Happy weekend, readers! Is everybody feeling super sane about how fast January is sprinting by? We sure are.
It’s been a week of super stories: Dolly Parton gathered a supergroup of gay icons, a Colin Farrell throwback got us super hot, and George Santos’ former drag career continued to leave folks super confused.
In that spirit, this week’s bop roundup is supercharged with twice as many releases as normal. This week saw anticipated drops, unexpected returns, and plenty of stars on the rise.
From a genius gent to the ‘mane’ event, here’s your weekly bop roundup!
How about we take this to the next level?
Our newsletter is like a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.
“Gloria” by Sam Smith
We wouldn’t have dreamed of missing the chance to add this track to the top of this week’s list. Not only because Gloria (the album) is one of the year’s most anticipated albums following the success of “Unholy”, but because calling a sacred-style choral track a “bop” is top shelf comedy. Leave it to Sam Smith to yassify mass.
“GASOLINE” by Måneskin
There’s something about the equally manicured and grungy mystique of Italian rockstars Måneskin that compels a listener to invite a punch in the face from the band members at their earliest convenience. The new album RUSH! shows off a range that their more recent echelon of stardom has given them free reign to play with, but adrenaline-pumping tracks like “GASOLINE” still hit the hardest.
“$20” by boygenius
There’s almost nothing we could write about the return of the Baker/Bridgers/Dacus indie supergroup boygenius that wouldn’t be better summed up by that Little Women (2018) gif of Saoirse Ronan just saying “Women”. We could talk about how major it is that their three-track return has one song representing each member or how effortlessly they seem to fall into harmony, but genuinely:
“Welcome To My Island [Remix]” by Caroline Polachek ft. Charli XCX & George Daniel
All possible respect to Ms. Polachek, but Charli XCX and The 1975’s George Daniel came in and turned this track into something entirely new. The beat is harder, the hook is turned into something hypnotic and intoxicating, and Charli’s vocally filtered verses just hit the slay button. They slew.
“Weightless” by Arlo Parks
This week, Arlo Parks hit fans with a new single, a sophomore album announcement, and tour pre-sale one after another without a chance to breathe — as she should. She dropped a quick explainer for the album title My Soft Machine, a nod to the A24 film The Souvenir. Her talent to be as transparent as she is enigmatic is part of her musical magic, and it shines through in “Weightless”, a song she describes as “muscular and intense”.
“Bad At Letting Go” by Leland
Solo Leland hive rise!! We’ve waited patiently as he put his substantial musical might behind Troye Sivan, Rupaul’s Drag Race, and Love, Victor, but our 40 years in the desert since “Middle of a Heartbreak” and “Another Lover” have made for a promised land return. This track’s almost Jason Robert Brown-esque intro leads into the kind of top tier ’80s-influenced pop we know, love, and can’t wait for more of.
“It’s Ok If You Forget Me” by Vardaan Arora
Indian-American pop prince and Wrong Turn star Vardaan Arora presents an emotionally complex turn on this lowkey track. If you’re not familiar, Arora has a list of singles like “Diamond Tears” and “obsessive” as long as your arm that you’re behind on familiarizing yourself with. And if more incentive is needed, his being extremely hot certainly won’t hurt.
“Like U” by Party Nails ft. Boy Sim
One of the boppiest drops of the week, if not THEE boppiest, comes from the maximizing of Party Nails and Boy Sim’s joint slay. If you’re looking to lose yourself dancing with your queer besties, this high-octane pairing will get you there in three minutes flat.
“Ashley” by Zolita
With this absolute WLW art piece, Sappho singer Zolita’s “Falling In/Falling Out” music video series comes to a close — and gives us the opportunity to binge the entire series at once.
“Your Car” by John Conlin
The bouncy, Funk Wav vibes of “Your Car” are a shot of summer months ahead of schedule. Conlin’s energetic “Hopeful Romantic” pop gives good vibes all the way, as we desperately need at the moment.
Join us back here next week for another Bop After Bop!
gjamesm45
Absolutely nobody is anticipating Sam’s album. That song is garbage, along with every song released from the album so far.
emarell9
With this humanoid my ‘inauthentic’ alarm bells go off big-time. Other words that come up: pretentious, phony, not much talent. That scratchy warbling makes me cringe almost as much as the pseudoglam getups and photos. I guess this post is hateful – apologies – but please, couldn’t the five minutes be up already?
humble charlie
after seeing sam’s performance on snl, i think he should consider testosterone injections. and electroshock treatments.