Searching for some inspiration to help you take on another work week? We got you covered with this week’s 10 Cool New Pop Songs playlist, which features new tracks from artists like Tank and the Bangas ft. Big Freedia, Lauren Jauregui, Years & Years and Kylie Minogue, Mitski, aespa and more.
Slide any of these gems into your personal playlist to get energized to take on the week – or scroll to the end of the post for a custom playlist of all 10.
aespa, “Savage”
As SM Entertainment’s first new girl group in six years, aespa certainly has massive shoes to fill with their debut EP, Savage. Members Karina, NingNing, Winter and Giselle don’t disappoint – the title track, “Savage,” sees the girls fighting to protect their artfully crafted digital universe in the lyrics, while allowing their vocals to shine against industrial pop beats. Assertive and daring, “Savage” is worthy of a replay (or two) to catch every one of its intricate elements. – Starr Bowenbank
HOAX, “goldeneyes”
The bedroom pop movement is alive and well with HOAX’s newest offering, “goldeneyes.” With lullaby-like trills and soothing synth instrumentals to carry singer Michael Raj’s voice over a relaxing melody, the band gives fans a taste of their forthcoming album, b? – a can’t-miss release, if this daydream-worthy track is any indicator. – Bowenbank
Tank and the Bangas ft. Big Freedia, “Big”
New Orleans-based band Tank and the Bangas — a feel-good act that earned a Grammy nomination for best new artist in 2019 — teamed up with fellow NOLA native Big Freedia for this new track “Big.” In spite of its 1:41 run time, the song is brimming with energy, prompting listeners to hit that repeat button time and time again — and perhaps that was the plan all along. – Lyndsey Havens
Natalie Hemby, “Hardest Part About Business”
Country singer-songwriter Natalie Hemby has worked with everyone from Kacey Musgraves to Miranda Lambert, while also a member of the country supergroup The Highwomen. Now, Hemby is releasing her first solo record, Pins and Needles, since joining the act — and she delivers. Standout song “Hardest Part About Business” sets a moving tale to an upbeat melody, opening with some twangy instrumentals a bit of boot stomping to reel you in before she slaps you with the cold hard truth. – Havens
Mitski, “Working For the Knife”
Rock singer-songwriter Mitski roared back last week with a new slow-burn called “Working For the Knife,” a calming, ominous track. It’s a fitting return for an artist who worried fans back in 2019 when she announced her last shows “indefinitely,” causing her to clarify she was not in fact retiring. And with a song as haunting and sonically sticky as this one, thank goodness for that. – Havens
Millie Turner, “Made a Vow”
East London singer-songwriter Millie Turner released a promising eight-song project, Eye of the Storm, earlier this year, but new single “Made a Vow” marks a new high for her busy year: her full-throated approach to electro-pop here sounds like what would happen if Florence + The Machine committed to the dancefloor, and the results are as stirring as one would hope. – Jason Lipshutz
Lauren Jauregui, “Colors”
“My heart has a way of rejecting what’s good for it,” Lauren Jauregui reveals on “Colors,” a piercing self-examination set against piano and strings that morph into crackling beats at the same moment the Fifth Harmony alum’s crooning turns into spoken word. “Colors” is designed less like a crossover single than an intimate conversation with one’s self; still, Jauregui’s spirit and skill remain undeniable in this song construct. – Lipshutz
Oh Wonder, “Rollercoaster Baby”
Although “Rollercoaster Baby” rumbles to life with computerized bleep-bloops, the new single from Oh Wonder’s 22 Break album is achingly human: Josephine Vader West relays her fears and unresolved emotions while staving off the vocal production, and the percussion pushes on, as if the beats won’t allow her to wallow. – Lipshutz
Years & Years and Kylie Minogue, “A Second to Midnight”
“A Second to Midnight” is the sort of gently insistent, lush disco groover a Kylie Minogue superfan might write specifically for the Aussie diva – which is more or less the case with this gorgeous, irresistible retro gem that Minogue and Olly Alexander co-wrote for the upcoming expanded edition of her marvelous 2020 album, now titled Disco: Guest List Edition. Even better, the track finds the two disco torchbearers blending their voices together beautifully. – Joe Lynch
bbno$ & Rebecca Black, “yoga”
Canadian rapper-singer bbno$ teams up with the increasingly fascinating Rebecca Black on “yoga,” a bouncy, bright funk-pop bop that pairs his laid-back braggadocio with her newly confident croon. Compounding the fun is the fact that the “yoga” video finds Black discovering her drag king prowess by dressing up as bbno$, with the Eat Ya Veggies artist donning drag as well. – Lynch
