Melissa Kacar

Anti  simultaneously marked the beginning and end of a creative era for Rihanna in many ways. She went into the creation of this album intentionally wanting to make the antithesis of all that had come before in her discography.  Rihanna's catalog is truly one of the strongest and most impactful in contemporary music, no one else has had the run of iconic hits that she had from the mid-2000s through the 2010s. It is truly incomparable, as she dominated the industry in a way very few artists ever have. With that being said, Rihanna was never really considered an "album artist", so to speak. She had countless incredible singles, but most of her full-length albums didn't carry the same strength all the way through. A lot of them were built around the singles and the tracklist didn't always match the level of those standalone hits. They were more of a sum of their parts. With this release, she wanted to step away from the polished, radio-friendly pop sound she'd be...

In May 2024, Rihanna officially set the record for the most diamond certified singles and diamond certified titles by any female artist in history. She now has seven songs that have reached this rare and prestigious honor in music. A song is certified diamond by the RIAA, the Recording Industry Association of America, when it sells over ten-million copies in the United States. "ain't no back n forth," Rihanna wrote on social media sharing her landmark achievement.  Although she hasn't released a new album since 2016 , Rihanna continues to be one of the highest-selling and most influential artists in the industry. In the past eight years, aside from releasing a couple of new songs and headlining the Super Bowl halftime show in 2023, she has otherwise taken a big step back from the music industry to focus on her family and working on other very successful business ventures . She has pretty much all but officially retired from music and I don't expect her to ever c...

"Secret Language" is a beautiful portrait of what it means to love before you can even put it into words. It feels so singular to Ryan Beatty 's voice and artistic vision, especially in the way he writes with such specificity for his own partner, but still makes the feeling so much larger than himself in a way that can connect to anyone who has ever tried to capture such a specific form of emotional intensity.  The song's backdrop is rooted in stunning Americana imagery and sweet, poetic lyricism. There is a deep sincerity and openness in the way he expresses himself throughout all of  Sweet Fortune , his fourth album this song is apart of, even though he often writes about how closed off he can be emotionally. "All the ways I say it in a secret language, did you hear what my words couldn't tell? I keep it all to myself," he sings in the beautiful chorus.  "It's an arms-open-wide song," Ryan said in an interview with Vogue alongside its re...

"oh yeah?" serves as the title track of Steve Lacy 's third album, which is his first record in four years, and a clear showcase of the personal and artistic growth that's shaped him during that time. As the opener, it immediately sets an existential tone, introducing the listener to the journey the album is about to take them on from that point forward. It features a dreamy, synth pop sound that feels reminiscent of some of his earlier work, but elevated in a way that reflects how much he has evolved since his last release. A distinct sense of renewal is embedded in this song, which is largely centered around hope and new beginnings coming through after a particularly rough patch of life.  "Life's a bitch, and then you live again" is the defining lyric of the otherwise simple and sparsely written song. Much of the rest of the song is intentionally minimal, with the repetition of "Come on" as the chorus serving as the mantra meant to pull your...

At the heart of it, "The One That Got Away" is about yearning for a first love, and maybe even more than that, the yearning for a version of themselves that no longer exists and is forever suspended in a different moment in time. Originally titled "In Another Life", Katy Perry describes the wild days of their youth with memories recalled in vivid detail.  "Summer after high school, when we first met, we'd make out in your Mustang to Radiohead and on my eighteenth birthday, we got matching tattoos," she sings in the opening verse. "Used to steal your parents' liquor and climb to the roof, talked about our future like we had a clue, never planned that one day, I'd be losing you".  Is it possible for one of the biggest albums in pop history to still have an underrated song? In many ways, that's exactly what "The One That Got Away" is for Teenage Dream . It has really sweet lyricism that shows another side of Katy's a...

"luther" is such a gorgeous song, grounded in the way it's built around an innate sense of love and peace that radiates through every layer of its production. Kendrick Lamar and SZA 's artistic chemistry is truly unmatched and this track feels like the clearest expression of their shared talents. Their creative partnership has only continued to grow across years of collaboration, including twice on Kendrick's 2024 surprise album GNX , where "luther" stands as one of its most expansive moments. The vocal chemistry between them is like no other. They've made incredible music together before, but this feels like their most transcendent collaboration. On the verses, Kendrick opens with a deep yearning for connection and the hope of something brighter. "If this world was mine, I'd take your dreams and make 'em multiply," he raps in the first verse. "If this world was mine, I'd take your enemies in front of God, introduce '...

Deadbeat as a whole for Kevin Parker is really about getting back in touch with the simplicity behind the music and taking up the space to allow every song to feel fully realized. Wanting to get back to that simplicity meant allowing the songs to sprawl, draw themselves out, and sit in the unrefined nature some moments across the record create. Instead of trying to make every single moment of every single song feel perfect in a technical sense, he gave each track room to breathe. That trust in the rawness is part of what makes Deadbeat feel like some of his most human work yet. It is such a dynamic blend of all the elements that make Tame Impala so singular. It's largely rooted in mellow, hypnotic house music, but incorporates poppier elements throughout that he effortlessly blends together. The production is so lush and immersive it serves as yet another reminder that Kevin is truly a generational producer. "Another album that almost killed me. 2 years of sweat and tears an...