This past year marked the release of 50 major-label pop albums, and hundreds more released by smaller labels and independent artists As 2025 begins, the year promises more highly-awaited projects, such as Lana Del Rey’s “The Right Person Will Stay,” Shygirl’s  “Club Shy Room 2,” Ethel Cain’s “Perverts” and Lady Gaga’s untitled seventh album. With a year full of new music upon us, let’s go back and review some of the pop projects that stood out amongst a slew of 

Miss Madeline, “So Dramatic”

Pop provocateur Miss Madeline has had one of the biggest years of her career. She came onto the scene in 2018 with the self-titled single “Miss Madeline,” before taking a two-year hiatus, returning to music in 2020 with the dynamic “You Oughta Know,” spending the majority of her career prior to the release of “So Dramatic” releasing standalone singles, including her collaborative track “Life Could Be Sweet” with Ayla D’Lyla, which remains her biggest hit to date. 

“So Dramatic” is Miss Madeline’s debut project, showing great wit and conscious branding. It’s the storytelling on “So Dramatic” that makes the project so unique, like on the standout song  “OMG” tells a consistent, compelling story, detailing her experience with a man who was “23, from the DMV, moved to NYC in an SUV,” all without the sacrifice of lyricism or wit. 

Similarly, the innuendo-dripped “VICTORIA’S SECRET” is a campy, semi satirical ode to the push-up bra. While tracks like the thumping “LUXURY” featuring Chase Icon or the pulsing, fast-paced“WORLDWIDE” present Miss Madeline as a quintessential “bad girl” character, tracks like “COMPETITION,” “OMG,” or the twinkling, bass-heavy “BOOM” show her in a more vulnerable light, exploring relationships, infidelity, and the complexity of friendships. 

Miss Madeline’s vocal range is also highlighted in this project where she performs trilling high notes on “COMPETITION” as effortlessly as she pseudo-raps on “SHOCK.” Overall, “So Dramatic” is a vibrant, fun-filled experience, showing Miss Madeline exactly as she describes herself on “SHOCK,” which closes out the standard tracklist: sexy, sociopathic, and so dramatic.

Jazmin Bean, “Traumatic Livelihood”

Jazmin Bean has always been something of a musical enigma. Garnering a cult following after the release of their genre-bending EP “Worldwide Torture,” in 2020, which features pulsing electronic production, heavy metal guitar riffs and pop-infused hooks. 

“Worldwide Torture” was followed by two singles, “R U Looking For Me Now” and “Puppy Pound,” in 2021 and 2022, intended to be the lead singles off of Bean’s debut studio album. Plans changed after Bean went to rehab for a ketamine addiction. Bean emerged from rehab more vulnerable and human than we’ve ever seen them.

“Traumatic Livelihood” shows Bean at their most vulnerable, their lyricism and guitar-driven instruments at the front of the project. The climax of the album, “Stockholm Butterfly” viscerally depicts the aftermath of abuse, with Bean exploring concepts like Stockholm syndrome, grooming and the loss of innocence. Similarly, the standout “Black Dress” paints one of the most tragic and real images of drug abuse, with Bean describing the experiences of mourning friends in active addiction. 

While some parts of “Traumatic Livelihood” are deeply tragic, other parts are more hopeful. The silky “B**** With The Gun” shows Bean flipping the script on their abusers, fighting back against their traumas, while “The Blood Brings Colour And Fluoresce” finds Bean accepting and finding peace in those same traumatic experiences. 

“Traumatic Livelihood” is one of the most earnest releases of the year with Bean crafting a heat-shattering and visceral depiction of Bean’s traumas.

Shygirl, “Club Shy”

Recently, nostalgia for the early 2000s and late 90s has been at the forefront of the public consciousness, with everything from Juicy Couture, Moon Boots and leopard print fabric making a massive resurgence. The same goes for “Club Shy,” the third EP by prolific London born artist Shygirl. 

Tracks like “4eva” featuring Empress Of and Kingdom, or “tell me” featuring Boys Noize recall early aughts club hits, while tracks like “f@k€” and the Danny L. Harle-produced “encore” provide a more futuristic take on the genre. On the shimmering, jubilant “thicc,” Shygirl is not only celebratory and free, but she is also liberated and unafraid to discuss her identity, sexuality and sexual preferences, a thread that follows through “Club Shy.” 

The most streamed track of “Club Shy,” “mr useless,” pops and gleams with Shygirl happily delivering cutting remarks to the titular “mr useless,” proving that unlike her moniker, she most certainly isn’t shy. The bonus track “encore” is gritty, sprawling, and big. Here Shygirl is showcasing her best lyrical intelligence and capability yet. The sequel EP, “Club Shy Room 2” is set for release on February 28th, 2025.

BBYKOCAINE, “#MyLife4EVER/#MyLifeNYC”

While technically two EPs,  BBYKOCAINE and the #MyLife saga stick out as one of the most innovative and unusual projects of the year. The #MyLife saga began in April when 18-year-old transgender rapper BBYKOCAINE dropped the title track and the project defining song, “#MyLife.” An EP, “#MyLife” was released a month later and was followed up by the deluxe version, “#MyLife4EVER,” in July, before the release of “#MyLifeNYC” in October. 

With the #MyLife saga, BBYKOCAINE creates some of the most interesting music we’ve heard this year, unabashedly ridiculous and campy, but not at the expense of wit. 

“The project just represents having fun,” said BBYKOCAINE in an exclusive comment to Knight Life. “I don’t want it to be thoughtful and overanalyzed because that would just defeat the purpose.” 

Tracks like “$$$” and “#TouchIt (Ouh)” present BBYKOCAINE as a money-hungry, materialistic gold digger, “$$$” even referencing an episode of “American Dad,” while tracks like “#iVapeEveryday” or “LooksmaxxingPt.1” are unabashedly ridiculous, internet-themed anthems. While the song’s subject matter is ironic, it’s quality is not. 

“Honestly for the whole saga, especially “#MyLifeNYC” I just tried to squeeze in more of my personality and humor,” BBYKOCAINE said. “I feel like I make my best music when I just be myself.”

Sonically, the project is an electronic/dance-pop project. 

“The influences behind the project artistically were honestly just all the old dance music I was listening to at the time like Nadia Oh, LMFAO, Benny Benassi, etc,” said BBYKOCAINE. 

The #MyLife saga is outspoken, flippant, witty and innovative, and places BBYKOCAINE as a figure to watch in 2025.

Billie Eilish, “HIT ME HARD AND SOFT”

The alt-pop superstar’s third full-length offering, “HIT ME HARD AND SOFT” is a pivot from the sounds and visuals of her sophomore studio album “Happier Than Ever,” trading guitars for synths, without sacrificing the honesty and vulnerability that has made Eilish notable from the beginning. 

Eilish opens the album strongly with “SKINNY,” which serves as a response to comments made about Eilish’s body, similar to 2021’s “Not My Responsibility.” However, where “Not My Responsibility” served as a bold response but lacked musical direction and seemed almost apathetic, “SKINNY” is one of the most emotionally charged tracks on the album. Its earnest production is filled with quiet, minimalistic instrumentals and Eilish’s otherworldly vocals present fans with both musical and lyrical genius. 

Eilish changes the tone with energetic, innuendo-soaked “LUNCH,” before pivoting to the hypnotizing “CHIHIRO.” In “THE DINER,” Eilish writes about her experiences with being stalked from a stalker’s perspective, both illuminating the terror Eilish encounters with these experiences and the true mental illness and obsession stalkers possess. 

While the album fits perfectly in Eilish’s discography, Eilish also experiments with her sound, introducing new genres and styles, such as on “L’AMOUR DE MA VIE.” The track transitions from a melancholic, jazz-influenced ballad to a synth-led, 1980s influenced song. 

Eilish closes out the tracklist with “BLUE” which combines two unreleased tracks of Eilish’s, “True Blue” and “Born Blue.” While the “True Blue” segment serves sad, melancholic lyrics characteristic of Eilish over maximalist, synth-led production, Eilish strips that back on “Born Blue,” the earnest and quiet vocals creating a despair-filled, almost hopeless aura. True to its name, “HIT ME HARD AND SOFT” hits hard, soft, and in all the right ways. 

Fetish, “KLUBFETISH”

On Fetish’s debut full-length mixtape “KLUBFETISH,” they are as alive and active as we’ve ever seen them. Fetish describes the tape as “a blend of pop, rap, and early club music, making it overall an experimental sound. It has melodic elements and early 2000s Jersey club beats and is also heavily influenced by traditional Atlanta rap. I think this tape is a direct reflection of the highs and lows of life, but specifically in the party scene, which I am also heavily influenced by.”

On fan-favorite “Botched” featuring Chase Icon, the two work in perfect harmony, building each other up, embracing their own sexuality, proudly declaring their interests in cosmetic surgery, and taking a few digs at rapper Brooke Candy. 

“KLUBFETISH”’s maximalist production allows Fetish to have fun and flow naturally, such as on what may be the best song on the tracklist, “London Tipton,” that describes homoerotic and sapphic friendship. Fetish delivers the entire chorus in a British accent.

While “KLUBFETISH” is largely a project full of party anthems, the lack of vulnerability on most of the tracks makes tracks like the aptly named “Honest,” or “I loved you more” all the more important. The vulnerability of these tracks show Fetish as the most vulnerable we’ve seen them yet, juxtaposing the self-described “bad b****” music that makes up a majority of the project. 

The closer, “Miss American Dream” shows Fetish at their most energetic, proclaiming their identity and status over sprawling instrumentals, juxtaposing brash electronic instrumentals and aggressive lyricism with classic Americana imagery. “KLUBFETISH” is fast-paced, energetic, electronic, and an incredible introduction to the Fetish universe.

Charli XCX, “BRAT”

While this project’s placement is likely a surprise to no one, considering the previous publication of an article about its cultural impact, the impact and quality of Charli XCX’s sixth studio album cannot be understated. While many of the more confident, “365 partygirl” tracks have charted, “BRAT” is more than a party album. The track “I think about it all the time,” a personal favorite, is a slow, pensive exploration of potential motherhood, or the anxious “I might say something stupid,” show Charli beyond her self-described “Party Girl” identity. 

On standout “Everything is romantic,” Charli chants the lyrics over a flowing, transitional instrumental, changing the tone of her oft repeated words. The biggest hit from “BRAT,” “360” discusses Charli’s “cult classic” role in the industry prior to the release of “BRAT,” proudly declaring her success and status as a pop icon. 

“Girl, so confusing,” and its subsequent remix with Lorde became a historic moment in pop music. The original version discusses her “confusing” relationship with Lorde, and the remix shows Lorde apologizing and explaining her choices, creating a testament to female friendship. 

While tracks like “Club classics” or “365” are free, lighthearted club anthems, this freedom doesn’t sacrifice wit, lyricism or emotional intelligence. “BRAT” is undoubtedly one of the most influential and impactful albums of this decade so far, and while the marketing is top-notch, the music itself is even better.