The autumn album slate is taking shape. Becky G announced her forthcoming album, Encuentros, alongside the single “COMO DIABLOS.” FLO will finally drop their debut LP Access All Areas in November, and “Bending My Rules” is a formidable appetizer. Jamie xx also offered up a taste from his looming In Waves album.
Check that out and more in Uproxx’s Best New Pop Music roundup below.
Becky G — “COMO DIABLOS”
Becky G coupled her Encuentros album announcement with the release of “COMO DIABLOS,” an emotionally charged single about a painful heartbreak. Becky G told Rolling Stone that Encuentros is “Esquinas at night,” referencing her LP from last September. That vibe bleeds through in the Leo Aguirre-directed “COMO DIABLOS” video filmed in Monterrey, Mexico. “It’s about how internalizing your emotions turns into this power that’s inward, but also how that translates outward,” Becky G told Rolling Stone. “It doesn’t necessarily have to be an anger that is explosive, but it can still have this vibration that causes the ground to shake.” Encuentros is due out on October 10.
LE SSERAFIM — “Crazy”
In late February, LE SSERAFIM dropped “Easy,” which became the rising K-pop girl group’s first-career charter on the Billboard Hot 100. CRAZY, their fourth mini album out now, could produce a few more Hot 100 hits. The five-track project includes the BloodPop-produced “1-800-hot-n-fun,” which LE SSERAFIM debuted at Coachella, but “Crazy” is the standout track. The Nu Kim-directed video is captivating, with impressive choreography to accentuate tech house beats. You’d also be hard-pressed to find a more Instagram-ready hook than “All the girls are girling girling.”
FLO — “Bending My Rules”
To be clear, “Bending My Rules” finds FLO firmly in their slow jam R&B bag. It qualifies as pop because FLO possesses undeniable mass appeal. The track released shortly after the award-winning British trio announced Access All Areas, their debut LP, will arrive this November. Jorja Douglas, Renée Downer, and Stella Quaresma have never sounded better than on “Bending My Rules,” effortlessly delivering pristine harmonies and smooth vocal runs. “‘Bending My Rules’ is such a captivating song and a softer side of FLO,” the band said in a statement, as per Stereogum. “It shows our vulnerability, and it speaks to our current relationships with our boyfriends. It’s hard to be a baddie and a lover girl, but sometimes you just have to Bend Your Rules.”
Jamie xx Feat. Kelsey Lu, John Glacier & Panda Bear — “Dafodil”
Jamie xx will release his In Waves album on September 20, and “Dafodil” holds a special place on the tracklist. “‘Dafodil’ was one of the first pieces of music that I made for this album,” the English DJ and producer wrote on Instagram. “It was actually the song that made me realize I could finally make another album. I am forever grateful to Kelsey Lu, with whom this song began as voice notes about a hazy night we both remembered. Thank you to John Glacier and Panda Bear whose voices perfectly evoke the unique feeling of summer nights in London.” The dynamic track is mesmerizing and further solidifies Jamie xx as a limitless experimenter.
AleXa — “Joy Of Missing Out”
Nobody can question AleXa’s versatility. “Joy Of Missing Out,” AleXa’s fourth English-language song of 2024, is a far cry from K-pop, but the Oklahoma native seems right at home in a pop-punk palette. “I, myself, am an extrovert, but I’m the only one in my friend group,” AleXa said in a statement. “This song goes out to all those who’d rather party by themselves than get lost in the crowd.” Incidentally, “Joy Of Missing Out” shows why AleXa never has to worry about getting lost in any crowd.
Zedd Feat. John Mayer — “Automatic Yes”
On August 30, Zedd released Telos, his first LP since 2015’s True Colors. Before the 10-track album arrived in full, Zedd dropped “Out Of Time” featuring Bea Miller and “Lucky” featuring Remi Wolf. Both songs showcased Zedd’s world-class ability to mold soundscapes best suited for any kind of vocalist, and “Automatic Yes” featuring John Mayer multiplies that notion. Dance-pop and more soulful beats blend seamlessly. The drop is set up by Mayer softly singing, “I don’t wanna be the same mistake you make again / Yes, I’m gonna keep my promise / but if you ever ask me, it’s an / Automatic, automatic yes, yes, yes, I wanna.” Maybe the highest compliment to Zedd is that “Automatic Yes” could easily live on a John Mayer album.
Coco & Clair Clair — “My Girl”
Coco & Clair Clair are back with Girl, their nine-track album encompassing the Atlanta-bred duo’s affinity for unconventional risks — lyrically and sonically. It pays off with “My Girl.” “‘My Girl’ is an ode to your best friend, the girls you meet in the bathroom at the club, your idol, whoever it is that makes you feel on top of the world and like nobody can f*ck with you,” Coco and Clair said in a statement. “We’re not worrying about other people anymore. Let’s go out, have fun, and let the beat rock.” Coco & Clair Clair will do precisely that on their 21-date headlining North American tour, beginning on October 1 in Montréal, Québec, Canada.
James Bay — “Easy Distraction”
“Easy Distraction” was co-written by James Bay and The Killers’ Brandon Flowers, and it’s all I need to hear to know I’d like for James Bay and Brandon Flowers to write more songs together. The upbeat single finds Bay in a familiar pocket: Pouring his guts out atop anthemic, soaring instrumentals. “The song is about realizing too late that someone means so much to you, but you still want to show them and let them know,” the three-time Grammy nominee said in a statement. “It’s exploring how, in the face of adversity, we can still reach out; we can still connect.” “Easy Distraction” follows folksy, rollicking “Up All Night” with Noah Kahan and The Lumineers as singles from Bay’s forthcoming fourth LP, Changes All The Time, due out on October 4.
Greyson Chance — “Meet Me Outside”
Greyson Chance has been ramping up his output in recent months with “Rearview Mirror,” “Haymaker,” and now “Meet Me Outside.” The acoustic single is beautifully wistful. Chance displays vocal range injected with raw emotion, singing, “And all of those white picket fences were built to protect you from me / Why can’t you see? / I’ll never meet your parents / I’ll never drink their wine / They’ll never hang up a frame with our picture inside / We’ll never walk down the aisle / And maybe that’s alright / So I’ll keep the car running baby / Meet me outside.” Chance explained the inspiration behind the song here.
Daydreamers — “Don’t Delete My Number”
Daydreamers selflessly made the perfect summer outro in “Don’t Delete My Number,” which hinges upon the harsh reconciliation of knowing a blissful romance had to end with the summer but wishing it could last forever. “Don’t delete my number / Because I still remember this summer,” Riley sings in the refrain. The British alt-pop band’s lead vocalist added in a statement, “To me, Daydreamers is ‘sad euphoria.’ The lyrics will tear your heart out, but the music is euphoric.”