Melissa Kacar

"One Kiss" was one of Dua Lipa 's first major worldwide hits, coming out shortly after her debut self-titled album was released in 2017. She now has several other massive hits, but it's so cool to be able to look back at this as an early foreshadowing of the superstar she would become in the following years. This song is in collaboration with Calvin Harris , who really dominated the dance pop market throughout the 2010's. This may be one of the best he has ever released. Dua and Calvin first met in 2015, soon after her first single "Be The One" was released. They didn't work together until two years later when he discovered a half-written song he had been working on that he thought Dua would sound great on. They recorded and finished writing the song together at his studio in Los Angeles while Dua was on her first US tour - and the rest is history!  This song topped the charts all of summer 2018 in the UK, spending eight weeks at number 1, the longe...

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...

Wet Leg 's "davina mccall" blends sweet sincerity with clever pop‑culture references, capturing the personality and unique voice they bring to indie rock. With this track, they lean into a more heartfelt and emotionally open style of writing than the cheekier, more sarcastic lyricism they often gravitate toward. The song is shaped around a Big Brother reference and is named after the show's former host, Davina McCall and her iconic catchphrase from when someone was voted off the show. "I'll be your Davina, I'm coming to get you, fetch you from the station, never gonna let you go," lead singer Rhian Teasdale sings in the opening lines of the song. "It's that kind of love". "It's a really soppy love song," she added about the inspiration behind the song in an interview with The Gaurdian . "Me and my partner were watching Big Brother , and I know she isn't presenting the new one, but it made me think of watching Big...

Released as the lead single for her eight studio album, Fever , Kylie Minogue 's "Can't Get You Out Of My Head" signaled a massive shift in pop music. The song's dance pop elements threaded with an ultra-modern approach to disco in a way that felt effortlessly cool and simple, yet still sleek and refined. It revived the dance pop genre for a new generation of listeners, proving how powerful minimalism and mood could be in shaping the sound of the new century. It remains a true cornerstone of early‑2000's pop perfection. The track was written and produced by Cathy Dennis and Rob Davis. Cathy is responsible for co-writing some of the most timeless pop songs ever made, including "Toxic" by Britney Spears and "I Kissed A Girl" by Katy Perry . Rob would go on to collaborate with Kylie throughout much of Fever and beyond, as well as with artists like Sophie Ellis‑Bextor and others who helped define the era's sound. "It was a very fluid...

"What You Want" is a bold electronic club anthem that serves as the perfect blend between Justice - the French electronic duo made up of Xavier de Rosnay and Gaspard Augé - and Belgian pop singer Angèle . It's such a seamless fusion of their two distinct sonic worlds, coming together in the most unexpected way. The collaboration itself came together organically after meeting for the first time backstage at Justice's show in Brussels in late 2024. There was an immediate creative spark between them, and that connection was translated so clearly into this track. The energy and adrenaline running through the song, along with the sleek electronic production all collide to create such a dynamic listening experience.  "I went to say hi in their dressing room after their show, which I'd loved. It was the first time we met, and we talked a lot about our careers and our creative visions. I spontaneously suggested they come to the studio. We spent an afternoon listenin...

"Be The One" is Dua Lipa 's debut single and one of the defining songs of her early career, marking the moment everything truly began for her. "For me, 'Be The One' is about self belief, perseverance, and fighting for what you want," she told NYLON in a 2015 interview. "In this instance, it's about a relationship but really, this is an attitude I try to bring into everything in my life." Released in October 2015, "Be The One" became the launching pad for everything that followed. She was only nineteen at the time, but she already carried herself with so much confidence in her sound, especially with her signature soulful voice that really sets her apart as an artist.  What makes the song even more interesting is that it was one of the only tracks on her 2017 self-titled debut album that she didn't write herself. When she was first approached with it by her collaborators, she wasn't sure she wanted to record it, but she im...

"Stateside" blends such a fun, infectious mix of Euro‑dance and electronic influences. PinkPantheress worked with The Dare for the first time on the production, and I love seeing her collaborate with artists who push her sound in new directions like this. The energy of the song is incredible, and the lyrics are just so cute and playful. She has such a distinct voice in pop music that is so unique and instantly recognizable, and "Stateside" really highlights that. The song itself is a cheeky recollection of falling for an American guy, and all the longing and excitement that comes with it. "You could be my American, ha, ha, ha, ha," she sings in the chorus. She has talked many times about how this is her personal favorite track from her sophomore mixtape, Fancy That , feeling like it really explored her growth as an artist. It is overall such a clever piece of pop writing, infused with garage and Y2K influences from some of the great UK pop stars who cam...