Welcome back to our new editorial series, “Songs We Stan” – a collection of five tracks from the week that stood out from the pack and deserve some extra acknowledgement in the stan community. This week we’re highlighting Madison Beer, Chloe x Halle, kayden, Claire Frazier, and Fiji Blue.
Make sure to check out the official Pop Cravings playlist on Spotify to hear more of the latest staff-favorite tracks!
“Blue” by Madison Beer
Madison Beer hit the ground running this week with her debut album ‘Life Support.’ The long awaited project features seventeen new tracks, with no features, each showcasing her beautiful vocal abilities better than the next. “Blue” is an early favorite of Pop Crave’s and features a myriad of gorgeous metaphors that detail a toxic relationship. The sound itself is a perfect blend of dream pop that reminds us of an old Hollywood movie. The track was written by Beer, Leroy Clampitt, and Elizabeth Lowell Boland and produced by Beer and Clampitt. If you listen to and enjoy this song, I recommend you stream the entire album front to back.
“80/20” by Chloe x Halle
This week the powerhouse sister duo, Chloe x Halle, dropped the chrome edition of their 2020 album ‘Ungodly Hour.’ The extended project features two new songs, “Hazy” and “80/20” and to put it simply, these girls always deliver. “80/20” strays a bit farther from R&B and pushes closer to pop with its upbeat chorus and catchy hook. The song has a series of co-writers aside from the Bailey sisters including Chelsea Lena, Dillan Bailard, Donnell Stephens III, Jeremy Uribe and Romika Faniel. It is safe to say we will be dancing to this song through summer and that’s why it is featured in this weeks Top 5.
“mr.nice guy” by kayden
If this is the first time you are hearing the name kayden, you’re welcome. The self-made musician started dropping projects in 2018 and has gained more popularity with his newest album ‘so much has changed,’ which was released last year. Specifically, his song “mr. nice guy” has caught the ear of thousands and has amounted to over 4 million streams on Spotify. The sultry pop song details the reality of being someones #2 and pays homage to the phrase “nice guys finish last.” If you are into artists like Jeremy Zucker or Jon Bellion, I highly recommend you check out kayden’s entire discography.
“Will You Miss Me” by Claire Frazier
Before you say, “Pop Crave, what is this video?,” hear me out: this artist is so fresh that there is no music video for this song (yet). We discovered Alabama native Claire Frazier on TikTok after hearing her song “Will You Miss Me” featured in LGBTQ+ YouTuber/TikToker Avery Cyrus’ latest video. The song takes you through what it’s like to look back at a break-up that was doomed from the start, knowing you are better off now. It’s beautifully upbeat for a break-up anthem and should 100% be blasted in your car, multiple times. “Will You Miss Me” is the third of four singles dropped in 2020 and was co-written with Shae Jacobs (Charlotte Lawrence, The Chainsmokers, Teyana Taylor).
“It Takes Two” by Fiji Blue
Fiji Blue is everything you need in your life and they just released their new song “It Takes Two.” If you are new to the band, Fiji Blue is made up of Trevor Dering and Valentin Fritz, two friends that hail from Boston, Massachusetts. “It Takes Two” is the first single they have dropped in 2021 and are *hopefully* gearing up for a larger release later this year. They consider themselves genre-less and claim to fall into the “sad boy chill house” category, which we think suites this new single wonderfully. “It Takes Two” was produced by the duo, Orion Meshorer and also features writer, Peter Fenn.
