On Charli XCX's Crash, the artist leans fully into a mainstream pop persona for the first time in almost a decade.

Each week, the guests and hosts on NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour share what's bringing them joy. This week: Jackass Forever, StraightioLab podcast, and True Blood.

Joined by fellow Y2K-appreciator Rina Sawayama, Charli XCX adds a wistful, garage spin to September's biggest hit to create the yearning lament that is "Beg for You."

"Smile," like many tracks on RuPaul's latest album, mimics the sounds of early bubblegum hyperpop but waters them down in an act of bleak corporate reappropriation.

Join Alt.Latino for an live, hour-long fiesta dedicated to highlighting the hottest Latin music of 2021

Listening to Bladee in "SHINIE" is like discovering beams of sound from another planet: fleeting, yet indicative of something beautiful just out of your grasp.

Aided by Becky G, Nicki Nicole and Nathy Peluso, 'Pa Mis Muchachas' is a smooth guaracha ode to the Latina.

The NPR Music production assistant shares their favorite songs of 2021

The singles and albums that came out this year seem to reflect the diversity of Latin music more than ever.

From Jersey club to the U.K. underground, 2021's best electronic music looks like a complex melting pot of genre and history.

100 gecs has always had the potential to reach their freaky arms out to stadiums, dance floors, and mosh pits alike; "mememe" recognizes the duo's transfixing power to do so.

KIRARA uses sounds that evoke the childlike wonder of squaring up in a boss level against an unspecified bully

On "Stupid Boy," Slayyyter and Big Freedia tear up the EDM-inspired track, blowing through their verses with aplomb and disparaging the himbo agenda once and for all.

Merlyn Wood smashes together the best parts of Brockhampton with snares straight out of a SOPHIE sample pack.

The Ecuadorian-American producer talks his spiritual new album Far In and building an artistic vocabulary

Blackfishing aside, there's a reason Jesy Nelson isn't a household name. With toothless lyrics and nondescript vocals, Nelson commits the cardinal solo career sin: being boring

Nicki Nicole's Tiny Desk home concert is representative of her artistry writ large, as an artist born in 2000 but with a connection to sounds and styles beyond her years.

The type of song you play on speakers until they burst, "check1" pushes the needle forward for a genre that sometimes feels stuck in its own mythos.

The Colombian indie rock band performs a colorful and funky four-song set from their home country's capital, Bogotá.

The reggaetón superstar kicks off our "El Tiny" takeover of the Tiny Desk (home) concert series.