confessions of a pop music drama queen
With all the Girls releasing their albums this spring, I would like to take this opportunity to let the public know, once and for all, I am a pop girl to the core. I’m sick of acting like I don’t thoroughly enjoy a Billboard Hot 100 hit. Pop music, short for popular might I add…However, during the late 2010s, the hatred towards Pop ramped up, especially towards those who enjoyed the music genre. If you liked pop that meant you were basic, and if you were anti-pop you were an intellectual and therefore better than everyone. At the end of the day, what music you enjoy doesn’t measure your intellect.
Unfortunately, during the late 2010s I was in high school, therefore, being perceived as anything less than cool frightened me. I forced myself to listen to brooding indie artists for my friends or incoherent mumble rap to impress boys. Now, I also want to make this clear: there are definitely plenty of indie artists and rappers I LOVE, so listening to their music didn’t feel completely inauthentic. I would just rather listen to Ariana Grande sometimes. Things came to a head my freshman year of college. One day, the boy I had just started seeing, therefore constantly trying to impress, went on this long tangent about how Taylor Swift is basically everything wrong with the music industry. And what did I say back? “Yeah totally.” Who was my number one artist on Spotify that year? As well as the following two years? Yep, Taylor Swift. Just silly behavior, but those were the times we were living in.
Thankfully, that same year I met people that shared my same love for basic ass pop music.
Sometimes it’s hard to distinguish what is actually considered a “pop” album. In my opinion, pop music’s sound changes every decade. The pop songs of the early 2000s do not sound like pop music today. Then there’s also the conversation surrounding race in the pop music sphere. Black artists like Beyoncé, Rihanna, and The Weeknd are often categorized under the “urban” or “r&b” genre, when they regularly release mainstream pop music. You could argue that since these artists often blend musical genres it could be difficult to classify them under just one category, so why not create a catch-all? The problem is when white artists, like Ariana Grande or Justin Bieber, do the same, they are still considered pop. Go look at past nominees in the, now, “Progressive R&B Album” category and tell me if you notice a pattern. Tyler the Creator said it best after his album, Igor, won “Best Rap Album” at the 2020 Grammys.
“It sucks that whenever we, and I mean guys that look like me, do anything that’s genre-bending, they always put it in a ‘rap’ or ‘urban’ category. I don’t like that ‘urban’ word. To me, it’s just a politically correct way to say the N-word. Why can’t we just be in pop?”
In honor of this musical reckoning, here are my favorite pop albums. To keep it short, I’ve only included albums from the 2010s, since this was my dark period. If you would like to know my picks from other decades, good, those will be coming later (:
2010: Teenage Dream - Katy Perry
Honorable Mention: Loud - Rihanna; Doo-Wops & Hooligans - Bruno Mars
We’re starting this list off strong with an album that had more hits on it than I remembered. I went back and forth between giving this slot to Teenage Dream or Rihanna’s Loud, another album chock full of hits. In the end, how could I not give it to the album that had FIVE #1 singles, the second album to do so after Michael Jackson’s Thriller (don’t worry Rihanna will get her flowers later on this list). Yep, “California Girls,” “E.T.,” “Firework,” “Last Friday Night,” and of course, “Teenage Dream,” are all on this one album. It’s criminal this album didn’t win Perry a Grammy.
Favorite Song: Teenage Dream
2011: 4 - Beyoncé
Honorable Mentions: Born This Way - Lady Gaga; 21 - Adele
This album was released the summer before 5th grade, which meant I was still heavy in the competitive dance phase of my life. Beyonce is a fan favorite in the competition dance circuit, and from the fall of 2011 well into the summer of 2012 you could not escape the pop hits from the album. This was the first Beyoncé album I was old enough to appreciate on my own, and for me, solidified her reign as Queen B. So imagine how shocked I was when I discovered this is her lowest selling album to date. The album that gave us “Run the World (Girls),” “Love on Top,” and “Countdown,” is considered to be a “flop.” Today, the album is seen as transitional moment to the Beyonce we know today.
Favorite Song: Schoolin’ Life
2012: Red - Taylor Swift
Honorable Mention: Unorthodox Jukebox - Bruno Mars; Talk That Talk - Rihanna
When I first heard “We Are Never Getting Back Together” in my mom’s Honda Odyssey I said “Wait, is this a pop song?” Yes, young people there was a time where Taylor Swift wasn’t considered a Pop Icon, but a Country Darling. While Red certainly still has country influence, this was the first time we saw Taylor Swift begin to crossover into more mainstream pop.
Favorite Song: Holy Ground
Taylor’s Version: The Very First Night
2013: Pure Heroine - Lorde
Honorable Mentions: ARTPOP - Lady Gaga; Days Are Gone - Haim; Prism - Katy Perry
If you shopped in any form of store or listened to the radio in 2013, you know Royals by Lorde. I think the nation let out a collective “WHAT” when we found out a 16 year old was behind this mega hit. As you can tell by the honorable mentions, 2013 was a contentious year for pop divas (see all the drama surround Prism vs. ARTPOP). And while some may say this year belonged to Katy or Gaga, Pure Heroine is the album that withstands the test of time. Lorde paved the way for young artists, like Billie Eilish and Olivia Rodrigo, to stray away from the traditional pop sound. However, if you wanna hear my thoughts on ARTPOP, reach out to me personally.
Favorite Song: Ribs *the only right answer*
2014: 1989 - Taylor Swift
Honorable Mentions: FOUR - One Direction; In the Lonely Hour - Sam Smith; My Everything - Ariana Grande
Holy hell this was a great year for pop music, but I gotta give it to my girl Taylor. 1989 is widely considered as her first full fledged pop album and boy did she nail it. To me, TO ME, this is one of the best pop albums of all time. Hearing those opening beats of “Welcome to New York” on my Hello Kitty CD player, after my Monday night Cecchetti class, was life changing. This album has 3 #1 hits, an AOTY Grammy, and even a re-record. (This might be blasphemous to the Swifties, but I still stream the “stolen version”). This is Taylor Swift at her finest, both musically and culturally. I mean who can forget the “Girl Squad” or her beef with Katy Perry.
Favorite Song: I Wish You Would
Deluxe Version: New Romantics
Taylor’s Version: Slut!
2015: 25 - Adele
Honorable Mentions: Beauty Behind the Madness - The Weeknd; Confident - Demi Lovato; Made in the AM - One Direction
Out of all the picks seen above, 25 is definitely to most subdued. The Weeknd gave us “Can’t Feel My Face” which had people comparing his sound to Michael Jackson. Demi’s “Cool For the Summer” was the song of the summer. And One Direction delivered their final album, though at the time we were all too naive to realize it. However, its 25 that takes the win for me. This was Adele’s comeback album after a brief hiatus, where she even considered quitting music. The album is raw, yet still fun with songs like “Send My Love” and “Water Under the Bridge.”
Favorite Song: All I Ask
2016: ANTI - Rihanna
Honorable Mentions: 24k Magic - Bruno Mars; Dangerous Woman - Ariana Grande; Joanne - Lady Gaga
I told y’all I was going to give Rihanna her flowers. Hands down, this album is Rihanna’s best, and it almost didn’t even make this list. On Anti, Rihanna experiments with genres ranging from pop to dancehall to soul, so I didn’t know if I could classify it as a solely a pop album. But as I mentioned earlier, pop music isn’t confined to one sound. Plus, Rolling Stone ranked it as #1 on their Best Pop Albums of 2016, and who am I to argue with Rolling Stone. This album is the only reason I’m not that upset she hasn’t released a follow up, because I fear nothing can top this.
Favorite Song: Woo
2017: Melodrama - Lorde
Honorable Mentions: ÷ - Ed Sheeran; Reputation - Taylor Swift; Harry Styles - Harry Styles
We are getting into the years where I had the most trouble choosing just one winner. And we’re starting off strong with Lorde’s sophomore album, Melodrama. This could honestly be one of my favorite albums of all time. People always rave about her debut, (pop back up to 2013), but to me this is Lorde at her finest. I feel myself relating to this album more at 22 than when I first heard at 16, which is powerful. Plus, the concept of comparing the stages of a breakup to the emotions one feels during a house party- GENIUS!
Favorite Song: Perfect Places
2018: Sweetener - Ariana Grande
Honorable Mentions: Love Yourself: Tear - BTS; A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships - The 1975
After being teased on this list twice, it’s time for Ms. Grande to really enter the conversation. Sweetener is 100% my favorite Ariana Grande album. Nostalgia plays a huge role in this decision, but it’s also just a fun, lighthearted pop album, thanks to Pharrell. IMO, this is when AG solidified herself as a pop diva: she had her whirlwind romance with Pete Davidson, a signature style, and this album won her her first Grammy.
Favorite Song: sweetener
2019: Fine Line - Harry Styles
Honorable Mentions: thank u, next - Ariana Grande; Lover - Taylor Swift; when we all fall asleep, where do we go? - Billie Eillish
I keep changing which one of these four albums is my actual favorite from the year. 2019 was such a special year in my life and each one of these albums coincides with specific period of that year. I graduated high school (thank u, next), started my first real job (When We All Fall Asleep Where Do We Go), and began my freshman year of college (Lover). But when I think of 2019 as a whole there’s one album that makes me feel the most nostalgic. And that’s Fine Line, making Harry Styles my only male entry to make it out of the honorable mentions. It’s the perfect album to close out the 2010s before we entered the dreaded 2020s.
Favorite Song: Fine Line
What’s your favorite pop album from the 2010s?
With luv,
KK
