Mary + I, MARIS

Ending the Summer with a chant pop song, as God intended. And it really WAS a wet hot Summer, but I stayed high and dry etc. If you know one thing about me, it’s that I’m always finding the rising pop girls that you should know about. And MARIS is one that everyone should be listening to.

She seems to be a pro at it all: the voice, the image, the visuals, the catchy hooks, the relatable lyrics. Her persona, much like this song, is one you want around all the time. It feels fun, fresh, and like the serotonin boost you get driving down the PCH with the sunroof down on a perfect California day (tested and proved, btw).

On this 2025 single, MARIS effortlessly showcases her ability to write an earworm hook that still maintains a personal meaning. Writing lyrics that can be screamed at the top of your lungs but also analyzed on paper for all their hidden double meanings is a real skill. And yes, doing things on a gummy CAN really change your life.

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Stop The Wedding, Ashe

If anyone was going to make crashing a wedding sound romantic instead of a tad concerning, obviously it was going to be Ashe. Stop The Wedding is the lead single of this new era, and it’s dramatic, desperate, cinematic pop in the best way. It feels like Speak Now’s older, wiser, mature, true pop-form sister.

Ashe has always been really good at making heartbreak feel theatrical without losing the emotion underneath it, and this song is no exception. Her voice sounds delicate and completely frantic at the same time, building alongside the production until you’re just as invested in stopping this fictional wedding as she is. Fictional to us, real to her, once again proving why she’s a great songwriter. This makes me feel messy and almost married and a little delusional but in the good complimentary way. To me, it has the level of honesty in the writing that we saw on Charli’s last album, just through a completely different production style. We NEED more panic in pop. Someone stop the wedding!!!

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45 Degrees, Laurel

If you want a big, euphoric pop-rock song built around the kind of chorus that makes you want to scream along by the second listen, you have it in 45 Degrees by Laurel. Her raspy vocals give the song just enough grit to keep its glossy production from feeling a bit tooo polished, building from something intimate into something completely massive. It feels restless and nostalgic, reminding me of early 2000s Avril Lavigne, which is exactly what we need right now. It’s dramatic and freeing and reckless and dancey, like an ode to passion and escapism.

Laurel’s imagery is crisp and detailed, elevating the entire experience of the song. With lyrics like “kissing in cars on the coast” and “red wine in the chateau,” it’s almost a ‘must do in Los Angeles’ situationship checklist. She sets a scene and a tone, pairing yearning lyrics filled with uncertainty, like “chase you like a summer breeze,” with a breezy, fun beat, making a song that feels like summer bottled into three minutes and twelve seconds.

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Bottle, Remi Wolf

With one hell of a sticky melody and an earworm chorus, Remi is 2/2 for singles off her upcoming album Mud. Bottle is bravely and chaotically self-aware, pairing a bouncy, addicting beat with incredibly vulnerable thoughts. The lyrics read like a journal entry: “I grew up, and I stayed the same.” It’s relatable in the sense that sometimes you know exactly what’s wrong with you, but you refuse to fix it and just accept it instead. “I can’t get the bottle if I don’t get up,” she admits.

It’s heavy and layered, but immediately sucks you in with its mix of R&B and old-school pop production. Over lyrics tackling depression and addiction and a beat that’s undeniably groovy, the two polar-opposite emotions the song breeds somehow feel true to life: depressing and raw, but also joyful and optimistic. PS, she has an album coming out October 9th, and it may be her best yet, we should all be counting down the days till Mud.

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“You can call me Tucker,” a soft-spoken Role Model says as he walks up to our studio entrance in downtown Los Angeles. Driving himself and meeting a team of two, this was a shockingly casual, low-maintenance encounter compared to what I’m used to seeing on shoot days.

Let’s take it back. A few weeks ago, I got the chance to interview Role Model for Teen Vogue about his new album, Chuck Timely and the Hourglass. And if you’ve listened to the album, you know it’s all about the passage of time, the anxiety of getting older, the worry of being forever single, and the societal pressure to find love. You know, the light stuff. So really I spent the afternoon stripping down the surface level persona and getting dating and life advice from Tucker Pillsbury. And yes, we did validate his parking.

As a young fangirl who turned this lifestyle into my profession, I asked Tucker every single thing I wanted to know about his lead single, and while I may be biased, I think other people would want to know the answers to these questions too.

“It wasn’t that deep,” he would eventually tell me.

But we’ll get there.

MADISON: Who or what were the circumstances you were thinking about when you wrote this song?

ROLE MODEL: There was no who. It was probably a lack of a who and feeling very lonely and lost and stuck in the repetitiveness of modern dating, I guess.

MADISON: Do you remember the moment you put pen to paper on this song?

ROLE MODEL: I walked into the studio with Taylor (name), who co-produced this album. He’s a monster keys player, and he always sat down every morning right at the piano when we got there. And I think it was just me and him because we got there early, and he just started playing those chords, and then jokingly I started singing, “I end my day,” and the song was born.

MADISON: Describe Chuck Timely to people who might not understand, and what is his relationship to this song specifically? What should fans look out for in Chuck on this album?

ROLE MODEL: Chuck Timely embodies kind of everything I was feeling in the two-year span of writing the album, and at the end of touring the last album. I was becoming very lost and lonely and maybe drinking a little bit too much. And I think trying to find answers to his questions without really asking anyone, just trying to figure it out.

MADISON: In a way, this song feels like it’s about male loneliness, specifically in lines like, “Hey now, lend some independence, stuck inside the fences like a goddamn dog.” Where did those lyrics specifically come from?

ROLE MODEL: “Hey now.” Yeah, the “hey now,” that came straight from my head.

MADISON: Yeah, genius lyric. Hilary Duff core.

ROLE MODEL: Definitely… but that was the bridge. The chorus and the bridge are the same, but they didn’t always… they were not always the same. There were two completely different choruses for the song. And then we got to a point where the bridge was our favorite part, and it was just so fun. And we ended up just using that as the chorus and extending it and writing more. This was the first real song on the album, so I didn’t want to dive straight in. I wanted to keep it a little bit light for track two.

MADISON: What is the Role Model solution for the male loneliness epidemic?

ROLE MODEL: My solution? Oh my God, I don’t know. I don’t know if I was really a part of that epidemic. I don’t… it wasn’t that deep. Have fun. Friends. Friends are more important, maybe. I don’t know.

MADISON: Looking at lines like, “Do I really believe that someone could change my life?” We know this is from the perspective of Chuck, but I’m wondering if you were trying to access a larger theme of men believing that finding love will finally be able to pull them out of suffering.

ROLE MODEL: I don’t think finding love, or dating… none of that is going to fill whatever hole you have inside of you. Again, I think you need to find things that bring you joy in life before you start looking for love and trying actively going on dates or whatever. I think you need to fix those things beforehand.

MADISON: This chorus feels like it’s wrestling with whether love is an external search or an internal one. Was that intentional?

ROLE MODEL: Yeah, and I don’t know. I don’t know if I found the answer. But I had a lot of questions at the time, and that is one.

MADISON: What’s one of the lines in the song that you’re proudest of?

ROLE MODEL: I love the line, “Does love come around or does one come around to it?” That’s the only thing I had going into this and making this song. That’s my favorite line. But then production-wise, I think it was just blending these two things I loved with the keys and having this, like, danciness pop in the verses, and then bringing in this Southern rock, Georgia Satellites vibe to the choruses, and having those two things work together went surprisingly well, in my opinion.

Don’t worry, if you’re a visual learner with ADHD like I am (complimentary), there’s a condensed version that lives on Teen Vogue’s socials. Spend alllll the time and hours with Chuck, he wants a number one but you also may learn a thing or two.

Oopsie Daisy, Alexa Cappelli

When a new pop girl emerges, we must listen to her. And it’s easy to pay attention when she’s literally saying ‘come turn on the AC,’ and her initials are AC… like c’mon poet. But really there are so many fun, poppy innuendos packed into this already addictive beat, paired with a rapid fire tongue twister chorus that somehow gets stuck in your head after one listen. Also the use of ‘mph’ as quite literally, m-p-h, that’s perfect.

doom, Steve Lacy

I unfortunately do relate to the idea that at any given moment I expect something to go drastically wrong over a cute sub-pop beat. This is a clear standout track on this record: gritty, effortlessly cool, and the perfect mix of alt-rock and R&B. The melodies are infectious while the lyrics balance wit, vulnerability, and quiet apocalypse. It reminds me of the older Steve Lacy discography, which will always have a special and permanent spot in my playlists.

Wink Wink, Charli xcx

She’s not a bad girl anymore she promises! As brat’s grown up sister who’s cleaned up her act, allegedly… wink wink is two minutes of deadpan irony wrapped in an irresistible hook. Even though brat was all about being unapologetic, Music Fashion Film feels more confessional and personal than anything Charli has made before. Wink Wink will walk with you through everything, a hook fun enough to replay in your brain all day, something that with this album has become so quintessentially Charli.

Ain’t in LA, Adéla

When the song is this good, I can’t be offended even if I did just move to LA two months ago. Mentally bringing me back to 2013 when Miley Cyrus’ We Can’t Stop was all over the radio, the beginning is intoxicating which leads us into an angelic voice on the first verse, and into an ethereal chorus. Sung by a rising IT Girl with bright pink hair, what better treatment could a pop song want? Adéla is also probably the first popstar with natural born hot pink hair.

At age four I was attending concerts far beyond the emotional threshold of The Wiggles. One of my weirdly vivid memories is begging my grandmother to not change the channel when I was watching Britney Spears perform Gimme More at the 2007 VMA’s. Almost two decades later, I found myself at the Grammys for the second time in my career, and I’m here to tell you all about it. But because I’m exhausted we’re doing this bullet point style, mkay!

Some things that got me through:

1. Theraflu

2. Approximately one million group chats and texts with unsaved numbers

3. Haley, my right hand red carpet woman

4. Water (!!! revolutionary concept)

5. Delusion

Some things I witnessed:

1. Chappell’s nipple ring reveal (thank you Chappell, we all say in unison)

2. Talent coordinators (and my friends watching for that matter) breaking a sweat wondering if Harry Styles was going to be late. He made it, and technically on time…

3. Olivia Dean’s band reaching olympic levels of jumping and screaming when she won Best New Artist… hopecore <3

4. Billie Eilish arrived with her family and left with her family. Maggie if you are reading this you are the sweetest and I’m in the market for a mom

5. Sabrina Carpenter and Margaret Qualley giving Jack the boot and taking over the backstage photobooth

Some things I learned:

1. The flowers used to decorate the red carpet cost anywhere between $1k and $6k

2. Jeff Goldblum is a hugeee Katseye fan

3. Lady Gaga is truly one of the most beloved in the music industry and this event doubled as a mother monster meet and greet

4. Addison Rae knows exactly what she wants to do on stage before she even gets close to touching it, and she is literally smiling all the time??

5. The red carpet is less a carpet and more a refrigerated psychological experiment and I think that’s why I needed Theraflu pulsing through my system to survive

I’ve decided that set hot dogs and crafty airhead candy and medicines will be going on my W-2, and my feet are going to kill me but nonetheless we had so much fun. See you next year ;)

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You’ll never guess what I heard this week.

And honestly, who knows if you even want to hear it from the girl who listened to Espresso 752 times last year (credentials submitted above), but that’s none of my business.

Anyway, because I love to yap and because I love to listen to music like it’s my job (because literally, it is), I’m going to tell you what I’m listening to lately. You’re either going to listen or not, that’s also none of my business. So nonetheless, here’s what I’ve been pressing play on this week and why I think you should too.

Shapeshifting on a Saturday Night, Avery Cochrane:

Avery Cochrane has crafted what might be the perfect pop song of 2025. What we needed as our song of the summer is now very much serving as my song of fall, winter etc. Maybe it’s the - for lack of a better word - depressing lyrics synced to the dreamy pop beat that makes you want to twirl in the street. Or maybe the gorgeous build up in the bridge, rising into an echoey, euphoric chorus. Whatever it is, what she’s done musically with this anthem single feels unmatched since Chappell Roan’s Good Luck, Babe! reign. If this is Avery just getting started, we should all be paying attention when she really heats up… which I’m hearing we’re in for later this year…

Moviestar, Remy Bond:

Remy Bond is time travelling to Seventies Europop Heaven with Moviestar. In its three minute and eight seconds, the ABBA inspired dance track transports you back to the days of old Hollywood, with equal parts nostalgia and charm. Between the music video and her debut tour, she’s fully claiming this evocative dance superstar niche: extravagant wigs, retro outfits, choreography involving a three layer cake… she does it all while hitting her vape. And I love a multitasking, vaping queen.

Kissing Other People, Lennon Stella:

And where is Lennon Stella when we need her? I love everything about her. Loved her in Nashville. Love how she doesn’t seem to be chronically online. Love that her sister is Maisy Stella. Love that she released a perfect album in 2020 and then disappeared. Kissing Other People is a standout track from her first and only album, Three. Two. One. On first listen, I was grateful I haven’t experienced a breakup that makes me feel anything like this in years. But this song is so cleverly written and soaked in raw emotion that it drags me right back anyway. It perfectly captures that strange and disorienting moment of seeing life on the other side of a relationship so toxic you weren’t sure you’d ever actually escape it.

Ego, Romy Mars:

I can’t help but loveee this nepo baby (complimentary of course), and the courage she has to be so insanely vulnerable over a pop beat. Paying homage to pop greats before her, Romy Mars easily delivers such relatable lyrics that can make a woman spiral in thought while making it sound like pop perfection. This was written for me probably because I too, have had unfortunate experiences with a m*n, having to convince myself I liked him when I very much did not. I really hope that’s not a niche experience. I love a song you can bop your head to while simultaneously overthinking every life choice if you listen too closely. And I especially love a lyric that paints the picture of ‘on a Percocet, tanning in the front lawn,’ because… yeah, that does sound nice.

The end. Maybe I’ll do this every week, who knows. I have commitment issues and I’m famously very busy. But I guess we all have to start somewhere, right?

1. what dana carvey looks like (we had a good laugh after the confusion subsided)

2. that not all scary movies are bad (thank you, Weapons)

3. that I love LA, and not in the rachel sennott way, but in the I found people I love there and I have my favorite brunch spots coffee shops and that one bar that’s half inside half outside and plays gay pop music all night way

4. be selfish, in every sense of the word

5. I <3 saying no

6. I <3 kissing girls

7. drinking isn’t always necessary to have a fun night out

8. hot coffee is GOOD (thank you, VMA’s long days and even longer hours)

9. mary ruth’s hair growth supplement tastes disgusting. and it may or may not work, try patience instead

10. don’t be afraid of color. blue eyeshadow is fun and bright red hair is freeing

11. how to make maybe the world’s perfect espresso martini

12. I <3 being alone

13. if you feel depressed, you just need to laugh with your friends. there’s a chance you may also need SSRI’s, but try the laughing thing first

14. that bangs were not my look

15. it’s okay to have silver chrome nails for a whole year straight

16. that you’ll relate to jake shane way more deeply than you’d like to, or think you would (complimentary)

17. there’s a huge difference between being demanding and advocating for yourself

18. that you can’t unsend a text message after two minutes. still haunts me

19. only date people who actually spark interest in your brain and make your heart do that little thing. your time is so very valuable

20. that the queen of Sweden does NOT like it when you wear jeans, oh my god

21. if you wouldn’t take their advice, don’t take their opinion

22. being a lawyer can actually be really fun (i did two weeks of grand jury duty)

23. you need to have a plan to leave the forum after a concert

24. that exposure to a lot of people can actually be really grounding and fun and not scary and overstimulating and make you wanna crawl into a hole

25. hearing dog days are over by florence welch and hayley williams and rachel zegler and jack antonoff live WILL restore any hope you lost in the world