Music
Real life Polly Pocket
Sabrina Carpenter
Up-and-coming pop princess, Sabrina Carpenter, is getting the recognition she has earned after working so hard. Sabrina’s career really kicked off when she played one of the main characters in Disney’s Girl Meets World. Her big break landed her a 10-year contract with Disney. She released several albums beginning in 2014, but her newest album emails i can’t send included her most popular hits ‘Feather’ and ‘Nonsense’. She performed at the most recent New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest and opened for a part of Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour. I’ll admit, I don’t listen to her music as much as I used to, I admire her as a person. I have been a fan of hers for a while, but now, I’m obsesssed.
Like I said before, she opened for Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour in Mexico City, Buenos Aires, Rio de Janeiro, Melbourne, Sydney, and Singapore, 3-4 nights each. She wore the cutest outfits with her signature platform white go-go boots which made her look like a real-life Polly Pocket doll. She wears similar outfits on her tour, but obviously, the Eras tour was a completely different scale and helped her gain a lot of attention. Her adorable dance during live performances of an iconic part of her song ‘Feather’ was trending on social media and further blew up the song itself. She also had an iconic set at Coachella Weekend 1 this weekend. The set was a cute motel and she just fit the vibe so well. She killed it. Her new beau Barry Keoghan was there to support her and was fangirling the whole time.
Though she has had a successful career, she was torn down through a petty girl drama that was made public. I didn’t give any kind of details on it in my piece about Olivia Rodrigo, but I will now. In Olivia’s album GUTS, she writes lyrics in a few songs about the same blond girl that she partially blamed for ending her relationship because her ex got with her right after it ended. It wasn’t difficult to put the pieces together and realize Sabrina was the girl and her ex was Joshua Basset. The whole world seemed to blame Sabrina for Rodrigo and Basset’s relationship ending. This led to Sabrina receiving an outrageous amount of hate and (death) threats. She responded with her song because i liked a boy, which gave her side of the story which was ultimately that she didn’t try to take him away from her, she just liked a boy, who was single when she started developing feelings for him. It’s a moving song, especially knowing the background. After a period full of negativity towards her, she took off.
Her lyrics are bold, her love life is intriguing, and her natural beauty makes her glow even more when she is performing. Sabrina Carpenter is only getting started and I know she’s going to be an unforgettable icon in pop culture.
Song Recommendations
Read Your Mind
Coincidence
Juno
Please Please Please
Sharpest Tool
Taste
Bed Chem
Lie to Girls
Slim Pickins
Fast Times
Nonsense
decode
Feather
because i liked a boy
emails I can’t send
Tornado Warnings
Sue Me
Espresso - came out last Friday!
Vicious
Honeymoon Fades
To be honest my other favorite songs by her were from middle school / high school and I don’t really feel like sharing, sorryyyyy
Benson
Boone
A couple of months ago, I got a TikTok on my ‘For You Page’ posted by Benson Boone. The video was a clip from his song which was coming out soon, ‘Beautiful Things.’ I favorited the video and luckily rediscovered it the day after the song came out on Spotify. It became an immediate favorite of mine and blew up on the internet quickly. Since then, he has released his debut album after releasing singles and EPs in 2021. I recently learned that he was on American Idol in 2021 but dropped out early in the season because he didn’t want to be discovered on the show. He started posting videos on TikTok and gained a lot more popularity online. Eventually, he signed a label with Night Street Records after being recognized by Imagine Dragons’ Dan Reynolds. He is a talented guy whose fame was only a matter of time.
Benson’s beautiful voice paired with his impressive songwriting makes his music breathtaking. His music is enjoyable not only because of the lyrics but also because the melodies are so catchy. He may be new to the charts but he currently has around 60 million listeners a month on Spotify which makes him the #31 most listened to artist in the world. I’m excited for him to come out with more music and hope to see him live one day.
Song Suggestions
Beautiful Things
There She Goes
Slow It Down
Intro
Be Someone
Cry
In The Stars
Forever and a Day
Drunk In My Mind
What Do You Want
My Greatest Fear
Reneé Rapp
My favorite Hollywood star who has never been, and never will be, media trained
Hot, Sassy and Zero F*cks. Renee Rapp is the moment. No matter what she has said that is so out of pocket, you can’t help but love her. This queen of pop and R&B never seizes to amaze listeners. She is Broadway trained and has an incredibly powerful voice. Her lyrics are raw and I can’t wait to see what she comes out with in the future.
In June 2019, I took a trip to NYC with my mother and some family friends. Being your stereotypical tourists, we saw a broadway musical and it happened to be ‘Mean Girls’. Lucky for me, Renee Rapp happened to be making her Broadway debut as Regina George that month. I became obsessed with the soundtrack and couldn’t stop listening to her. This role introduced her to so much more in the film and music industry.
In 2021, ‘Sex Lives of College Girls’ was released on HBO which also helped her gain recognition. Her independent music debut was in 2022 when she released her album Everything to Everyone, which was followed by Snow Angel in 2023. Her music is gut wrenching and covers a range of emotions. She has written about knowing that you talk too much, heartbreak, traumatic experiences, bad friends and more. Her talent is not only exhibited through her voice, but also through her songwriting. I promise, Renee Rapp is worth the listen.
You may be wondering why I was mentioning her media appearances. That’s because she definitely stands out from other interviews because she goes on random tangents, gets passionate about topics, and has a spicy sex appeal. Her energy exerts chaos and she knows exactly what she’s doing to her audience, whether it’s at her performances, watching her online or in her show/movie, she kills it.
Like I said before, she’s worth the listen. The power in her voice is incredible as a result of her Broadway training. She is an impressive actor and performer in general. I absolutely cannot wait to see her this June!
Song Suggestions
In The Kitchen
Tummy Hurts
Poison Poison
World Burn
Talk Too Much
Colorado
Snow Angel
Bruises
I Do
Someone Gets Hurt
Olivia Rodrigo
The IT Girl of Hollywood
I remember early January 2021, seeing a post about the actress from the new High School Musical show releasing a song that was gaining attention. After listening to this song for the first time, it became an addiction. It was heart wrenching and passionate but relatable for so many teenage girls. That was the beginning of Olivia Rodrigo’s reign over girls and women around the world.
If you’ve ever listened to her music, you know her music reeks of teenage angst but she also has a sweet and vulnerable side. Her music is about boys, heartbreak, anxiety, being jealous and more. Olivia has introduced rock to a lot of young girls and allows them scream their hearts out. She gained popularity from her starring role in High School Musical: The Musical: The Series which led to her relationship with her co-star, Joshua Bassett. Drama ensued when SOUR, her debut album, was released in 2021. The album was full of raw heartbreak that you can rock out to or sob to. Her music hits listeners hard and it got even better when GUTS was released in 2023. The lyrics were bold and relatable but in a different way than SOUR. The only person I can think to compare her to right now is Avril Lavigne.
How celebrities present themselves in the public eye is so important to their brand. Olivia manages to fit every occasion so appropriately between award shows, her performances, going out clothes, everyday wear, etc. She is elegant, sexy, classy, and naturally stunning. Her live performances look incredible. She slays. I can only dream of going to one of her shows.
I admire Olivia for her guts, lolz. I guarantee anyone reading this right now has heard at least one of her songs before and you should listen to more.
Olivia Rodrigo is an icon in today's music scene and she’s here to stay.
Song Recommendations
ballad of a homeschooled girl
vampire
get him back!
jealousy, jealously
all-american bitch
traitor
deja vu
bad idea right?
All I Want
1 step forward, 3 steps back
enough for you
favorite crime
love is embarrassing
logical
Måneskin
Modern rock with classic flare and an Italian twist
If you love a good rasp and some banging modern rock, have I got the band for you. One of the newer hottest bands came into the picture in 2016, Måneskin. They came together in Rome with four members that all exude sex appeal and were discovered on Italy’s X Factor. Their debut album Chosen was released in 2017 which features a cover of Frankie Valli & the Four Season’ ‘Beggin’. My band used to close almost every show with their version of the song because it brings such a wild energy to a classic song. This song holding a special place in my heart led me to discovering more of their awesome music.
But, what makes them stand out from other new rock bands? Their lead singer, Damiano David’s raspy but clean voice. His voice is very distinct, matched perfectly with Thomas Raggi’s insane guitar skills, Ethan Torchio’s head banging drums, and really just Victoria De Angelis’s presence. I recently realized how popular they are on a global scale after debuting not that long ago. Most of their songs are in English but they sprinkle in some with Italian such as ‘ZITTI E BUONI’, ‘IL DONO DELLA VITA’, etc.Their music overall just makes you wanna rock out or dance. Personally, I have a harder time appreciating slow/soft songs, but there’s something so addicting about their slower songs that I just can’t stop listening to them. I would say their slower songs include ‘TIMEZONE’, ‘THE LONELIEST’, and ‘VALENTINE’ with also happen to be some of my favorites. While they’re still calmer compared to their other songs, they can’t help but still rock out.
Their music sounds like the kind of think vampire would listen to, and I love that.
Song Recommendations
TIMEZONE
THE LONELIEST
OWN MY MIND
FOR YOUR LOVE
I WANNA BE YOUR SLAVE
Somebody Told Me
Fear for Nobody
GOSSIP
VALENTINE
SUPERMODEL
GASOLINE
My first peak in life
Bull Moose Party
Sometimes, the best things in life happen by accident. And that’s exactly what happened when I joined a band my friends were starting. I had some friends at University of Virginia that were looking for a female lead singer for their new band. They had a couple girls try out, and then one day we were hanging out and we just messed around with Amy Winehouse’s ‘Valerie’ and the next day they asked me to join. I excitedly said yes with no expectation of what was to come. When thinking of names, we went through a few options but in the end we landed on Bull Moose Party (like Teddy Roosevelt’s political party). We started off slow, with a practice show just with friends and family then moved to shows in public such as bars or house parties. We were a pretty large band consisting of 7 people. 2 lead singers, lead guitar, rhythm guitar, bass guitar, keys, and drums (my favorite). I loved everyone in the band and still wouldn’t replace a single person.
To be honest, I’m not exactly sure how we got to the point that we ended on. Not to toot our horn, but we got decently big within the Charlottesville community and a little bit outside of it. We mainly played events at UVA such as formals, parties, birthdays, etc. But we also played at breweries, other schools (Washington and Lee, Longwood, Hampden Sydney), wedding parties, etc. We almost played at a music festival in DC but it ultimately got canceled because of freezing wind. We had split up in May 2022 because of graduations and people moving. But we got back together for one performance, which was to open for Sean Kingston in the John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville for UVA’s welcome week. That’s a story I might get into another time.
When the band started, I was still living in Charlottesville about to move to Blacksburg to start school at Virginia Tech. I knew I couldn’t give up the band because at that point it was my life. That led to me traveling just about every weekend my first year there. I had a total of 6 weekends in Blacksburg. From afar, I was also managing the band as well as our money. I’ll admit, there came a time where the band was taking such a large toll on me to the point where I almost quit a few times. But ultimately, I knew I wasn’t going to be able to get the time back so I stuck with it because I also knew we were going to split up soon.
I am so thankful for the experience, opportunity, and just everyone/everything involved. Our friends and families were our biggest supporters and we wouldn’t have been as successful as we were without them. There was something about getting on stage, seeing the people who care most about you in the crowd and giving them a good time they’ll remember. I wouldn’t trade Bull Moose Party for literally anything. It truly was the time of life. Fingers crossed I can get back to that point some day.
Happier Than Ever
by Billie Eilish
JPJ Arena, August 2022
Our last night at UVA
May 2022
In my element
Renforshort
@renforshort,
Thank you for everything,
XoXo,
Your biggest fan
(my instagram caption for a post with her, September 2022)
You know when you’re feeling so much but don’t know how to explain or express how you feel? Renforshort put my feelings into songs and I connected to them immediately. I remember hearing one of her songs for the first time and just immediately being drawn to her lyrics and music style. As I listened to her music more and more, I related to almost everything she wrote about. Her most recent album dear amelia contains a good amount of songs that relate to feeling stuck in a toxic relationship or changing yourself for the person you’re with and being better off without them in the end. These songs helped me process what I had been through in the past and let me know I’m not the only one that has had these kinds of problems.
She has been such an inspiration to me music wise but also just in general. She appropriately expresses her feelings in her music and does it so well. Her music is generally pop with hints of rock, and I think listening to her was a slight introduction to rock for me. She has some fun collaborations with talented artists such as Travis Barker, glaive and more.
I had the privilege of seeing her perform in September 2022 and she was incredible. She had an amazing stage presence and an even better personality when I actually got to meet her. I ripped the setlist off the stage after one of the security guards said I could lean over the barrier a little bit to grab it. I was glad the venue was small and more intimate which later led to meeting her. I DIY’d a top out of black and gold fishnet stockings and she complimented me on it :) She wrote a little message on my setlist, and my life was complete. I am so thankful for the opportunity I had to see her in person, let alone meet her.
Renforshort writes raw lyrics that make her vulnerable, and I respect that greatly. She doesn’t write music that relates to difficult relationships, but also feeling out of place, growing up in a time where technology is taking over, the destruction of our beautiful planet and so much more. Her music is touching and an absolute jam. I found myself getting more and more into her music which was so fun. She is awesome.
Song Recommendations
Julian, king of manhattan
i thot you were cool
hate the way you love me
fall apart
virtual reality
moshpit
I drive me mad
wannabe
bummer
don’t come back
made for you
mind games
Collector of collaborations
Folk Malone, American Hozier, Jewish Ed Sheeran. Just some of the nicknames Noah Kahan’s fans know him by. What made him blow up in the last year? His album Stick Season. I had heard his name in the beginning of 2023 but didn’t listen to his music yet. To be honest, I didn’t think it was gonna be my style. But in August 2023, I saw him perform at the Iron Blossom Music Festival in Richmond, VA, and not to be dramatic, but his set changed my life. I believe I mentioned somewhere that I had a band a couple years ago, but his set made me miss performing so much and motivated me to get back into music in that way.
What makes Noah Kahan so great? His personality mixed with his unique writing style. I think he’s very vulnerable in his music because he touches on mental health a lot as well as struggles people relate to such as taking medication for your mental health, parents divorcing, feeling out of place throughout life, love and breakups and so much more. He is so talented vocally, but also writing wise which it caught the attention of many famous musicians such as Post Malone, Hozier, Olivia Rodrigo, Mumford and Sons and so many more. He has collected collaborations on his songs like they’re baseball cards. It’s crazy how much he has blown up in the last couple years. I first started listening to his album Stick Season and then his older music and he has changed his style a little bit. He has transitioned a little bit into folkier music but I wouldn’t say it’s full on folk. It’s similar to his style in his first albums but the folk hints in. I personally love it.
I’m excited to see what happens in the future for him. I believe his fan base will keep growing because truly, he is phenomenal. His voice is distinct and clear singing lyrics you can tell are raw and he’s expressing his feelings exactly how he wants to. He is a unique person between his music and just his personality in general. During shows, his interactions with the audience is very silly and even what he posts online is just very him and I wouldn’t want it any other way.
NOAH KAHAN
Song Recommendations
All My Love
Northern Attitude (feat Hozier)
Your Needs, My Needs
Homesick
Stick Season
False Confidence
Everywhere, Everything
Maine
Mess
Call Your Mom (feat Lizzy McAlpine)
Part of Me
Caves
Spotify Wrapped 2023
In 2023, I deep dove into music and learned to appreciate it in a way I hadn’t before. Music had always been a part of my life between playing piano for over 10 years, orchestra throughout middle school, and my band that I’ll get into another time. But I really wanted to figure out my own music taste this year. I discovered my favorite bands/artists Cage the Elephant, Motherfolk, Noah Kahan and more. I learned that I’m more of a rock girl than a pop girl. This past year, music has become so much more fun to me. Don’t get me wrong, I have always loved music, but now I’m more excited than ever for my music journey to continue!!
Music Spotlight
Motherfolk
As I discussed earlier in ‘Spotify Wrapped’, I really dove deep into my music taste this past year. While I knew the bands/artists that I liked, I would typically only know a handful of songs from them. But what I did differently this year was to listen to bands/artists ‘This is (name)’ playlist made by Spotify. My favorite band that came out of doing this is Motherfolk.
“Kill the Sun” is Motherfolk’s most popular song (because it’s a banger) and how I discovered them. When I was playing golf with some friends when I was at school, it came on when I had aux, and they loved it. Eventually, one of them listened to Family Ghost all the way through and gave me his favorite songs from the album: ‘Family Ghost’, ‘More Than You Know’, ‘Red Eye’, ‘You And Me’, and ‘Fine With It’. As I got more into these songs, a couple months later, I listened to ‘This Is Motherfolk’ and I liked every song that came on.
I have introduced Motherfolk, beyond ‘Kill the Sun’, to a few people because they have such a unique tone and sound. There seems to be an underlying theme of death between the song title and lyrics: ‘kill ‘em all’, ‘Die a Little Bit More’, ‘Family Ghost’, ‘Pretend i’m dead’, etc. When you’re listening to these songs though, you don’t feel as though there is that underlying theme because their music is very upbeat and lighthearted.
If you aren’t considering listening to them after reading this … your loss. They’re fantastic!
Song recommendations:
headlights
Family Ghost
King of Acting Normal
black eye/bad night
pretend i’m dead
More Than You know
kill ‘em all
All That’s Left
all I need
You And Me
Die a Little More
head above water
Salt Lake City