Bop Shop: Songs From Stromae, Raveena, Orville Peck, And More

Bop Shop: Songs From Stromae, Raveena, Orville Peck, And More




The search for the ever-elusive "bop" is tough. Playlists and streaming-service suggestions 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 could add anything — it's a snapshot of what's on our minds and what sounds good. We'll keep it fresh with the latest music, nevertheless expect a couple of oldies yet goodies) every once in a while, also. Get ready: The Bop Shop is currently open for business.





  • Kae Tempest: "More Pressure" (ft. Kevin Abstract)



    Kae Tempest's "More Pressure" is simply undeniable. The British rapper and poet devotes the opening few minutes of their new single to reciting self-betterment maxims as if items on a checklist: "More pressure, more release, more relief / More belief / Far less push, more flow / Please, let me let go." This is engrossing due to the musical bed underneath it, which dazzles with pure synthpop delight. Then, the beat drops out for three whole seconds, nevertheless Tempest trusts you'll stick around to hear the rest. Visualize to it that you do, and you'll find Kevin Abstract in an identically driven mode on top of even more gigantic keyboard thuds. It's a new year. Time to let this pair get you motivated. —Patrick Hosken






  • BamBam ft. Seulgi: "Who Are You"



    What’s better than one K-pop star? Two K-pop stars! GOT7’s BamBam makes his solo comeback with “Who Are You,” a mid-tempo pop ballad featuring Red Velvet’s Seulgi, a fellow fan fave. In true group effort, both artists’ strong however sultry vocals melt with each other effortlessly over the acoustic-blend track, highlighting both their individual talents along with their work as a duo. Accompanied by an edgy, high-contrast visual filled with completely in-sync, already TikTok-viral choreography (as expected of a lead and main dancer), “Who Are You” serves because the best introduction to BamBam’s new era and leaves fans waiting in anticipation for the release of sophomore mini-album, B. —Sarina Bhutani






  • Stromae: "L'Enfer"



    Paul Van Haver, the Belgian singer-songwriter-composer known the world over as Stromae, unveiled his new single “L’Enfer” this week throughout a moving efficiency on a French news program followed by the release of an identically powerful music video. “L’Enfer,” or “Hell,” paints a portrait of the artist’s mental health struggles, in which he reveals he’s thought suicide and recognizes he’s “not alone in feeling all alone.” This deep emotional honesty from one of the most revered artists in the Francophone world and in back of is much needed at a time any time the COVID-19 pandemic has quickly exacerbated feelings of anxiety and depression. Throughout his interview with TF1, Stromae discusses the dichotomy of his joyful beats and dark lyrics, likening them to his outlook on life. “There are tough moments, more joyful moments… there really is no high without low, there really is no low without high. That’s life.” —Farah Zermane






  • Lael Neale: "Hotline"



    In the 1950s and '60s, pop songs would only get radio play if they were three minutes or far less in span — the quantity of music a 45 RPM record could hold. L.A.'S Lael Neale usually perceive this intrinsically on "Hotline," which brings minimal, mid-century pop to the fore. With only a skeletal programmed beat and also a rising swell of keyboard chords to join her, Neale lets her voice be the star here. It's slight yet powerful, like the vinyl discs DJs used spin. Neale, needless to say, wraps up her song in 2:50. —Patrick Hosken






  • Orville Peck: "Dead of Night"



    Leave it to the Season 2 premiere of Euphoria to bring this sultry cut from masked country-pop singer Orville Peck back inside my life. A standout off Peck’s 2019 EP Show Pony, “Dead of Night” simmers with yearning, painting an atmospheric picture of a debaucherous night out on the town with a bad-boy lover (“Strange canyon road, eccentric look in your eyes / You shut them as we fly, as we fly”). Peck’s throaty croon reaches the best of his vocal register in the chorus, nixing any possibility of passive listening. It’s an evocative auditory experience ripe for daydreaming, yet in spite of the fact that the song’s feature on HBO’s hit teen drama coincides with a nightmare of a storyline. No spoilers, I promise. —Sam Manzella






  • Raveena: "Rush"



    On the R&B-adjacent "Rush," Raveena permits waves of sound, both synthetic and natural, to wander in and out as her voice passes through all of these. It's the sort of openness that sounds colorful — she says the song came to her as a result of an acid trip — and for its accompanying journey of a video, Raveena lets the hues surround her. She brings in the Bollywood influence that also permeates the song (fused with, she says, "the pop/R&B music that I grew up on In the
    U.S.) As well as pulls in references from "'70s Western sci-fi movies that I'm obsessed with." The result is a fully singular statement from an artist primed for bigger things in 2022. —Patrick Hosken






  • FKA Twigs: "Lightbeamers"



    One of the most subdued songs on FKA Twigs's latest mixtape, Caprisongs, is "Lightbeamers," which sounds almost like a lullaby. As Twigs repeats "pretty and sad," her voices takes on a couple of unusual qualities — no surprise from an artist who's made a career out of unexpected vocal shifts. However on this almost tender cut, bolstered by harp plucks cooked into a slow beat, the moments where she sings directly at you become the most memorable. —Patrick Hosken













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