Pop Girl Summer
Written by Ian Rogers
In the wake of summer end and slightly cooler weather, we can’t help but reminisce on June and July, full of “working late cause I’m a singer” and brat green wherever we turn. Undoubtedly, this summer was a celebration of women and their achievements in the music industry. In early April, pop icon Chappell Roan released “Good Luck, Babe” enrapturing new listeners with sapphic lyrics and addictive beats. Following, the heat of her ‘HOT-TO-GO” dance brought her a larger fan base than she could imagine, with 45 million listeners on Spotify over the summer. Yet, that is still nowhere close to the success Sabrina Carpenter pulled with her “Me Espresso”. After her April Coachella performance, she gained Song of the Summer status, so popular that you’d have to live under a rock not to hear the song on Tiktok or have “I’m working late, cause I’m a singer” stuck in your head.
But the pop girl summer doesn’t end there. On June 7th, the trajectory of this summer changed. Charli XCX released her legendary “brat” album, with club classics and bumpin' that, it became the motto of these burning months. Her brat green was seen on every company's Instagram, and the songs continued to grow more altitude as she released remix after remix with artists like Lorde, Addison Rae, Billie Eilish, and more recently Troye Sivan. She plans to keep the brat green going through autumn with her remix album releasing October 11th.
In the dog days of late June and early July, two albums that would be criminal not to mention were released; “The Secret of Us” by Gracie Abrams and “Charm” by Clairo. Both records could easily be considered pop and indie perfection. I still find myself playing Abrams's record weekly and Clairo gained more of a cult following than ever with tracks like “Juna” and “Sexy to Someone”.
Ending the summer off, Sabrina Carpenter released her highly-anticipated album, including teaser songs such as already mentioned “Espresso” and just as popular “Please Please Please”. The album was far from a disappointment. Carpenter utilized her humor and producer Jack Antonoff, acclaimed for pop albums like 1989 by Taylor Swift, to craft an instant classic album. With every single, she released a note-worthy music video to accompany it, featuring boyfriend Barry Keoghan (best known for Saltburn), as well as Jenna Ortega. Sabrina Carpenter amassed 85 million monthly listeners in the past few months, a milestone little to no artists have reached in their entire career.
The summer was far from uneventful in the music scene. The records mentioned in this article are only the highlights though. “Hit Me Hard And Soft” was released by Billie Eilish, which many predict will win album of the year at the Grammys. “Diet Pepsi” by Addison Rae gained traction for her once Tiktoker turned Popstar transition. I strongly encourage you to listen to these women who have made history with their artistry. To make it easy for you, attached is a playlist with the highlights. Give it a listen!
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2noqP0ID8i4xpv8G1ccOaM?si=a7368bd71aca4a0d
