After penning hits for the likes of Camila Cabello, Kygo and Charli XCX, Sasha Sloan launched her own artist project in 2018. The path from songwriter to pop star is increasingly well-travelled, but few make the journey with such a fully-fledged sense of identity and purpose. Take the titles of her two excellent EPs, Sad Girl and Loser. The 23-year-old's music is unashamedly emo, grappling with issues...

2018 has come and gone. As we proved with our list of the 100 best pop songs, there was no shortage of quality content released last year. However, today we're turning our attention to the anthems that didn't quite get their due. From Mariah Carey's straightforward kiss-off "GTFO" to Anne-Marie's nostalgia-inducing "2002," these hidden gems really should have been bigger on the charts. We compiled...

Welcome to my first New Music Friday roundup of 2019! Every week you're bombarded with a glut of new music, which can lead to ear candy falling through the cracks. I'm hoping to avoid that tragic scenario with The Drop — a cheat sheet of sorts to get you through New Music Friday. By now, you have probably heard Sam Smith and Normani's slinky "Dancing With A Stranger" and possibly bopped along to...

Lauren Jauregui showcases her full potential on "More Than That." The 22-year-old laid the groundwork for her solo career with the unveiling of "Expectations" last year. On her debut single, the rising star moved away from the bright pop beats that defined her time with Fifth Harmony. Instead of rehashing some of the group's biggest hits, she explored a more soulful sound that highlighted her velvety...

2018 was a curious year for pop music. Other genres (most notably hip-hop and country) took over the charts, while the age of the all-conquering era seems to be well and truly behind us. With heavy-hitters like Beyoncé, Rihanna, Katy Perry, Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga and Adele technically off-cycle, no one dominated the scene. Instead, Ex-Acts battled Fifth Harmony alumni and the usual DJs for pop supremacy....

Sam Smith and Normani just delivered one of the first genuinely great songs of 2019. After weeks of teasing on social media, the hitmakers got around to dropping their much-anticipated "Dancing With A Stranger" today (January 11). Linking up over a slinky production, the pair search for a respite from heartbreak on the dance floor. "I don't wanna be alone tonight. It's pretty clear that I'm not over...

Great pop albums are on the brink of extinction as we plunge ever deeper into the singles-dominated streaming age. The once-powerful LP doesn’t sell anymore, so why bother creating a cohesive body of work when you can drop the occasional bop and make the same amount of money? Happily, a handful of artists bucked the trend and delivered a listening experience in 2018. Mariah Carey escorted us down...

Ariana Grande refuses to take her foot off our necks. The pop star will kick off 2019 by dropping a new single called "7 Rings" on January 18. Of course, she has already spoken about the ode to friendship in her Billboard cover story. "It was a... challenging fall day in New York," the Grammy nominee revealed. "Me and my friends went to Tiffany’s together, just because we needed some retail therapy....

While albums are in danger of becoming extinct in the streaming age, EPs are enjoying something of a renaissance. The once-derided Extended Play allows an artist to share content and build a following without the same commercial pressure as releasing an LP. They are also comparatively cheap and faster to turn around. (Mixtapes and playlists have boomed in popularity for the same reasons). It sounds...

After showcasing her huge voice and unique style on Fox's The Four, Zhavia Ward quickly inked a deal with Columbia Records. The transition from talent show standout to real-life artist can be rough, but the 17-year-old hasn't put a foot wrong. She made a splashy debut with a feature on Diplo, French Montana and Lil Pump's appropriately-titled "Welcome To The Party" and then landed streaming hits with...

If you have ventured anywhere near a club (or even turned on the radio) in the last six months, chances are you have already heard "Body." An explosion of house beats with hip-hop phrasing and Drake references, Loud Luxury's debut single cracked the top 10 in their native Canada, Australia and the UK. While their music is ubiquitous, less is known about the producers from London, Ontario. Comprised...

MNEK has been breaking the rules all of his life. After being championed by the first wave of music blogs in the mid-'00s, the artist/producer signed a songwriting deal in 2009 at the ripe old age of 16. It didn't take long for his name to grace the credits of major UK hits and he tested the waters as a pop star with a well-received debut EP. The Brit finally broke big when "Never Forget You," an infectious...