To round out my mid-year countdowns, I’ve got a spotlight on some of my favorite songs and albums from music markets that aren’t Korea or Japan. To simplify things, I just call this category “pop.”
What were your favorite singles and albums during the first half of 2024?
TOP SINGLES
Bentley Robles – IAM IAM IAM
Bentley Robles was such a discovery for me this year. IAM IAM IAM‘s pulsing synth beat climaxes in a killer chorus that leverages everything it can from two simple syllables.
Blusher – Accelerator
This reminds me of Icona Pop’s I Love It in the best possible way. The production on the chorus is so satisfying.
Confidence Man – I Can’t Lose You
A super addicting Euro-rave track for the summer. The vocal production is gorgeous and the energy never lets up.
Dagny – Strawberry Dream
Big choruses are a hallmark of my list this year, and Strawberry Dream excels in this realm. It’s pop bliss, through and through.
Electric Fields – One Milkali (One Blood)
The blend of traditional Australian music and surging pop energy works perfectly here. Fantastic melodies tie it all together.
Florrie – Looking For Love
Chorus, chorus, chorus! What else can I say?
Gothminister – We Come Alive
My favorite novelty hit from this year’s Eurovision hopefuls.
Jannika B – SOS
A banging surge of electro fantasia. Finland is such a hub of pop magic.
Käärijä & Erika Vikman – Ruoska
Speaking of Finland, two of the country’s pop titans join forces for this aggressive, guitar-fueled highlight.
Neea River – Never Made It Out Alive
Yep, we’re still in Finland! Neea River has a perfect track record, releasing banger after banger.
Silence Wang – One Hundred Thousand Volts
Over to China now for this pummeling EDM standout. I love when he goes full-on dance music.
UBLU – Planetary Hearts
This is my kind of pop meets glam meets rock meets synth standout. I need more music from these guys!
Velvet – Beautiful Pain
Sweden’s pop queen is back with a total banger. The chorus is incredible, as is the strings-powered instrumental.
Vincint – Lean / Good II Me
I’ve been following Vincint for awhile, but his 2024 work is on another level. These two dance tracks have become staples on my playlist.
Zee Machine & Bentley Robles – Anyone But Him
Just a perfect pop song with pounding, synth-and-guitar propulsion.
TOP ALBUMS
Bentley Robles – Ugly Crier
A near-flawless run of pop bangers. The melodies are fantastic, the production is big and glistening and Robles’ perspective feels idiosyncratic.
Bonnie McKee – Hot City
A callback to the megawatt pop of the early 2010’s because… it was originally supposed to come out in that era! This makes for a fun time capsule but sounds even more potent today.
Dagny – Elle
Short and sweet, this eight track album captures Dagny’s pop prowess with surging melodies and hazy, nostalgic production.
Florrie – The Lost Ones
It’s nice to hear Xenomania bring their melodic, synth-powered sound to something a little smaller in scale. The Lost Ones is moody but upbeat, hinging on strong melodies and evocative production.
Jannika B – Tetris
Jannika B delivers an all killer, no filler suite of mammoth pop songs, coalescing the adventurous sound and high energy dominating this corner of Finland’s music scene.