Music critics—myself included—have spent much of the past several years bemoaning the decline of capital-“E” Events in music: no new superstars to crown, no more tentpole albums to unify us, no more hits that can hold our attention for more than a day or two. In many ways, 2024 provided a course correction for this narrative: Taylor Swift continued to dominate in the charts and in the culture; Charli XCX was transformed into a global superstar by way of “BRAT,” and the months-long feud between Drake and Kendrick Lamar produced not just a smash hit in “Not Like Us” but a pop-cultural saga whose ramifications will certainly stretch into next year.
I had a baby at the beginning of this year, which means I found myself feeling grateful for one industry shift that has persisted: the predominance of singles. There were albums that grabbed me—Sabrina Carpenter’s “Short n’ Sweet,” for one—but during a year when my attention was especially fractured, I consumed new music one song at a time. Here are some of my favorites.
“I Luv It”
Camila Cabello, featuring Playboi Carti
Women in pop music had a historic amount of fun this year. Camila Cabello’s latest album, “C, XOXO” was an underappreciated highlight. The centerpiece of the record is “I LUV IT,” a strange and ecstatic track that lives somewhere in the long tail of the hyperpop wave. (Many have speculated that some of Cabello’s stylistic gestures, like the frenzied chorus “I luv it, I luv it, I luv it, I luv it,” may even be indebted to Charli XCX, or at least in conversation with “BRAT.”) The song features a clever interpolation of Gucci Mane’s “Lemonade,” a warbly, incomprehensible guest appearance from Playboi Carti, and an abrupt beat shift suited for a night at Berghain.
“Million Dollar Baby”
Tommy Richman
Sometimes songs blow up at warp speed because of some nefarious industry marketing schemes. But sometimes, as in the case of “Million Dollar Baby”—which became ubiquitous seemingly overnight—a song is just irresistible. Richman, a twenty-four-year-old from Virginia, has been releasing music independently since 2016, but there’s a reason “Million Dollar Baby” made the splash that it did. It’s a canny reimagination of syrupy Southern hip-hop, suffused with the cadences and vocal inflections of R. & B. and soul, and delivered with the quintessential blind swagger of a young white guy toeing the line between celebration and appropriation. The low, squelching funk of the beat and Richman’s high falsetto were tuned to such a uniquely perfect frequency that everyone was happy to hear them, again and again, and again.
“Challengers”
Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross
Luca Guadagnino would not have been able to walk the tonal tightrope of “Challengers”—a sports drama with serious comedic undertones, and a sizzly love triangle—without the work of Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, who provided the movie’s epic, propulsive score. The film opens on the tennis court during a high-stakes match between the two male leads, and after a quiet first minute of play, Reznor and Ross’s throttling, techno-informed title track begins in perfect synchronicity with the camerawork. It makes for a bracing and unforgettable introduction, and it establishes a pairing that is ultimately more successful than any of the film’s romances: the union of techno and tennis.
“Plutoski”
Future
Before I had my daughter, in January, my husband and I promised each other we’d be the kind of household where a lot of music is played. We had good intentions, but in reality, a baby’s nap schedule does not provide ample opportunities for music listening. My daughter has an affinity for jingles, and her favorite “song” is the two-second Netflix app startup noise. So when, at seven months, she seemed to connect with Future’s “Plutoski,” a highlight off of his September release, “Mixtape Pluto,” it felt like a victory. The song is quintessential Future, stubbornly entrenched in the flippant mode he knows best: he’s mumbly and unbothered over a sinister, skittering beat. My daughter responded in the way I imagine Future would admire: with a faint little bounce and a loose shake of her hands, a move just shy of proudly disinterested.
“Not Like Us”
Kendrick Lamar
This beef-ending smash hit was an unlikely marvel: a defiantly West Coast track turned national anthem, a club hit recorded by an angsty intellectual, and an angry, dense diatribe with an indelible hook. Produced by DJ Mustard, one of L.A.’s most influential rap producers, the beat’s finger snapping—a West Coast signature—telegraphs a regional pride and identity and makes an implicit dig at Drake’s persistent style-hopping. It is not an exaggeration to say this song changed the course of music history. On top of that, it’s still fun to listen to.
“The Tortured Poets Department”
Taylor Swift
