Melissa Kacar

Changes is a beautiful representation of the new phase in Justin Bieber 's life following a five-year hiatus from music. Released on Valentine's Day in 2020 , this album largely serves as a musical ode to his wife, Hailey . Every single song serves as a profession of his love for her and their new life together in their first year of marriage. Their relationship is at the center of this entire album, as well as a glimpse into his life in the years following his previous release, Purpose , in 2015. It is a very honest and sweet reflection of the man he is and who he is working to become.  "As humans, we are imperfect," Justin said in an announcement video for his YouTube docuseries Seasons , which documented the creation of Changes . "My past, my mistakes, all the things that I've been through, I believe that I'm right where I'm supposed to be and God has me right where he wants me. I feel like this is different than the previous albums just because of...

Billie Eilish 's "No Time To Die" beautifully echoes the themes of the 2021 film of the same name, which served as the 25th iteration of James Bond franchise. Billie and Finneas took a very intimate approach to creating the song, while still incorporating the elements of grandeur that made the  Bond  themes of the past so memorable. They were approached to write the song early in their career, following the release of Billie's generation-defining debut album  WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP WHERE DO WE GO?  in early 2019. The release of that album was a major shift in the industry and completely shaped what the future of music was going to be.  At the time the time they wrote "No Time To Die", Billie was just 17 years old, making her the youngest artist in history to record a  Bond  theme song. "We wrote and recorded the Bond song on a tour bus in Texas," Finneas said in an interview with  BBC Breakfast  in 2020. "We did certain songs on the album in...

Brat summer has just been the gift that has kept on giving! Shortly after Charli xcx 's iconic album BRAT   was released in June 2024, Charli put out the deluxe version titled brat and it's the same, but there's three more songs, so it's not - which is possibly one of the best album titles ever. She's nothing if not straightforward! Those three songs were really great additions to the album and I love that she released them so soon after the standard BRAT . For Urban Outfitters' annual Singles Day vinyl event every November, one of the limited edition releases was this special 7" single featuring two of the three bonus tracks on it - "Guess" and "Spring Breakers". I love having this vinyl in my collection to commemorate what a massive year BRAT had in 2024 , especially since it includes two of my favorite songs. It was limited to 5,000 copies and is a classic black pressing, sold exclusively at Urban Outfitters. This is one of many 7...

"Saturn" is an anthem of self-discovery and escapism, which is a recurring theme throughout so much of SZA 's music. It features beautiful and lush instrumentation with an absolutely ethereal vocal performance from her. It has such a dreamy and celestial quality to it, although the lyricism is quite dark and somber at the same time. This song is a testament to SZA's ability to express these very complicated emotions into a song as gorgeous as "Saturn" is. It's existential and possesses an almost otherworldly quality to it.  In a backstage press interview at the 2025 Grammy's , SZA talked about the process of creating this song with her collaborators. "It was such a casually written song, inspired by Stevie Wonder, and his reference to Saturn and how he talks about in that place there is less destruction and death and pollution and all these things, and part of me realizing there's nowhere else to go. There is no Saturn. It's one of the p...

"Espresso" was the first introduction we got into Sabrina Carpenter 's now iconic Short n' Sweet , initially just supposed to be a "little song" for her to perform at Coachella back in April 2024. It actually ended up transforming her entire career and became one of the biggest songs of the entire year. Is it that sweet? I guess so! This song quickly took off and became a phenomenon that I don't think anyone could have expected. It perfectly blends pop, funk and even a little bit of a disco influence. It's truly the definition of a perfect pop song. Sabrina describes the rush of a new relationship in such a cute way, with super fun word-play throughout the song. "That's that me espresso" is probably the most iconic line from the song, but "I'm working late, cause I'm a singer", "I know I Mountain Dew it for ya" and "Switch it up like Nintendo" are just a few more of the most quotable phrases from t...