What a time to be alive! This year we've already lived through a Spice Girls reunion. Now we're at the very start of one for the The Pussycat Doll. Sure, the lineup is a little different than what we're used to. Melody Thornton (PCD's second most prominently featured singer and queen of sometimes messy vocal runs) opted out of rejoining. However, Carmit Bachar blessedly agreed to return to the group...

Halsey's Manic is rapidly shaping up to be one of my most anticipated projects arriving next month. The 25-year-old will ring in 2020 by dropping her third album January 17. Today (December 3) she took to Instagram to unveil the tracklist. And there are several familiar titles in the mix. Of course that includes current single "Graveyard" and buzz track "clementine." Interestingly, the hitmaker also...

Every year, a new batch of hopefuls rolls out their attempt at crafting the next holiday anthem. While no one has come close to matching the longevity and annual success of Mariah Carey's all-conquering "All I Want For Christmas Is You," there have been a couple of valiant efforts. Kelly Clarkson's "Underneath The Tree" remains a firm favorite, while Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton's "You Make It Feel...

Well, this is cause for celebration! Alanis Morissette just released her first new single in five years. (Yes, "The Morning" and "Today" count). The wonderfully-titled "Reasons I Drink" is quintessentially Alanis in that it's a stream-of-consciousness diary entry that somehow still works as a pop/rock song. "These are the reasons I drink, the reasons I tell everybody I'm fine even though I am not,"...

Iggy Azalea has been one of 2019's most prolific acts. And this is not a case of quantity over quality. Comprised of wall-to-wall bangers, the 29-year-old's long-awaited sophomore LP In My Defense is one of the stronger hip-hop projects this year. Not only that, but every video she dropped has been phenomenal. That's especially the case for the Best Music Video Grammy nomination-robbed duo "Started"...

The boys of One Direction have been busy since going on hiatus in early 2016. In the years that followed, ZAYN, Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson and Liam Payne have all embarked on solo careers. And the superstars have all explored a variety of different sounds in the process. By early 2020, each member will have dropped at least one album. Which means that it's the perfect time to look back...

At 22, Becky G has already reinvented herself several times over. After breaking onto the scene as a teen rapper ("Can't Get Enough" is still a bop), the breakout star segued into pop. She promptly landed a hit with "Shower," but experienced diminishing returns with certified bops "Can't Stop Dancin'" and "Break A Sweat." The stars finally aligned when the Inglewood native embraced her Latin roots...

Sasha Sloan released two of the best EPs of 2018 (Sad Girl and Loser), so it shouldn't be too surprising that the just-released Self Portrait is an early frontrunner for the best Extended Play of 2019. A brutally honest collection of songs that dives deep into traditionally uncommercial topics like religion, loss and mental illness, Self Portrait finds the renowned songwriter coming into her own as...

Films about addiction and childhood trauma are staples of the awards season, but few have explored those issues with as much candor and whimsy as Alma Har'el's Honey Boy. Based on a screenplay by Shia LaBeouf, the coming of age saga documents the actor's tumultuous upbringing and its emotional aftermath. Some critics have described the film as an act of art (or drama) therapy, but that comes with an...

Céline Dion has been slowly chipping away at her 12th English-language album since at least 2016. That year is significant as it marked the passing of her late husband, René Angélil, after a long battle with cancer. The songs that arrived immediately thereafter ("The Show Must Go On" and "Recovering") directly referenced that event, and the music she has been working on ever since is indelibly shaped...

Taylor Swift belatedly lays out the mission statement for Lover on its final track. As "Daylight," a thoughtful and lushly composed love song, closes, the 29-year-old delivers a spoken outro. "I wanna be defined by the things that I love not the things I hate," she muses. "I just think that you are what you love." That's abundantly evident from one listen to the 18-song collection. Released on August...

Turning around a speedy review of a Lana Del Rey record is a thankless task. While the album is increasingly treated as a relic from the past, Lana still views it as an art form, cramming in layers of melodies and ideas that slowly seep out over time. It took me months to get a handle on Honeymoon, while Ultraviolence continues to unfold five years later. Until Friday (August 30), I considered those...