I know this will be an unpopular opinion, especially among my more youthful audience, but it needs to be said: 2024 was a junk year in pop music.
Sabrina Carpenter is just whatever, Charli XCX is overrated, and Chappell Roan is horrible; these three ladies essentially ruled the pop music landscape over the past year. Then, as if this subpar newness wasn’t bad enough, we had pop veterans, some of whom have given us some of the greatest jams of all time, deliver some truly unbalanced work.
Taylor Swift’s, The Tortured Poets Department was NOT it. The only song off the entire 31 track album I genuinely enjoyed – and I did genuinely enjoy it a LOT – was “I Can Do It With A Broken Heart.” Then there was Katy Perry who dropped 143, which was horrendous. She should be absolutely embarrassed for releasing such trash this far into her once legendary career.
The guys were represented by Teddy Swims and Benson Boone, both of who are mediocre at best. Then trusted hitmaker of the past, Justin Timberlake, finally met the fate he deserved: a flop album and an all-out cancellation of his life long deplorable behavior. Even my beloved Shawn Mendes delivered a spotty record that left me with little to love.
Usual hit makers like Post Malone and Beyoncé went country and while the latter gave us what was definitely the best album of her career, it wasn’t pop. It was phenomenal, but it wasn’t that serotonin-inducing pop music of her past. I was so very pleased to see her win all the Grammy’s she did though, extraordinarily well deserved.
All in all, it was truly a tough year for a refined lover of pop music like myself. The only true glimmers of hope came from Ariana Grande and Dua Lipa, both of which launched their albums in the very beginning of 2024 and then their eras unfairly fizzled out fast. Unfortunately, streaming has appeared to of killed the time of the album era. Perhaps someone will come along and return us back to this beloved norm, but until then, we’ll continue to be front loaded by brash and fast releases.
Thankfully, despite the rest of the United States burning down due to the evil and ineffective leadership of tyrants Elon Musk and Donald Trump, pop music is experiencing a resurgence in 2025. Hallelujah and Amen to this! Truly this couldn’t come at a better time as we obviously need jams to rebel along to!
So far this year, we’ve got a new album from The Weeknd that features several solid jams, Lizzo’s returned with a bangin’ new single, and then there’s the true reason for this entire post: Lady Gaga just released what I dare say is the single best album of her entire career, Mayhem.
Mayhem, is a masterclass and masterpiece in pop music. In 2013, Lady Gaga released an album entitled, ARTPOP. While that album was mostly just whatever, Mayhem, truly is just that, art pop. And believe me when I say, this is one sonic art museum I’ll be visiting every single day for the foreseeable future.
First singles, “Disease” and “Abracadabra,” were the perfect introduction to this fourteen track factory of jams. The output comes across as effortless for this pop veteran who has taken many twists and turns in her nearly two decade, legendary career. Mayhem though is Gaga returning to her dance floor pop roots and I for one couldn’t be more thankful for that. As iconic superstar Janet Jackson would say, gimme a beat! Well, on Mayhem, Gaga gives us plenty of those.
Gaga realizes she doesn’t need a barrage of collaborators to generate a jam and all the songs minus two have her flying solo. “Killah” features an artist named, Gesaffelstein, whom I’ve never heard of, but this song is terrific. Then there’s Bruno Mars, who I generally can’t stand on “Die With a Smile,” their #1 smash hit from late last year. Also, it should be noted, there are rumors Taylor Swift sings backing vocals on “How Bad To U Want Me,” but those have yet to be confirmed. Regardless of whether Taylor does or not, that song is probably my second favorite of the set. It’s truly phenomenal.
First favorite would definitely be, “Don’t Call Tonight.” The entire song is a mesmerizing display of dance pop wrapped in three minutes and forty-five seconds of pure pop perfection. The song’s bridge causes me to literally fantasize about driving across the Stan Musial Veterans Memorial Bridge at night going about 100 miles per hour, windows down of course, watching the illuminated cables blur past me while I belt this song out at the top of my lungs. It’s just amazing. She best release this as a single because I’m certain it’ll go #1, after all, it already has in my house.
Don’t sleep on “Vanish Into You,” “Zombieboy,” “Shadow Of A Man,” and, “The Beast” though, each one of these is absolutely amazing. “Zombieboy” really makes me want to immediately transform wherever I am into a disco club full of laser lights and smoke machines. The song’s just spectacular and could probably make the paralyzed walk again as they get up and dance to this infectious number. It honestly feels like it has this kind of power.
Really and truly, I haven’t been this excited about a new album since Céline Dion released Courage back in 2019. This is why I felt so compelled to write an entire blog about my newfound love and excitement for this brilliant body of work. Mayhem is a solid 10/10. I would Highly Recommend this album to anyone and everyone who is looking for or in need of a great escape. Music is my favorite thing in the whole world and I have no doubt that this album will go down as one of my favorites of all time. Every song on it feels like an instant classic.
I mentioned in the beginning of the post how the era of the album era is dead and I was hoping someone could return us to that blessed societal norm. Well, if anyone can, Gaga and this outstanding opus could possibly do just that. There’s not a flop on here and any single song could receive the single and video treatment, renewing interest in this body of work for months, if not years, to come.
As always, THANK YOU so much for viewing! Feel free to leave a comment below as I LOVE reading and responding to them! I’ll return soon with another all new post, so until then, I wish you all, all the best!
