Taken from this week’s Future Pop mailer. Click here to subscribe. All my Songs of the Week are featured on my Top of the Poptastic playlist, along with the rest of my faves from 2017.
Bea Miller is an example of a trend I’m going to call “girl cried wolf.” One of the reasons I think we’re lacking in breakthrough pop artists at the moment is the current strategy of releasing new tracks incessantly, hoping that one sticks. The tactic worked for Dua Lipa, who finally had a proper ‘moment’ with her seventh single, New Rules, but for other artists it makes each new song seem increasingly inconsequential. This approach might please the superfans, but how are the rest of us meant to know when to pay attention? Bea Miller has been releasing singles and EPs since 2014, and her second album is due at the end of this year. Her songs have always been listenable, and she showed promise even back in 2012 when she appeared on The X Factor US at just 13 years old. Now, she’s finally released a track with hit potential, and no-one seems to have noticed. repercussions has a current sound, plus uplifting lyrics, sweet vocals, and a strong, catchy chorus. My first impression was that it sounded like Julia Michaels, and funnily enough it actually was co-written by Julia, along with regular collaborator Justin Tranter, producer Jesse Shatkin, and Bea herself.