Week of May 8th, 2026
Madison Beer Photographing For Her Newly Acclaimed Album, “Locket,” Credit: Rolling Stone
This week’s review will be a brief and to-the-point reflection of this week’s musical endeavors. In full honesty and frankness, this week’s newest songs frequently failed to hit milestones that interesting and relevant music should. As unfortunate as it is to say, for the most part, none of the songs from this week’s roster will have any cultural significance that lasts beyond next week. Madison Beer and Kim Petras try their best, and their efforts are prevalently displayed. However, when reviewing music, it simply cannot be ignored when certain tracks feel generic and, even worse, uninspired. Let’s take a quick toe dip into what just made this week’s music gloomy (and not in a good way of depressive music either).
1. Most Streamed Song of the Week – “Rock Music” by Charli xcx (5.75/10)
Sometimes efforts and social interpretation can create tension and feel mismatched. Yet, whether Charli truly shows effort within her new song, “Rock Music,” (intended as the lead single for upcoming Rock-inspired album) is very foggy and undetectable. The song isn’t underwhelming to say the least. Its music video is certainly interesting. Piles on piles of cigarettes cover up a room to match alongside xcx’s notable ‘messy party girl’ brand. The vocal chops with 80s inspired choppy synths is certainly high in potential to create something meaningful. Lines like “I think the dance floor is dead so now we’re making rock music” to singular interjection lines. For example: “Wow!” It feels sarcastic in a way that allows Charli’s humor to shine.
Yet, the intention gets muddled. Is this entire song supposed to be humorous and sarcastic? What is she even saying wow to? Does the song even have an existing purpose, or is it just a commercialized mood board of what rock music sounds like? The problem with the song is not creative bravery but simply a lack of follow-through and clear intention. While clearly xcx has proved masterful in her craftsmanship from iconic yet sonically multifaceted recent albums like How I’m Feeling Now, BRAT, and, Wuthering Heights, a streak of sonic liberty with full proof strength is falling iffy and potentially dimmed.
While this single might just be intentionally a ‘trailer’ to the world that Rock-n-roll Charli can bring, if the future songs continue on a tangent of short and distasteful purposes, it is hard to find optimism for the album.
2. Lyrical Standout – “Jeep” by Kim Petras (8.25/10)
There are times in life when pure and good music can originate from the least expected places. For me, Kim Petras’ Jeep provided a new sonic exploration by the artist and provided a form of artistic maturity that is admirable when comparing Petras’ music to her juvenile music. Most recently, Unholy by Kim Petras and Sam Smith proved to be the most relevant chart-topper hit that has defined Petras’ music and discographical success. While Unholy was something on the cusp of a ‘fun’ song, its quirks and glorification of cheating come off as weird and uncomfortable–yet not in a way that felt artistically intentional. To say the least, Unholy feels like a fast fashion statement piece that shines neon colors; it garners attention but doesn’t hold interest. It’s bizarre and unpleasant.
On her newest track, Petras proves me wrong and contradicts the occasionally disfavorable brand for those who might prefer less disorienting music. Within this track, Petras’ typical electric-hyper energy is stripped back. A simple kick and guitar? Not Petras’ typical forte—but certainly not displeasing. From singing about gas station love to a more electronic-sad version of Olivia Rodrigo’s driver's license (you are quite literally driving around in Kim’s jeep), Kim explores this new territory of the artistic mountain with great skill. Grade 9c, may I even joke! What’s especially impressive about the song, though, is Kim’s worship of her musical heritage. Even when acoustically stripped, sad, and ripped apart, there’s an inkling of a flame that celebrates Kim’s musical identity, often known for energetic autotune, disco beats, and electricity. It doesn’t disappear; it still exists in the background, and proves that sometimes the coolest tracks come from blending two formerly split genres. Here, like acoustic ballads and electronic music. If you have previously lacked a taste for Kim Petras, her newest song is sure to gain new fans.
3. Sonic Standout - “lovergirl” by Madison Beer (7/10)
Madison Beer has had an interesting trajectory as an artist. As the story goes, she was originally scouted by none other than big-star Justin Bieber—and, at his peak. Yet, despite seeming recognition and entry into mass stardom and worldwide recognition, Beer is somewhere in the middle between a spectrum of unpopular to world (or even nationally) renown. Lots of people know her for her, but that doesn’t guarantee an awareness of her music. Lots of people also don’t know her, but that doesn’t change the fact that she makes beyond a livable income from music, which, ideally, can be a considerable success. What hindered extreme virality is often cited as Beer’s ‘copy-cat’ brand that transforms with every new zeitgeist and early disputes with the very label that Bieber helped Beer receive contracts for.
Her new song, lovergirl, comes from the newly released deluxe version of her new album, Locket. While the ‘copycat’ label still stuck to this album and critiques included the idea that the album was boring, others regarded Locket as newly matured and on the trajectory to a masterpiece. While both perspectives are defensible, more authenticity is noticeable in her new song. There are imperfections and questionable choices in the lyrics. But they are actually desirable. It’s showing a seeming sign that Beer is starting to feature her own voice more and more within the music-making process. More decisions are coming from her as an artist, and that shines clearly through lovergirl. In honesty, sometimes imperfection is better than confused perfection, and lovergirl is evidence of this. Sonically, it’s a pretty song too. It’s melodically rich, sultry, but simultaneously happy.
4. Personal Feature – “TNT” by CORTiS (5.75/10)
The global-K-Pop boy group is certainly in the spotlight of the greater public today. With a fun yet slightly trashy aesthetic and hit songs like GO!, it’s not surprising the group (or rather their company, and yes, likely a mix of business and artistic decisions) would feel a need to continue capitalizing on CORTiS’ current success wave. Interestingly, K-Pop groups typically feel more business-oriented and churn out music in a way that can taste dishonest and over-strategized. With TNT, a new song off the group’s just-released EP, GREENGREEN, the five boys rap, sing, and exclaim how they’re the “TNT.” Does this mean they’re explosive? That they’re the center of attention? It’s not always clear, and in a way, hinders a song’s potential, making it hard to clarify a genuine rationale behind the song’s production.
As is common within the Idol Industry, the finger towards who is actually involved in choosing the discography is blurry. Most of the time, business meetings take place to evaluate potential songs that would be most profitable for a specific group to sing. In this case, it seems that TNT was expected to have the highest profit margins. At the same time, it’s not unlikely that the boy group members also had somewhat of a say in choosing what songs they would now perform and sing for the next few months to possibly years. Overall, the decision-making process is tricky to decipher. It’s vague to determine who the critique of an overmanufactured song should lie. The K-Pop industry, BigHit Music (the owner of CORTiS), or the culture in general, emphasizing overpolished music? It’s unclear to say the least. And, I hope that if the music comes from large authenticity, the songwriters or artists themselves gain more capacity to express meaning in their music, rather than a 100 perfect word combinations that kind of sound like a textbook example of English phrases (making sense but unnatural)
