Looking for some motivation to help power you through the start of another work week? We feel you, and with some stellar new pop tunes, we’ve got you covered.
These 10 tracks from artists like CL, Kim Petras, Sevyn Streeter and BIA will get you energized to take on the week. Pop any of these gems into your personal playlists — or scroll to the end of the post for a custom playlist of all 10.
CL, “Spicy”
Recruiting both Baauer and John Malkovich for a new single is not a well-trodden path by pop artists, but CL has never been a conventional star — and on “Spicy,” she combines clanging production from the “Harlem Shake” auteur and spoken-word flourishes from the veteran actor with her world-swallowing attitude and high-energy delivery. – Jason Lipshutz
Jessica Hammond, “Champagne”
After releasing a promising debut single, “Ugly,” last year and a few follow-ups since, Irish singer-songwriter Jessica Hammond unlocks her sound on the bouncy glitch-pop track “Champagne,” which toasts to living in the moment, consequences be damned. – Lipshutz
Motel 7, “Things I Hate”
“Things I Hate” is about a bleary-eyed, too-long evening in Los Angeles — an experience that L.A.-based duo Motel 7 certainly seem to loathe — but paradoxically, the propulsive new single sounds like pitch-perfect nighttime driving music (especially after the freeway traffic dissipates). – Lipshutz
Charlie Collins, “Just My Luck”
Australian artist Charlie Collins just dropped a pop-rock flare-up that harkens back to the heyday of Ashlee Simpson and Fefe Dobson: “Just My Luck” rolls downhill, as Collins swerves away from a whisper and hits lines like “I was ready to fall, you were ready to jump” with a wallop. – Lipshutz
August Royals, “Crash”
August Royals has been championed by Kevin Abstract during these early stages of his career, and new single “Crash” indeed sounds like it could be fashioned into the hook for a winning Brockhampton song — it’s all mood and melody, with Royals letting the outer reaches of his voice convey his intensity as the main hook circles back around. – Lipshutz
Hastings, “Heart’s Not In It”
The debut single from Nashville-based singer-songwriter Hastings, “Heart’s Not In It,” shows off his easy, immediate melodicism. As Hastings builds from the yearning verses to the voluble chorus, the interplay between a looped guitar riff and thwacking synths explodes into a glorious pop sing-along. – Joe Lynch
Kim Petras, “Future Starts Now”
Pop princess Kim Petras is in Giorgio Moroder mode on this unstoppable siren call to the dance floor, which also brings to mind Daft Punk at their escapist best and Chic at its disco-funk peak. Headlines might not paint a bright picture of our world right now, but in Petras’ hands, the future sounds magnificent. – Lynch
Sevyn Streeter & Bia, “Nasty Girl”
Sevyn Streeter teams up with “Whole Lotta Money” spitter BIA for this seductive, mid-tempo R&B jam that serves as a nice reminder of Streeter’s beguiling vocals, which here convey desire, confidence and playfulness in equal measure. – Lynch
Diane Warren, Rita Ora & Sofia Reyes, “Seaside”
For legendary songwriter Diane Warren’s debut album, The Cave Sessions Vol. 1, she turned to a coterie of pop pros; “Seaside” finds U.K. dynamo Rita Ora teaming up with Mexico’s Sofia Reyes and Reik over a firm, thumping beat to deliver a dose of escapist vacation vibes. – Lynch
Eyedress, “Body Dysmorphia”
Filipino singer-songwriter Eyedress conjures up a dreamy, gauzy afternoon haze with “Body Dysmorphia,” a gorgeous cut from new album Mulholland Drive that seems written to answer the question, “What would it sound like if the Cure did a shoegaze song?” The answer: just like this — which is to say, just like heaven. – Lynch
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