Melissa Kacar

"The Subway" by Chappell Roan The long-awaited official release of "The Subway" is finally here and it is absolutely the best song that Chappell has released thus far. There's so much emotion packed into every lyric. The song is deeply heartfelt and unflinchingly honest as Chappell recalls the kind of specific, intimate details of a love that got away. All of the memories still linger, almost as if she is haunted by them. After performing the song live for the past year, I'm so happy the studio version of it is finally out! "Ice In My OJ" by Hayley Williams Earlier this month Hayley Williams surprise released a seventeen standalone singles, which she later compiled into an official album titled Ego Death At A Bachelorette Party . It's already a very strong contender for my favorite album of the year so far, I'm continuously discovering new aspects of it that I love each time I listen to it. "Ice In My OJ" was one of my initial f...

"Angel Of My Dreams" is such an unexpected and unique direction for JADE to be taking with her debut single, in all of the best ways. To enter into a new chapter of her career as a solo artist with a song that serves as such a poignant and defiant commentary on how fickle fame can be and opening up about her own experiences in the music industry is such a powerful note to open on. Coming out of Little Mix - one of the most successful girl groups in history, who went on hiatus in 2021 - this song serves as a bold reintroduction of who JADE is as a solo artist. She opens up about the love/hate relationship she has with fame and the industry as a whole, with such an unfiltered approach. "Angel of my dreams, I will always love you and hate you, it's not fair, it's so bittersweet, I will always want you and need you, you don't care," she sings in the chorus.  The song is so captivating and doesn't follow the traditional pop song structure at all. It ope...

"David" by Lorde A day as special as this only comes around once every four years! Lorde finally released her long-awaited fourth album,  Virgin ,   and it's everything I hoped it would be and more. It offers a glimpse into her mind in the most unfiltered, raw way. There are so many songs that I love and feel so connected to, but I was truly speechless after hearing the closing track "David" for the first time. There is something so haunting and cathartic about this song, it is such a powerful way to close this incredible record.  Check out my full review of Virgin by Lorde! "Times Like These" by Addison Rae "Times Like These" is one of the many standout tracks off of Addison's self-titled album , which is overall such a confident and clear debut from one of pop's most exciting new artists. This is one of the most vulnerable and heartbreakingly honest moments of the album, which feels so representative of the greater storyline of Addi...

To celebrate the end of this incredible year of music, I compiled a list of my top 30 favorite songs that were the soundtrack of my 2024. I only included one song per artist, otherwise this list would have ended up being twice as long - plus it probably would be made up of half Billie Eilish and half Charli xcx songs! It was the year of the  BRAT for sure, their music really defined the year for me. The rest of this list is made up of more of my long-time favorite artists who released so much incredible music this year, as well as many new artists that I discovered in 2024 and fell in love with.  Honestly, 2024 has been one of the best years for music in a very long time. I initially tried to narrow this list down to the best 24 songs of 2024, but this year was just  too  good for new releases! It feels like there was a period of time from around March through July that was stacked with back-to-back new music every single week from all of the best artists out right...