This week, we have four songs that lean pop, but have different interpretations of the genre. There’s Julia Michaels’ heartbreak anthem, which she wrote following her split with JP Saxe, Stevie Bill’s rock-pop number that denounces a boy’s poisonous tendencies, Channel Tres’ buoyant and funk-inspired “6am,” and Sophie Cates’ misty, melancholic “Basement Party.” Read on for more.

“Sorry To Me Too” by Julia Michaels

Candace Patrick, Staff Writer

Julia Michaels’ recent release, “Sorry To Me Too,” contains the lyrics of a vulnerable ballad with the production of an energetic dance track that will leave you crying on the dance floor. The songwriter turned artist shows off her powerful vocals over a rapid, shuffling percussive beat interspersed with synthetic sounding vocal chops. Michaels reflects on a failed relationship, but instead of feeling sorry about its end, she apologizes to herself for getting so wrapped up in a toxic situation. Michaels expresses this regret in the chorus when she sings “(I’m sorry to me too) / For ever believin’ you and putting my trust in you / Well, now I got no reason to / For givin’ you everything and lettin’ you take it from me / For all the love I wasted on you.” As a catchy heartbreak anthem, “Sorry To Me Too” gives a new meaning to EDM — emotional dance music, instead of electronic dance music.

“Poison” by Stevie Bill

Yas Akdag, Music Editor

Clive Davis Institute senior Stevie Bill caps off her new EP, “Messy,” with her latest single “Poison.” The song combines scorching rock sounds with hyperpop inflections, as Bill’s Auto-Tuned vocals counter heavy, overdriven guitars. “He wanna talk about cars / But I wanna dance in the dark,” she sings in the first verse before the scathing chorus, “You’re poison / Poison, poison, poison / Boy, you’re so annoying, you’re so.” The chorus is almost frustratingly catchy, like a sinister nursery rhyme. “Poison” features lilting drums — à la Billie Eilish’s “bury a friend” — but also possesses an undeniable drive and forward motion. In this single, Bill demonstrates her clear aesthetic vision, successfully combining two popular genres to craft an undeniably mosh-able pop song.

“6am” by Channel Tres

Sandy Battulga, Staff Writer

In anticipation of his debut album “Real Cultural Shit,” Channel Tres has dropped “6am” — and it is the ultimate party anthem. In a baritone voice that pulses through your head, Channel Tres asserts that the party doesn’t end until the sun rises: “We ain’t leavin’ / We ain’t leavin’ / Hell naw, we ain’t leavin’ / No, we ain’t leavin’ / ‘Til six in the morning / Six in the morning.” In his signature sound that blends house beats with soul and rap, or what Channel calls “Compton house,” this single celebrates playing hard after working hard. Channel has said he sought to “create a song for people to come together and dance. Some people get off work at 6 a.m., some people leave the club at 6 a.m. and this can be the soundtrack to it all.” He specifically calls out to the ordinary people, those who “Grew up on EBT, VHS” and whose parties aren’t “private afterparties” or “red carpets.” Channel reminds them that hard times are only temporary and that they will pass: “We gon’ take what we want ’cause this shit never last.” “6am” signals the arrival of a new era filled with well-deserved fun. 

“Basement Party” by Sophie Cates

Yas Akdag, Music Editor

Formerly known as Silver Sphere, Sophie Cates’ new single and EP “Basement Party” marks her first body of work under her given name. The song firmly plants itself in the hyperpop genre, featuring skittish trap hi-hats, crunchy bass synths and auto-tuned, stuttered or pitch-shifted vocals. “Basement Party” captures the vibe of its title with its drowsy pace and Cates’ fluttery, melancholic vocals — it feels like that party scene in movies where everything is moving in hazy slow motion. “I watched a stranger kiss a girl on a train / And I don’t wanna be alone no more / I take a pill that makes me feel like I’m saved / And I don’t feel like I’m a kid no more,” Cates sings in the first verse, establishing her heartbreak and loneliness, which is echoed through the sparse electronic production and lack of traditional song structure — “Basement Party” is just two verses followed by two choruses. At just under two minutes in length, Cates’ new single is designed to be played on loop.

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