Ten Songs, Ten Lessons: My 2025 in Pop Music
2025 has been a slower year for pop music. Last year, it felt like we were living through a blockbuster era with Sabrina Carpenter, Chappell Roan, and Charli XCX dominating the conversation. This year still brought good releases from great artists, but culturally, it felt different. 2025 became the year of Labubus, Team Conrad, matcha teas, and whatever else the algorithm decided to throw our way. Pop culture in America felt quieter, overshadowed by a bubbling recession, a new administration, and more real-world concerns pulling focus. It felt like there was a little more to worry about than new releases. Because so many major artists dropped projects last year, the big releases in 2025 were fewer and farther between. Some of my usual favorites even fell short of what I hoped for (ahem, Taylor…). I needed something fresh, so I expanded my musical horizons, searching high and low. I listened to artists who were brand new to the scene, artists I had somehow missed over the years, a...