January
Eusexuawas an early punt for album of the year from FKA twigs. Described as a love letter to dance music rather than a dance album in itself, twigs’ usual ethereal delivery floats over stuttering, propulsive beats to place you smack-bang in the middle of a ‘90s rave. Releasing this early in the year may have stunted this record’s potential to soundtrack cool-girl summer parties, but EUSEXUA feels made for those who like clubbing in January—cold weather will never stop a genuine love of the game.
Rose Gray’s Louder, Please was another one for the club girlies, her bubbly pop hooks over EDM beats taking party people away from the drizzle and straight to Ibiza. Bad Bunny also took us to warmer shores, DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS his most fun release in ages. Marrying modern reggaeton with traditional styles of Puerto Rican music made for a record that not only showed Bad Bunny’s dynamism as an artist, but why (an oft-stagnant) música urbana still has legs. In terms of something more chilled-out, Maddie Jay’s I Can Change Your Mind was an early highlight of the year, diaristic stories over woozy, hypnotic synth lines making for a super promising debut.
Elsewhere, Jojo dropped EP NGL, continuing to evolve the R&B she made her name with as a teenager. Aside from introspective club banger Porcelain not much here makes a real splash, but the artist at the centre makes any release likeable nevertheless. Central Cee unpicked his rise to fame on Can’t Rush Greatness, but with songs and delivery this dull it was incredibly difficult to care about any struggle.
Teddy Swims tried to move to the next level of his newfound fame with I’ve Tried Everything But Therapy (Part 2), but the chokehold mega-single Lose Control had on the charts (still, a year and a half after its release) meant this new record was dead in the water before it even came out (whether it used AI or not). The Weeknd’s album trilogy went out with a fizzle not a bang, Hurry Up Tomorrow a bloated collection of songs that was serviceable to the point of forgettable, swamping out any tiny flicker of innovation with drawn-out mediocrity.
February
With the year’s release slate starting properly this month, a slew of ‘bigger back in the day’ artists dropped their latest stabs at relevance. Olly Alexander put out his first record fully away from the Years & Years name, Polari leaning heavily into ‘80s synthpop. There’s surely a market for it somewhere, but often-overblown production and unexceptional hooks made this album fall through the cracks. Alessia Cara calling in an orchestra on Love & Hyperbole could have been an inspired move, but the album wasn’t sticky enough to be worth it.
Rizzle Kicks returned too—Competition Is For Losers isn’t necessarily a record most people would induct into their regular rotation, but at least the duo are doing something fresh rather than cashing in on British schoolkid nostalgia. We got the 10-year anniversary celebration we were all waiting for…um, an album of offcuts from Imagine Dragons’ Smoke + Mirrors (no, not one of them is worth your time), and Mike Posner released his ‘enlightened’ album The Beginning, which sounds like being yapped to by the 2014 folk singer / DJ / yoga teacher of your nightmares.
With all that out of the way, there were some incredible showcases of artistry this February. Setting the dancefloor alight was cult icon Rebecca Black, the relentless Salvation effortlessly merging hyperpop, garage and Eurodance with undeniable conviction and star power. Banks was quietly consistent as ever on the wonderfully dramatic Off With Her Head, while Oklou’s choke enough was a fantastic addition to the essential bedroom pop canon, low-fi slow burns becoming rich, multi-faceted explosions in the most fascinating ways. Light Hit My Face Like A Straight Right was also magnetically creative, Mallrat’s own brand of singer-songwriter coming from deft curation of a library of synthpop sounds. She may sound best over the out-and-out dance of Hocus Pocus, but even the more insular moments here are gloriously expansive.
In terms of the real chart-bothering leagues, it was a mixed bag. Valentine’s Day’s deluxe drop did just what Sabrina Carpenter needed to extend the life of Short ‘N Sweet, but the god-awful Some Sexy Songs 4 U inexplicably kept PARTYNEXTDOOR and Drake in the zeitgeist with huge single Nokia, proving why some listeners shouldn’t be allowed free will. February was a poor month for Blackpink fans—Jisoo didn’t make much of an impact on her too-short debut EP Amortage, and although bandmate Lisa tried much harder on her own mega-polished debut album Alter Ego, drawing life from just one personality seemed like a fruitless task, never mind the five she introduced in her pored-over marketing plan.
But the real February talking point was undoubtedly Tate McRae. After circling Main Pop Girl status for a few years So Close To What finally got her there, fully embodying the 2000s to make a record as sexy and polished as the Spears and Scherzingers that came before. It wasn’t enough to get carried away by—this record is far from a classic—but it’s the most fully-formed McRae has been on a project thus far, and if it helps keep a slot open for her A-grade performance skills in pop conversation then real appreciators of the genre should be all for it.
March
Based on a True Story was the first real contender for Worst Album of 2025 – this would be cringe even if Will Smith was audibly having a good time, but a bitter introduction about his ‘cancellation’ and continued preaching of how he’s worked on himself post-Chris Rock slap just makes all of the attempts at ‘fun’ feel like a hollow, PR-mandated rehash of his glory days. Not even the Men In Black could help rehabilitate his image at this point.
Luckily, not much else reached such a level of poor this March. Chloe Moriondo’s Oyster, Jessie Reyez’s Paid in Memories and Sasami’s Blood On the Silver Screen were perfectly serviceable if unnotable releases in their respective worlds—though incredibly different by way of sound, they each did what was needed to keep existing fans happy. An album from megastar married couple Selena Gomez and Benny Blanco should have been a runaway hit purely based on credentials, but too much genre-hopping and not enough showstopping meant I Said I Love You First fizzled out. The fact that Charli XCX pastiche Bluest Flame and The Marias-helmed Ojos Tristes are the most memorable songs here speaks volumes – focusing on developing a sound that suits Gomez’s voice and has its own character is what this musical partnership needs.
Elsewhere, Jennie finally gave Blackpink fans something to rejoice over—Ruby isn’t the greatest record ever made, but blows her fellow bandmates’ solo efforts out of the water when it comes to personality and artistic voice. The confidence here is clearly the secret ingredient, it might benefit the fellow Blackpink girls to be more like Jennie. The deluxe edition of Ariana Grande’s eternal sunshine also dropped this month, brighter days ahead’s five new songs assimilating Wicked theatricals and whimsy into the star’s usual sound. twilight zone and warm in particular became instant essential additions to Grande’s discography, both having a delectable pop sweetness she should absolutely keep around for future releases.
But what this month (and year so far) needed was a true blue pop legend—enter Lady Gaga. After five years doing jazz duets and musical blockbuster side-quests, Mayhem was a true return to form – not only a masterclass in classic maximalist anthemia, but treading new ground in a way only Gaga can. It’s genuinely impressive how heavy this record is (synth basslines that can be felt in your core balanced with Nine Inch Nails-esque industrialism and Prince-inspired groove) while still being dyed-in-the-wool Gaga. After 2024’s barrage of pop heavy-hitters threatened to leave this year somewhat dry, Mayhem was just the release we needed to start 2025 off right.
April
Pure pop releases were few and far between this April, the handful that did show up coming from British shores. Self Esteem bested herself on grandiosity on A Complicated Woman, but the choirs and hymns didn’t hold a candle to her classic stomping pop moments. Even though a four-song EP is far too small a dose of Rachel Chinouriri Little House was a delight, the sweeping Indigo a particularly intriguing taster for her next full-length record. The legendary Elton John enlisted pal Brandi Carlile on Who Believes In Angels?, marrying heartland rock, classic piano balladry and the odd cabaret romp into something your middle-aged mum who loves a wedding reception dancefloor can really sink her teeth into.
Otherwise though, we were forced to look elsewhere for notable albums, whether that’s offshoots of pop itself or other genres entirely. Coco Jones’ Why Not More? was a solid R&B record deserving of some attention, while the R&B and indie pop fusions of Malcolm Todd’s self-titled debut album made waves with the cool girl crowd. Elsewhere, Djo looked to capitalise on past chronically-online virality with The Crux; though this more Vampire Weekend-leaning direction often felt a little toothless compared to past projects, the undeniable charm at the centre did much of the heavy lifting.
Representing the folkier side of things was Samia, who pivoted away from her pop stylings of old on Bloodless, and Gigi Perez, whose 2024 stint at Number 1 in the UK threw her debut album At The Beach, In Every Life into chart conversations. An acoustic folk album about visceral grief and religious trauma isn’t the archetypal chart botherer, but Perez’s gorgeously unconventional voice and vivid songwriting absolutely deserved the recognition this quieter month awarded her.
May
May served us better when it came to big musical names dropping albums, reinvention the name of the game for plenty. Lights’ A6 was her first independent record, and though it’s a more impressive achievement on paper (she produced every track and played a vast majority of the instruments herself), it’s still a solid ‘80s darkpop album. Dreamsicle was Maren Morris’ long-awaited pivot to pop, but generic production and bogged-down balladry did a disservice to her incredible vocal talents.
Måneskin frontman Damiano David also went pop on his debut solo record Funny Little Fears, inexplicably taking the John Newman / James Arthur route to midtempo, neo-retro advert soundtrack town. Serving better was Music For People Who Believe In Love, a surprisingly well-produced guitar-pop record from Joe Jonas. It may lean on therapy-speak and enlightenment clichés that grate if you pay enough attention to its lyrics, but sound-wise it has real textured backbone, more so than plenty of his peers.
At the end of the month, Miley Cyrus promised bigger and better things following the sales smash that was Endless Summer Vacation. Enter Something Beautiful, whose title track and single End Of The World courted a timeless, expansive sound. Despite pre-release promises that it’d be Cyrus’ The Wall, such innovation dies off midway through the project, much like the momentum of the entire project throughout the rest of the year.
In terms of forging the genre forward, there were far fewer hooks on MØ’s Plæygirl than there were in her heyday, while yeule and Låpsley also fared less well, both uncomplicating their sounds to make much less creatively inspired records than they’ve put out in the past (but still much better than a 37-track Morgan Wallen album). Actually leading the charge into the future was PinkPantheress. Fancy That was a 20-minute whirlwind of Y2K perfection, relentlessly party-ready with its garage backdrops while still being intimate and conversational like a gossip sesh with your best mate. Pink is an artist who has absolutely nailed what she has to offer, this mixtape one of the most effervescent releases of the year so far. Someone else who’s completely mastered their sound is Kali Uchis, the slinky, soulful Sincerely, a gorgeous listen, while newcomer (and eventual BBC Sound Of 2026 nominee) Chloe Qisha solidified herself as one to watch with Modern Romance, a funky but grandiose set of anthems that are sure to get fans of Marina and Carly Rae Jepsen onboard.
June
Latin-pop it-girl Karol G took it upon herself to welcome in summer on Tropicoqueta, a breezy, feel-good album that kept a crown firmly on her head. Naysayers everywhere sniffed at the prospect of an Addison Rae album, but the impressive vibe curation and total bangers on this month’s Addison proved why the former TikTok star shouldn’t be underestimated as a serious musician. Also making waves online were girl group Katseye, but as polished as their live shows seemed to be, it didn’t save debut EP Beautiful Chaos from swinging between grating and forgettable. Lorde finally returned from her holiday to Solar Power woo-woo land, Virgin the confessional synthpop gut punch fans had been craving for years. Marina also harked back to her past, Princess of Power a new showcase of her classic baroque / ‘80s hybrid pop.
Turning to guitars is en vogue for pop girlies right now—it can sometimes be hard to tell if such a move is born from a boardroom rather than genuine creativity but Charlotte Lawrence has never sounded better than on the cinematic Somewhere. Also going for cinematic was 5 Seconds Of Summer’s Calum Hood, ORDER chaos ORDER a completely serviceable step out from the band.
Is Benson Boone an easy target for music critics? Yes. Does the music he puts out make it somewhat warranted? Also yes. American Heart is a textbook collection of ‘Voice Audition pop’ (coined excellently by journalist Larisha Paul) that no amount of backflips can improve; the infamous “moonbeam, ice cream” snippet of the record at least hinted at some fun, but none to be found here. Also ironically devoid of fun was Lizzo’s mixtape My Face Hurts From Smiling. Reverting back to her rap persona of old could’ve been a cool move, but the uninspired beats and cringe lyrics leave this one dead in the water.
But this month saw one of the worst omens for the charts of the year. The KPop Demon Hunters soundtrack would have a chokehold on the charts for the foreseeable; there’s nothing inherently wrong with songs being specifically crafted for a film gaining popularity, but when they’re as uncanny valley and lacking in any kind of fire in the belly as these ones, then they refuse to go away for the rest of the year, it feels like a dystopian sign for songwriting. Sure, it could be dismissed as something for kids that adults simply wouldn’t understand, but when actual K-Pop is being ignored in favour of a lab-grown copy, it should be raising eyebrows.
July
A surprise album release is a textbook way to get a bigger artist’s name back in the zeitgeist, and that’s exactly what happened to Justin Bieber after the hilariously-named Swag’s drop this month. There were a handful of gems on here (helped along by production from man-of-the-moment Mk.gee) but nothing with enough impact to carry through the rest of the year. Half of the songs on Alex Warren’s You’ll Be Alright, Kid may have already seen the light of day (some of them three years prior), but it’s a perfectly fine album—nowhere near notable enough to warrant the success he’s seen or as inherently funny as backflipping counterpart Benson Boone.
A complete aversion to risk-taking continued to leave Fletcher’s artistic journey stagnating, Would You Still Love Me If You Really Knew Me? another crop of songs that are far too bland for this good a voice. Sex Hysteria was a deeply annoying project, Jessie Murph drawling about setting back feminism 60 years over tracks that feel both undercooked and overblown. An R&B / country crossover could have had merits on paper, but with execution like this it needs to be locked in Nashville vaults forever.
Disco, Eurodance, bro-country and hyperpop singles hinted at Kesha’s . (‘period’, representing her long-awaited independence from her old record label) being a smorgasbord of genre-mashed insanity, and while the well of full-on maximalism was drained before the record’s release, it’s a display of the singer’s evergreen talent for crafting irresistible pop hooks. Another purveyor of the humble hook was Burna Boy, No Sign Of Weakness stickier than most mainstream pop records, while former chart botherer Mabel pivoted away from courting numbers, her self-titled mixtape an affable slice of silky R&B. Completing the set of 5 Seconds Of Summer solo albums was Michael Clifford on the aptly named Sidequest—while it’s pop-punk firmly from the MGK camp rather than more classic fodder, it may give OG 5SOS fans a chance to reminisce about their early days.
The tail-end of this month saw Tyler, The Creator’s three-day album rollout for Don’t Tap The Glass. While last year’s Chromokopia was a high-concept display of eclecticism, this go-around put fun at the forefront, instructing listeners stillness is not allowed within the first few seconds of the record. It still had Tyler-standard musical depth (pulling from funk, Miami bass and Zambian rock) but the instant hit-factor of Sugar On My Tongue and Ring Ring Ring showed that the peak of summer and Tyler, The Creator are an exceptional match.
August
After becoming one of the world’s most-streamed artists faster than a cheating couple can hide from a kiss cam, Sombr’s debut album i barely know her really put him on the map. Musically, there’s nothing to really write home about in terms of a real statement being made, but this is a really solid collection of disco-tinged bangers (12 to 12 a particular highlight) and soft-boy ballads that will really get the teen girls fawning.
We also found Reneé Rapp post-upstart buzz with her sophomore record. While 2023’s Snow Angel combined her theatrical singing chops with pored-over pop production chock-full of cool moments, this month’s Bite Me felt sanded down in comparison. The gloss of Good Girl’s 80s perfection and the purring Kiss It Kiss It or swagger of Leave Me Alone and At Least I’m Hot feel like the direction she should be going in, this project feeling too directionless and ballad-heavy to really make a mark.
The Aces’ Gold Star Baby saw them go disco, though their inability to let heartbreak go in their lyrics made this new ‘fun-loving’ direction feel more confused than anything. Ava Max’s Don’t Click Play suffered after her inexplicable ‘drop off the face of the earth’ marketing strategy, but the blandness of the songs here wouldn’t have stuck around even with her PR team putting in a shift. Greetings From Your Hometown also came and went without note for the Jonas Brothers, insane Stayin’ Alive interpolation aside (certainly try Joe’s solo record from last month over this), as did new records from Maroon 5 and Tom Grennan which sounded exactly how you’d expect 2025 records from these artists to sound.
Otherwise though, August boasted lots of artists being unapologetically themselves and all the better for it, whether that was with a new sonic direction or with the modus operandi they’ve had from the jump. Jenevieve’s vibey R&B shone on Chrysalis, Amaarae’s assured exuberance on Black Star should set a standard for artists looking to take more risks, while Laufey’s signature jazz pop taking on a new lease of life on A Matter Of Time showed just how well finding a gap in the market can pay off.
Unlikely pop star Ethel Cain put out yet another narrative-driven sob-fest this month, Willoughby Tucker, I’ll Always Love You a prequel to 2022’s sprawling Preacher’s Daughter. There’s much less darkness this go-round, and it’s always impressive how captivating the singer can be against such sparse backgrounds. Another captivating focal point (and a complete 180 vibe-wise) was CMAT, whose personality made Euro-Country a delectable collage of Irish pride, feminism and seething hatred of Jamie Oliver.
After getting her start as Gracie Abrams’ closest writing pal, Who’s The Clown? was Audrey Hobert’s first release under her own name. A unique lyrical specificity and palpable sense of fun made this one of the year’s most unmissable pop records in a way not every upstart with an acoustic guitar can. Also benefitting from hyper-specificity was Conan Gray, abandoning a half-hearted amble down the Max Martin road in favour of truly baring his soul. Wishbone sees Gray become the artist he was always meant to be, cinematic instrumentals bolstering vivid imagery of heartbreak and making for the biggest, best anthems he’s ever made.
And then there’s Sabrina Carpenter, who dropped the follow-up to the gargantuan Short ‘n Sweet a mere 51 weeks after its release. Man’s Best Friend sparked discussion—not just with its hugely controversial cover, but with its apparent lack of instant hit factor. Was this one of pop’s biggest names dropping the ball? If you’re talking about meeting its predecessor’s career-best success then sure, but this is a record with a different goal entirely. It’s much more of a slow-burn than material Carpenter has put out before, but is essentially the singer becoming a student of her influences, incredibly faithful homages to ABBA, Janet Jackson and Diana Ross funnelled through her own winking, coquettish lens. Songs like My Man On Willpower, House Tour and Go-Go Juice feel like they should be in her hall of fame sooner rather than later, but the hidden depth on this project shows that Sabrina Carpenter is not a flash in the pan, but someone with the artistic perspective to sustain a long, long career.
September
The legendary Mariah Carey returned this September – she opted for luxury on Here For It All but it felt more phoned-in than expensive. Justin Bieber overplayed his hand on his Swag project, Swag II coming and going with nary a splash, completely dwarfed by the success of its predecessor’s single Daisies. Also making less of a splash than he used to was Ed Sheeran, Play billed as his triumphant return to pop but failing to stick around. That said, there’s lots to respect about Play, Sheeran’s dabbling in Persian music making this release a much more creatively satisfying one than if he’d just churned out what he thought was popular to reach Shape of You heights again. Releases from King Princess, Mimi Webb and Cardi B didn’t make much impact either, and while Perrie had some really solid material on her self-titled debut solo album, it’s clear that she’s the Little Mix member who hasn’t quite found her own voice yet.
That said, enter JADE’s That’s Showbiz, Baby!, not only the most fully-formed Little Mix solo project so far, but maybe the best overall vision a pop album had in 2025. JADE has long been known as a pop obsessive, this record a maverick science experiment of every reference under the sun (Donna Summer disco, indie sleaze, cabaret camp and vulnerable Robyn-esque synthpop), expertly managing to never bury its central diva. This is an artist not only completely sure of who she is, but a Beyoncé-level curator of all the best aspects of the music she loves. And if JADE herself loves it, any other pop fan has to too.
I’m Only F**king Myself was another one of the coolest debut albums of the year—while it’s not wall-to-wall bangers, the level to which Lola Young knows herself as artist is so impressive, sweet melodies and the singer’s husky belts bolstered by guitars that balance washed-out and hefty beautifully. Doja Cat’s ‘80s-flavoured record Vie was excellently done, but also testament to her individuality as an artist – embodying this sound so well years after everyone else was doing it shows that following the crowd just ain’t for her. Zara Larsson finally put out a record that was thought through enough to match her extraordinary vocals and sugary songwriting. Midnight Sunis a technicolour album that can be so maximalist that it borders on garish, but it’s anchored and sold expertly by Larsson, who brings a total sense of ownership to material that could be cringe in someone else’s hands.
But the biggest success story of this month (and maybe the whole year) was Olivia Dean’s The Art Of Loving. From the off the through-line of this project was warmth and timelessness, invoking the joyful soul of artists like Stevie Wonder alongside the wise-beyond-her-years lyricism of Carole King. Dean is a fantastic focal point in her own right, able to convey an instantly magnetic playfulness (particularly on breakout single Man I Need) without relying on insane vocal runs or scandalising listeners. She says it herself on this album, but this year it really was easy to fall in love with her.
October
Amber Mark has always been an intriguing artist with the way she blends genres. Although this month’s Pretty Idea’s disco/R&B hybrid seemed like a watering-down on paper, the actual product is absolutely not that in reality. Slick, assured and simply downright cool, this is one of the year’s most underrated releases. Stepping away from disco this month was Sigrid, There’s Always More That I Could Say a much more toothless release than usual from her. There are a couple of tracks with personality but for the most part Sigrid’s trademark warmth is missing, unusually bland soundscapes rubbing salt in the wound.
Also missing some trademarks was Demi Lovato; after going gung-ho on being a rock chick a few years ago, she backtracked in the direction of the club this month, dropping her signature belts and higher range along the way. This record sounds like Demi Lovato but doesn’t feel like her – it wouldn’t be surprising if this one fell through the cracks in her discography. Maisie Peters dropped twin singles from her upcoming third album, Audrey Hepburn and You You You’s new folk direction keeping her pen sharp but inexplicably missing something.
In a world of blind items and the word ‘allegedly’ being a failsafe, Lily Allen gave gossip fans exactly what they wanted on her unexpected album West End Girl. It’s basically a play in album form, expertly crafted to tell the story of her marriage breakdown (in chronological order, natch) with absolutely no detail of unequal open relationship, infidelity or gaslighting spared. Musically, not many of these songs do as well on their own outside of the context of the album, but this release was undoubtedly one of the best pop culture moments of the year, above all showing that Lily Allen still has the power to leave scandalised mouths agape. Who is Madeline?
Stage Girl was a great debut album for Eli, mixing a groovy 2000s technicolour with tasteful introspection and gorgeous strings. Embracing pop more was Cat Burns, How To Be Human a far better effort than the bloated early twenties. Also leaning into a poppier sound was Khalid, but his quiet vocals made after the sun goes down suffer, the record’s instrumentals not interesting enough to hold down the fort without someone assertive at the helm. Skye Newman had the opposite problem on debut EP SE9 Part 1, often overpowering her instrumentals with huge, not always controlled belts. The hushed Heartland saw Sam Ryder try and continue a real music career post-Eurovision, and it felt strange to hear this man try to be anything but a caricature. Soft was another smitten LANY album (this one perfectly fine with not much by way of standouts), and LOVERCORE was another cringe Artemas album (forgettable from the moment a track finished).
But this was the month of The Life Of A Showgirl, for better or worse. After last year’s The Tortured Poets Department was deemed bloated and in need of an editor Taylor Swift promised fans a new pop bible—a lean 12 tracks produced by pop royalty Max Martin and Shellback. But this record wasn’t all killer no filler, finding fun in this thing harder than drawing blood from a 24-carat diamond ring. Her perspectives are muddled too; for every astute embodiment of a cutthroat showbiz mentor, there’s an out-of-place hark back to the older sister diaristic lyricism from her teenage years, a misfire diss track about a fellow pop star and a Sabrina Carpenter pastiche (the only real joyful moment on the record). This record just feels like a titan drunk on her own lore with too many yes men around her, and a break is what’s really needed here. Luckily, Carly Rae Jepsen released a ten-year anniversary edition of classic Emotion this month—listening to that should fill the void that …Showgirl didn’t.
November
As the year started to wind down, notable new releases were starting to thin out as November rolled around. Allie X continued her goal of becoming a one-woman pop moodboard, marrying chamber pop and 80s synths on Happiness Is Going To Get You. Despite being as high-concept as ever (X becoming futuristic Victorian woman ‘Infant Marie’ on this cycle) it doesn’t feel as exciting musically, but her trademark creativity is always something to praise even if these songs aren’t sticking. Also not sticking was Del Water Gap’s Chasing The Chimera, his glistening pop hooks of old replaced with dull mid-tempo tracks that simply don’t do anything for him. Celeste decided that advert and Premier League payouts weren’t doing it for her, ‘catchy’ clearly a dirty word when making snoozefest Woman of Faces.
Trying something new was 5 Seconds of Summer, Everyone’s A Star! their ‘darkest’ album yet. It’s not exactly ‘Ethel Cain making Perverts’ sinister or making commentary on celebrity that’s never been made before, but there’s lots of to enjoy here – namely the adrenaline-pumping Gorillaz and The Prodigy worship. Ella Eyre put out her first record in a decade, Everything, in Time a delightful slice of R&B and soul-influenced pop. The palpable fun and funky grooves on this project would’ve been perfect for summertime, but better late than never we suppose. We also had next album tasters from Hilary Duff (looking back at her younger self’s age-gap relationship on Mature, the teen pop star millions of noughties girls loved still feeling very much present) and Robyn (Dopamine a textbook slice of slow-burning synthpop excellence from the genre pioneer), a couple of very exciting tasters for 2026.
Decidedly less fun was Jessie J’s ironically-named Don’t Tease Me With A Good Time. It’s split into two halves—the first an incredibly serious set of plodding R&B songs unpicking everything the singer has overcome since we last heard from her, which then jarringly flicks into dated pop talking about just how happy she is. On paper this is a narrative that sounds okay, but in practice Jessie J kills her own album’s momentum while failing to leave 2010. Elsewhere, in a last-minute bid for worst album of the year, Olly Murs put out Knees Up, a collection of inexplicable Madness and The Specials pastiches that no one saw coming. This could have had grounds to be admirable – switching up to a left-of-centre genre as a passion project after being spit out of the reality TV machine – but instead it’s beyond irritating, Murs talking about how bonkers he is (for *checks notes* telling dad jokes and interrupting people sometimes), his exaggerated Essex accent completely cartoonish. It’s such a weird concoction of things that it’s hard to imagine who exactly this would appeal to; it’s certainly not ska fans and it’s certainly not Olly Murs fans.
Luckily, an actually groundbreaking record came out this month, one completely in another realm from any other pop artist around right now. ROSALÍA’s Lux took its inspiration from saints and classical composers rather than her peers or even her musical heroes, unpicking spirituality, divinity and what it means to be a woman in 13 different languages. It’s dense but transcendent, designed to dive into and study rather than have on in the background. ROSALÍA herself sounds phenomenal against thunderous, crashing strings, the central maestro in control of everything going on around her. It may not have the replay value previous ROSALÍA records do, but the dissertation-like nature of Lux puts it in another league.
December
It feels like the album graveyard of December used to be a breeding ground for Christmas songs but not this year, Kylie Minogue and, erm, Picture This the only notable pop carollers dropping festive cheer (we’ll let you guess which one is dropping bangers and which one isn’t).
In less Christmassy circles, unsung electropop hero Anna Of The North dropped the first part of her Girl In A Bottle album this month; while the half-and-half release strategy kills a record’s momentum from the off (especially when the first half drops in December of all months), this is a characteristically solid set of heartbreak bangers that’s sure to be even better when the full thing drops. On the flip side, JADE dropped a second part to her debut album – The Encore wasn’t just a deluxe edition of That’s Showbiz, Baby!, it was eight new songs set to emulate the format of The Fame Monster. It doesn’t quite get there quality-wise (the standard edition is far superior), but those who like JADE’s more club-centric bangers or just want her to tone things down a bit (hey, there might be one or two of you strange folk out there), you’ll find something to love on this new part of the project.
Right before the year closed out, two dance records squeaked in to soundtrack more hardcore office parties. Alison Wonderland dropped the functional (if forgettable) Ghost World, while Fred again.. added 10 tracks to his never-ending USB project (after spending the last two-and-a-half-months debuting each one in a different city around the world). He’s left his sentimentality at the door of the club on this one, and while these party-focused tracks don’t quite have the personality of his more cinematic ones, these are guaranteed to get your festive lock-in bumping.
While the deluge of quality pop in 2024 made 2025’s prospects look weak all the way up until summer, this has certainly been a year for authenticity and creativity. Artists like JADE, Addison Rae, PinkPantheress, Rosalía and (arguably the mother of modern pop stardom) Lady Gaga have shown that references and inspiration married with having something to say is the way forward, and are certainly better than the likes of the sterile Alex Warren or PR-controlled Will Smith. 2026 feels like a leap into the unknown—plenty of pop’s biggest stars will need some time to cook up their next record, and with artists like Robyn and Hilary Duff ending their long album droughts, maybe that will be a theme for the year (we really hope Rihanna’s reading this). Either way, we’ll be here to dissect it all.
Words by Georgia Jackson
