give bad bunny album of the year
+ maga minaj, lizzo's blue note residency and jeff buckley's first chart entry
BRIT POP’s BritCrave updates are coming a little early this week. I want to honor the general strike tomorrow, but we have plenty to talk about already…
If you’re not aware (or maybe not using the Substack app), I’ve grown quite fond of the chat function! We will probably skip the weekly New Music Friday chat and instead opt for something Sunday on MUSIC’S BIGGEST NIGHT instead. Hop in around 6:30pm ET and we can gossip about the red carpet looks and have a big Grammys group chat.
Also, icymi, I launched my Pop Artists to Watch list in the last two newsletters! Part I here and Part II here. It was for paid subscribers but I want to ENTICE you more and celebrate my great taste with a playlist of all the artists I included in it1. Check it out below!
Now for some pop news….
The Moment Is Here
Charli XCX’s satirical concert documentary premieres tonight. I haven’t seen the film yet (going Monday!) but have been reading reviews. Sundance left the film with a lot of raves but critics have been more mixed since then, deeming it “muddled.” I trust my music writer friends on this matter though. They’ve been comparing it to Spinal Tap and Spice World, which makes me pretty excited. Have you seen it yet? What’s your take on Charli’s Moment?
My Barb Card Keeps Declining
I don’t want to spend too much of anyone’s time on this but Nicki Minaj has continued her MAGA press tour by making an appearance at the White House with Trump and, randomly, Marty Supreme and Shark Tank’s Kevin O’Leary to announce Trump Accounts. She said she was Trump’s “number one fan.” He presented her with a “gold card” to make her an American citizen. The whole thing feels like a massive joke, but I find the gold card for citizenship to be especially foul as literal children are being arrested by ICE and US citizens are being gunned down in the street for standing up for immigrants.
Kanye Apologizes…Again
Ye, formerly Kanye West, took out a full page ad in The Wall Street Journal that shared a lengthy apology for his antisemitic, pro-Hitler comments in recent years. He explained that the car accident that inspired “Through the Wire” caused brain damage, exacerbating his bipolar disorder and other mental health and cognitive issues over the years2. He said he’s seeking proper treatment after blowing up his life over his public sentiments, caring less about saving his career and more about taking care of himself. It’s not up to me to accept his apology, but I did find the letter to be a more sincere and heartfelt message than his past ones. I’m hoping he actually gets the help he needs.
Blue Note Goes Pop
Lizzo is the latest pop artist to announce a residency at famed jazz club Blue Note. She has dates at both the LA and NYC locations in late February. Charlie Puth did the same last year and Nick Jonas has a show next month, too. I’m fascinated by the move, though smart for the artists booking these shows at the club since they have a lot of technical music talent they may want to show off. Blue Note is the type of space celebrated for hosting performers with exactly that.
Blue Note is the latest unlikely club-like venue for pop artists to do some non-tour performances. Market Hotel in Bushwick, known for its history of DIY shows, became a weirdly popular spot in the last couple years for artists who are frankly too big to play there. FKA Twigs hosted a Eusexua rave before her album dropped while I attended album preview performances from Wet Leg and King Princess there last summer. What’s next? Village Vanguard? Basement? The rubble of 285 Kent?
Jeff Buckley Breaks the Hot 100
I take a lot of pride in being on the pulse of weird resurgences. I’ve been documenting the rise in Jeff Buckley’s popularity for years now, having spoken about it in an episode of the 500 Greatest Songs podcast with my friend/hero Rob Sheffield. Buckley was big for millennial Tumblr girls and seems to have taken Gen Z yearners by storm. They love “Lover, You Should’ve Come Over” and there have been countless Instagram memes and Buckley fan accounts popping up over the last 3 or so years making that pretty clear. Now, he’s debuted on the Hot 100 for the first time, 29 years after his death, due to its popularity on TikTok. A big win for the Tumblr Buckley girls, who have been yearning for decades.
Give Bad Bunny Album of the Year
Did I mention the Grammys are this Sunday? Like I said, we’ll be talking about it in the BRIT POP chat but I’ve been mulling my own predictions ahead of the show. The race is tight with so many Grammy darlings like Kendrick, Billie, Gaga and Bruno in the General Field, but I think Album of the Year will belong to Bad Bunny. How perfect would it be ahead of his huge, historic Super Bowl performance next week?
Otherwise, I’m also predicting Olivia Dean taking Best New Artist home. Leon Thomas seems like the frontrunner due to his Album of the Year nomination but Olivia got a huge streaming and press bump at the end of the year that I’m sure the voters noticed. “Man I Need” is basically inescapable at this point, and that happened just after nominations dropped. She has all the makings of a future Album of the Year winner so why not give her a kickstart now?
Essential Reading
My former RS colleague Tomás Mier recently left the pub to go freelance and focus on content creation. He’s one of my pop writing babies, and I’m so proud of him/excited to see what he does next. If you haven’t yet, read his Vogue Japan cover story on Ariana Grande that dropped earlier this week!
New!! Music!!
Ahead of Friday, I’m streaming Bruce Springsteen’s anti-ICE song “Streets of Minneapolis,” Beck’s Daniel Johnston cover, T.I.’s “Let ‘Em Know” and Christine and the Queens + Thee Diane’s “Ah Ya.”
See you Sunday night!
xo, b
Shout out to my lovely friends Grace and Anna for the playlist suggestion!
Though I don’t know that any of those diagnoses make someone a fan of Hitler…
Hudson Williams from Heated Rivalry described his character’s yearning eyes as “like a Jeff Buckley song come to life” or something which *surely* has added to the Buckley resurgence!!
A Bad Bunny AOTY moment would be even more meaningful because of his history of speaking out against ICE and I'm sure he'll do it again <3