Man, it's a ride on ONTD. Favs rise high and crash hard, if they aren't too busy being Rhitired to rise at all. Or maybe they just fade into irrelevancy. Yet somehow, ONTD gets caught time and again begging those favs to come back and "save the pop game"-- well, too bad ONTD, pop has saved itself.
While Rihanna pursued artistic expression and/or a fashion career, all her regular songwriters and producers wandered off to make their own carreers or support other artists. Max Martin waited by the phone for Justin Bieber to call, but Bieber was doing community work and missed his window. Radio could only play "Dark Horse" on repeat so many times before it became a DEAD Horse.
And oh how we whined! But while we were doing that, pop saw the vacuum and filled it with a fantastic crop of stars who have made 2015 into the best year for pop since 2010, and it did it in only 6 months.
Here are the 2015 albums that prove pop doesn't need an A-List:
ADAM LAMBERT - THE ORIGINAL HIGH
Super gay and super proud to sing it loud, Adam Lambert made a fantastic album that features Max Martin's pop flare mixed with the 80s rock glam Adam has tapped into so perfectly from his work with Queen.
CARLY RAE JEPSEN - E•MO•TION
Carly Rae isn't jumping on the trend of bringing back the 80s & 90s with her new album-- "Kiss", her chronically underrated pop jem from 2012, had a very similar feel. But she did it all again with E•MO•TION, delivering a full LP of irresistible bubblegum pop. Could she be bound to follow a career similar to Robyn's? Only time will tell.
Hilary Duff - Breathe In. Breathe Out.
What has been going into or out of the Disney/Nickelodeon water? First Nick Jonas released last year's fantastic self-titled album, and this year a certain ex-Lizzie McGuire did the same. I certainly wasn't expecting her album to be fantastic, but Hilary was another singer who caught wind of Swedish producers with time on their hands, and reaps the benefits in a great way.
JASON DERULO - EVERYTHING IS 4
My personal king Jason Derulo has tapped into some great old and new talent for his fourth album, and this song is a perfect example of it. If there's no other reason to get rid of pop's A-list, it's to make room for people like Jason at the top.
GIORGIO MORODER - DEJA VU
There could never have been a better time for Giorgio Moroder to make his comeback. As the aughts daunce through the end of the 20th century to shape our own music, Moroder sets up camp where he's always been, in the heart of disco, and done what he does best-- brings the future into our hearts & ears.
FIFTH HARMONY - REFLECTION
I don't care about choosing sides when it comes to girl bands, because I want them all to succeed. And with "Reflection", these girls show that they're ready for the big leagues.
And of course, there's a bunch of people STILL RELEASING this year that are going to be epic.
Years & Years - Communion
This is going to be great, lbr.
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There are a lot I didn't even mention in this post... Meghan Trainor, Marina and the Diamonds, Madeon... for a more comprehensive list, see my summary of good music for Q1 and look forward to my upcoming post on the music that came out in Q2!
What is your favourite music out this year, ONTD? Are you still pointlessly waiting for big names to release and ignoring the perfection coming from smaller artists?