rising pop girls

this article is written for and by my ego

I love talking about who is becoming a bigger name in the industry; seeing an artist rise is one of my favorite things. I will never shut up about how I used to yell from the top of my lungs that Sabrina Carpenter was destined to be one of the biggest pop stars in the world—you just had to give her a few years to get there. I’m going to be honest, this article is written for and by my ego more than anything else. I want to talk about these rising stars so that I can come back a few years from now and see where these artists are.

When I say 'rising pop girls,' I mean artists that are making some noise, on the path to greater success. It doesn’t guarantee they’ll become the biggest pop icons, but I see potential in many of them (Disclaimer: They have to be actively rising to be on this list). Their journey to becoming established stars relies on their talent and the support of their label and management. I believe talent wins, and each artist on my list is either starting to shine or is on the verge of doing so. These artists can solidify their place in the pop landscape

Before I get to my list, there are a few stars already that have gotten their moment and, with a few tweaks could become even bigger than they are.

Tate Mcrae- It’s obvious this girl is a star with the stage presence she possesses, and as a fellow Canadian; I have to support her, but the music needs to improve. Songs such as “Exes” and “Greedy” are on the right track, and her latest buzz single “It’s Ok I’m Ok” seems like we’re getting closer to who Tate Mcrae can be as a pop artist. I just have one question: Why are we asking Ryan Tedder to make dance-pop music in 2024 when his strength has always been ballads? I would love it if she could call up Ian Kirkpatrick and see what they can cook up together, hell Ryan Tedder can also be in the studio. But since she is young, I think that she’ll get there eventually.

Renee Rapp - Renee Rapp is a vocalist; we need a voice like her in pop music. She’s way too goddamn talented for the music she makes, a little light rnb, light pop rock, and songs in general that showcase her talent would be delightful to hear her sing. For example, songs from her album Snow Angel include “Tummy Hurts”, “What Now,” “Snow Angel”, and “Poison Poison”. I heard she’s been working with Dan Nigro, so something good might be on the way. Plus, since all her deranged fans ran over to Chappell Roan (poor girl), she has been quietly developing her artistry without having such a big spotlight on her, which is a very good thing for her (Chappell Roan on the other hand, I hope she gets some new fans that respect her and her boundaries).

Tyla -She is just getting started with “Water”. The self-titled debut album she released earlier this year is one of my favorite albums of the year. Tyla has the whole package, she has the voice, the stage presence, the charisma, and the songs. All she needs is time to come into herself as an artist, I think there’s so much potential there. The only note I have is I wish her team didn’t give up on her songs so quickly. “ART” could have been one of the songs of the summer, as it started gaining more traction closer to summer but that was ditched to promote “Jump”, and that was ditched now to promote “Breathe Me”, plus I heard a new song is on the way. However; this is exciting, its obvious hits are not the main goal with her team, and it’s more to have bodies of work that can stand the test of time. It’s weird how Tyla is never in these rising pop girls’ conversations when she should be in (I wonder why), Tyla is known, and whenever I see a girl get hated on for no reason, she’s on the way to the top.

Okay, let’s go ahead with the list.

Griff: Griff gets pop music—she knows how to make an anthemic pop song that you want to sing at the top of your lungs; she’s a true artist. From building her own sets to sewing her outfits, her passion overflows into her music. It’s incredible to see how one has so much drive for their work. I saw a Pitchfork article about Griff’s album Vertigo that pissed me the fuck off, going on a whole tangent about an Olivia vs Taylor beef; then later stating that Griff’s music is a rip-off of Taylor Swift’s 1989. I disagree with that review that was barely about the music, Griff to me has more of a similarity to Lorde than Taylor, I do think the essence of Taylor is in Griff’s music but I don’t see the 1989 rip-off allegation. Vertigo’s sound is more influenced by the sound of Melodrama, and the same with Griff’s image and the type of artist Griff is, from her looks to the stage performances. But in reality, Jack Antonoff could never make his production sound as good as Vertigo. As I said, Griff is another star that’s the complete package, and now that she’s going to open up for the hottest tour of the year, Sabrina Carpenter’s Short n’ Sweet, her stock is only going up from here. She has the vocals, the performances, and the artistry, down to the little swirl of hair on her forehead, she’s only going to get bigger. Plus, the Apple cover was going viral!

Leigh Anne: Do you know how long I have waited for Leigh Anne to finally pursue a solo career? I was so excited the day she signed with her new label (Warner UK) and a new management team (Tap Music, which is Dua Lipa’s old management team). She cleaned house, which means I knew she was serious about her music career. By far, she has been making the best music from the group solo’s endeavors and no one wants to admit that so I’ll be the bad guy to do so. Her EP No Hard Feelings is still one of the best EPs of the year, it solidified who Leigh Anne is as an artist and that she could bring truly something fresh to music with her sound. I think great big things are coming for Leigh Anne, she not only has the passion but you can see just how badly she wants it. After 10 years of feeling ignored in that group by fans who never even deserved her in the first place, it’s amazing to see still how much drive and resilience she has to keep going for her dream. And to the loser on TikTok who said her songs sound like little mix songs (which is dead wrong), you can support one of the other girls without taking down another, it’s simple, I just did it. I wish her team could start focusing more on North American, Latin American, and Brazilian audiences than the UK, because when are they gonna get it, her music is more marketable in those areas. Anyway, I’m down for this journey, I love a good underdog story!

Rachel Chinouriri: Another beans and toast girlie, since they are just killing it right now. I said in my article where I reviewed her album What A Devastating Turn Of Events, that we black girls, also deserve sad black girl music and I truly think she’s the one gonna change the industry. Her music just resonates with me on a whole different level than anything I’ve ever listened to—it’s just so honest, raw, and vulnerable. She also has such a unique voice and sound, that it’s going to be the Billie Eilish and Olivia Rodrigo effect all over in music again. She’s one to watch out for; I was so sad to hear that she wasn’t able to open up for Remi Wolf’s tour because there wasn’t enough funding. This news shocked me since she is signed to a decent-sized label, and they’re just not giving her the financial support she deserves so she has to fund these things on her own. It sucks to hear just how much black artists have to fight for their spot in the industry, luckily opening up for Sabrina Carpenter’s tour next year will give her the perfect exposure to grow. That was my issue with her opening up for artists like Louis Tomlinson and Lewis Capaldi; I just thought it was a weird matchup; whereas I think Sabrina’s will be much more impactful in the long run for her career since I do feel like listeners of Sabrina would like Rachel Chinouriri’s music.

Madison Beer: I’m mad at the internet. They have been telling us the reason Madison Beer is not as big as she could be is because she has an “influencer” face, but then they went and made an actual influencer (Addison Rae) get a hit before Madison. I was pissed. You gaslit all of us into thinking this. To be honest, everyone who knows about Madison Beer now knows she’s an artist first, just say you don’t see the vision, it’s much more believable. The way people stan branding more than music could be a whole other article. Madison Beer can sing, she can write her music, produce her songs, and direct her videos. She is an artist first. I added her to this list because remember when I said Sabrina Carpenter will rule the industry by the time she’s 25, well I also added Madison Beer to that tweet, and fuck it I’m doubling down, she got her mini hit this year with “Make You Mine”, and “15 Minutes" is doing well, I think she’s truly found her sound and she’s about to be unstoppable. I think her time is around the corner! The issue with Madison Beer has always been having a shitty-ass label that doesn’t seem to care about her success, but I think that tide might be changing soon since I heard she resigned with said shitty-ass label. Which can only mean she negotiated a better contract (like Charli XCX with Atlantic). I don’t know, I can feel it, her moment is coming!

Gracie Abrams: I feel like I have to explain this one before everyone jumps me for adding a nepo baby to the list. I like Gracie Abrams’ music, fucking sue me, I’m sorry the sound just works for me, and it seems to work for a shit ton of other people. There are many reasons I think she’s just gonna keep on rising. First, that hate train for her is as strong as it gets, which only means she’s just gonna get bigger. Nepo baby hate finally got a face to hate on. All of the same people that hate Gracie love every other nepo baby. They hate her because she’s the most successful of the bunch. I always say the best way to know if someone is known and getting bigger is if they’re hated on Twitter. If you’re famous on Twitter, just know you’re never leaving that app (this is a pattern I’ve seen). I have seen the music video of the bridge for “I Love You, I’m Sorry” too many times, and now it’s charting (I’m not on Twitter like that, I just have to get on it sometimes to see updates, sadly). They gave her 10+ million views of free promo where her label Interscope didn’t even need to lift a finger. But the hate hasn’t reached its peaking point, once the last leg of the Eras tour starts, since she’s the opener, it’s going to get so annoying; If Paul Mescal shows up to a few of them, the unhinged weird fans of the internet will have a meltdown, I cannot wait. What can I say, I like someone who works, seems to care about their work, and wants to play the pop game. Anyway, I’m not here to defend her, I don’t care. What I do care about is that goddamn pen she has. Gracie has a pen that’s quite developed when it comes to songwriting, my issue is, I just don’t know if she knows what to do with that pen yet. Going into her next album, it would be nice if it was a concept album instead of a collection of songs, and for the love of god get someone other than Aaron Dessner in the studio (and not a best friend who’s never written a song before because that was.. a choice). Either way, everyone gonna tune into that next album since they’ll think it’s about Paul Mescal, so she’s gonna win.

Doechii: Doechii is such a star. The one good thing about that Katy Perry album is Doechii’s verse in that mind-numbingly boring song “I’m His, He’s Mine”. It was the saving grace, and she seemed to be getting a lot of appreciation for it. She’s starting to make a name for herself, and I’m so excited for her. Doechii seems to be artistically driven, it excites me to see just how passionate one can be about their art. Her mixtape that was released recently Alligator Bites Never Heal truly astonished me at how versatile and experimental she is as an artist. Her storytelling is kind of out of this world; she makes you feel like you’re having a phone call with her, but on the other hand, she has bops, I love duality! Doechii is kind of going to be the new supreme, and it’s about time.

Alemeda: After listening to her EP Fk It, I have concluded Alemada is going to be the next big thing, you just need to give her some time. The announcement that she’s now signed to TDE (the same entertainment company as Doechii and SZA) is so amazing to hear. If she made such tight 8 songs in this ep, I can only imagine what a full album is going to be like. If there’s anyone you should truly check out from this list, it’s her. It’s refreshing to hear alternative/punk rock black girl music, I can’t get her songs out of my head (especially “I Already Dug Your Grave”). I also love just how honest but funny her lyricism is, she’s filled with personality, which is the state of pop music right now. She’s inevitably going to be huge!

Well, that’s my list, let me know who you agree or disagree with. Add in your picks for rising stars if you want. Come back in a few years to compare where they are then (or not).

till next time,

sema