Y: Kylie Minogue, “Say Something” – Sure, I’ll say something: Kylie’s latest is the stuff of italo-disco dreams. The club is closed in the city, but it is open in her heart. —Maria Sherman
Y: Mamamoo’s Hwasa, “Watermelon Sugar” (Harry Styles cover) – Unsurprisingly, I adore this cover of Harry Styles’s sexy song of the summer, “Watermelon Sugar,” by Hwasa of the K-pop girl group Mamamoo. She doesn’t alter the single very much at all, but her warm raspy tone really compliments the sunshine-y shimmer of the song’s production. Now, who do I need to call to get a collab on the books? —MS
Once again, it’s a yes: The Veronicas, “Biting My Tongue” – Maybe the Veronicas are burdened by their past pop-punky image from the early-’00s, but I’ve always found it strange that their modern-day, energetic EDM-pop hits never seem to make a dent in U.S. press. (Naturally, they’re still beloved in their native Australia.) “Biting My Tongue” is the best Ellie Goulding song I’ve ever heard—not the best of the Veronicas, that’s 2014’s “Cruel”—in that it’s a fun, dancing-in-your-underwear-alone tune. —MS
It’s sweet: Little Mix, “Holiday” – I’ve got a theme this week: U.K. girl group Little Mix will never inspire the fandom they deserve stateside, and that’s a shame. You can never have too many girl groups! “Holiday,” is a reminder that they’ve still got bops—a sultry love song about a boy whose body is like a vacation—and it’s a timely idea, seeing as no one can actually go on one. I’ll escape in those four-part harmonies, sure. —MS
Yes and yes and yes (over and over): Jessy Lanza, “Over and Over” – It’s hard for me to pick a favorite on Jessy Lanza’s stellar third album, All the Time, but if I must, it is its eleventh-hour banger, “Over and Over.” Equally groovy and jittery, Lanza recently told Jezebel it was inspired by relationship problems, though it sounds like a breeze. The video, in which Lanza rides escalators up and down through the duration of the song in one long, static shot, is at once absurdist and a realistic portrayal of useless habits that we sometimes find ourselves unable to break. Everything about this Lanza era is A+, and I fear, bound to be underrated. I hope I’m proven wrong. —Rich Juzwiak
Y: Mamamoo’s Hwasa, “Watermelon Sugar” (Harry Styles cover) – Unsurprisingly, I adore this cover of Harry Styles’s sexy song of the summer, “Watermelon Sugar,” by Hwasa of the K-pop girl group Mamamoo. She doesn’t alter the single very much at all, but her warm raspy tone really compliments the sunshine-y shimmer of the song’s production. Now, who do I need to call to get a collab on the books? —MS
Once again, it’s a yes: The Veronicas, “Biting My Tongue” – Maybe the Veronicas are burdened by their past pop-punky image from the early-’00s, but I’ve always found it strange that their modern-day, energetic EDM-pop hits never seem to make a dent in U.S. press. (Naturally, they’re still beloved in their native Australia.) “Biting My Tongue” is the best Ellie Goulding song I’ve ever heard—not the best of the Veronicas, that’s 2014’s “Cruel”—in that it’s a fun, dancing-in-your-underwear-alone tune. —MS
It’s sweet: Little Mix, “Holiday” – I’ve got a theme this week: U.K. girl group Little Mix will never inspire the fandom they deserve stateside, and that’s a shame. You can never have too many girl groups! “Holiday,” is a reminder that they’ve still got bops—a sultry love song about a boy whose body is like a vacation—and it’s a timely idea, seeing as no one can actually go on one. I’ll escape in those four-part harmonies, sure. —MS
Yes and yes and yes (over and over): Jessy Lanza, “Over and Over” – It’s hard for me to pick a favorite on Jessy Lanza’s stellar third album, All the Time, but if I must, it is its eleventh-hour banger, “Over and Over.” Equally groovy and jittery, Lanza recently told Jezebel it was inspired by relationship problems, though it sounds like a breeze. The video, in which Lanza rides escalators up and down through the duration of the song in one long, static shot, is at once absurdist and a realistic portrayal of useless habits that we sometimes find ourselves unable to break. Everything about this Lanza era is A+, and I fear, bound to be underrated. I hope I’m proven wrong. —Rich Juzwiak
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