bop after bop

Taylor Swift’s secret ‘Lover’, Belinda Carlisle back in action & more: Your weekly bop roundup

Belinda Carlisle, Taylor Swift, and Ryan Beatty.

Condragulations reader, you are the winner of this week’s challenges.

This week actually tried to be pretty gentle with us: The Other Two finally gave us a season three date to remember, stylist Law Roach assured us he won’t be leaving Zendaya’s side, and Zaya Wade gave us some words of trans empowerment in her first big feature.

Our musical moments were mostly gentle this week, too. LGBTQ+ artists and allies alike dropped a nice batch of ballads and heartfelt numbers for us to soak in over the weekend.

From living in a dream to ribbons in a stream, here’s your weekly bop roundup:

“Big Big Love” by Belinda Carlisle

It’s been over 25 years since beloved Go-Go’s mainstay Belinda Carlisle last dropped a new solo pop single, and we could not be happier to see her back. Over a quarter of a decade culminates here in her bombastic search for a “Big, Big Love” with the help of producer Mati Gavriel and perpetual nominee Diane Warren.

“All of the Girls You Loved Before” by Taylor Swift

Taylor re-recording her masters continues to be a saga in musical girlboss history, but we do slightly wish she would just go straight for 1989 (Taylor’s Version) and stop drawing random names out of a hat. Still, re-dos of “Safe & Sound”, “Eyes Open”, and “If This Was A Movie” are totally welcome, and this unreleased Lover track is perfect for the most diehard Swifties to enjoy.

“Ribbons” by Ryan Beatty

Beatty’s sophomore album Dreaming of David dazzled critics back in 2020, and with the release of “Ribbons”, it’s clear that his dreamy queer sound has only gotten stronger. He announced his next album Calico along with the single, and April 28th can’t get here fast enough.

“Dream Hotel” by Tayla Parx

Tayla Parx has had wild success as a hit songwriter for the likes of Ariana Grande, Janelle Monae, Megan Thee Stallion, Troye Sivan and more. Still, her particular blend of Black, bi, pop r&b hasn’t received the same lift her lyrics so often do. “Dream Hotel” is serving a different, lightly grungier sound than we’re used to from the artist, but her sonic range speaks for itself.

“Guts” by Leith Ross

In usual Leith Ross style, this singer came to deliver the most intimate and confessional track on this list. Like their first big viral track “We’ll Never Have Sex”, “Guts” deals in a part of sex and sexuality that’s incredibly difficult to address, but Leith has just the steady hand necessary to let it flow.

Join us next week for another Bop After Bop!

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