Y: Charli XCX, “i finally understand” – Charli XCX’s latest release, “i finally understand,” off her upcoming quarantine album, is exactly the vibe I have been looking for at this stage of lockdown. The song’s constant but contained energy has me bopping in my seat, without going so hard that I just get depressed about not being able to go out and dance with my friends at the club. According to Charli, it’s about the process of emotionally reconnecting with her boyfriend while they are isolated together. I feel you, Charli. 2020 is shaping up to be the true year of realizing stuff, maybe this will finally replace the Animal Crossing theme music as the soundtrack to my lockdown. —Lisa Fischer
Not really: Hailee Steinfeld, “End This (L.O.V.E.)” – On Hailee Steinfeld’s “End This (L.O.V.E),” she parodies the Nat King Cole classic and flips it into a hateful screed: “L is for the way you lied to me/O is I’m the only one who sees that/V, you’re so vindictive, so I’ll be vicious/And E-N-D this L-O-V-E, love, love,” she sings in a whispered tone indicative of Selena Gomez’s discography more than her own. Steinfeld has powerful pipes, and her most affecting songs make use of her range. In this one, she doesn’t even sound like herself. That could be an artistic choice, but her best moments are found elsewhere. —Maria Sherman
Y: KAROL G, “Tusa En Casa” – On the whole, I think filming music videos for singles that already have music videos during a global health crisis reads like a cheap play at maintaining relevancy, but Karol G’s new take on “Tusa,” “Tusa En Casa” featuring Nicki Minaj, is a true delight—and I appreciate having my opinions challenged. The song, once meant to commemorate a breakup, is now something of a celebration—an illustration that it’s still fine to have fun at home, while acknowledging how much more fun it’s going to be when everyone can congregate again at something like, say, a Karol G concert. Call me hungry for wholesome content, but this struck a nerve. —MS
Hell ya: Buscabulla, “Nydia” – The knowledge that Puerto Rican band Buscabulla’s “Nydia” was an ode to singer Nydia Caro was enough to get me on board, and then I heard it—it’s the saddest funk song, the most somber disco, a relaxing ode to a troubled time. I imagine it’s best heard on the beach in Loíza, but since it will be quite some time before that’s an option for us, my kitchen works just as well. —MS
I’m obsessed: Melody, “Teacher’s Pet” – You’d be hard pressed to find a more charming song and video that encapsulates the anxieties and reckless abandon of adolescence than Melody’s “Teacher’s Pet,” written by Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter Melody Caudill, who just recently turned 16. It’s an anthem for not knowing yourself and wanting to be everything all at once—and a wistful reflection for those of us who understand those growing pains so well. —MS
Y: Kehlani, “Can I” feat. Tory Lanez – This song from Kehlani’s new album It Was Good Until It Wasn’t is all sex and swag, and while a song about late-night creeping isn’t the best to quell the feeling of being stuck inside alone, it is a sweet slow jam, and it’s the sleazy thoughts within that count. —Clover Hope
Not really: Hailee Steinfeld, “End This (L.O.V.E.)” – On Hailee Steinfeld’s “End This (L.O.V.E),” she parodies the Nat King Cole classic and flips it into a hateful screed: “L is for the way you lied to me/O is I’m the only one who sees that/V, you’re so vindictive, so I’ll be vicious/And E-N-D this L-O-V-E, love, love,” she sings in a whispered tone indicative of Selena Gomez’s discography more than her own. Steinfeld has powerful pipes, and her most affecting songs make use of her range. In this one, she doesn’t even sound like herself. That could be an artistic choice, but her best moments are found elsewhere. —Maria Sherman
Y: KAROL G, “Tusa En Casa” – On the whole, I think filming music videos for singles that already have music videos during a global health crisis reads like a cheap play at maintaining relevancy, but Karol G’s new take on “Tusa,” “Tusa En Casa” featuring Nicki Minaj, is a true delight—and I appreciate having my opinions challenged. The song, once meant to commemorate a breakup, is now something of a celebration—an illustration that it’s still fine to have fun at home, while acknowledging how much more fun it’s going to be when everyone can congregate again at something like, say, a Karol G concert. Call me hungry for wholesome content, but this struck a nerve. —MS
Hell ya: Buscabulla, “Nydia” – The knowledge that Puerto Rican band Buscabulla’s “Nydia” was an ode to singer Nydia Caro was enough to get me on board, and then I heard it—it’s the saddest funk song, the most somber disco, a relaxing ode to a troubled time. I imagine it’s best heard on the beach in Loíza, but since it will be quite some time before that’s an option for us, my kitchen works just as well. —MS
I’m obsessed: Melody, “Teacher’s Pet” – You’d be hard pressed to find a more charming song and video that encapsulates the anxieties and reckless abandon of adolescence than Melody’s “Teacher’s Pet,” written by Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter Melody Caudill, who just recently turned 16. It’s an anthem for not knowing yourself and wanting to be everything all at once—and a wistful reflection for those of us who understand those growing pains so well. —MS
Y: Kehlani, “Can I” feat. Tory Lanez – This song from Kehlani’s new album It Was Good Until It Wasn’t is all sex and swag, and while a song about late-night creeping isn’t the best to quell the feeling of being stuck inside alone, it is a sweet slow jam, and it’s the sleazy thoughts within that count. —Clover Hope
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