Honestly? Yeah: Demi Lovato, “I Love Me” – I haven’t loved a Demi Lovato song since “Cool for The Summer” in 2015, but “I Love Me” is a keeper. I really shouldn’t like this song, because in almost every way it comes across as a formulaic self-love power anthem that I’ll hear in an almond commercial in a month and non-stop at CVS while buying tampons in about a year. That’s not really my thing. But it kept finding ways to surprise me, and I’m delighted! The chorus could have been maintained its run of the mill power chords throughout, but the abrupt switch up to Lovato’s sardonic isolated vocals are such a nice touch. And, hey, the music video is kind of cute. Yeah, it’s a little… corny, but I’m happy Lovato seems to be doing well, and I’m curious to see what else she has in store for us. —Ashley Reese
Duh: Bad Bunny, “Si Veo a Tu Mamá” (official video) – I can’t believe it has only been a week since Benito dropped YHLQMDLG (or “Yo hago lo que me da la gana,” Spanish for “I Do What I Want”) his second full-length studio album, but it has really only been a week. Naturally, his music videos are as golden as the release—in “Si Veo a Tu Mamá,” Bad Bunny becomes everyone’s drunk tio at a New Year’s Eve party, and I am not embarrassed to report that I still would. Also, a little kid version of Benito saves a life. There’s a lot going on, and I’m here for it. —Maria Sherman
Y: Empress Of, “Give Me Another Chance” – The sad club era of Empress Of is upon us. If there isn’t an industrial remix of “Give Me Another Chance,” perhaps the most techno-leaning track in Empress Of’s repertoire, by tomorrow, I will be disappointed. This is the past and present, all wrapped into one, and I can’t stop listening. If you’ve yet to fall in love with her electronic pop, give it another chance, you won’t be sorry. —MS
Wow: Lido Pimienta ft. Bomba Estéreo’s Li Saumet, “Nada” – Lido Pimienta’s “Nada” is easily one of the most powerful songs I’ve heard all year—penned shortly after Pimienta gave birth, the cumbia song is a rumination on life after pregnancy—the physical void she felt after having her daughter. “I wrote a lullaby to my baby, but I feel as though my daughter gifted me this song, to protect her,” she wrote in a statement, “And tell her, ‘Don’t be afraid of death, it is the least of your worries, you are a woman in the world. If death comes to your door, it wouldn’t be the worst thing that could happen to you.’” —MS
Of course: Róisín Murphy, “Murphy’s Law” – While the likes of Dua Lipa have inspired talk of the umpteenth disco comeback in pop, real ones like Róisín Murphy have ensured that the genre never really went anywhere. “Murphy’s Law” is yet another sleek midtempo pounder from the Irish singer-songwriter—this one sports a piano that seems to reference (while not ripping entirely) the melody of Cheri’s goofy 1982 No. 1 club hit of the same name. There’s something particularly ’90s about the bounce in this track’s step—it reminds me not so much of disco, per se, but disco through a post-new jack swing filter a la George Michael’s sublime “Fastlove.” Murphy’s endless genre dabbling refutes the very notion that her song invokes: Everything she touches goes right. —Rich Juzwiak
I love it: Omar S featuring John C and L’Renee, “Ambiance” – Detroit producer Omar-S delivers the classiest of dance-music pastiches in “Ambiance,” a highlight of his excellent You Want LP. The guitar groove is pure Chic, the bass line is something out of ’80s electro boogie, the beat is 909-based (the drum machine of choice in classic Detroit techno), the raps from John C and L’Renee are of the toasting variety that was common in hip-hop’s infancy (they sound beamed over from some lost Sugar Hill Records release). That seems like a lot, but note how sparse and classy this grown-folks affair is. Bonus points go to Omar for emphasizing every third down beat, giving the whole thing efficient propulsion. I can’t stop listening to this. —RJ
YESSSSS: Megan Thee Stallion, “B.I.T.C.H.” – I already reviewed the song a few weeks ago (I think it rules) so consider this a review of the video: Wow, Megan invented cleavage. We have no choice but to stan. —AR
Duh: Bad Bunny, “Si Veo a Tu Mamá” (official video) – I can’t believe it has only been a week since Benito dropped YHLQMDLG (or “Yo hago lo que me da la gana,” Spanish for “I Do What I Want”) his second full-length studio album, but it has really only been a week. Naturally, his music videos are as golden as the release—in “Si Veo a Tu Mamá,” Bad Bunny becomes everyone’s drunk tio at a New Year’s Eve party, and I am not embarrassed to report that I still would. Also, a little kid version of Benito saves a life. There’s a lot going on, and I’m here for it. —Maria Sherman
Y: Empress Of, “Give Me Another Chance” – The sad club era of Empress Of is upon us. If there isn’t an industrial remix of “Give Me Another Chance,” perhaps the most techno-leaning track in Empress Of’s repertoire, by tomorrow, I will be disappointed. This is the past and present, all wrapped into one, and I can’t stop listening. If you’ve yet to fall in love with her electronic pop, give it another chance, you won’t be sorry. —MS
Wow: Lido Pimienta ft. Bomba Estéreo’s Li Saumet, “Nada” – Lido Pimienta’s “Nada” is easily one of the most powerful songs I’ve heard all year—penned shortly after Pimienta gave birth, the cumbia song is a rumination on life after pregnancy—the physical void she felt after having her daughter. “I wrote a lullaby to my baby, but I feel as though my daughter gifted me this song, to protect her,” she wrote in a statement, “And tell her, ‘Don’t be afraid of death, it is the least of your worries, you are a woman in the world. If death comes to your door, it wouldn’t be the worst thing that could happen to you.’” —MS
Of course: Róisín Murphy, “Murphy’s Law” – While the likes of Dua Lipa have inspired talk of the umpteenth disco comeback in pop, real ones like Róisín Murphy have ensured that the genre never really went anywhere. “Murphy’s Law” is yet another sleek midtempo pounder from the Irish singer-songwriter—this one sports a piano that seems to reference (while not ripping entirely) the melody of Cheri’s goofy 1982 No. 1 club hit of the same name. There’s something particularly ’90s about the bounce in this track’s step—it reminds me not so much of disco, per se, but disco through a post-new jack swing filter a la George Michael’s sublime “Fastlove.” Murphy’s endless genre dabbling refutes the very notion that her song invokes: Everything she touches goes right. —Rich Juzwiak
I love it: Omar S featuring John C and L’Renee, “Ambiance” – Detroit producer Omar-S delivers the classiest of dance-music pastiches in “Ambiance,” a highlight of his excellent You Want LP. The guitar groove is pure Chic, the bass line is something out of ’80s electro boogie, the beat is 909-based (the drum machine of choice in classic Detroit techno), the raps from John C and L’Renee are of the toasting variety that was common in hip-hop’s infancy (they sound beamed over from some lost Sugar Hill Records release). That seems like a lot, but note how sparse and classy this grown-folks affair is. Bonus points go to Omar for emphasizing every third down beat, giving the whole thing efficient propulsion. I can’t stop listening to this. —RJ
YESSSSS: Megan Thee Stallion, “B.I.T.C.H.” – I already reviewed the song a few weeks ago (I think it rules) so consider this a review of the video: Wow, Megan invented cleavage. We have no choice but to stan. —AR
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