from Charli's DJ set in Brooklyn for months and have been counting down the days until it got an official release. I was disappointed to see it wasn't going to be on the standard track list, but thankfully we didn't need to wait long for it! It was one of the three bonus tracks from the album's deluxe version - brat and it's the same but there's three more songs so it's not. That is such an iconic album title btw! The song is a reference to the 2012 film of the same name, which also has a perfect Britney Spears sample of "Everytime", a song that played a pivotal role in Spring Breakers. It is wild, unhinged pop perfection and I'm so obsessed with it!
"The girl so confusing version with Lorde" // Charli xcx & Lorde
Words can express how much I adore this song. I can already see this becoming my top favorite song of the entire year. It makes me tear up every time I hear it by how moving and truly special the message is. Charli and Lorde "worked it out on the remix", following the original solo release of "Girl so confusing" earlier in the month. The original song was implied to be about her friendship with Lorde, who got her start at the same time as Charli in the music industry and shared a similar look with each other. That type of comparison sometimes caused there to be a bit of distance between them over the years, despite always being friendly. It is largely about the complexities of female friendships and the way women are often pitted against each other in the music industry to be competitors, although what they do is completely different than the other. Lorde's added verse tells her perspective of the story, how she was "so lost in my head" blinded by her own insecurities and didn't know how Charli was feeling at the time. "'Girl, you walk like a bitch', when I was ten, someone said that, and it's just self-defense until you're building a weapon, she believed my projection and now I totally get it, forgot that inside the icon there's still a young girl from Essex," she sings.
I truly had tears in my eyes when they started singing together at the end too, "People say we're alike, they say we've got the same hair, it's you and me on the coin, the industry loves to spend". They created whatever the opposite of a diss track is, it is so wholesome and really moving to listen to. Needless to say the internet did, in fact, go crazy for this masterpiece and I'm so happy to have been able to witness that! You know I ride for you, Charli (and Lorde) 💚
"Please Please Please" // Sabrina Carpenter
Sabrina has been on a roll lately with putting out hit after hit this summer! "Please Please Please" is a such a great follow up to "Espresso"! There are evident influences from Olivia Newton John and ABBA shining through, with a little bit of a country twang too. I also absolutely loved the video she released alongside it too! "Please Please Please" also marks the first time she and Jack Antonoff are working together and I couldn't be more excited to hear more from their collaborations! Her upcoming album Short n' Sweet is one of my most-anticipated of the summer and I'm really excited to hear it!
"The End" // Halsey
"The End" is an incredibly emotional and raw ballad, opening up about the uncertainties of life and reckoning with her own mortality in the face of recent health struggles. The song details Halsey's treatment following their recent Lupus diagnosis, as well as the diagnosis of a rare T-cell disorder. "long story short, i’m Lucky to be alive. short story long, i wrote an album," she wrote alongside the song's announcement. The album is yet to be officially announced, but this song is more so meant to serve as a status update for what her life has been like for the past couple of years. It truly takes so much strength and bravery to put out a song as personal as this for the world to hear. I have always admired Halsey for their deep honesty and commitment to transparency in her art. I am really looking forward to what this new album is going to bring from her, as well as always wishing her the best on her health journey!
"Straight To Your Heart" // Ashton Irwin
Ashton Irwin recently released the first part of his two-part album Blood on the Drums, which is such a great follow up to his solo debut Superbloom in 2020. I have loved seeing the members of 5 Seconds of Summer, one of my favorite bands ever, branch out into solo ventures over the past few years. I was blown away by Ashton's lead single especially, which in a lot of ways feels like a grown-up version of early 5SOS music to me. I love to hear that influence come through with it. He worked with the band's frequent collaborator from that time, John Feldmann, so it really does feel like an elevated version of Sounds Good Feels Good era to me! The production is stellar and his vocals sound really incredible! I'm looking forward to hearing the second part coming in July!
I also have a really fun post coming soon for 5 Seconds of Summer's tenth anniversary, which I hope you'll come back soon to check out!
":)" // The Japanese House
I recently had the most amazing experience seeing The Japanese House perform this month at Shadow of the City festival in New Jersey! I am really looking forward to sharing my full experience here very soon! I have loved the band for many years and had such a great time seeing their performance. They just released a new song called ":)" (pronounced "smiley face") and it is such a beautiful and joyous song for the summer!
"the boy is mine (Remix)" // Ariana Grande, Brandy & Monica
After taking inspiration from Brandy & Monica's 1998 hit of the same name, Ariana Grande not only included them in her recent music video for "the boy is mine", but also released a full remix with them! It is a powerhouse collaboration and so well executed - especially after how poorly Ariana's remix with Mariah Carey was done earlier this year, although I loved the sentiment behind it. "the boy is mine" is one of my favorite songs from Eternal Sunshine and among my most played of the year so far, so I love having a new version to listen to now!
Check out my full review of Eternal Sunshine by Ariana Grande!
"Supersad" // Suki Waterhouse
Suki Waterhouse finally announced her upcoming second album, Memoir of a Sparklemuffin (what a title, right?) Alongside the announcement she also released "Supersad", a fun and uplifting track about pushing through the messiest of times in life. I have loved all of the incredible songs she has put out throughout the year so far, so I'm really looking forward to hearing the rest of the album soon!
"us." // Gracie Abrams & Taylor Swift
After touring together extensively over the past year, Gracie Abrams and Taylor Swift officially collaborated for the first time! This song, which also serves as the title track of Gracie's new album, is a really great ballad produced by both Aaron Dessner and Jack Antonoff. While Taylor's part is more minimal than I expected it to be, her writing is all over this song and is a natural fit into The Tortured Poets Department era. I honestly do have mixed opinions on the album as a whole, which maybe I'll go more in depth about in a future review, but "us." is absolutely the brightest shining moment of the entire album in my opinion!
Thanks for reading! I would love to hear your thoughts in the comment section below! Check out the best songs of May & more from my ongoing New Music Friday series.
I have a ton of exciting new content to come in the next few weeks, which I hope you'll come back soon to check out!
all photo credit to owners - header designed by Melissa Kacar
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The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology by Taylor Swift // Double Album Review & Analysis
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