Search results for drake

The search for the ever-elusive "bop" is difficult. Playlists and streaming-service recommendations can only do so much. They often leave a lingering question: Are these songs really good, or are they just new?

Enter Bop Shop, a hand-picked selection of songs from the MTV News team. This weekly collection doesn't discriminate by genre and can include anything — it's a snapshot of what's on our minds and what sounds good. We'll keep it fresh with the latest music, but expect a few oldies (but goodies) every once in a while, too. Get ready: The Bop Shop is now open for business.

• Snail Mail: "Valentine"

  The power of Lindsey Jordan's Snail Mail project has always resided in her voice — specifically in how she boosts it on just the right syllables for maximum impact. On "Valentine," the title track to her sophomore LP out November 5, it comes down like a hammer on the first chorus. "So why'd you wanna erase me!?" she exclaims as the guitars finally hit after a minute of synthy, sensual mood-setting. The song comes complete with an awesomely melodramatic, period-set music video that ends in enough cartoonish bloodshed to match the song's deep pangs of sorrow and heartache. Only five more months until Valentine's Day! —Patrick Hosken

• Wonho: “Blue”

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lU7yBv3tkwA

  If anyone can get a K-pop stan to even remotely care about sports, it’s Wonho in a football uniform. His new single “Blue,” the title track of his sophomore mini-album Blue Letter, displays the soloist in a completely new light, both sonically and visually. As the start of his new era, “Blue” explores happier, more optimistic themes compared to the darker concepts he explored in his past few releases. “We are young, we are dumb, we’ll just party all night long,” he sings, representing an extremely different state of mind. Accompanied by a lighthearted, campy, sports-themed music video, Wonho turns over a new leaf and enters this comeback with joy, spirit, and confidence. —Sarina Bhutani

• Vince Staples: "Are You With That?”

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0E0eQ_hH7k

  Vince Staples has always plainly been a Black man from Compton, a rapper who speaks to the darker sides of the things you see when upward mobility isn’t nearly as abundant as the looming threat of violence and death. It can be commonplace in rap to glorify street life and its hard-won badges of strength. But Vince Staples, his fourth album, drawls and slumps with resignation. On the swirling opener “Are You With That?” he is consumed with, and depressed by, the draining premise of his own survival. He visits the graveyards of his lost friends, recalling how he aimed to follow their footsteps, growing up wanting to be a thug far more than a famous artist. He acknowledges the probability of his own death, envisioning his friends treating his candlelight vigil like a wild club night. “Hope you watchin’ your back,” the song chants, delivered more like a sad mantra than a sharp warning. None of this is exalted; it doesn’t reach for any particular fear, or joy, or remorse. For him, and for so many others, it’s simply the way things are. —Terron Moore

• Cold War Kids: “Always”

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8m9DIeV1Oec

  A deceptively upbeat offering from Cold War Kids, “Always” thrums with an undercurrent of nervous energy, mirroring the anxiety many of us are now navigating as the world reopens post-vaccine. “My expectations have expanded uncontrollably / You are the one that puts my feet down in reality,” lead singer Nathan Willett intones over lilting keys. It’s less an ode to a supportive partner and more a reminder directed inward. After all, leaning on each other during these unprecedented times is “what we do we get by.” —Sam Manzella

• Tems ft. Brent Faiyaz: "Found"

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5Yec96tfQM

  Nigerian songwriter/producer Tems is having a great September. Fresh off the stunning Drake collab "Fountains," she released her second EP, If Orange Was a Place, earlier this week, complete with the dreamy "Found." Grounded by a gracefully plucked nylon-string guitar, the song is essentially a duet with Brent Faiyaz, but Tems haunts the entire runtime, even when she's not actively singing. When she is, the alchemy is palpable. It's just enough to make you swoon. —Patrick Hosken

• Dexter: “I Like Me”

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ijAbzzDUZak

  London-based singer-songwriter Dexter offers up a groovy slice of self-empowerment without the saccharine on “I Like Me.” Armed with two chords, the truth, and a voice that feels approachable yet entirely authoritative, she examines the rules of femininity and the places she feels she falls short. “What if I was girly and my hips were really curvy / And I walked around and strutted in the place?” she wonders, before resolving that, “It doesn’t matter because I like me anyway.” It’s a refreshing take on self worth and acceptance, acknowledging the what ifs that plague us while settling on authenticity over a smooth beat. —Carson Mlnarik

• Matt Copley & No Resolve: “The Greatest Show”

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLPhqdODPyM

  Broadway buffs and emo kids alike will dig this new track from composer, vocalist, and Unwell frontman Matt Copley backed by No Resolve. “The Greatest Show” is a cover from the 2017 movie musical The Greatest Showman with a surprising pop-punk twist. Copley’s creative arrangements paired with his undeniable charisma and stage presence make his latest album Broadway Does Punk (and all of his projects, frankly) impossible to ignore. But you don’t have to take my word for it — millions on TikTok and Instagram have already cosigned. —Farah Zermane

• Yard Act: "The Overload"

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQ2ANR_vF2E

  If you simply can't get enough wiggly, fidgety, British post-punk in the vein of Dry Cleaning and Black Midi, you're gonna want to know Yard Act. You're gonna want to embrace the pure Jarvis Cocker energy frontman James Smith deploys on "The Overload," the title track to their upcoming new album to be released by Island Records. And you're gonna want to play it again and again and get lost in its spinning, frantic carnival. —Patrick Hosken

You can call Lil Nas X by your name, or you can call him your 2021 Video of the Year winner.

The "power bottom rapper" took home the top honor at the 2021 Video Music Awards on Sunday (September 12) for his fiery, unapologetically queer "Montero (Call Me By Your Name)" visuals. He beat out some stiff competition to do so, including Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion ("WAP"), Doja Cat and SZA ("Kiss Me Me"), The Weeknd ("Save Your Tears"), Drake and DJ Khaled ("Popstar"), and Ed Sheeran ("Bad Habits").

"First, I want to say thank you to the gay agenda," Nas X said in his acceptance speech after dancing his way to the podium. "Let's go, gay agenda! ... I love you guys so much. I will not take this for granted."

https://twitter.com/vmas/status/1437249408320557057?s=20

It was truly a night to remember for Nas X. Earlier that evening, the 22-year-old rapper transformed the VMAs stage into the Montero State Prison for a mash-up of "Montero" and "Industry Baby," his collab with fellow rapper Jack Harlow. The show-stealing set saw Nas X get steamy in the prison showers in a pile of all-male backup dancers. The costuming was minimal but effective, with Nas X stripping down to a pair of rhinestoned-encrusted pink boxers.

Video of the Year wasn't his only win of the evening, either. Nas X also nabbed Best Direction and Best Visual Effects for a total of three wins from five nominations.

Between the 2021 and 2019 VMAs, he now has five Moonperson trophies to his name — and all before his debut album, Montero, drops on Friday (September 17). Take that, homophobes!

John Shearer/MTV VMAs 2021/Getty Images for MTV/ViacomCBS

The 2021 VMAs are airing live on MTV from Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Find the full list of winners right here and keep up with all of the night's biggest VMA moments!

Everyone else is playing catch-up to Justin Bieber.

At the 2021 MTV VMAs, Bieber was crowned Artist of the Year, capping off an insurgent run that's found him releasing a new album, Justice, starring in Drake's "Popstar" video, and hitting No. 1 both with his infectious tune "Peaches" and his collab with The Kid Laroi, "Stay." And he was ready to meet the moment. Accepting his latest Moonperson trophy, he spoke to that moment while also making sure to share it with those around him — namely his wife, Hailey, and a big inspiration: Travis Scott.

"I look over here and I see my beautiful wife, and I just wanna say I love you so much," he said sporting a large jacket and hoodie. "Travis Scott, man, you inspire me so much. Thank you for being you."

https://twitter.com/vmas/status/1437230172797812740

(FYI: Travis won Best Hip-Hop shortly after, so maybe he sent good luck!)

Bieber also made sure to take a moment to reflect on not just his moment, but the moment we're all in. "As we know, there's so much going on in the world as we speak," he said, holding his Moonperson. "We're in unprecedented times right now."

Biebs used his platform during his own moment of optimism to point toward a hopeful future — and shout out music's role in that.

"Music is such an amazing opportunity and an amazing outlet to be able to reach people to be able to bring us all together," he continued. "That's why we're here right now. We're all here together. We got a lot more in common than we don't. I look around here and I see so many beautiful faces. I really do believe the best is yet to come."

Bieber beat out Ariana Grande, Doja Cat, Megan Thee Stallion, Olivia Rodrigo, and Taylor Swift in the category. He was the artist nominated for the most VMAs this year, with seven. And he helped kick off the show with a heavenly joint performance with The Kid Laroi.

And honestly? He's likely the only dude at the VMAs who could pull off this fit. He really did the damn thing.

Bennett Raglin/Getty Images

The 2021 VMAs are airing live on MTV from Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Find the full list of winners right here and keep up with all of the night's biggest VMA moments!

After Doja Cat walked away with the honor of Push Best New Artist at the 2020 Video Music Awards, she catapulted to even greater success. Back in November, she went on to win Best New Artist at the People’s Choice Awards, and then in June, she released her critically acclaimed second studio album Planet Her. And now, she’s returning to the VMAs awards ceremony, this time as host as well as a performer.

That’s the significance of this category: It’s both a celebration of a banner year and a projection of more impactful artistry to come. At the 2021 VMAs, which return to Brooklyn’s Barclays Center on September 12, the traditional Best New Artist category is back, while the Push Performance of the Year has its own bracket, highlighting breakout talent through their exclusive performances.

This year’s Best New Artist category is packed with all-star artists, each of whom has had a year of wild successes. There’s Olivia Rodrigo, who has been topping charts worldwide with her debut album Sour, and Giveon, who earned his first No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 collaborating with Justin Bieber and Daniel Caesar on “Peaches.” But that’s only the beginning, and there can only be one winner who will take home the Moonperson. So before you vote for your faves, get to know all the Best New Artist nominees below.

• 24kGoldn

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GrAchTdepsU

  Who knew that “Mood” would be created by two rappers playing Call of Duty? While gaming, 24kGoldn and Iann Dior crafted their mega-hit with producers Omer Fedi and KBeaZy. Lead artist 24kGoldn first hit the mainstream after 2019’s “Valentino” went viral on TikTok, but with an assist from Dior, “Mood” became one of the biggest smashes of 2020. The song, about a hot-and-cold relationship and featuring pop guitars courtesy of Fedi, peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was easily one of the biggest songs of last year, and 24kGoldn has been raking in bricks after releasing his debut album, El Dorado, in March.

• Giveon

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uWRlisQu4fo

  After being featured on Drake’s “Chicago Freestyle,” featured on last year's Dark Lane Demo Tapes, Giveon’s name was quickly heard. His EP Take Time peaked at No. 35 on the Billboard 200 and even received a nomination at this year’s Grammys. Lead single “Heartbreak Anniversary,” a downtempo piano ballad in which the singer mourns the loss of a relationship, became a sleeper hit. Recently, Giveon was featured on Justin Bieber’s smash “Peaches” alongside Daniel Caesar, bringing his soothing baritone vocals to the masses.

• The Kid Laroi

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTJczUoc26U

  After gaining widespread attention with his funky trap song “Let Her Go” in 2019, teenage Australian hip-hop artist The Kid Laroi really said F*ck Love with his debut emo-rap mixtape the next year. He received an assist from his mentor Juice WRLD on lead single “Go,” which was released posthumously after Juice’s death. The mixtape reached No. 1 on both Billboard 200 and the Australian ARIA charts, making Laroi the youngest Australian solo artist to do so. Staying true to his passion for collaboration, his synth-pop single with Justin Bieber, “Stay,” has catapulted him further in his career.

• Olivia Rodrigo

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gNi_6U5Pm_o

  Olivia Rodrigo captured the hearts and minds of Gen Z with her relatable alt-pop tracks and realistic lyrics in her debut album Sour. Songs like “Drivers License,” “Good 4 U,” and “Deja Vu” distilled the angsty feels of breakups, while “Brutal” expressed the harsh truth that teenage dreams don’t always come true. She brings versatility in her music, incorporating alt-rock, pop-punk, grunge, folk, and country elements. Rodrigo cites Taylor Swift, one of her favorite artists, as a major inspiration for the album, and she says most of the songs are based on "everything that I had that was, like, really awesome and good in my life went really sour."

• Polo G

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w2IhccXakkE

  Polo G popped out of obscurity when “Pop Out” peaked at No. 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2019. Now, as the title of his third studio album suggests, he’s made his way to the Hall of Fame by rapping about his personal life, ranging from his tough upbringing in Chicago, relationships, and his newfound fame. He’s a true collaborator, accruing features from such iconic hip-hop names as Nicki Minaj, Young Thug, and Lil Wayne. Polo has cited Wayne as one of his biggest influences, so he couldn’t contain his joy that the rap legend hopped on his song.

• Saweetie

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jUIrolORx6M

  Saweetie is your new “Best Friend,” which is the title of her fun, uptempo track on which last year’s Push Best New Artist winner Doja Cat appears. Saweetie’s debut High Maintenance released in 2018, peaking at No. 32 on the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Album Sales chart. Her song “Icy Girl” — a spiritual freestyle successor to Khia’s classic hit “My Neck, My Back” — went Platinum and also became the title of her second EP, which gave the world the iconic rap-dance lead single “My Type.” The song went on to spawn a popular TikTok challenge. Saweetie is set to drop her debut studio album, Pretty Bitch Music, sometime this year, so make sure to tune in.

Justin Bieber has been on a roll this year, hitting milestones as the youngest soloist to achieve eight No. 1 albums with his recent LP Justice and to hit 100 entries on the Billboard Hot 100. And the success story continues: As announced today (August 11), Bieber leads the nomination field for the 2021 MTV Video Music Awards!

Bieber has racked up a total of seven nominations, including in top categories for Video of the Year, Artist of the Year, and Best Pop. Megan Thee Stallion follows closely behind with six, most of which recognize her “WAP” collaboration with Cardi B. Behind them, all tied with five noms each, is an impressive blend of VMA vets — Billie Eilish, BTS, Doja Cat, Drake, and Lil Nas X — and some newbies: Olivia Rodrigo and Giveon. Lil Nas X’s big hit “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” alone is nominated in five categories.

While Megan, Drake, and Lil Nas X may be some of the artists with the most noms, they are still in for serious competition for the highly coveted Video of the Year. “WAP,” Drake and DJ Khaled’s “Popstar,” Doja’s “Kiss Me More,” and “Montero” will be going against each other as well as Ed Sheeran’s “Bad Habits” and The Weeknd’s “Save Your Tears” in the night’s banner category.

Justin Bieber made history on Tuesday (July 20) as the youngest solo artist to ever hit 100 entries on the Billboard Hot 100 chart at the age of 27. The track that cinched the milestone was “Stay,” the synthy song on which he guested as a feature with The Kid Laroi and debuted at No. 3.

Prior to Bieber’s achievement, Drake previously held the career title at 28 years old in 2015 and is now in second place. Lil Wayne is next down in third place with his 100th Hot 100 scored at 29 years old in 2012. Taylor Swift, Future, Nicki Minaj, and Kanye West are among the artists who have also crossed this threshold.

The 2021 BET Awards opened last night (June 27) under the theme “Year of the Black Woman” in front of a live, vaccinated audience at Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. Empire star Taraji P. Henson served as the ceremony’s host, giving encouragement and upliftment for all Black women.

“Look at us. Look around the room. Look at this power. The grace, the class, the edges — we are everything, honey. Celebrating Black women isn’t a fad or a trend. It’s a forever mood,” Henson said. “And there is more than enough room for all of us to thrive. ‘Cause can’t nobody be me like me, and can’t nobody be you like you.”

This year’s ceremony featured the largest number of performances in the show’s history. Lil Baby and Kirk Franklin kicked things  off with “We Win.” Cardi B shook the world announcing her pregnancy with Offset after her collaborations with Migos’s “Straightenin” and “Type Shit.” H.E.R. descended from the heavens playing the drums and an electric guitar while performing “We Made It.” Lil Nas X ended his fiery, iconic performance of “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” by kissing with one of his backup dancers. He also served looks with two gender-fluid outfits at the red carpet: a Rococo-inspired gown with side panniers and historical prints and a ‘70s flare suit with floral embroidery.

What makes a queer anthem?

That’s the question MTV News recently posed to four musicians: rapper and activist Mykki Blanco; Mxmtoon, the ukulele-playing bedroom-pop artist; Southern-born singer-songwriter Katie Pruitt; and gospel-influenced pop star Vincint. The quartet met on a recent Zoom call to talk about what they believed to be the 10 greatest LGBTQ+ anthems of the 21st century so far, and prior to the conversation, the artists were asked to prepare their picks for what they considered the most club-immaculate or culturally impactful songs of the last two decades. These tracks could be by any artist and only needed to be released after the year 2000 with the intention of using them to craft a comprehensive playlist showcasing the music that defines the community and soundtracks its spaces today.

Inevitably, the prompt’s open-endedness gave way to more questions: What exactly is a “queer anthem”? Should the track be made by a person who identifies as such to qualify, and how has that definition changed as more people openly make music about their own experiences and identities?

By Virginia Lowman

Music has always been a vehicle for truth-telling for H.E.R. When she reemerged on the music scene in 2016 under the enigmatic three-letter moniker, standing for “Having Everything Revealed,” she did so as a means to exemplify her belief that her “responsibility is to the truth” and that women would be at the forefront of her craft right alongside protest and empowerment. It’s a guiding virtue that’s proved successful, too: She’s racked up four Grammys, including a surprise Song of the Year win for her poignant anthem “I Can’t Breathe” at the most recent ceremony in March, and an Oscar for “Fight for You,” which appeared on the soundtrack for Judas and the Black Messiah. Now, as she releases her first studio album, she’s expanding her musical repertoire and using honesty as her North star.

A fast ascent to the top of the charts and earned critical acclaim has put her in a unique position: Though she is still somewhat new to this level of stardom, she maintains a veteran sense of cool; in a world that often forgoes privacy, H.E.R. has managed to satiate the masses with her craft alone and still remain shrouded in mystery. When we meet via Zoom to discuss her debut album Back of My Mind, out today, it is quickly evident she has mastered the limelight the same way she has refined the art of sonically setting a mood. In many ways, H.E.R. is a quintessential R&B artist: Her use of instrumentation and storytelling yields a sound that uplifts like gospel and aches like the blues. More than anything, her music is about evoking emotion, leaning into “chords that make you feel really good and hit that sweet spot.” While early tracks like “Focus” and “Best Part” explored the highs of love and lows of heartache, her first full-length project celebrates the medium’s vast landscape while simultaneously pushing its boundaries with innovative musical experiments. The opening track “We Made It” is an alternative take with velvety vocals grounded by an ethereal synth beat and Coldplay-esque drums in the hook. Another track, “Paradise,” showcases the influence of new-school hip-hop juxtaposing H.E.R’s cooing vocals against rapper Yung Bleu’s intricate flow.

https://youtu.be/wxpmv3WSpZg

She began developing this multifaceted approach to music-making long before introducing herself to the world as H.E.R. Born Gabriella Sarmiento Wilson, she grew up in Vallejo, California and began performing at a young age.  It was her family that instilled in her a diverse palette. “They all played a different era of R&B,” she says. “My dad was very much into Prince, and then my uncle was playing Usher, Aaliyah, and even Drake when I was in middle school.” Her ear for Ciara’s Goodies and Stevie Wonder’s Song in the Key of Life might be heard in the uptempo snares on some of her tracks or buttery harmonies à la “Love’s In Need of Love Today,” but it was Alicia Keys who had the greatest impact on the artist she’d become. “‘If I Ain’t Got You’ was one of the first songs that I learned how to play and sing, and that was it for me,” she recalls. “I think hearing that song and learning how to play it on piano was pivotal.”

She released her first EP as H.E.R., a soulful heart-wrenching eponymous project, in 2016 at the age of 19, yet even years later, at 23, the influence of her heritage can still be felt, particularly when it comes to treating her art as an outlet for activism. “I represent both my Black and my Filipino side,” she says proudly, acknowledging that both communities have faced unprecedented injustice and violence historically, but particularly over the past year. She has often used her platform to bring awareness to these issues, as with her harrowing song “I Can’t Breathe,” which addressed the ongoing epidemic of police brutality in the United States by appropriating the dying words of George Floyd and Eric Garner, unarmed Black men killed by cops. The powerful protest anthem has soundtracked a new generation’s movement and political prowess in the same way Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On?,” which also tackled systemic racism, did in the ’70s. “I’m a person who has a voice and can give a voice to the voiceless,” she says. “Through my art, I have an opportunity to meet people, look at something differently, change their perception, or encourage people to acknowledge a feeling.” Claiming the award for Song of the Year was an honor, but more than that, it was “confirmation and that fuel to continue to speak the truth.”

https://youtu.be/EkFYQ1jc52k

H.E.R. credits “tough and honest conversations” for fueling her album Back of My Mind, which has been in the works for three years. She tapped heavyweight producers like Darkchild’s Rodney Jerkins and Jeff Gitty, who lent their mastery of emotional grit to raw, soulful tracks like “Mean It” and “Exhausted.” For H.E.R. and her collaborators, music therapy, and the studio is an intimate, healing space where she can candidly discuss her innermost emotions. And so the collection listens like an intimate diary, with lyrics addressing self-work, learning to overcome trauma, and leveling up in your career. All of these are woven together with rich strings and brass, which meld with the nostalgic buzz of talkboxes and contemporary snares. Beginning with the celebratory “We Made It,” the album comes full circle with the declaratory “I Can Have It All.” Balancing classic R&B like her Goapele-influenced “Closer to Me” with new-school high-energy hip-hop-laced hits like “Find a Way,” H.E.R. chronicles the ebbs and flows of learning to communicate in intimacy, the journey to new career heights, and mastering the art of self-love.

“I often say things that I think we’re afraid to say,” H.E.R. notes, and by doing so, she permits us to put our most vulnerable feelings on display, too. “I sing the things that are sometimes hard to articulate, the things that sit in the back of our minds that we don’t pay much attention to, the things that we’re afraid to stand for or we’re not too confident [about].” While her music maps the contours of the human condition, the mystique of her image seems to reflect the clarity she’s found through experience. With each project, H.E.R. reveals more of herself in corresponding artworks, as in the visuals for “We Made It.” The singer has removed her signature glasses to reveal her face, veiled in darkness but illuminated by a sliver of light. It is a far cry from the silhouettes and shadows that grace her first five EPs.

Courtesy of H.E.R.

One thing is certain: As she comes through clearly across her distinctive visuals and singular sound, H.E.R. is creating from a sense of certainty — about herself and her worldviews. Back of My Mind is H.E.R.'s musical coming of age. Whether speaking truth to power or therapizing growing pains, she is moving with intention and writing the soundtrack of our lives as pursues her dreams and uncovers the truth of defining success and happiness on her own terms. “Sometimes, you get to the top of the mountain and you’re like, now I know there are higher heights for me to reach,” she says. “I can have it all.”

By Da'Shan Smith

First thing’s first: “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” is another bona fide banger from Lil Nas X.

Now, let’s briefly address the controversy surrounding the song’s music video. Gay Black artist slides down a pole to hell after being sentenced for a steamy makeout session with an alien snake? Check. That artist happens to be wearing androgynous costumes, colorful wigs, skintight latex, and manicured acrylics? Check. After arriving in hell, said artist gives Satan a scandalous lap dance? Check. Right-wing pundits suspecting the gay agenda and sacrilegious ideology are plaguing the mainstream and, therefore, negatively influencing children? Check. Check. Check.

By Hilary Hughes

An eponymous album marks a major moment in an artist's career. For women, owning one's work, body, and artistry can be especially powerful, even political. Throughout Women's History Month, MTV News is highlighting some of these iconic statements from some of the biggest artists on the globe. This is Self-Titled.

Beyoncé is queen of the epic entrance (as anyone who watched her 2018 Coachella headlining set can attest), but Beyoncé, her fifth, self-titled album, made its debut quietly — and in the middle of the night.

At first, only those who happened to be scrolling through the iTunes Store after midnight on December 13, 2013 noticed a new addition to its offerings in the form of a simple, striking cover featuring the name of the artist, all caps and in petal pink, emblazoned across its front. Word soon spread across social media — and from Beyoncé’s accounts, no less — that she had not only unveiled a surprise album, but one featuring corresponding music videos for each of its 14 songs.

In the early hours of that December morning, one thing was clear: Beyoncé had pulled off a revolutionary hat trick. Yes, she had completely shocked the world by releasing a new album without so much as a whisper of promotion or warning in the months leading up to it. Yes, she had gone above and beyond by putting out never-before-heard music and a collection of musical film shorts that introduced a new standard for multi-format domination. And yes, she had completely redefined the possibilities for what an album or a music video could do — and what a pop star can achieve by dropping either unexpectedly. Beyoncé wasn’t just another chart-topping addition to Queen Bey’s discography: It was a cultural event, and one that took place at the zenith of her career.

By Alex Gonzalez

From the beginning of The Weeknd’s debut mixtape, House of Balloons, he informs us that we’ll want to be “high for this.” Named after a one-bedroom apartment he shared with friends in his Toronto hometown, House of Balloons is a dark body of work, with trippy tales of partying, heartbreak, and drug-fueled sexcapades. While these themes still resonate within Abel Tesfaye’s vibrant, glistening pop tracks today, he first stepped onto the scene with more minimalistic, brooding sounds, a far cry from the rallying maximalism of “Blinding Lights.”

The Weeknd is one of the most recognizable voices and faces in music today, with five Billboard Hot 100 No. 1s to his name and a Super Bowl halftime performance under his belt. But when House of Balloons dropped on March 21, 2011 — 10 years ago this weekend — he was still an anonymous entity, releasing his songs online with little context.

“I think the mysterious, faceless vibe kind of helped him in the beginning,” music producer Cirkut tells MTV News. “I think that kind of created this mysterious allure around him. It made people even more inquisitive, wanting to know, ‘Hey, who's this guy? Have you heard of this guy, The Weeknd?’ It made the music come first, rather than putting himself all out there. It was just all about the music, the vibe, and the artwork.”

How long has it been since the 2020 Grammys? The factual answer is about 14 months, but it feels much longer, thanks to the lingering pandemic and the various challenges it's presented in the past year. Still, the Recording Academy adapted, opening itself up even as it weathered more than a few storms. The 63rd annual ceremony tonight (March 14) will still showcase the best of the best, as far as the institution is concerned.

The lead-up showcased an impressive nine nominations for Beyoncé, with her leading the pack ahead of Dua Lipa, Taylor Swift, and Roddy Ricch, who racked up six nods each. But who took home the show's biggest honors?

Here are the winners some of the night's key categories. Find the full list at Grammy.com.

Record of the Year

WINNER: Billie Eilish: "Everything I Wanted"

Beyoncé: "Black Parade"

Black Pumas: "Colors"

DaBaby ft. Roddy Ricch: "Rockstar"

Doja Cat: "Say So"

Dua Lipa: "Don't Start Now"

Post Malone: "Circles"

Megan Thee Stallion ft. Beyoncé: "Savage"

Album of the Year

WINNER: Taylor Swift: Folklore

Jhené Aiko: Chilombo

Black Pumas: Black Pumas (Deluxe Edition)

Coldplay: Everyday Life

Jacob Collier: Djesse Vol.3

HAIM: Women in Music Pt. III

Dua Lipa: Future Nostalgia

Post Malone: Hollywood's Bleeding

Song of the Year

WINNER: H.E.R.: "I Can't Breathe"

Beyoncé: "Black Parade"

Roddy Ricch: "The Box"

Taylor Swift: "Cardigan"

Post Malone: "Circles"

Dua Lipa: "Don't Start Now"

Billie Eilish: "Everything I Wanted"

JP Saxe ft. Julia Michaels: "If the World Was Ending"

Best New Artist

WINNER: Megan Thee Stallion

Ingrid Andress

Phoebe Bridgers

Chika

Noah Cyrus

D Smoke

Doja Cat

Kaytranada

Best Pop Solo Performance

WINNER: Harry Styles: "Watermelon Sugar"

Justin Bieber: "Yummy"

Doja Cat: "Say So"

Billie Eilish: "Everything I Wanted"

Dua Lipa: "Don't Start Now"

Taylor Swift: "Cardigan"

Best Pop Duo/Group Performance

WINNER: Lady Gaga, Ariana Grande: "Rain on Me"

J Balvin, Dua Lipa, Bad Bunny, Tainy: "Un Día (One Day)"

Justin Bieber ft. Quavo: "Intentions"

BTS: "Dynamite"

Taylor Swift ft. Bon Iver: "Exile"

Best Pop Vocal Album

WINNER: Dua Lipa: Future Nostalgia

Justin Bieber: Changes

Lady Gaga: Chromatic

Harry Styles: Fine Line

Taylor Swift: Folklore

Best R&B Performance

WINNER: Beyoncé: "Black Parade"

Jhené Aiko ft. John Legend: "Lightning and Thunder"

Jacob Collier: "All I Need"

Brittany Howard: "Goat Head"

Emily King: "See Me"

Best R&B Song

WINNER: Robert Glasper Featuring H.E.R. & Meshell Ndegeocello: "Better Than I Imagined"

Beyoncé: "Black Parade"

Tiana Major9 & EARTHGANG: "Collide"

Chloe x Halle: "Do It"

Skip Marley & H.E.R.: "Slow Down"

Best Progressive R&B Album

WINNER: Thundercat: It Is What It Is

Jhené Aiko: Chilombo

Chloe x Halle: Ungodly Hour

The Free Nationals: Free Nationals

Robert Glasper: Fuck Yo Feelings

Best Rap Performance

WINNER: Megan Thee Stallion ft. Beyoncé: "Savage"

Big Sean: "Deep Reverence"

DaBaby: "Bop"

Jack Harlow: "What's Poppin"

Lil Baby: "The Bigger Picture"

Pop Smoke: "Dior"

Best Melodic Rap Performance

WINNER: Anderson .Paak: "Lockdown"

DaBaby ft. Roddy Ricch: "Rockstar"

Drake ft. Lil Durk: "Laugh Now Cry Later"

Roddy Ricch: "The Box"

Travis Scott: "Highest in the Room"

Best Rap Song

WINNER: Megan Thee Stallion ft. Beyoncé: "Savage"

Lil Baby: "The Bigger Picture"

Roddy Ricch: "The Box"

Drake ft. Lil Durk: "Laugh Now Cry Later"

DaBaby ft. Roddy Ricch: "Rockstar"

Best Rap Album

WINNER: Nas: King's Disease

D Smoke: Black Habits

Freddie Gibbs and The Alchemist: Alfredo

Jay Electronica: A Written Testimony

Royce da 5'9": The Allegory

Best Alternative Music Album

WINNER: Fiona Apple: Fetch the Bolt Cutters

Beck: Hyperspace

Phoebe Bridgers: Punisher

Brittany Howard: Jaime

Tame Impala: The Slow Rush

Best Latin Pop or Urban Album

WINNER: Bad Bunny: YHLQMDLG

Camilo: Por Primera Vez

Kany García: Mesa Para Dos

Ricky Martin: Pausa

Debi Nova: 3:33

Best Dance Recording

WINNER: Kaytranada ft. Kali Uchis: "10%"

Diplo & Sidepiece: "On My Mind"

Disclosure, Aminé, and Slowthai: "My High"

Flume ft. Toro y Moi: "The Difference"

Jayda G: "Both of Us"

Best Dance Album

WINNER: Kaytranada: Bubba

Arca: KiCk i

Disclosure: Energy

Baauer: Planet's Mad

Madeon: Good Faith

Best Music Video

WINNER: Beyoncé, Saint Jhn, and Wizkid ft. Blue Ivy Carter: "Brown Skin Girl" (directors: Beyoncé Knowles-Carter and Jenn Nkiru)

Future ft. Drake: "Life Is Good" (director: Julien Christian Lutz)

Anderson .Paak: "Lockdown" (director: Dave Meyers)

Harry Styles: "Adore You" (director: Dave Meyers)

Woodkid: "Goliath" (director: Yoann Lemoine)

Producer of the Year, Non-Classical

WINNER: Andrew Watt

Jack Antonoff

Dan Auerbach

Dave Cobb

Flying Lotus

By Yasmine Shemesh

An eponymous album marks a major moment in an artist's career. For women, owning one's work, body, and artistry can be especially powerful, even political. Throughout Women's History Month, MTV News is highlighting some of these iconic statements from some of the biggest artists on the globe. This is Self-Titled.

In 2000, while filming scenes in the title role for Queen of the Damned in Australia, Aaliyah finished recording her third album. It had been in the works for a couple years — she reportedly completed most of it in New York before making her on-screen debut in that year’s Romeo Must Die and releasing “Try Again” as the soundtrack’s lead single. But despite the time gap, Aaliyah’s vision for her eponymous album remained clear: to expand the boundaries of her sound.

“She told me specifically what kind of records she wanted,” singer-songwriter Tank, who wrote “I Can Be” and “What If” for Aaliyah, told the music blog YouKnowIGotSoul in 2011. “She kind of wanted a little dangerous, a little sexy, that type of thing.”

Tank, with other co-writers and producers for the album including Static Major, Bud’da, J.Dub, Key Beats, and Playa, hunkered down in Melbourne’s Sing Sing Studios for about a month. Aaliyah, who filmed her scenes as the evil vampire Queen Akasha during the day, joined them in the evenings. When the album was released on July 7, 2001, it debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200. It received rave reviews: Vibe called it “the best soul album of the young millennium,” while Spin described Aaliyah as a “musicologist” who creates “meaning outside the lyrics.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5AAcgtMjUI

Aaliyah was a continuation of the remarkable way the artist  surpassed herself with each release. While 1994’s Age Ain’t Nothing but a Number bridged her precocious mystique with new jack swing, 1996’s One in a Million highlighted Aaliyah’s hushed tones with thumping, stuttering rhythms in collaboration with creative soul mates Missy Elliott and Timbaland. Aaliyah took all that and fused it into a sophisticated soundscape at the bleeding edge of sonic innovation.

Aaliyah’s forward-thinking musical outlook was representative of the enterprising artist she was — and the icon she so quickly became. As she developed her wide-ranging talent, her magnetic appeal flooded into other arenas: film, where she was cultivating a promising career, and fashion, where her laid-back, sensual style made her a muse for designers like Tommy Hilfiger. He even launched a whole campaign around her wearing baggy jeans with an exposed waistband and bandeau top, the success of which inspired the brand’s women’s line. Importantly, Aaliyah was an inspiration for kids coming of age everywhere who saw glimpses of themselves in her.

Considering the ingenuity of Aaliyah, it’s no wonder. The production was mind-bending, characterized by a cybernated sonic freakiness, and the way Aaliyah pulled humanity out of digitized ones and zeroes is a master class in nuance. “We were trying to do as much as we could and try to put an album together for her to be able to hear and see what she felt,” Bud’da recalled.

Aaliyah’s honeyed falsetto was more robust and urgent than ever as she explored relationship dynamics and intimacy in Timbaland’s twitchy syncopation (“We Need a Resolution,” “More Than a Woman”), desire in shimmering synthesizers (“Rock the Boat”), liberation in swelling staccato (“I Refuse”), and jealousy in glitchy, industrial chaos (“What If”).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3NLUthL6-BU

“There are a lot of great flavors on the album,” Aaliyah said in an interview with the Orlando Sentinel. “It's older, it's edgy, it's raw, yet it's a little bit of fun. I want to tell people where I am as a person in my life today.”

When Aaliyah was released, nothing sounded quite like it. TLC and Destiny’s Child had played with staticky accents on Fanmail and The Writing’s on the Wall, respectively — a trend that Aaliyah herself spurred with One in a Million — but Aaliyah was avant-garde. Weirder, in an electrifying kind of way; as Vibe described: “damn near post-R&B.”

It’s still impossible to fathom what happened next. Just a month after Aaliyah was released, returning home from the Bahamas where she shot the music video for “Rock the Boat,” Aaliyah and eight other passengers lost their lives in a plane crash. She was only 22. The indelible mark she made on contemporary R&B and pop culture, at large, in such a short period of time had been so immediate: Aaliyah stretched the bounds of what R&B could sound like in a way that redefined the genre, while helping inform sonic trends of the early 2000s. Twenty years after the release of the album as well as her tragic death, the force of that impact still reverberates.

It’s not difficult to hear the direct influence Aaliyah made on the generation that followed her. Artists like Kehlani, Tinashe, Ciara, and Rihanna have taken audible cues from Aaliyah’s soft vocal phrasing and left-of-center song qualities. "We owe our chill vibe to her," Tinashe told Billboard. "People were used to artists belting things out. She brought a new vocal styling that wasn’t represented in R&B. Not everything has to be so uptempo." Drake is one of Aaliyah’s loudest devotees, sampling her music (“Unforgettable”), referencing her in lyrics (“BedRock”), and rapping to her previously unreleased tracks (“Enough Said”). FKA Twigs channeled Aaliyah outright in “Two Weeks,” pairing her sweet tone against anxious percussion and then paying music video homage to Queen of the Damned in full Queen Akasha regalia.

“The new generation pulls inspiration from Aaliyah, despite not growing up with her, because she was authentic," Missy Elliott said in 2014. "Her music couldn’t be placed in a category."

KMazur/WireImage

Indeed, perhaps the best indicator of Aaliyah’s influence is how it has extended into more unexpected musical territories like dubstep — which, bearing in mind the experimental nature of her work, isn’t all that surprising. On “In McDonalds,” electronic maestro Burial pitch-shifted Aaliyah’s “I Refuse” into a whispering siren that cut through enigmatic sparsity. James Blake sampled “Are You That Somebody?” to form the foundation of his airy post-dubstep anthem “CMYK.”

Such a sweeping compass is one reason why Aaliyah’s lack of visibility on streaming platforms feels so glaring. The majority of her catalog isn’t available on any service. Aaliyah and One in a Million can be found on YouTube; there are bootlegs floating around the internet and random songs on Spotify featured on obscure compilations like R&B Divas and Girls of Hip Hop, Vol. 1. The only Aaliyah album currently available to stream is her first, Age Ain’t Nothing but a Number, which was written and produced by R. Kelly; in 2019, Kelly faced charges of bribing an Illinois official in order to procure a fake ID for the then-15-year-old Aaliyah in order to marry her. He is currently imprisoned awaiting a trail on charges of racketeering and child pornography.

Journalist Stephen Witt traces the streaming obstacle back to Aaliyah’s uncle, Barry Hankerson, who owns most of her discography through his now-defunct Blackground Records imprint and who seems unwilling to release it. There are also issues with the fact that her three albums were each distributed through different labels.

But with streaming as today’s primary avenue of musical consumption, if Aaliyah’s music isn’t accessible in our all-but-entirely digital era, younger generations who didn’t grow up with it won’t have the chance to truly discover it — no matter who cites Aaliyah as an influence or takes her fashion notes or celebrates the impact she made. As Witt writes, this runs a dangerous risk that Aaliyah will be forgotten. “Nostalgia is cyclical,” he adds, and “if Aaliyah's catalog isn't on the right platforms, her music could functionally cease to exist.”

https://twitter.com/MTVNEWS/status/1362820654630903809

Last summer, it seemed like things started moving along, albeit slowly. Aaliyah’s estate gave a statement saying communication had begun regarding the status of her music and its streaming availability. This January, another statement thanked fans for their patience and support: “We must acknowledge that these matters are not within our control and, unfortunately, take time.”

For those who loved her or still have yet to discover her, hopefully we’re a step closer to having Aaliyah’s music at our fingertips. In the meantime, her voice can still be heard in the musical landscape she helped revolutionize, as well as through the multidimensional trajectory of her legacy — to be sure, a distinction she wanted all along.

“I want people to see me as an entertainer,” Aaliyah considered in a 2001 interview with MTV News. “Someone who can do it all. I want people to look at me as a full-on entertainer.” She paused, then smiled. “And a good person.”

By Emilee Lindner

What determines a Grammy-winning tune?

Is it how many weeks a ditty spent on the Billboard Hot 100, how much money it made, or how musically endearing an anonymous group of Recording Academy voters deems it to be? Consider them all. But when it comes to declaring last year’s cream of the crop, TikTok’s impact can’t be ignored.

2020 was the year of staying inside, adopting new hobbies, scrolling for hours, and TikTok taught us new ways to move our bodies as we limbered up to the latest dance trend. As screen time soared, so did the spins on viral tracks that would eventually make our collective quarantine memorable. And they weren’t determined by record labels or radio DJs. TikTok choreographers and creators became 2020’s tastemakers, sending songs both new and old soaring up the charts, and it seems as though the Grammys are following their lead.

Sure, there have been hits boosted by internet virality before (Drake’s “In My Feelings” and the Shiggy Challenge, Rae Sremmurd’s “Black Beatles” and the Mannequin Challenge, Katy Perry’s “Swish Swish” and the Backpack Dance). But none of these songs have won a Grammy before. The “Whip/Nae Nae” and the “Dougie” were never considered awards-bait. Will this be the year that changes that? Let’s take a look at the Grammy nominees and their TikTok come-ups.

Roddy Ricch: "The Box"

@charlidameliosorry to break it to you but i have the best manager and dad ever♬ The Box - Roddy Ricch

It’s not the title of Roddy Ricch’s “The Box” that you remember, it’s the intro: a squeaky “eee-err” voiced by Roddy himself. TikTokers turned that sound effect into a phenomenon.

The app’s golden child Charli D’Amelio posted at least six videos of slo-mo “The Box” choreography in January 2020, totalling tens of millions of views. While other dance influencers followed suit, more comedy-inclined users turned “The Box” into skits. In February, TikTokers inexplicably focused on the lyric “I’m a 2020 president candidate.”

There’s no doubt that the masses love Roddy. After all, “The Box” spent 11 weeks at No. 1. At the 2021 Grammys, it’s nominated for three prizes, including Song of the Year. But will the Recording Academy’s taste align with those of the people?

Doja Cat: "Say So”

@yodelinghaley#duet with @yodelinghaley 1 year ago today ?? omg time flies♬ Say So - Doja Cat

Also nominated for Song of the Year is Doja Cat’s “Say So.” The disco-pop song wasn’t even released as an official single until after TikToker Haley Sharpe (a.k.a. @yodelinghaley) plucked it from Hot Pink’s B-side and hurled it to viral heights. Rightfully acknowledging TikTok’s impact, Doja remixed the song with Nicki Minaj and sent it to radio. She continued to ride the prolonged success of “Say So” throughout the end of 2020, somehow reinventing the track with each performance.

As TikTok continues to determine fan favorites faster than any focus group could, Doja’s rise coincided with the app’s. “Without this serendipitous timing, she might not have hit No. 1,” Cat Zhang wrote in Pitchfork. Without a No. 1, would Doja have caught the attention of the Recording Academy, whose pop categories almost only ever include Top 40 (and, in this year’s case, Black Pumas)? Doubt it.

Megan Thee Stallion: "Savage”

@keke.janajahNEW DANCE ALERT! ? if u use my dance tag me so i can see? @theestallion #writethelyrics #PlayWithLife #foyou #fyp #foryoupage #newdance #savage♬ Savage - Megan Thee Stallion

Two weeks after dropping the EP Suga, Megan Thee Stallion seemed focused on singles “B.I.T.C.H.” and “Captain Hook.” But TikTok had other plans. After user Keara Wilson’s “Savage” dance caught fire, it became clear which Suga track would come out triumphant.

Of course, TikTok heavyweights D'Amelio, Madi Monroe, and Addison Rae all had their fun with the dance challenge, as did celebrities like Keke Palmer, Tinashe, and even Megan herself. It wasn’t long until Beyoncé took notice. After Beyoncé’s remix, the song went to No. 1, and now, it’s up for Record of the Year, Best Rap Performance, and Best Rap Song.

It’s a synergetic pairing. Not only did Meg bag the collab of a lifetime, but Bey got a ride to three more Grammy nominations, making her the most-nominated artist at the Grammys this year with a total of nine.

Harry Styles: “Watermelon Sugar”

@minidoodlebentleyThere are three kinds of dogs: #TheHighNote #tiktokanimals #ratethings♬ Watermelon Sugar - Harry Styles

Harry Styles’s “Watermelon Sugar” (Grammy-nominated for Best Pop Solo Performance) was released as a promotional single back in 2019, and it took a while for it to pick up steam. Fans shared watermelon-themed photo hacks, makeup tutorials, and fruity recipe ideas. And when it was finally released with an official music video, the song blew up with summer-hungry TikTokers. It’s now Harry’s only No. 1 single. With 1.3 million documented videos using the song (hundreds of thousands of views on each), it’s hard to deny TikTok’s role in its rise — a trajectory that netted him three Grammy nods, including for Best Pop Solo Performance.

Justin Bieber: "Yummy”

@justinbieberYummyyyy♬ Yummy - Justin Bieber

The organic success of “The Box” and “Say So” is mouth-watering for most, but the formula can’t always be manufactured. When Justin Bieber released “Yummy,” his thirst for TikTok fame was all too transparent. He joined the app just to promote the song, attempting to tap into “a generation grown on highly sophisticated, multilayered internet culture” that “can detect bullshit a mile off,” according to Alexis Petridis, Ben Beaumont-Thomas, and Laura Snapes of The Guardian.

However, some fans played along, and “Yummy” soundtracked over 5 million videos. But its success on the app wasn’t user-spawned — Bieber ended up indulging in a paid Chipotle/TikTok integration, which in turn boosted a hashtag. A somewhat less overt strategy can also be pegged to Bieber’s Best Pop Solo Performance competition “Cardigan.” Around the release of Taylor Swift’s Folklore, fans couldn’t help noticing the influx of Swift merch showing up in their favorite influencers’ videos. Coincidence?

DaBaby: “Rockstar” and Dua Lipa: “Don’t Start Now”

Of course, TikTok isn’t directly responsible for the success of every hit song in the past year, but certain Grammy-nominated tracks have resonated with the app’s users. DaBaby and Roddy Ricch’s “Rockstar” (up for Record of the Year, Best Rap Song, and Best Melodic Rap Performance) has a whopping 7.1 million videos on the app, with The Rock, Kane Brown, and Got7 creating their own amped-up clips to the song.

“Don’t Start Now” (competing in the Record of the Year, Song of the Year, Best Pop Solo Performance categories), was the first release from Dua Lipa’s Future Nostalgia, and it also had us dancing. Hannah Balanay’s (@thexhan) video for the song — now with 6.6 million likes and 53 million views — not only started a dance trend, but the ever-popular Fortnite promoted the TikTok dance as an “emote,” a kind of victory dance, within the game.

This all points to one thing: The connection between TikTok stardom and the Grammys gold is growing stronger. And when March 14 rolls up, we’ll see if the accolades line up with the ultimate people’s vote — a double tap on a viral vid.

Even Daniel Craig would agree: The Weeknd hardly needs an introduction. On one of the world's biggest stages Sunday night (February 7), at the Super Bowl LV halftime show, he demonstrated why.

In a career-spanning set that bounded from his early pop hits to his current smashes, Abel Tesfaye embraced his status as a global pop star via an intricate, multi-part spectacle centered around his vision. Of course, in order to pull that off, you have to have the songs. And Abel has them, as he showcased, beginning with a red blazer-adorned stop on the Las Vegas strip, complete with a full choir of glowing angels summoning him onto the field.

"Starboy," naturally, was his introduction, and he delivered the tune with sunglasses in hand in front of his slightly mechanized glowing legion of specters. The glowing eyes soon gave way to real faces as they removed their masks in time for "The Hills," which exploded with neon power and a strip of fireworks. Then, he peaced out backstage, introducing the dizzying visual experience of the After Hours era that predates it: 2015's "Can't Feel My Face."

All the way back in May 2018, Playboi Carti dropped his beloved, star-studded debut album, Die Lit, which eventually hit No. 3 on the Billboard 200 albums chart. Nearly three years without an album can be a long time in the streaming economy — especially with peers like Taylor Swift releasing two in the span of five months — and as Carti kept busy popping up on features with Solange, Tyler, the Creator, and Drake (and dealing with persistent leaks), his second LP became extremely anticipated.

That likely explains the groundswell that's caused Whole Lotta Red to hit No. 1 this week, knocking Swift's Evermore from the top spot, as Billboard reports. It's Carti's first No. 1 and features guest appearances from Kanye West, Kid Cudi, and Future.

How did you spend 2020? With more with 70 million songs on Spotify alone and approximately 70 billion hours' worth of bingeable TV and movies available to stream — just a rough estimate — it would be safe to guess the answer is: at home, with your faves. Indeed, as many of us turned to what we know and love to stay warm and comforted in this most turbulent year, it was especially hard to keep up with what was new.

But we've got you covered. Much like MTV News does each week with Bop Shop, we've rounded up a good crop of 2020 music here to add to your next playlist — recordings that might've not have been on your radar this year, but that'll be sure to make 2021 worth every second.

As we put this year to bed, let's celebrate the albums we love that you might've missed in 2020. Maybe you'll come to love them, too.

• Westerman: Your Hero Is Not Dead

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8OFYyFhWTYE

  Will Westerman's world is insular, but his music feels universal. For his debut, the London sound architect built a folk album from sparse parts: wiggly guitar lines, blinking electronics, and his ever-ascending croon, which takes flight with no warning. It's all on display on the skyward title track, where Westerman honors late post-rock icon Mark Hollis with a simple slogan committed to hope, even amid loss: "I will try to hold this / If you don't see where hope is." At the end of the most hellacious year in recent memory and in the face of unfathomable grief, those words double as a dedication to positivity, grace, and love in 2021. More of that, please. —Patrick Hosken

• Wizkid: Made in Lagos

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-Zk7ATICaw

  Four years after Drake's "One Dance" brought Afrobeats maestro Wizkid to the global pop stage, the Nigerian superstar's second major-label album found him once again blazing through a series of expert collaborations. Burna Boy, Ella Mai, H.E.R., Skepta, and more dip in and out of Made in Lagos, filling its runtime with energy and genres from quite literally all over the world. But it's Wizkid's standout solo moments, like the sexy "Sweet One" and breezy, confident opener "Reckless," that make the album yet another force to be reckoned with. —Patrick Hosken

• Caveboy: Night in the Park, Kiss in the Dark

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPfWD1IC6p0

  Caveboy deserved better from 2020. The Montreal-based indie-pop trio dropped Night in the Park, Kiss in the Dark — their years-in-the-making debut album — on January 31. Between one bandmate falling ill at the start of their 2020 tour and the global COVID-19 pandemic, the group had barely a month to promote the record IRL. And it’s a damn shame. Infused with lush, ‘80s-inspired synths and infectious beats, Night in the Park dazzles from first note to last. Its tracklist has everything: introspective ballads (“Find Me,” “Guess I’ve Changed”), sex-positive anthems (“Silk for Gold,” “Landslide”), and dance floor-ready bangers (“Obsessed,” “Hide Your Love”). In an alternate timeline, I’m knocking back tequila sodas at a dimly lit nightclub and shrieking in delight when the DJ plays “Obsessed.” —Sam Manzella

• JoJo: Good to Know

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2NF4Dn3WTU

  I don't know how JoJo managed to release three versions of her latest album and have it still remain so slept on. Clocking in at just under 30 minutes, Good to Know, her first release since her 2018 re-recordings is a solid and concise look at how much she's grown as a songwriter, storyteller, and vocalist. While she traverses typical subject matter — alcoholic indulgence, no-good men, immaculate vibes — it's also clear that she's crafted her own slice of R&B sound that's so patently unique that the oft-repeated "Wait, JoJo is back?" jokes simply hold no ground anymore. She's here to stay. —Carson Mlnarik

• Duckwrth: SuperGood

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sILSv7GCyQg

  The disrespect of 2020 on the year’s best dance-floor albums, from Future Nostalgia to What’s Your Pleasure, will only make the inevitable return to the nightlife that much more thrilling. The entirety of Duckwrth’s most audacious album yet, SuperGood, should feel just as betrayed: It’s a sprawling effort across rhythms, concoctions of electronic, disco-funk, and soul that deserved strobe lights. “World on Wheels” is simply one of the year’s most freely feel-good jams, begging for you to head to the skating rink — you know, once they’re open. —Terron Moore

• Elysia Crampton: ORCARARA 2010

  While many of this year’s leading experimental musicians veered at times towards legible genrefication — Arca’s distorted reggaeton-pop on KiCk i, Yves Tumor’s glam-rock turn with Heaven to a Tortured Mind — Elysia Crampton’s output remained ever formless and fragementary. The producer’s fifth album, ORCARARA 2010, was originally crafted to accompany an installation at the 2018 Biennale de l’Image en Mouvement in Geneva, trading narrative frameworks for sparse soundscapes that envelop and overwhelm. There are few times where a beat appears, and when it does, it rages as a thunderous maelstrom of drums ("Secret Ravine," “Spring of Wound”), giving way to sparkling expanses of burbling synths and piano keys (“Homeless”) that refuse to hold any true shape until eventually dissolving into nothingness. For Crampton, who is Aymara (a tribe indigenous to present-day Bolivia) and dedicates her album to an inmate firefighter named Paul Sousas, ORCARARA 2010 is a delicate, personal reckoning with intergenerational trauma and the deeply ingrained systems that continue to oppress people in the United States and abroad. —Coco Romack

• Sault: Untitled (Black Is) & Untitled (Rise)

  Here's what we know about Sault, the mysterious British music collective with millions of streams on their nocturnal, rhythmic, and bewitching assortment of tunes. On Juneteenth, the group — purportedly based around U.K. producer Inflo — released its first untitled album, (Black Is), via a name-your-price model, with proceeds going to charity, and with a clear message: "We present our first 'Untitled' album to mark a moment in time where we as Black People, and of Black Origin are fighting for our lives." Musically moving between funk, soul, subterranean R&B, and more, the 20 tracks comprise a powerful statement — one Sault followed up three months later with yet another untitled album, (Rise). Taken together, the pair of recordings mark a crucial year characterized by protests against racial injustice and frank, long-overdue conversations about equity. "Maybe you're uncomfortable / With the fact we're waking up," goes the haunting "Uncomfortable." "Why do you keep shooting us? / How do you turn hate to love?" —Patrick Hosken

• The Ivy: We Move Faster at Night

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3c3Z-nGjik

  Emerging trio The Ivy’s We Move Faster at Night feels like modern nostalgia: a brief six-track collection of earnest yet humble ambition, an adolescent coming of age steeped in the fuzzy filter of '80s synth-pop. Most of its songs approach the past — see “Memories,” “It Was Always You” — with a tone both somber and hopeful. The one song that does look forward, “Give Me a Try,” is the catchiest earworm, but even here, there’s still a timeless longing that binds the album together: for love, for patience, for a first chance, or maybe a second. —Terron Moore

• Armani Caesar: The Liz

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OuH4LtIgCNo

  Screen legend Elizabeth Taylor had two of the most famous eyes in the world. On the cover of her latest mixtape, Buffalo rapper (and Griselda's "First Lady") Armani Caesar adds a third, directly in the middle of Taylor's forehead. It's a nod to the slightly off-kilter, warbling world the Griselda rap crew inhabits, fortified by dusty loops and braggadocio. "Every time I spit the flow, it get applause," Caesar raps on "Gucci Casket." "Queen of this shit, you bitches mad or nah?" Between references to Casino's tortured heroine, CB4's intrepid business woman, and pro wrestling's independent force Miss Elizabeth, Caesar thrives in the vortex of brevity. That's the secret of The Liz, which covers 11 tracks in just 25 minutes and sets the stage for an even more staggering 2021. —Patrick Hosken

• Ryan Beatty: Dreaming of David

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmobKehTYR4

  Ryan Beatty’s sophomore album is experimental, genre-defying, and moody, following in the footsteps of his frequent collaborators Frank Ocean and Brockhampton. There are no pop earworms here, just lo-fi reflection on the queer experience, daring in both its production styles and candidness. You’d never guess the processed, sensual vocals on "Dark Circles" belong to the same artist who got his start covering pop tunes on his YouTube channel and making cookie-cutter bops on Radio Disney. I think it's time we had that conversation. —Carson Mlnarik

• Boniface: Boniface

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WkMEQB3IC4k

  2020 created distance in a multitude of ways: between people, between goals, between our pasts and futures while stuck in a murky, unknown present. And that space of reconsideration is where Boniface’s excellent self-titled debut shines most: swelling, anthemic indie pop with its best moments pulling its narrator away from the things that once defined them — aged friendships, lost loves, and the monotony of suburbia — to see them through different eyes. On tracks like “Ghosts,” there’s a joyous invincibility to predictable small-town life, but standout “I Will Not Return As a Tourist” is fueled by a burning desire to escape everything known. “I can’t stand spending nights away from home,” they realize, “but that’s all that I’ve been doing.” —Terron Moore

• Boldy James & The Alchemist: The Price of Tea in China

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWRhaS5azcA

  Out of the three collaborative projects storied hip-hop producer The Alchemist dropped in 2020, his expansive set with Detroit rapper Boldy James feels the most like a dream. Not as celebrated as the verbose Alfredo (with Freddie Gibbs) and yet not as sweeping as Lulu (with James's Griselda cohort Conway the Machine), The Price of Tea in China moves in its own orbit, shape-shifting from grimy to soulful to ethereal in single snare snap. James sounds right at home behind Alchemist's menacing whistles on "Giant Slide," while "Surf & Turf" feels light as a feather thanks to a quick verse from Vince Staples. It's only one of James's own four projects in 2020 as well, and The Price of Tea in China — a pseudo-sequel to the pair's own My 1st Chemistry Set in 2013 — captures the collision of two prolific artists at the top of their respective games. —Patrick Hosken

• A.G. Cook: Apple

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=koI7IRSjfxc

  As the progenitor of London’s PC Music collective, which has influenced artists like Chari XCX and 100 gecs, A.G. Cook has stretched pop to its extremes. This year, the producer, who has long been behind the scenes, released his debut solo album, an experimental, 49-track collection called 7G that let fans in on his song-making process for the first time. It largely overshadowed the release of his second LP, Apple, the following month, but it’s the latter that distills that methodology into truly accessible tunes. It melds all the synthetic blips and ticks for which the genre has become known (“Airhead”), with earnest pop-punk vocals (“Animals,” “Beautiful Superstar”) for a sound that feels surprisingly both nostalgic and of the moment. It shows that, though this particular strain of hyperpop has often been dubbed the future of pop itself, it’s perhaps better served as a reflection of the present. —Coco Romack

• The Avalanches: We Will Always Love You

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Evju5Sa-NPk

  Twenty years ago, two crate-digging Australians stitched together a masterpiece album of sampling-based electronic music called Since I Left You. A carefree sequel followed in 2016. But late this year, well after the typical best-of lists had already been published, The Avalanches looked up from the dance floor to take in the night sky, recruiting artists as diverse as Leon Bridges, Jamie xx, Pink Siifu, and Vashti Bunyan to merge spectral romance and hypnotic stargazing on We Will Always Love You. What does a Valentine's Day dance party at the International Space Station sound like? Here's your answer. Now get out there and move. —Patrick Hosken