Taylor Swift's Friendship Dirge, Lil' Kim's Girls' Night Out, And More Legendary All-Female Collabs

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 can 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 several oldies nevertheless goodies) every once in a while, also. And this week, immediately after two all-girl collaborations (Megan Thee Stallion and Beyoncé's "Savage (Remix)", Doja Cat and Nicki Minaj's "Say So") hit No. 1 on the Billboard charts for the opening time in an individual year, we toast the landmark moment by sharing some of our preference team-ups by powerful ladies.

Get ready: The Bop Shop is currently open for business.

Jessie Reyez ft. Normani and Kehlani: “Body Count (Remix)” (2018)

https://www.Youtube.Com/watch?V=5LJMBVQnkcE

Reyez’s original track was already a triumphant response to the negative stereotypes that boys often inflict on ladies who physical activity their right to be flawlessly organic sexual beings. Adding Kehlani’s spice to the remix sends it to another level, although Normani? Bars. “You think you made me?” She asks half of our worthless population. “You’re funny, you know that?... You were birthed by a woman / Show some fucking respect.” —Terron Moore

Eve ft. Gwen Stefani: “Let Me Blow Ya Mind” (2001)

https://www.Youtube.Com/watch?V=Wt88GMJmVk0

In 2001, Gwen Stefani was still primarily known for fronting No Doubt. Though she’d sung on songs for Sublime, Prince, Moby, and others, she wasn’t nevertheless widely referred to as a secret-weapon hook-delivery machine. Although Eve changed that. “Let Me Blow Ya Mind,” which hit No. 2 In the
U.S. And won the first-ever Best Rap/Sung Efficiency Grammy, is a minimal masterpiece. Dr. Dre co-authored the skeletal, creeping beat, the ideal platform for a swaggering Eve to begin giving commands: “Yo, drop your glasses / Shake your asses.” Her endless star power was only magnified by Stefani, who returned the feature favor three years later on her own solo venture. —Patrick Hosken

Lil’ Kim ft. Angie Martinez, Da Brat, Left Eye, and Missy Elliott: “Not Tonight girls Night Remix)” (1997)

https://www.Youtube.Com/watch?V=2StcXjwrGHY

Lil’ Kim’s “Not Tonight girls Night Remix)” featuring The Voice of New York herself, Angie Martinez , Da Brat, Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes, and Missy Elliott is the ideal girl’s night out (remember those!?) Ever in under five minutes. With a beat that reminds — or maybe encourages — that anywhere can be a dance floor, Missy’s rendition of the anthemic Kool and the Gang hook, and the raw verses that celebrate sisterhood because the ladies pass the mic, it sonically (and, in case you count the cameo-filled music video, visually) encapsulates the magic, power, and fun that’s had once ladies get with each other. —Rya Backer

Charli XCX and Christine and the Queens: “Gone” (2019)

https://www.Youtube.Com/watch?V=chSZCtLrgz8

The music video for “Gone” dropped nearly each year ago, yet each viewing still makes my little gay heart skip a beat. The track makes the most of Charli XCX and Christine and the Queens’s pop chops, pairing a synth-heavy, dance-friendly backing track with emotionally charged vocals from the chart-topping British artist and her queer indie-pop collaborator. (Christine even flexes her French in the bridge, elevating an otherwise solid song to a different level.) Charli doesn’t just say “gay rights”; with this sensual collab and its dripping-wet visuals, she is gay rights. Comment dit-on “we have to stan”? —Sam Manzella

Taylor Swift ft. Colbie Caillat: “Breathe”

https://www.Youtube.Com/watch?V=DYT2B1-S8AE

One day, I am going to tell my grandchildren about the powerful repercussions a track featuring songwriting powerhouses Taylor Swift and Colbie Caillat had in 2008. Taylor was recording her sophomore album Fearless soon after selling over 7 million copies of her debut, and Colbie scored a hit with debut single “Bubbly” the year before. Their group effort marked the coming with each other of two of pop’s rising female songwriters who were each doing things their own ways, with folk and nation sensibilities. Swift bumps Caillat’s backing vocals way up as she sprinkles her voice while in the track, nevertheless the real kicker is any time Colbie comes in with a chorus of apologies at the close. Considering the ballad is an ode to a friendship lost, the moment feels particularly raw and weak. Perhaps that’s why Tay never performed the track live up until 2018. —Carson Mlnarik

Julia Michaels ft. Selena Gomez : “Anxiety”

https://www.Youtube.Com/watch?V=Q33DvcjXA7M

Julia Michaels has routinely been known for her candid, considerate, some days heart-breaking lyrics, yet never have us listeners had a more voyeuristic look into an artist’s head as we do with “Anxiety,” a song about struggling with mental health that Michaels wrote and performed with Selena Gomez. Though the song specifics the inner workings of living through anxiety, the idea of two females singing openly about a shared experience is truly empowering, even stimulating at times, as their airy, alternating vocals complement each other effortlessly. It’s refreshing to be able to see a group effort that isn’t secretly a competition. The magic of “Anxiety” rests in the fact that Michaels and Gomez turned their personalized trauma into universal truth, a feat that several songwriters attempt although only some capture successfully. “Anxiety” just happens to be one of these successes. —Sarina Bhutani

Hayley Williams ft. Boygenius: “Roses/Lotus/Violet/Iris”

https://www.Youtube.Com/watch?V=omHdRlpmqyg

Petals for Armor is the Hayley Williams solo album that was never supposed to exist — yet thankfully, it does. Listening to these spare, rhythmic adventures feels like pure release, mostly due to how Williams’s lilt finds a residence in the upper atmosphere allowed by the bass-heavy instrumentals. For “Roses/Lotus/Violet/Iris,” she enlisted the huge voices of Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers, and Lucy Dacus to find even more space, and fill it. Here, the Boygenius members stay mellow and low on the chorus while Williams lifts skyward. The thought of such harmony almost not existing feels downright beyond belief. —Patrick Hosken