As a woman myself, the idea that we need to constantly support every woman is exhausting and confusing. Not all women are good people, or people I am going to like. That’s ok. That doesn’t make me a bad feminist or woman to not get along and adore every other woman constantly. I’m so tired of the insistence that every pop girl needs to be besties and be a perfect person. Over it! Thanks for discussing it Zach!
so true. i will safe the girls who bullied me in school from a dangerous situation but i‘m not talking to them drunk in the bathroom on saturday night, smiling at them at the grocery store or texting them happy birthday. for me, women supporting women is believing them when they say something happened to them, not being best friends with all of them. some women suck and my life would be better without them.
The same goes for disliking female artists. Just because I don't like someone's music doesn't mean I don't support women or I'm jealous of their success (yes that's actually something people say). My music taste is 95% women but I'm not gonna act like every single female musician out there is good.
For the defense of Chapel, I think she still doesn’t have personal bodyguards unlike Taylor who has gazillion of them and can’t take a step without them. Chapel Roan hasn’t learned how to navigate this lifestyle yet and we can’t blame her for it. She also doesn’t have parents as her managing team with connections from the industry and all sorts of insights. She is truly on her own!
Yes! Sometimes I think we expect too much of overnight successes like this. The growth of her fame and social capital is outpacing the growth of her resources, both immaterial and material, to deal with that fame.
My unpopular opinion about TTPD is that it wouldn't have gotten this much hatred from stan twitter and music critics if Midnights didn't win AOTY. It was the last straw in the Taylor fatigue, or rather, the one excuse they needed to start hating on her again because 2022-2023 Taylor was untouchable. And I hope an pray that she takes some rest after Eras era is over. We don't need Rep TV anytime soon, and we sure as hell don't need TS12 before mid-2026. What we need, is to STARVE a little.
@@Aleee89 what I really want from Taylor is for her to really take her time on her next album. I would love for her to work with brand new people and give us a very short, cohesive album with no skips. I don’t even care what genre it is. I just don’t want another stupid jack antanoff record.
@@carterrochleau8476 Jack Antonoff is not responsible for the sound of Taylor's albums. Taylor is. She decides, he executes. Otherwise yes to everything else.
@@Aleee89 oh yea i know, Jack Antonoff is extremely good at what he does. I'm just tired of Taylor continually choosing to work with him instead of branching out and finding new people.
I love Sabrina Carpenter’s writing. It’s blunt, vulnerable, relatable, unserious at times, and funny! I like her sense of humor and I think she will do well to lean into that more.
I love how she's not afraid to go OUT THERE and be a bit snarky, prickly even, with all those remarks about "you can have him, but you'll be tasting me as well", "you think he's funny? I told him those jokes" etc. Olivia wishes, for me her writing is boring and toothless
they (liv and sab) both did well and are good in their own ways, it’s stupid to put two good female artists against each other for absolutely no reason (for the ones who are)
I agree 100%. I've been going through Beabadoobee's whole discography for a couple days now and it's just so fascinating to me. That soft bedroom pop-esque soundscape she creates with minimal instruments and great lyrics, sung with feeling, really got me. I mean, Apple Cider (Bedroom Session) sounded beautiful! All the love to Gracie Abrams but she just didn't click for me. I know she is super talented and she deserves the world but I wish Sofia Isella and Beabadoobee had gotten that hype as well.
sunday morning 10am i go get coffee and listen to your newest video. you're basically the only commentary i don't have to speed up for my dying attention span.
Your opinion on hit me hard and soft is so funny to me because that’s exactly how I feel about everything Taylor swift has ever released. HMHAS has been the defining album of my year. I genuinely love living in a world where us girlies can have two opposite opinions and still coexist peacefully 💖
I'm a huge fan of Taylor's music and grew up with her being my most listened to artist every year. Hit Me Hard and Soft ended up being my absolute favorite album this year whereas TTPD fell short for me. I love how subjective music is!
Swiftologist is correct. Taylor cultivated a long lasting fan base continously realizing she needs them. Taylor said years ago she knew she wanted fame since she was like 6 years old and dreamed of people wanting her autograph ever where Taylor would be at. So Taylor said now that she is world famous which was her dream, she can't turn away from her fans as this is what she wanted- being famous. Some stars really don't want that kind of fame. They want to walk the streets or in restaurants not being bothered but left alone to eat or walk. It is sad how fans think because Taylor wanted fame like that, all "want" fame.
as someone who has deleted socials like tiktok, instagram, and snap, NO ONE talks about brat outside of social media. no one talks about charli xcx outside of socials- thats all im saying 🤷♀️
in the spaces that you're in. I think your comment reflects more on the people you surround yourself with rather than the success of an album. If you're surrounded by people who don't listen to rap music, no one is going to talk about rap music. If you're surrounded by people who don't listen to Ariana Grande, no one is going to talk about Ariana Grande. If you're surrounded by people who don't listen to Charli XCX, no one is going to talk about Charli XCX.
@@ValentineValmadre im in hogh school and surrounded by 2500 very different people everyday- and rap is a popular genre w my age group + my friends. thats kind of a moot point for me
I think Halsey deserves more grace, given the insane health issues she’s had. According to one post, she‘d been chasing a diagnosis for 8 years and walked away with 4 or 5. Chronic illnesses are very up and down, so being inconsistent is to be expected. In fact, it is pretty impressive she was able to have the career that she had
If I'm not mistaken she's had Lupus and Leukemia. And raising a kid as a single mom. It's crazy that she managed to put anything out at all. I never really enjoyed her style of singing but that is seriously impressive.
She definitely does, battling Lupus and Leukemia, and various other illnesses after having a child is beyond my imagination. She is strong and I am glad she came through the other side.
She also has bipolar disorder that is literally the definition of inconsistent, going from one thing to another. It runs in my family and inconsistently is definitely a trait of someone with bipolar Her songs may seem that way because she herself goes from one mental state to another in a way that is different than most, so her music will reflect that.
so true !! i’ve been a halsey fan for years (since 2016) & imo she is so underrated. one of my favorite artists besides taylor so i’d really love to see her get well deserved flowers. side note: she was absolutely robbed of a grammy for IICHL,IWP.
@@Elway07-o4s Well okay, but Taylor should have the creative ability to select and predict the best songs according to her and her team. I don’t think there’s any sort of vault in that album. Even in red, there was a massive vault. She could easily choose the top 20 and then work through and cut similar songs/concepts that do not introduce a new idea for the album. E.g Better Man for Red and maybe thAnk you aIMee or Cassandra for this one(maybe even both)
@@canbaran1 True. I just edited it myself and made two playlists of 13 songs and I have 5 skips. People get hung up on albums in 2024 when you can really edit music yourself. It is not like the old days when moving needles and fast forwarding tapes was an actual pain in the rear.
I always learn about the new variants from them😂😂. If I don't like an artist, I don't engage at all but the other fandoms are focused on the swifties and Taylor
They will mention taylor under 90% of posts about other people's achievements... even tho it has nothing to do with taylor. They are so obsessed I always look at it and have a really good laugh.
Well she’s also the top dog in pop music right now so what did you expect? It was the same thing with Britney in the 00’s only infinitely worse and undeserved. Madonna set the standard of “when everyone is compared to you, you are the biggest pop star to ever live” and as time goes on there will always be someone who sets that standard, Britney set one that not even she could live up to and like it or not Taylor is apart of Britney’s legacy along with Miley, Selena, Demi, Kesha, and most of the pop girls today (Miss Thee Stallion, Sabrina, Tate McRae) who STILL worship the legacy she has.
33:35 YES! A BILLION PERCENT Whitney Houston!? Not a songwritter. Still a legend. Britney didn't need to write songs for Blackout to make it a personal album AND a bountiful amount of fun WHILE pushing the mainstream in different directions. Kylie Minogue, one of the biggest aussie entertainers ever. Didn't need to write songs (but she could and she did, very well I might say) to make incredible albums, full of energy and personality and FUN, especially in the 2000's. I could go on and on...
Please Kylie is THE QUEEN of my childhood, her songs (Can't get you out of my head, In your eyes) STILL slap me like it's my first listen. They make me wanna go absolutely wild and dance my heart out, which normally doesn't happen because I'm very reserved. She deserves all her laurels and then some! 💙
as someone who adores Billie's music and had loved everything she put out, I'm so glad to hear someone else who doesn't like her new album. I keep thinking it's me, I've tried to listen to it multiple times, I've watched other people listen to it, I've taken breaks and come back to it, but I just absolutely hate it. I'm so sad because there's some parts where I'll like about 40 seconds of the song and then well it's different now GREAT 😭
15:22 TTPD/The Anthology is frighteningly sincere. It's a record so emotional and candid, I had to give it a break and take it into portions. Imo, this album is not digestible in one listen. Not even several.
the opinion about emails i can’t send being perfect was mine 💀 it definitely has changed. emails i can’t send is mediocre at best, where as short n sweet is legit SABRINA
Yes!! I never got the hype over e-mails i can't send. I mean, i love some songs there but the ones i don't love i just find it incredibly BORING, and i'm a Sabrina fan since girl meets world. Now short n' sweet is a MUCH better album and has no skip for me, so proud of her!
@@thankunext3378 i understand that it’s a good album, but it’s VERY 50/50 the pop songs are the only good songs that i would listen to. the rest are skips. however i do think she needed this album to help her launch far
This may not be unpopular, but I haven’t seen anyone talk about Dua Lipa recently. Respectfully, I don’t think that she’ll ever get back the influence that she had during Covid. Recently, so many new pop stars have risen, and the pop sound has already changed since 2019-2021.
I saw someone ask that if COVID hadn't happened would future nostalgia have been a hit album or would it have a taste makers album? Therefore she wouldn't have been A-list but she would have been niche
imo her most recent album isn't as good as her first and I feel that's part of why no one's really talking about her anymore. I had high expectations for it and I don't listen to any of the song's which is a bummer tbh
I don't give one crap about anyone's opinion BUT yours is so fun to watch and is almost always so thoughtful and has solid evidence to support it (even if i don't agree). Also after Sort n Sweet and the whole Blake drama and people involving Tay into it saying mean girls stick together, You might need to do another one of these.
i agree with everything you said other than your last point about conan gray, he is probably one of my favorite artists and i personally think that he is a really good lyricist. i’m going to his tour next month and i’m super excited to see how good his stage presence is
Bummer because as a production nerd, I LOVE hmhas. The detailing, balance, textures? Chefs kiss for me. and I don’t mind the creative sprawl of musical ideas and the irregular song structures. I can respect other people not clicking with it though, it’s def one of the quirkier major albums to come out this year
@@the_piano_nerd4960 To me Finneas’s production sounds like AI to me. Like almost too clean and perfect and thought out to have any real emotion or soul to it
the percussion on that album is CRISPY! I do agree that certain songs should've been cut into two though. the latter half of the album just has all these transitions and sometimes I just wanna listen to this part or that part only. otherwise, it's extremely masterful
The ones offended by what chappell said are actually people from other fandoms and taking the first opportunity to shit on her cause they're afraid for their faves success and chappell coming from them. It's very telling that it's always pepple from other fandom coming for her, when they don't even listen to her music in the first place.
Stan culture really needs to change. Like just bc someone is famous/doing well, doesn’t mean your fave is less so. And this isn’t any fandom in particular, but at ALL of them! At least a portion of every fan base is like this. Let’s stop pls!!
Really? I’ve seen this a lot within her own fandom as well. I mean there’s the same people that are currently bullying and ripping apart a poor girl for making a dance straight because dances have a sexuality apparently.
No fr I saw a tweet of someone sharing a video of Sabrina taking a selfie w someone and the stan said “see chappel it’s not that hard” like girl shes not even your GALLL!!!
01:49 brat vs ttpd 02:37 charli xcx 04:52 lack of pop girlie scandals 08:07 katy perry 09:39 sabrina carpenter 12:05 billie eillish 14:47 hit me hard and soft vs ttpd 16:31 ariana grande 19:07 renee rapp 20:31 other fanbases’ obsession with taylor 22:47 eternal sunshine vs hmhas 24:06 chappell roan 30:35 doja cat 32:02 sabrina carpenter vs olivia rodrigo 33:57 emails i can’t send vs short n sweet 34:08 tate mcrae 35:25 declaring albums flops before release 37:25 physical sales vs streaming 39:05 jade 39:45 halsey 41:25 lana del rey 42:16 conan gray vs feminism
I think Taylor will probably return to Max Martin collab for TS 12, especially if Eternal Sunshine wins AOTY. I would suggest her returning to Joseph Kahn for shooting music videos/ visual artistry for it as well. We need 1989 part 2 ( modern Version), not Lover 2.0
Yeah. I also think she might get a new underrated producer. Someone who no one cares about right now but is really good. At least I hope that's what she does
Fully agree with Renee Rapp when it comes to stage presence, unfortunately. I saw a good amount of her set when I was at Bonnaroo, and her stage presence is very underwhelming. It’s too bad because she has a great voice, but she barely used it? She had the crowd sing huge chunks of the song without and backing vocals. She was a bit messy on stage overall. I think she needs to cook a bit more, practice in small venues maybe. I saw Chappell on the same stage the next day (and last year at a smaller venue) and well… night and day.
what you said + i don't think renees music is unique enough to make her stand out either. she's a great vocalist but it takes a lot more than that to be a pop star.
Totally agree with what you said about Chappell, I 100% agree with what she was saying about boundaries, and how we are so para social with artists nowadays and that’s why her message is getting the clap back that it is. I also agree that she is not fully equipped to handle fame, not that she couldn’t, but because she blew up so fast that it put her in a position that she wasn’t ready for.
I kinda want to elaborate on Chappell Roan more not really cause I am delusionally defending but because the idealism in me hopes that this is a start of artists drawing boundaries and a reflection of fan culture. I feel like for the most part the way she addressed it, was hard for outsiders to understand the situation she is in. From what I am understanding compared to other celebrities she never really upped her team. While other people have an assistant or security at least on stand-by going somewhere she literally does go alone to a yoga class, in the park, gets on a plane..being then constantly followed, stalked and touched by a certain group of people being alone must be hella scary to anyone. So rather than a break I hope she adjusts her team to protect herself even if it then feels not like a normal life anymore unfortunately. Why I think it's so sad is because we are having this discussion of 'it comes with the job' when the job is just being an artist and we as fans literally liking someone should go that far to understand they are a human and we shouldn't be creeps to them like we hopefully aren't to anyone irl
I feel like the new generation are much better at setting boundaries and calling out bad behaviour and I am HERE FOR IT! Chappell makes great music, that doesn’t mean she has to give her entire self over to the fans at every moment. That’s how you burn an artist out and give them a mental breakdown!! If I saw one of my faves out in public I’d probably try to make eye contact and give them a smile or a wave, if they didn’t engage I’d leave them the fuck alone
@nickybull2361 I would love to think so that newer artist don't normalize what's not normal in the first place. A few days ago I saw another post of Madison Beer explaining why she says no to pictures in her hotel and I love that artists feel now they can say and explain that.
Something you mentioned that i disagree with is that the people defending chappell online have a parasocial relationship. I think any empathetic person, even if they are not a chappell fan, would respect her setting boundaries with her fan base. Just because a behavior has been normalized does not mean it is ok.
i absolutely think that with great stardom comes a completely obsessive and parasocial fanbase and has been since the dawn of time, but MY unpopular opinion is that it shouldn't be that way. why can't people behave? (this is rhethoric i know teenagers don't know how to behave). but, yeah.. a blessing and a curse, as you said.
There was a brilliant video a couple of years ago, I believe it was from a gay creator, and he absolutely NAILED this take that today's insane devotion of stan culture is very akin to that of... religious worship. While being religious is on a steady decline for years now, it appears that "God's" seat can't be empty for very long in the hearts of many... Honestly I tend to agree with this take, very much recommend seeing this essay if you can find it!
zachhh i would be so interested to hear more about how you think the death of twitter has affected pop/fan culture!! if you ever do a video about misc. topics i'd love if you could bring that up
I'm a Conan stan and i love his music and his songwriting speaks to me but i can see your point and i can see why his music hasn't clicked to the mainstream. I do appreciate your comment about his visuals, even though the 80s album was kinda generic he leaned into it with all the visuals his tour outfits and the album cover truly ate.
You make discussions around Pop Culture so much fun! We thank the POP girlies for serving so much music and lore, this summer has been so iconic and messy, but in a fun way
Out of all the pop girl albums out there I just do not understand why HMHAS is so popular with people and the critics. Art is subjective and my opinion is nothing personal against Billie or her fans but I do not like the album. I had to block also because they will not stop pushing Birds of a Feather on me.
Exactly I never understood why billie is so loved by the music industry.... it's all so boring to me and the lyrics aren't even that good to recompensate the slow beat. I just don't get it.
I think with Chappelle and Taylor, Taylor has mastered the art of "you should listen to what Im saying and especially what Im NOT saying". Taylor gives her all at public events, she will sit with fans and watch her documentry! But. She will barely acknowlege you, unless she has to scold you about having your small children out at night if she is living in her private life ;-) I do agree that Chappelle might get back lash for speaking out, but I think the time is right for the conversation, and she could gain fans too. Chappelle wants a safe space, for everyone, including her.
yes. Taylor is like a tuff mom(with love) to her fans, while Chappell started by treating her fans as a big sister(which they are now attached to) and now she is switching to tuff mom mode which is hard for some of the fans to grasp
I haven’t checked in for a few months as I’ve been extremely busy but I must say that the hair is absolutely HAIRING. Okay now lemme grab a snack and watch this hehe 😁
I’m scandalized by your HMHAS take. The album has a strong sonic palette but it’s not uniform imo and I think once you listen to it several times the samey-sameyness fades. And it rewards repeat listening imo - the production is so beautiful and lush (I often find TTPD flat sounding by comparison when I switch back to it tho I love that album too!) and it’s cool how song titles and themes/phrases reappear throughout the album in a way that makes it feel cohesive and more like a whole story.
Your analysis about the internet is spot-on. And it’s not just pop either. I‘m a huge gymnastics fan and the vitriol hurled by sanctimonious team USA fans at several targets almost made me fall out of love with the entire sport. It was crazy to witness athletes who‘d been championing „mental health“ whipping up the nastiness, too. The public outrage - usually on behalf of someone else - is so disproportionate, it’s reached levels of mindblowing insanity, not to mention hypocrisy.
i loooove sabrina’s fashion style, voice, and live performances so much! became a fan when she opened for the eras tour and sang covers of classic songs, but couldnt really get into emails i cant send. i was so sad because the music was just not hitting ;___; loveddd the holiday ep though AND was so relieved when espresso dropped. in love with all the SNS stuff!
I don’t know if it’s an unpopular opinion: After being absolutely overwhelmed by the number os songs on first TTPD listen, the entire album has grown on me, and many of the songs keep moving around in the ranking, suddenly reasserting themselves. Also, the rehashes went from “you’ve covered this before” to “ you’ve covered this before but you brought something new to it.”
Totally! I don’t think there’s any skips in the album, but there are songs I might not be in the mood for every day. And that’s OK!! It doesn’t make any of them “bad” songs
actually, Conan doesnt identify as gay; he said MANY times he was unlabeled. Also, maybe if you had background informations on what found heaven is about you could apreciate it more? (Conan has no songs abt gay s3x or just s3x) I personally dont think it was bad, its just very diffrent to his usual style and not whats trending rn but its still my fav album of his. Also, i personally think his music is really good lyricaly (not in his new album tho bc its noy what that style of music is focused on) and im always shocked how relatable his songs are! Also i love how hes able to make diffrent styles of music (for exemple jigsaw i loveddd that song sm) IDK, maybe you dont relate but its wrong to call his music "not good" (not so sure if u were talking abt Troy or Conan in some parts)
@@summerchild_ didn't mean numbers, im genuinely asking you where is the hype then? where are the people talking about how good the sound is? where is the critical acclaim? where? if the poor charts its making doesnt represent the music, what does then? where are the results of it being so good like you say?? nowhereee
Even if sometimes I don’t necessarily agree 100% with some takes I can see where your coming from and you back it up with why or why not you feel that way and you genuinely have a good ear and innate appreciation for pop music. I often feel like RUclips music reviewers (fantano) don’t genuinely care for pop music or understand it and just agree with the subset of music snobs on the internet. But it’s clear you have such intellectual and smart takes about pop music and I’m always seated to hear what you say. Love you Zach! ❤
I am so glad you talked about Troue Sivan and would honestly love to hear more thoughts! It was on repeat when it first came out for me and I hate that it hasn’t gotten more radio play/popular attention.
honestly i think the music market is so oversaturated now because people are OBSESSED with the idea of knowing artists that they take palatable but boring music (like alessi rose, masie peters, holly humberstone) and listen to it because they’re all small enough to allow for artist interaction. this means that they’ve cultivated a group of parasocial ‘fangirls’ who are token stanning them, obsessed with the aesthetic and personality not the art itself. but in a few years people will get bored because the music is boring and all those artists will fade into obscurity. the only one who i can see *maybe* sticking around is gracie abrams but that’s honestly only because taylor is reallyyy backing her
I feel like u hit the nail on the head w this, I think people wanting to go to a bunch of concerts also has to do with this. All my friends who like those artists are people who love to brag about going to 10+ concerts a year
@@CCC-ps1kt exactly. they have no connection to the art but instead to the artist. i could not distinguish a masie peters song from an alessi rose song because there’s no artistry, they’re writing subpar poetry and putting it to an unoriginal melody. but what they do a great job at is marketing their aesthetic as ‘fangirl core’ and making their concert seem cool and indie
So interesting. I said exactly the same about Chappell to a friend. We were talking about the EU tour shitshow that is happening right now. She is canceling shows left and right, sometimes just to do something else that might seem like a better opportunity, postponing and rescheduling everything multiple times. Taylor always understood that the fans are the most important power force she has, especially in the first few years in the big spotlight. So she would never cancel a show if it wasn’t for a good reason (health or endangerment). Chappell leaves a lot of her fans annoyed. Not a good move. To the privacy thing though. Honestly, good for her that she is bold enough to be so direct about people being maniacs. Because they just are and it makes me so sad, that they don’t seem to understand that celebs are humans too.
Even when I don't always agree with your opinions (and I surely don't agree with everything you say) but you say that in such a confident way, but in a way that is not bitchy or self-serious. That is why I love watching your videos. Keep going diva ❤️
Fun video as always! Love the combo of nuance and messiness 😁 I'm not the biggest Conan fan myself but I still hear his last album played in coffeeshops *all the time*, I feel like (whether a copycat or not) it very much leaned away from strumming-a-guitar-in-my-bedroom vibes that his first albums gave. I suspect a lot of people would actually recognise his hits from his last project, which isn't something I would say for someone like Gracie Abrams. So yeah, not A tier by any stretch but I do think he's had more commercially-minded music than some of the other people you've listed in the same category and is generally moving in that direction.
I think a lot of people just learned about Chappell out of no where and didn’t really understand who she was/how she navigated before she blew up, I was a fan before and I am not surprised that she’s spoke out the way she did, I just think the public is so shocked because they didn’t understand how real & raw she is to herself
the commentary on male gay pop stars was super interesting. i always wondered why gay men were (and are) struggling to hit big when a huge part of pop consumers are gay men themselves.
Reneé is super talented and has a lot of potential. She needs to find her voice in the music scene. "Snow Angel," the song, is incredible. Dan Nigro might be the one who will help her find that voice.
i came back just to watch the specific part on conan. as a huge conan stan, i honestly have to agree with you. i wouldn't necessarily say that the music or lyricism or music is uninteresting or 'not good', but it also isn't necessarily special, which is what i think you meant to say (though i could be wrong). conan, before being a musician, was an artist. he scored a 5 on an AP art portfolio as a senior in high school in texas, won first place in a state competition, went to UCLA for art, which checks out for why visuals, fashion, album artwork, photography, aesthetics are all lined up beautifully for his albums. found heaven is my favorite album from him, but more over the fact that i just love synthpop music. what i want conan to do is to collaborate with joel little, or even jack antonoff. sonically, conan's music has been compared to taylor swift and lorde, whose best works (in my opinion) are produced by both of them. i think if conan has more of a mix of styles like he did with kid krow & superache (a bit of pop, rock, & acoustic) with either of them, and took some songwriting 'master classes', i think he could really score big. but that's just my opinion lol
OMG your thoughts on Hit Me Hard and Soft are EXACTLY my thoughts. I love Billie and Finneas, but man this record just doesn't hit and I don't get the hype... you always have the best nuanced takes!
it's refreshing for chappell to voice the topic all artists are afraid to say bc it may hurt their fandom. but seriously...i don't get why people HAVE to scream, cry, touch, stalk, take sneaky photos of celebs. it reminds me of that video of justin bieber asking his fans politely not to stand outside his home and they responded can i get a hug? and i get it when im depressed and i listen to certain artists that have helped me get through difficult places in my life but to act radical to a person you don't personally know and treating them like a god is actually insanity. i hope chappell keeps her boundaries up. if you don't, you'll end up like britney spears and every pop star being abused by the public
this channel is my literal comfort channel at this rate i also agree with so many opinions said! especially the hmhas & billie ones. i think it’s not a horrendous album, but billie needs to try something new imo. yes hmhas was more different than albums released this year, but i just think it’s a bit of a drag.. saying this as an avid billie listener
When you mentioned P!nk flying around the stadium it made me think that for who’s afraid of little old me live Taylor should’ve flown around the stadium like p!ink especially because on every other tour (except the fearless tour I’m mostly sure) she’s flown around the stadium and I think she should do that on the eras tour it would’ve been a nice call back and celebration of her past eras
I think every job in the media gets this treatment. My grandfather was a morning show host and couldn’t get out of the house without having someone tell him they loved his show or asking for an autograph / photo. Of course sometimes it was inconvenient because he didn’t feel like talking or people would say weird things but ultimately he knew that the only way he could keep his job was having an audience that likes and trusts him. His job did not stop when the camera stopped rolling. He understood that being in public would come with some attention but at the end of the day if you like the job you deal with it the best you can and remind yourself at some point in your life you were dreaming of this. I’m rooting for Chappell. I want to see her win but I fear she’s making her life harder by saying these things. She won’t be able to enjoy it if she keeps seeing a simple interaction such as “hey i love your music can we take a picture?” as creepy. She wants a job where she can clock out and be a nobody as soon as she’s off the stage and that just ain’t possible no matter how many tiktok and instagram posts she makes about it. Obviously i’m not talking about literal stalkers and deranged people, but it seems like even normal fans that she encounters in public are too much for her. Anyway, I hope she’s able to adjust and enjoy her success. The future will tell us I guess, but if having interactions with people pisses her off she won’t be here for a long time because she will be perceived as very unlikeable. She already lost a few fans for cancelling shows last minute without any good reason. She’ll have to find the work ethic that allows her to feel respected but also allows her fans to feel like they are too.
Saying hmhas is repetitive and the same is crazy! Lol. It has Alternate, Indie, Pop, Acoustic, Electronic, Ambient Pop.. And saying she hasn’t grown or changed is also crazy. Billie hardly ever writes love songs- but Lunch, Birds of a Feather, The Diner, and Bittersuite all in one album was unexpected, for long time Billie fans this sound was very new to us when it comes to Billie. Her tone of voice changes- Listen to SKINNY and then L’amore de ma vie and tell my there’s no difference. Also quick note- Billie is also a producer- not everything is FINNEAS
The reporting gravitas you bring even to garbage tiktok hot takes is why I keep coming back. It's well put together, it's funny, and it's just so fun. Thank you for another great video!
opinion. gracie abrams makes boring music and her songwriting is mediocre. she’s only popular because of her connections and because she has that confessional sad girl pop sound.
@@ididitoutofspite986fully agree! The only song of hers that stuck with me is Close To You & that’s because it’s the only song of hers that is upbeat & sounds more like Lorde
Your point about having to cater to the lowest common denominator on the internet is SO TRUE. I mostly stay away from social media because of this. People can't just exist, they have to constantly have to explain themselves to the braindead virtue-signalling idiots and that takes the fun out of everything. Also dying at you hating Billie's latest album, because ME TOO GIRL.
so funny you should mention "colors" as an example for halsey being a bit all over the place. i recently got into halsey and LOVE colors, but this interlude is something you do for a class project when you're 12... i hate it. the color metaphor overall is not the best thing in the world either but it does work for the rest of the song. the rest of the song is just so great. my brain doesn't know what to do with a song like that 🫨😖
you should rank the best selling pop albums of the 2020s so far like you did with the 2010s. The albums this decade are so many and i think the unpopular opinions would eat
I disagree with the "women have it easier" stance. The music industry, like any other space, is shaped by patriarchal structures in which men get to stand in the first row while women have to work three times as hard to achieve that. There is a rise of femininity in pop music, but this also comes from the ever present history of having the male gaze showed into our faces and a resulting urge to hear female perspectives and be relieved of the idea that we need men. Pop music is culturally coded feminine while rock music is coded masculine, but the difference is: a woman cannot just enter a male space by working hard. Any man who is vulnerable, empathetic, one of the girls, is welcome into a feminine space. In a masculine world, only men are allowed in. In a feminine one, boys and girls can all be queens.
@@theswiftologistThis person thought you were making a reference to the animated show Young Justice. The character Robin kept trying to make “whelmed” happen. But I think you were using whelmed due to 10 Things I Hate About You. Am I right?
I learn so much about pop culture, the music industry, and the journalistic approach to so much of what entertains us as a culture from every one of your videos. And always in the most fun way because you in your own right are an entertainer. You’re fulfilling such a fascinating niche. Thank you for the work you do, even the parts that try your patience.😂 You make this subject so much more interesting for me than it ever was before with your thoughtfulness. You’re slaying!
it's interesting when you group artists like maisie and conan together when you look at the way that they've entered the pop sphere coming from youtube roots and using that as a platform to garner support for eps and early releases - and now that they're "in" its harder for them to gain further interest since the diaristic angle is already done by artists with a much clearer vision (see: taylor). being relatable is defintely not as much as a draw to pop stars as some of them seem to think... i'm interested in your thoughts on superache (you've probably talked about her earlier on channel though)
I agree with your comments about Eternal Sunshine…Ariana’s growth with that album is insane. I’ve never enjoyed an Ariana album or even felt particularly moved by her music until ES. The cinematic production, the clear enunciated vocals and raw vulnerable lyrics…just yes. Aoty.
interesting. hmhas was actually the only album i’ve ever liked by billie. it’s euphoric and haunting and actually displays vocals. blue gives me goosebumps every time. i’m fully expecting it to get aoty even tho i love so many other albums this year and wouldn’t necessarily pick it myself. maybe the difference is that i’m really into indie and alt music as well as pop, and not everyone is into that vibe.
The Conan/male pop star thing was interesting cause to me I think it seems like it’s hard for MEN in general to serve as pop stars. We haven’t had an MJ, Justin Timberlake, etc. in a long time. There’s Ed Sheeran and The Weeknd… but I don’t think they’re really giving like POP star. And yeah, just none of the gay men have had good enough music to really hit.
Normally agree wall to wall, but the Chappell thing is just wrong. She deserves the right to say no and that's the end of it. The feelings attached by everyone else are delusional and literally DO NOT MATTER, LMAO
Did you listen to what he said? He did not say she didn't have a right, he said all that stuff come with being famous and you have to deal with it while making your own boundaries, plz listen with comprehension in tge future
@@Katyloveheart yeah, i listened. And no, she doesn't "have" to deal with that. If you wouldn't say it to one human woman, why is this one any different?? Being a human being with rights absolves you of having to deal with any of that. It's parasocial fans that are and perpetuate the problem, thanks for playing!
I agree with all your takes except the Conan gray one, he has GREAT music. All of his albums are AMAZING. But i think he is Just doing his own thing, so its not for everyone. Also i think he needs a hit like sabrina and maybe he could be more recognize
I will never understand your HMHAS take 😭 I can't make comparisons to TTPD because I refuse to force myself to listen to 31 songs of an artist I don't care for, but to say that billie's voice sounded samey throughout the album (lunch, chihiro, boaf, la'mour all have varied vocal styles and technique to eachother) is nonsensical. Her vocal growth (going from UNABLE TO BELT 2 years ago to whipping out an Eb5 mix in boaf is crazy), the storytelling in songs like wildflower are really good. I will say the last couple songs (diner and blue) are not standouts, but the first 7 songs (70% of the album) are amazing.
As a woman myself, the idea that we need to constantly support every woman is exhausting and confusing. Not all women are good people, or people I am going to like. That’s ok. That doesn’t make me a bad feminist or woman to not get along and adore every other woman constantly. I’m so tired of the insistence that every pop girl needs to be besties and be a perfect person. Over it! Thanks for discussing it Zach!
This video was posted 34 minutes ago and your comment is 32 mins ago. How did you even watch it all to comment that?😂
@@tayluvofficialswiftievoodoo magic of course😂
so true. i will safe the girls who bullied me in school from a dangerous situation but i‘m not talking to them drunk in the bathroom on saturday night, smiling at them at the grocery store or texting them happy birthday. for me, women supporting women is believing them when they say something happened to them, not being best friends with all of them. some women suck and my life would be better without them.
The same goes for disliking female artists. Just because I don't like someone's music doesn't mean I don't support women or I'm jealous of their success (yes that's actually something people say). My music taste is 95% women but I'm not gonna act like every single female musician out there is good.
You reacting to unpopular opinions is one of my favourite things ever. You always hit the mark 🫶👏
glad you think so!!
@@theswiftologistwe don’t think zach, we know!
And it was so demure sometimes we just need this straight to the business.
For the defense of Chapel, I think she still doesn’t have personal bodyguards unlike Taylor who has gazillion of them and can’t take a step without them. Chapel Roan hasn’t learned how to navigate this lifestyle yet and we can’t blame her for it. She also doesn’t have parents as her managing team with connections from the industry and all sorts of insights. She is truly on her own!
Yes! Sometimes I think we expect too much of overnight successes like this. The growth of her fame and social capital is outpacing the growth of her resources, both immaterial and material, to deal with that fame.
She does need to work on that very fast.
Yeah, some people just think that a team pops out of nowhere when you get famous lol
Yes. It’s not good enough. She’s getting stalked. Action might need to be taken soon
I remember Taylor saying she was so against getting bodyguards (as a new artist) too and refused for quite a while.
My unpopular opinion about TTPD is that it wouldn't have gotten this much hatred from stan twitter and music critics if Midnights didn't win AOTY. It was the last straw in the Taylor fatigue, or rather, the one excuse they needed to start hating on her again because 2022-2023 Taylor was untouchable.
And I hope an pray that she takes some rest after Eras era is over. We don't need Rep TV anytime soon, and we sure as hell don't need TS12 before mid-2026. What we need, is to STARVE a little.
I hate that I agree with you on this, cause I really don't wanna starve.
@@Aleee89 what I really want from Taylor is for her to really take her time on her next album. I would love for her to work with brand new people and give us a very short, cohesive album with no skips. I don’t even care what genre it is. I just don’t want another stupid jack antanoff record.
Yes! these baby swifties doesn't know what it was like to sit and wait for approximately 700+ days until we get another album.
@@carterrochleau8476 Jack Antonoff is not responsible for the sound of Taylor's albums. Taylor is. She decides, he executes.
Otherwise yes to everything else.
@@Aleee89 oh yea i know, Jack Antonoff is extremely good at what he does. I'm just tired of Taylor continually choosing to work with him instead of branching out and finding new people.
I love Sabrina Carpenter’s writing. It’s blunt, vulnerable, relatable, unserious at times, and funny! I like her sense of humor and I think she will do well to lean into that more.
I love how she's not afraid to go OUT THERE and be a bit snarky, prickly even, with all those remarks about "you can have him, but you'll be tasting me as well", "you think he's funny? I told him those jokes" etc. Olivia wishes, for me her writing is boring and toothless
I mean…… Olivia did that exact thing with deja vu three and a half years ago so using taste as evidence isn’t really the best argument
@@Li_Tobler Everything she did in "taste" at 25 Olivia did a million times better in "deja vu" at 17
@@stayrigo no but go off I guess 😁
they (liv and sab) both did well and are good in their own ways, it’s stupid to put two good female artists against each other for absolutely no reason (for the ones who are)
The Swiftologist also known as the bravest man who ever lived and we gotta cheer
my hot take is that i think beabadoobee should’ve gotten the hype gracie abram’s got after their time opening for the eras tour…..
YES
Agree
THIS. her new album is SO GOOD
I agree 100%. I've been going through Beabadoobee's whole discography for a couple days now and it's just so fascinating to me. That soft bedroom pop-esque soundscape she creates with minimal instruments and great lyrics, sung with feeling, really got me. I mean, Apple Cider (Bedroom Session) sounded beautiful!
All the love to Gracie Abrams but she just didn't click for me. I know she is super talented and she deserves the world but I wish Sofia Isella and Beabadoobee had gotten that hype as well.
OH CLOCK THAT NEPO BABY FOR ME IKTR
Cannot get over how well considered and articulate your videos are. Every time. Thank you, Zach!
thanks for watching!!
im slowly becoming a swiftologistologist
My favorite -ologist's favorite -ologist
periodt
sunday morning 10am i go get coffee and listen to your newest video. you're basically the only commentary i don't have to speed up for my dying attention span.
honored!!!
@theswiftologist please do a commentary on Blake Lively and her off script sabotage of her latest film
My personal thing is "normalizing it doesn't make it normal" so I find it interesting of Chappell to say no to the brain rot. I cheer for that.
Your opinion on hit me hard and soft is so funny to me because that’s exactly how I feel about everything Taylor swift has ever released. HMHAS has been the defining album of my year. I genuinely love living in a world where us girlies can have two opposite opinions and still coexist peacefully 💖
periodt!
I'm a huge fan of Taylor's music and grew up with her being my most listened to artist every year. Hit Me Hard and Soft ended up being my absolute favorite album this year whereas TTPD fell short for me. I love how subjective music is!
Swiftologist is correct. Taylor cultivated a long lasting fan base continously realizing she needs them. Taylor said years ago she knew she wanted fame since she was like 6 years old and dreamed of people wanting her autograph ever where Taylor would be at. So Taylor said now that she is world famous which was her dream, she can't turn away from her fans as this is what she wanted- being famous. Some stars really don't want that kind of fame. They want to walk the streets or in restaurants not being bothered but left alone to eat or walk. It is sad how fans think because Taylor wanted fame like that, all "want" fame.
as someone who has deleted socials like tiktok, instagram, and snap, NO ONE talks about brat outside of social media. no one talks about charli xcx outside of socials- thats all im saying 🤷♀️
EXACTLY
OOP
in the spaces that you're in. I think your comment reflects more on the people you surround yourself with rather than the success of an album. If you're surrounded by people who don't listen to rap music, no one is going to talk about rap music. If you're surrounded by people who don't listen to Ariana Grande, no one is going to talk about Ariana Grande. If you're surrounded by people who don't listen to Charli XCX, no one is going to talk about Charli XCX.
@@ValentineValmadre im in hogh school and surrounded by 2500 very different people everyday- and rap is a popular genre w my age group + my friends. thats kind of a moot point for me
I mean..that probably reflects more your environment than the records popularity.
I think Halsey deserves more grace, given the insane health issues she’s had. According to one post, she‘d been chasing a diagnosis for 8 years and walked away with 4 or 5. Chronic illnesses are very up and down, so being inconsistent is to be expected. In fact, it is pretty impressive she was able to have the career that she had
If I'm not mistaken she's had Lupus and Leukemia. And raising a kid as a single mom. It's crazy that she managed to put anything out at all. I never really enjoyed her style of singing but that is seriously impressive.
She definitely does, battling Lupus and Leukemia, and various other illnesses after having a child is beyond my imagination. She is strong and I am glad she came through the other side.
She also has bipolar disorder that is literally the definition of inconsistent, going from one thing to another.
It runs in my family and inconsistently is definitely a trait of someone with bipolar
Her songs may seem that way because she herself goes from one mental state to another in a way that is different than most, so her music will reflect that.
so true !! i’ve been a halsey fan for years (since 2016) & imo she is so underrated. one of my favorite artists besides taylor so i’d really love to see her get well deserved flowers. side note: she was absolutely robbed of a grammy for IICHL,IWP.
It isn't her performances that have been inconsistent - it's her writing. And that has very little to do with _physical_ illness, at least.
I think even though TTPD has many good songs if she did 13 songs + 3 bonus everyone would cheer and clap
Nobody seems to like the same songs.
@@Elway07-o4swhat are the same songs can u specify?
@@Elway07-o4s Well okay, but Taylor should have the creative ability to select and predict the best songs according to her and her team. I don’t think there’s any sort of vault in that album. Even in red, there was a massive vault. She could easily choose the top 20 and then work through and cut similar songs/concepts that do not introduce a new idea for the album. E.g Better Man for Red and maybe thAnk you aIMee or Cassandra for this one(maybe even both)
@@canbaran1 True. I just edited it myself and made two playlists of 13 songs and I have 5 skips. People get hung up on albums in 2024 when you can really edit music yourself. It is not like the old days when moving needles and fast forwarding tapes was an actual pain in the rear.
@@Elway07-o4s same actually
Other fandoms and people in general bringing up Taylor in every convo is so funny to me. I swear they're more obsessed with her than the swifties 💀
I always learn about the new variants from them😂😂. If I don't like an artist, I don't engage at all but the other fandoms are focused on the swifties and Taylor
So true. On a post about other artists you can bet there's going to be a comment about Taylor 😂
They will mention taylor under 90% of posts about other people's achievements... even tho it has nothing to do with taylor. They are so obsessed I always look at it and have a really good laugh.
Well she’s also the top dog in pop music right now so what did you expect? It was the same thing with Britney in the 00’s only infinitely worse and undeserved. Madonna set the standard of “when everyone is compared to you, you are the biggest pop star to ever live” and as time goes on there will always be someone who sets that standard, Britney set one that not even she could live up to and like it or not Taylor is apart of Britney’s legacy along with Miley, Selena, Demi, Kesha, and most of the pop girls today (Miss Thee Stallion, Sabrina, Tate McRae) who STILL worship the legacy she has.
conan is a very talented artist, he used to do art content on youtube before he signed a record deal so it made sense he’s work is really beautiful
33:35 YES! A BILLION PERCENT
Whitney Houston!? Not a songwritter. Still a legend.
Britney didn't need to write songs for Blackout to make it a personal album AND a bountiful amount of fun WHILE pushing the mainstream in different directions.
Kylie Minogue, one of the biggest aussie entertainers ever. Didn't need to write songs (but she could and she did, very well I might say) to make incredible albums, full of energy and personality and FUN, especially in the 2000's.
I could go on and on...
FR though
@@Bewitchedgirl30 we see each other
Please Kylie is THE QUEEN of my childhood, her songs (Can't get you out of my head, In your eyes) STILL slap me like it's my first listen. They make me wanna go absolutely wild and dance my heart out, which normally doesn't happen because I'm very reserved. She deserves all her laurels and then some! 💙
as someone who adores Billie's music and had loved everything she put out, I'm so glad to hear someone else who doesn't like her new album. I keep thinking it's me, I've tried to listen to it multiple times, I've watched other people listen to it, I've taken breaks and come back to it, but I just absolutely hate it. I'm so sad because there's some parts where I'll like about 40 seconds of the song and then well it's different now GREAT 😭
we're out here...
happier than ever is my most streamed album ever on spotify so i was super excited but hmhas disappointed me🙃
Actually kina funny cause its almost opposite for me, I never really liked her music much but I adore the new album
Billie fucking sucks!!
I liked this album more than her second but I understand why you don't like it
15:22 TTPD/The Anthology is frighteningly sincere. It's a record so emotional and candid, I had to give it a break and take it into portions. Imo, this album is not digestible in one listen. Not even several.
it's insane and the plebians just dont get itttttt
the opinion about emails i can’t send being perfect was mine 💀 it definitely has changed. emails i can’t send is mediocre at best, where as short n sweet is legit SABRINA
YES I couldn’t even get through eics (although I did like a few songs) I LOVED Short N Sweet. It is so her and has very few skips.
@@Bewitchedgirl30 eics was very half and half for me, short n sweet tho, no skips
Yes!! I never got the hype over e-mails i can't send. I mean, i love some songs there but the ones i don't love i just find it incredibly BORING, and i'm a Sabrina fan since girl meets world. Now short n' sweet is a MUCH better album and has no skip for me, so proud of her!
@@thankunext3378 i understand that it’s a good album, but it’s VERY 50/50 the pop songs are the only good songs that i would listen to. the rest are skips. however i do think she needed this album to help her launch far
hmm i think eics is much better
I am a HUGE feminist and the whole "girl's girl" thing is SO infantalizing for women. We are adult women, not children.
This may not be unpopular, but I haven’t seen anyone talk about Dua Lipa recently. Respectfully, I don’t think that she’ll ever get back the influence that she had during Covid. Recently, so many new pop stars have risen, and the pop sound has already changed since 2019-2021.
I saw someone ask that if COVID hadn't happened would future nostalgia have been a hit album or would it have a taste makers album? Therefore she wouldn't have been A-list but she would have been niche
@@rays_choice I get that.
imo her most recent album isn't as good as her first and I feel that's part of why no one's really talking about her anymore. I had high expectations for it and I don't listen to any of the song's which is a bummer tbh
I don't give one crap about anyone's opinion BUT yours is so fun to watch and is almost always so thoughtful and has solid evidence to support it (even if i don't agree). Also after Sort n Sweet and the whole Blake drama and people involving Tay into it saying mean girls stick together, You might need to do another one of these.
i agree with everything you said other than your last point about conan gray, he is probably one of my favorite artists and i personally think that he is a really good lyricist. i’m going to his tour next month and i’m super excited to see how good his stage presence is
also can we talk abt how almost the whole section abt him was abt him being gay? hes clearly said MULTIPLE times his sexuality is unlabeled!
@@13dozenro5e5 YES THANK YOU
@@13dozenro5e5 THANK YOU THAT WAS SO UPSETTING
I dont know if i need to get my ears checked, but i genuinely cannot understand why people hated his new album. all of the songs WERE BANGERS
@@artemisthecatfish5142 EXACTLYYYY IS A NO SKIP ALBUM FS!
Bummer because as a production nerd, I LOVE hmhas. The detailing, balance, textures? Chefs kiss for me. and I don’t mind the creative sprawl of musical ideas and the irregular song structures. I can respect other people not clicking with it though, it’s def one of the quirkier major albums to come out this year
I agree!! I love the album so much and I didn’t know there were so many people who think it’s bad???? Idk.
@@the_piano_nerd4960 To me Finneas’s production sounds like AI to me. Like almost too clean and perfect and thought out to have any real emotion or soul to it
@@VEGAS-NERVEthat’s fair. What producers and albums do you like? I love Dan Nigro, Tony Berg, and Jack Stratton’s work
the percussion on that album is CRISPY! I do agree that certain songs should've been cut into two though. the latter half of the album just has all these transitions and sometimes I just wanna listen to this part or that part only. otherwise, it's extremely masterful
it was boring to say the least 😭😭
The ones offended by what chappell said are actually people from other fandoms and taking the first opportunity to shit on her cause they're afraid for their faves success and chappell coming from them. It's very telling that it's always pepple from other fandom coming for her, when they don't even listen to her music in the first place.
Stan culture really needs to change. Like just bc someone is famous/doing well, doesn’t mean your fave is less so. And this isn’t any fandom in particular, but at ALL of them! At least a portion of every fan base is like this. Let’s stop pls!!
Really? I’ve seen this a lot within her own fandom as well. I mean there’s the same people that are currently bullying and ripping apart a poor girl for making a dance straight because dances have a sexuality apparently.
No fr I saw a tweet of someone sharing a video of Sabrina taking a selfie w someone and the stan said “see chappel it’s not that hard” like girl shes not even your GALLL!!!
01:49 brat vs ttpd
02:37 charli xcx
04:52 lack of pop girlie scandals
08:07 katy perry
09:39 sabrina carpenter
12:05 billie eillish
14:47 hit me hard and soft vs ttpd
16:31 ariana grande
19:07 renee rapp
20:31 other fanbases’ obsession with taylor
22:47 eternal sunshine vs hmhas
24:06 chappell roan
30:35 doja cat
32:02 sabrina carpenter vs olivia rodrigo
33:57 emails i can’t send vs short n sweet
34:08 tate mcrae
35:25 declaring albums flops before release
37:25 physical sales vs streaming
39:05 jade
39:45 halsey
41:25 lana del rey
42:16 conan gray vs feminism
thank youuu!!
“conan gray vs feminism” is sending me 😂
thank youuuuu
The scandal and Conan gray takes ate bad
I think Taylor will probably return to Max Martin collab for TS 12, especially if Eternal Sunshine wins AOTY. I would suggest her returning to Joseph Kahn for shooting music videos/ visual artistry for it as well. We need 1989 part 2 ( modern Version), not Lover 2.0
Yeah. I also think she might get a new underrated producer. Someone who no one cares about right now but is really good. At least I hope that's what she does
My guess is that I think she might get a new producer for her next album and brung back max martin for ts13, that is gonna be the real 1989 2.0
Fully agree with Renee Rapp when it comes to stage presence, unfortunately.
I saw a good amount of her set when I was at Bonnaroo, and her stage presence is very underwhelming. It’s too bad because she has a great voice, but she barely used it? She had the crowd sing huge chunks of the song without and backing vocals. She was a bit messy on stage overall. I think she needs to cook a bit more, practice in small venues maybe.
I saw Chappell on the same stage the next day (and last year at a smaller venue) and well… night and day.
what you said + i don't think renees music is unique enough to make her stand out either. she's a great vocalist but it takes a lot more than that to be a pop star.
I saw her in Manchester and she was amazing... so maybe she was having an off day
Totally agree with what you said about Chappell, I 100% agree with what she was saying about boundaries, and how we are so para social with artists nowadays and that’s why her message is getting the clap back that it is. I also agree that she is not fully equipped to handle fame, not that she couldn’t, but because she blew up so fast that it put her in a position that she wasn’t ready for.
If she can’t be bothered with saying hello I can’t be bothered with listening to her music.
@@stardustmelody2709 she’s not bothered with people saying hello to her, she’s bothered by stalking. Get your facts straight
@@stardustmelody2709she’s not bothered with people saying hello to her, she’s bothered by stalking and abuse. Get your facts straight
I kinda want to elaborate on Chappell Roan more not really cause I am delusionally defending but because the idealism in me hopes that this is a start of artists drawing boundaries and a reflection of fan culture. I feel like for the most part the way she addressed it, was hard for outsiders to understand the situation she is in. From what I am understanding compared to other celebrities she never really upped her team. While other people have an assistant or security at least on stand-by going somewhere she literally does go alone to a yoga class, in the park, gets on a plane..being then constantly followed, stalked and touched by a certain group of people being alone must be hella scary to anyone. So rather than a break I hope she adjusts her team to protect herself even if it then feels not like a normal life anymore unfortunately. Why I think it's so sad is because we are having this discussion of 'it comes with the job' when the job is just being an artist and we as fans literally liking someone should go that far to understand they are a human and we shouldn't be creeps to them like we hopefully aren't to anyone irl
I feel like the new generation are much better at setting boundaries and calling out bad behaviour and I am HERE FOR IT! Chappell makes great music, that doesn’t mean she has to give her entire self over to the fans at every moment. That’s how you burn an artist out and give them a mental breakdown!! If I saw one of my faves out in public I’d probably try to make eye contact and give them a smile or a wave, if they didn’t engage I’d leave them the fuck alone
@nickybull2361 I would love to think so that newer artist don't normalize what's not normal in the first place. A few days ago I saw another post of Madison Beer explaining why she says no to pictures in her hotel and I love that artists feel now they can say and explain that.
it's so interesting to see your view on HMHAS because ever since my first listen I think it's one of Billie's best work yet
Something you mentioned that i disagree with is that the people defending chappell online have a parasocial relationship. I think any empathetic person, even if they are not a chappell fan, would respect her setting boundaries with her fan base. Just because a behavior has been normalized does not mean it is ok.
Oh please anyone with a rational mind could see she sounds ungrateful
@rydbthatsme being famous doesn't mean you're supposed to be stalked and harassed
@@rydbthatsmefor telling fans not to stalk her and get mad at her when she refuses photos/autographs?
@@rydbthatsme ungrateful…because she doesn’t wanna be stalked?
i absolutely think that with great stardom comes a completely obsessive and parasocial fanbase and has been since the dawn of time, but MY unpopular opinion is that it shouldn't be that way. why can't people behave? (this is rhethoric i know teenagers don't know how to behave). but, yeah.. a blessing and a curse, as you said.
There was a brilliant video a couple of years ago, I believe it was from a gay creator, and he absolutely NAILED this take that today's insane devotion of stan culture is very akin to that of... religious worship. While being religious is on a steady decline for years now, it appears that "God's" seat can't be empty for very long in the hearts of many... Honestly I tend to agree with this take, very much recommend seeing this essay if you can find it!
zachhh i would be so interested to hear more about how you think the death of twitter has affected pop/fan culture!! if you ever do a video about misc. topics i'd love if you could bring that up
notedddd
I adore how articulate and transparent you are with your opinions. Truly just speaking your mind 🎀
Thank you so much!!
I'm a Conan stan and i love his music and his songwriting speaks to me but i can see your point and i can see why his music hasn't clicked to the mainstream. I do appreciate your comment about his visuals, even though the 80s album was kinda generic he leaned into it with all the visuals his tour outfits and the album cover truly ate.
You make discussions around Pop Culture so much fun! We thank the POP girlies for serving so much music and lore, this summer has been so iconic and messy, but in a fun way
Out of all the pop girl albums out there I just do not understand why HMHAS is so popular with people and the critics. Art is subjective and my opinion is nothing personal against Billie or her fans but I do not like the album. I had to block also because they will not stop pushing Birds of a Feather on me.
period....the payola!
Exactly I never understood why billie is so loved by the music industry.... it's all so boring to me and the lyrics aren't even that good to recompensate the slow beat. I just don't get it.
@@juliamironska6285 That is just our opinion but I am glad I am not the only one who thinks this.
I think with Chappelle and Taylor, Taylor has mastered the art of "you should listen to what Im saying and especially what Im NOT saying". Taylor gives her all at public events, she will sit with fans and watch her documentry! But. She will barely acknowlege you, unless she has to scold you about having your small children out at night if she is living in her private life ;-)
I do agree that Chappelle might get back lash for speaking out, but I think the time is right for the conversation, and she could gain fans too. Chappelle wants a safe space, for everyone, including her.
yes. Taylor is like a tuff mom(with love) to her fans, while Chappell started by treating her fans as a big sister(which they are now attached to) and now she is switching to tuff mom mode which is hard for some of the fans to grasp
I haven’t checked in for a few months as I’ve been extremely busy but I must say that the hair is absolutely HAIRING. Okay now lemme grab a snack and watch this hehe 😁
Welcome back!
I’m scandalized by your HMHAS take. The album has a strong sonic palette but it’s not uniform imo and I think once you listen to it several times the samey-sameyness fades. And it rewards repeat listening imo - the production is so beautiful and lush (I often find TTPD flat sounding by comparison when I switch back to it tho I love that album too!) and it’s cool how song titles and themes/phrases reappear throughout the album in a way that makes it feel cohesive and more like a whole story.
i will never be listening again lol but enjoy!
I agree! I really liked the album. Billie sounds beautiful on every track
Your analysis about the internet is spot-on. And it’s not just pop either. I‘m a huge gymnastics fan and the vitriol hurled by sanctimonious team USA fans at several targets almost made me fall out of love with the entire sport. It was crazy to witness athletes who‘d been championing „mental health“ whipping up the nastiness, too. The public outrage - usually on behalf of someone else - is so disproportionate, it’s reached levels of mindblowing insanity, not to mention hypocrisy.
it's insane!!!
i loooove sabrina’s fashion style, voice, and live performances so much! became a fan when she opened for the eras tour and sang covers of classic songs, but couldnt really get into emails i cant send. i was so sad because the music was just not hitting ;___; loveddd the holiday ep though AND was so relieved when espresso dropped. in love with all the SNS stuff!
I don’t know if it’s an unpopular opinion: After being absolutely overwhelmed by the number os songs on first TTPD listen, the entire album has grown on me, and many of the songs keep moving around in the ranking, suddenly reasserting themselves. Also, the rehashes went from “you’ve covered this before” to “ you’ve covered this before but you brought something new to it.”
Totally! I don’t think there’s any skips in the album, but there are songs I might not be in the mood for every day. And that’s OK!! It doesn’t make any of them “bad” songs
@@nickybull2361robin? Literally listened to it twice since the album came out and have no desire to ever play it again lol
@@anasn8718 it’s not one of my favourites but I do think it’s a really
Pretty song and do
Enjoy it sometimes
@@anasn8718 that's your taste, Robin is a beautiful song
actually, Conan doesnt identify as gay; he said MANY times he was unlabeled. Also, maybe if you had background informations on what found heaven is about you could apreciate it more? (Conan has no songs abt gay s3x or just s3x) I personally dont think it was bad, its just very diffrent to his usual style and not whats trending rn but its still my fav album of his. Also, i personally think his music is really good lyricaly (not in his new album tho bc its noy what that style of music is focused on) and im always shocked how relatable his songs are! Also i love how hes able to make diffrent styles of music (for exemple jigsaw i loveddd that song sm) IDK, maybe you dont relate but its wrong to call his music "not good" (not so sure if u were talking abt Troy or Conan in some parts)
Love u for this I was just abt to say this 🤍🤍
Conan is not part of the fact got community?? First I heard of this and I keep up heavily with the girlypop icons
@@eleventyseven3742 wha
@@eleventyseven3742what a weird thing to say and no he stated that he is unlabeled
2:36 - charli xcx
4:51 - pop girl scandals
8:06 - katy perry
9:39 - sabrina carpenter
12:05 - billie eilish
16:30 - ariana grande
19:06 - renee rapp
20:30 - taylor swift
22:46 - more ariana grande
24:05 - chappell roan
30:34 - doja cat
32:01 - sabrina carpenter
34:07 - tate mcrae
35:24 - predicting failure
37:24 - physical sales
39:05 - jade
39:44 - halsey
41:24 - lana del rey
42:16 - conan gray
Thank yooooou
🤡
Conan's last album had such a unique and original sound. I cant believe you think he sounds just like any other C list pop girli
Real
Yess its one of my fav albums of 2024 so far
where is the buzz
@@antonbenjamin7267 omgggg pop Stan that equate charts with good music are so annoying I was talking about his sound not his numberssss
@@summerchild_ didn't mean numbers, im genuinely asking you where is the hype then? where are the people talking about how good the sound is? where is the critical acclaim? where? if the poor charts its making doesnt represent the music, what does then? where are the results of it being so good like you say?? nowhereee
Even if sometimes I don’t necessarily agree 100% with some takes I can see where your coming from and you back it up with why or why not you feel that way and you genuinely have a good ear and innate appreciation for pop music. I often feel like RUclips music reviewers (fantano) don’t genuinely care for pop music or understand it and just agree with the subset of music snobs on the internet. But it’s clear you have such intellectual and smart takes about pop music and I’m always seated to hear what you say. Love you Zach! ❤
I am so glad you talked about Troue Sivan and would honestly love to hear more thoughts! It was on repeat when it first came out for me and I hate that it hasn’t gotten more radio play/popular attention.
honestly i think the music market is so oversaturated now because people are OBSESSED with the idea of knowing artists that they take palatable but boring music (like alessi rose, masie peters, holly humberstone) and listen to it because they’re all small enough to allow for artist interaction. this means that they’ve cultivated a group of parasocial ‘fangirls’ who are token stanning them, obsessed with the aesthetic and personality not the art itself. but in a few years people will get bored because the music is boring and all those artists will fade into obscurity. the only one who i can see *maybe* sticking around is gracie abrams but that’s honestly only because taylor is reallyyy backing her
I feel like u hit the nail on the head w this, I think people wanting to go to a bunch of concerts also has to do with this. All my friends who like those artists are people who love to brag about going to 10+ concerts a year
@@CCC-ps1kt exactly. they have no connection to the art but instead to the artist. i could not distinguish a masie peters song from an alessi rose song because there’s no artistry, they’re writing subpar poetry and putting it to an unoriginal melody. but what they do a great job at is marketing their aesthetic as ‘fangirl core’ and making their concert seem cool and indie
first here whoop! love your videos they’re always soooo interesting and these pop girl opinions ones make me giggle 😂🫶
enjoyyyyy
So interesting. I said exactly the same about Chappell to a friend. We were talking about the EU tour shitshow that is happening right now. She is canceling shows left and right, sometimes just to do something else that might seem like a better opportunity, postponing and rescheduling everything multiple times. Taylor always understood that the fans are the most important power force she has, especially in the first few years in the big spotlight. So she would never cancel a show if it wasn’t for a good reason (health or endangerment). Chappell leaves a lot of her fans annoyed. Not a good move.
To the privacy thing though. Honestly, good for her that she is bold enough to be so direct about people being maniacs. Because they just are and it makes me so sad, that they don’t seem to understand that celebs are humans too.
tik tok opinions scare me and bewilder me at the same time
its settled, Swiftologist is the best thing to ever happen to RUclips
SAY THAT!
Even when I don't always agree with your opinions (and I surely don't agree with everything you say) but you say that in such a confident way, but in a way that is not bitchy or self-serious. That is why I love watching your videos. Keep going diva ❤️
My sundays aren't complete without your videos
Fun video as always! Love the combo of nuance and messiness 😁 I'm not the biggest Conan fan myself but I still hear his last album played in coffeeshops *all the time*, I feel like (whether a copycat or not) it very much leaned away from strumming-a-guitar-in-my-bedroom vibes that his first albums gave. I suspect a lot of people would actually recognise his hits from his last project, which isn't something I would say for someone like Gracie Abrams. So yeah, not A tier by any stretch but I do think he's had more commercially-minded music than some of the other people you've listed in the same category and is generally moving in that direction.
I think a lot of people just learned about Chappell out of no where and didn’t really understand who she was/how she navigated before she blew up, I was a fan before and I am not surprised that she’s spoke out the way she did, I just think the public is so shocked because they didn’t understand how real & raw she is to herself
the commentary on male gay pop stars was super interesting. i always wondered why gay men were (and are) struggling to hit big when a huge part of pop consumers are gay men themselves.
Not quite pop, but Calico by Ryan Beatty is my favorite album of last year. Absolutely impeccable. Highly recommend
gay men hating other gay men are we surprised
also i just wanted to clarify that Conan never came out as gay. Hes clearly said MULTIPLE times his sexuality is unlabeled.
Unpopular opinion: diet Pepsi is a huge improvement for AR, and shows the potential artistry that Chari was talking about.
Reneé is super talented and has a lot of potential. She needs to find her voice in the music scene. "Snow Angel," the song, is incredible. Dan Nigro might be the one who will help her find that voice.
I also think she would shine in RnB. Her vocals are so big and RnB or EDM would accommodate them easily. Ariana route
Please don't stop making this series. Watching you get worked up and then calmly explaining why you disagree is so fun 😂
your unpopular opinion videos are the best their always chaotic
Zach, thank you for the messy boots reporting 😌
alwayssss
i came back just to watch the specific part on conan. as a huge conan stan, i honestly have to agree with you. i wouldn't necessarily say that the music or lyricism or music is uninteresting or 'not good', but it also isn't necessarily special, which is what i think you meant to say (though i could be wrong). conan, before being a musician, was an artist. he scored a 5 on an AP art portfolio as a senior in high school in texas, won first place in a state competition, went to UCLA for art, which checks out for why visuals, fashion, album artwork, photography, aesthetics are all lined up beautifully for his albums. found heaven is my favorite album from him, but more over the fact that i just love synthpop music. what i want conan to do is to collaborate with joel little, or even jack antonoff. sonically, conan's music has been compared to taylor swift and lorde, whose best works (in my opinion) are produced by both of them. i think if conan has more of a mix of styles like he did with kid krow & superache (a bit of pop, rock, & acoustic) with either of them, and took some songwriting 'master classes', i think he could really score big. but that's just my opinion lol
Everybody say thank you zach
Thank you zaaaaaaaach
Conan has never come out as gay or bi or part of thr lgbt community in any way. We all assume that he is but he has actively refuse to come out.
While that is true the reality is that most people do perceive him as such. That is unfortunate for him I’m sure but that is the truth
@@enchantedgoldrush or he is gay or bi. My point is that we don't know cause he actively avoids the question
@@okmyg6213 he profusely obscure it, so I don't call him a gay artist. Even if he activates my gaydar
He chooses not to label his sexuality
The boy acts gay af lezbehonest
OMG your thoughts on Hit Me Hard and Soft are EXACTLY my thoughts. I love Billie and Finneas, but man this record just doesn't hit and I don't get the hype... you always have the best nuanced takes!
Nothing makes my day quite like seeing you have to suffer to react to these opinions for us! Thank youuuuu! 🤣
any time diva
Your hair looks gorgeous Zach
it's refreshing for chappell to voice the topic all artists are afraid to say bc it may hurt their fandom. but seriously...i don't get why people HAVE to scream, cry, touch, stalk, take sneaky photos of celebs. it reminds me of that video of justin bieber asking his fans politely not to stand outside his home and they responded can i get a hug? and i get it when im depressed and i listen to certain artists that have helped me get through difficult places in my life but to act radical to a person you don't personally know and treating them like a god is actually insanity. i hope chappell keeps her boundaries up. if you don't, you'll end up like britney spears and every pop star being abused by the public
this channel is my literal comfort channel at this rate
i also agree with so many opinions said! especially the hmhas & billie ones. i think it’s not a horrendous album, but billie needs to try something new imo. yes hmhas was more different than albums released this year, but i just think it’s a bit of a drag.. saying this as an avid billie listener
honored to be a comfort channel!
When you mentioned P!nk flying around the stadium it made me think that for who’s afraid of little old me live Taylor should’ve flown around the stadium like p!ink especially because on every other tour (except the fearless tour I’m mostly sure) she’s flown around the stadium and I think she should do that on the eras tour it would’ve been a nice call back and celebration of her past eras
I think every job in the media gets this treatment. My grandfather was a morning show host and couldn’t get out of the house without having someone tell him they loved his show or asking for an autograph / photo. Of course sometimes it was inconvenient because he didn’t feel like talking or people would say weird things but ultimately he knew that the only way he could keep his job was having an audience that likes and trusts him. His job did not stop when the camera stopped rolling. He understood that being in public would come with some attention but at the end of the day if you like the job you deal with it the best you can and remind yourself at some point in your life you were dreaming of this. I’m rooting for Chappell. I want to see her win but I fear she’s making her life harder by saying these things. She won’t be able to enjoy it if she keeps seeing a simple interaction such as “hey i love your music can we take a picture?” as creepy. She wants a job where she can clock out and be a nobody as soon as she’s off the stage and that just ain’t possible no matter how many tiktok and instagram posts she makes about it. Obviously i’m not talking about literal stalkers and deranged people, but it seems like even normal fans that she encounters in public are too much for her. Anyway, I hope she’s able to adjust and enjoy her success. The future will tell us I guess, but if having interactions with people pisses her off she won’t be here for a long time because she will be perceived as very unlikeable. She already lost a few fans for cancelling shows last minute without any good reason. She’ll have to find the work ethic that allows her to feel respected but also allows her fans to feel like they are too.
Saying hmhas is repetitive and the same is crazy! Lol. It has Alternate, Indie, Pop, Acoustic, Electronic, Ambient Pop.. And saying she hasn’t grown or changed is also crazy. Billie hardly ever writes love songs- but Lunch, Birds of a Feather, The Diner, and Bittersuite all in one album was unexpected, for long time Billie fans this sound was very new to us when it comes to Billie. Her tone of voice changes- Listen to SKINNY and then L’amore de ma vie and tell my there’s no difference. Also quick note- Billie is also a producer- not everything is FINNEAS
i'm telling you there's no difference to my ear. it's an opinion. get over it
@@theswiftologist hey, I’m not discrediting your opinion. I’m just pointing out the facts from a production standpoint, as a small producer myself.
The Diner is not a love song are you okay
@@Winedrunk2lulah Eh?! Billie is stalking this woman cuz she loves her a lot, and wants to be her wife?!
The reporting gravitas you bring even to garbage tiktok hot takes is why I keep coming back. It's well put together, it's funny, and it's just so fun. Thank you for another great video!
opinion. gracie abrams makes boring music and her songwriting is mediocre. she’s only popular because of her connections and because she has that confessional sad girl pop sound.
Yes a thousand times over!!!
Everything she puts out sounds the same to me
I can't remember a single song of hers I genuinely liked
@@ididitoutofspite986fully agree! The only song of hers that stuck with me is Close To You & that’s because it’s the only song of hers that is upbeat & sounds more like Lorde
First of all I love your commentary & thoughts, second of all you look soooo gorgina in this video ❤
Your point about having to cater to the lowest common denominator on the internet is SO TRUE. I mostly stay away from social media because of this. People can't just exist, they have to constantly have to explain themselves to the braindead virtue-signalling idiots and that takes the fun out of everything. Also dying at you hating Billie's latest album, because ME TOO GIRL.
My unpopular opinion is that I love Billie's new album. It really works for me
so funny you should mention "colors" as an example for halsey being a bit all over the place. i recently got into halsey and LOVE colors, but this interlude is something you do for a class project when you're 12... i hate it. the color metaphor overall is not the best thing in the world either but it does work for the rest of the song. the rest of the song is just so great. my brain doesn't know what to do with a song like that 🫨😖
Colors changed 14 years ago old me’s brain chemistry. Hard agree here.
you should rank the best selling pop albums of the 2020s so far like you did with the 2010s. The albums this decade are so many and i think the unpopular opinions would eat
I disagree with the "women have it easier" stance. The music industry, like any other space, is shaped by patriarchal structures in which men get to stand in the first row while women have to work three times as hard to achieve that. There is a rise of femininity in pop music, but this also comes from the ever present history of having the male gaze showed into our faces and a resulting urge to hear female perspectives and be relieved of the idea that we need men. Pop music is culturally coded feminine while rock music is coded masculine, but the difference is: a woman cannot just enter a male space by working hard. Any man who is vulnerable, empathetic, one of the girls, is welcome into a feminine space. In a masculine world, only men are allowed in. In a feminine one, boys and girls can all be queens.
Okay but your hair and your skin… you are literally glowing 🙌🏼
Omg not Swiftologist using “whelmed”, I see you Robin😂
who is robin
@@theswiftologist sidekick to Batman, known for having the best ass in the Justice League🤌🏻☺️
@@theswiftologistThis person thought you were making a reference to the animated show Young Justice. The character Robin kept trying to make “whelmed” happen.
But I think you were using whelmed due to 10 Things I Hate About You. Am I right?
I learn so much about pop culture, the music industry, and the journalistic approach to so much of what entertains us as a culture from every one of your videos. And always in the most fun way because you in your own right are an entertainer. You’re fulfilling such a fascinating niche. Thank you for the work you do, even the parts that try your patience.😂 You make this subject so much more interesting for me than it ever was before with your thoughtfulness. You’re slaying!
it's interesting when you group artists like maisie and conan together when you look at the way that they've entered the pop sphere coming from youtube roots and using that as a platform to garner support for eps and early releases - and now that they're "in" its harder for them to gain further interest since the diaristic angle is already done by artists with a much clearer vision (see: taylor). being relatable is defintely not as much as a draw to pop stars as some of them seem to think... i'm interested in your thoughts on superache (you've probably talked about her earlier on channel though)
gotta agree, but I have such a soft spot for history of man- by maisie, I really think that song is excellent.
Your videoS are like dessert. I always have room for it even though im full
Love that!
@@theswiftologist omg ahshjdkdkdbdbdk
I agree with your comments about Eternal Sunshine…Ariana’s growth with that album is insane. I’ve never enjoyed an Ariana album or even felt particularly moved by her music until ES. The cinematic production, the clear enunciated vocals and raw vulnerable lyrics…just yes. Aoty.
interesting. hmhas was actually the only album i’ve ever liked by billie. it’s euphoric and haunting and actually displays vocals. blue gives me goosebumps every time. i’m fully expecting it to get aoty even tho i love so many other albums this year and wouldn’t necessarily pick it myself. maybe the difference is that i’m really into indie and alt music as well as pop, and not everyone is into that vibe.
Could not disagree with you more about HMHAS but respect your opinion.
real
The Conan/male pop star thing was interesting cause to me I think it seems like it’s hard for MEN in general to serve as pop stars. We haven’t had an MJ, Justin Timberlake, etc. in a long time. There’s Ed Sheeran and The Weeknd… but I don’t think they’re really giving like POP star.
And yeah, just none of the gay men have had good enough music to really hit.
I'd say Harry Styles could be considered a successful male pop star, even if he is a bit more experimental than some of the bubble-gum pop girlies.
you should make a video tier ranking pop stars, like when you say x is a b-tier pop star, etc. that would be fun!
Seated, ready, and terrified to hear these opinions. But excited to hear your takes, because they always crack me up while being so well spoken!
Normally agree wall to wall, but the Chappell thing is just wrong. She deserves the right to say no and that's the end of it. The feelings attached by everyone else are delusional and literally DO NOT MATTER, LMAO
Did you listen to what he said? He did not say she didn't have a right, he said all that stuff come with being famous and you have to deal with it while making your own boundaries, plz listen with comprehension in tge future
@@Katyloveheart yeah, i listened. And no, she doesn't "have" to deal with that. If you wouldn't say it to one human woman, why is this one any different?? Being a human being with rights absolves you of having to deal with any of that. It's parasocial fans that are and perpetuate the problem, thanks for playing!
“emails i can’t send” has actually some insane lyrics and metaphors, but y’all aren’t ready for that conversation
i think the 14 year olds have had that conversaiton already!
The GAGGERY I'm deceased 😭🤚🏻
@@theswiftologistGOODBYE
I agree with all your takes except the Conan gray one, he has GREAT music. All of his albums are AMAZING. But i think he is Just doing his own thing, so its not for everyone. Also i think he needs a hit like sabrina and maybe he could be more recognize
I will never understand your HMHAS take 😭
I can't make comparisons to TTPD because I refuse to force myself to listen to 31 songs of an artist I don't care for, but to say that billie's voice sounded samey throughout the album (lunch, chihiro, boaf, la'mour all have varied vocal styles and technique to eachother) is nonsensical. Her vocal growth (going from UNABLE TO BELT 2 years ago to whipping out an Eb5 mix in boaf is crazy), the storytelling in songs like wildflower are really good. I will say the last couple songs (diner and blue) are not standouts, but the first 7 songs (70% of the album) are amazing.