Main Pop Girlies with Addison Rae, Benson Boone, Miley Cyrus, Pink pantheress, & Tate McRae: Rapid Fire Reviews

Reviews by Lavender:

After finally getting my thoughts out on the new Lorde album, I wanted to look back on the year so far and cover some of the mainstream pop releases I hadn't gotten the chance to yet. So, for better and very much for worse, that's what I did in this week's rapid fire reviews. 

Addison - Addison Rae

TikTok star turned pop singer Addison Rae has been one of the most divisive pop storylines of 2025 so far. While she doesn't have anywhere near the most haters of any of the artists we will talk about on this list, a lot of people seem to find her music agonizingly boring and hold her up as an example of why influencers should stay influencers. (Though I'd argue Alex Warren is a much better example.) But there's also a subset of surprisingly devoted Addison Rae fans, and not just among TikTok refugees and teenage pop stans. Actual music critics have been quick to praise her work, and looking at some of the singles from this record, I totally see why. Her chart breakthrough "Diet Pepsi" is an absolutely shimmering summer hit that's still in my rotation now every bit as much as when I first heard it last year. Earlier this year, we got the equally infectious "Fame Is A Gun," which plays off her tight refrains and girlish vocal affect to absolutely perfect results. It's probably the single catchiest song on the entire record. 

Even though I went into the record with those two as clear favorites among the singles, the others did start to grow on me. "Aquamarine" has this hypnotic chorus with its punchy beat and Addison's dragged-out syllables that I like quite a bit. I also think "High Fashion's" isolating snap beat and reserved hook are a better combo than I initially gave it credit for. I also find myself really enjoying the opening track, "New York," with its sparse instrumental and gentle tugging vocals. 

But all of those elements give way to two issues with the record. The first and much more fun to talk about is that Addison loves to wade into the kind of white woman cringe we haven't seen in decades. The single "Headphones On" is the very best example. The song is purely the personification of a JustGirlyThings Tumblr image about wearing your earbuds and looking out the window on a rainy day. Even more embarrassing is the deep cut "Money Is Everything," which genuinely feels like it belongs on Liz Phair's Funstyle. But for the most part, the deep cuts here are just boring. There are several shorter tracks that really don't add up to much other than being slipped in as intros to other songs. But there's also entire tracks, namely the one-two-punch of "In The Rain" and "Times Like These," that are just deflatingly boring for the second half of the record. 

I didn't realize until I had already heard the album in full, just how much of a head start Addison had given herself with several great singles and even a great intro track. That's why it's amazing just how much of its own momentum this album manages to throw away chasing down boring ideas that already feel below her, given what she's proven capable of so far. I think Addison has clearly proven her capacity to be a singles artist, and I'm looking forward to many summers to follow, soundtracked by her work. But if she wants to elevate herself to the level of her contemporary pop auteurs, her next album needs to contain more compelling ideas and FAR more consistent execution. 5.5/10

American Heart - Benson Boone

I don't hate Benson Boone, but I sure do fucking hate his music. He had just about the worst possible introduction to the charts last year with the blaring, awful song “Beautiful Things,” which still tortures me on the charts to this day with its garish, over-sung chorus and under-thought lyrics. He followed that up with an album last year that wasn't entirely as bad as his breakthrough single, though I still didn't really care for almost any of it. I thought that this turnaround had at least a little bit of potential following the lead single “Sorry I'm Here For Someone Else.” I actually kind of like the playful verses, but when the instrumental dials back and the tempo slows on the hook, it becomes so embarrassingly sappy, and that's without even mentioning the song’s horrendous bridge. Regardless, I think it may be Boone's best song yet, which had me hoping for some kind of improvement on this album. As it turns out, he's actually worse than ever. 

There were several bad signs going into the record, and watching pop fans react to it in real time. “Mystical Magical” is an utter disaster, sounding like a late-stage Panic! At The Disco song with production of a Christian worship anthem. It also features scream singing that may very well be even worse than “Beautiful Things.” That wasn't helped by “Mr. Electric Blue” being the breakthrough deep cut when it's nothing but watered-down Americana slop. 

The vocals throughout this record are terrible as Benson confuses intensity for quality. “Reminds Me Of You” has an awful, blaring, over-sung car alarm hook with no semblance of flow. “Momma Song” has the same issues as every other track here, but slowed down to ballad speed. There's even awful vocal processing on a song like ‘I Wanna Be The One You Call', but the way they just abandon it when the choir emerges is even weirder; it's all just terrible. All of this is undercut by a deep immaturity to the lyricism here that never provides a lick of any actual insight or even personality. The only other song I can even really tolerate is “Young American Heart,” which would still be the worst song on the new Sam Fender album that I already didn't like. 

This shit sucks. As much as I want to come to the defense of the most hated album of 2025 so far, I fully understand why this thing has taken a generational beating from critics; it's awful. Even though I can't bring myself to actually dislike Benson Boone the man, yet, the music has never once shown me a redeemable quality. 1/10

Something Beautiful - Miley Cyrus

Despite her nearly two decades of making music, resulting in several massive hits and stops at a variety of different genres, there isn't actually much of Miley Cyrus' output that I can say I unequivocally enjoy. The closest I remember coming to liking one of her albums was on 2020's Plastic Heart, which I still think is a fairly obviously flawed listen. Nonetheless, I was excited by some of the singles that inspired me to give the album a fair shake. The biggest and best of the bunch is the title track. It starts with gentle swaying instrumentation that really isolates Miley's voice and slowly builds around it. Then all of a sudden it just erupts into this dense, distorted hook where she's belting her brains out, and it absolutely rules. 

I was also fond of the '80s Fleetwood Mac-inspired pop jam "End Of The World," and to a slightly lesser extent, the ballad "More To Lose." All of this comes on the records opening run, which concludes with the similarly Fleetwoody "Easy Lover." It's my favorite deep cut of the bunch with an irresistible bassline and raucous cascading hook that I'm obsessed with. The only other deep cut I really love is "Reborn," which saves the record from having an entirely painful second half. It's such a breath of fresh air as a sturdy dance track with a great hook and belting background vocals. But for it to be such a saving moment for Something Beautiful, the album has to take a dip in the meantime, and it does. 

It's not all a complete disaster, but the quality definitely slips. "Golden Burning Sun" features a few classic Miley lyrical stumbles, though I do have to admit I kind of like the shimmering sentimental hook. I have the opposite issue with "Every Girl You've Ever Loved," which actually carries quite a bit of momentum into its hook, but it all evaporates completely. That's even before Naomi Campbell, of all people, makes a cringey guest appearance. Speaking of cringey, "Walk Of Fame" is a song I really see the spirit of in concept, but in execution, I really do hate its overbearing dance beat, annoying group vocals, and the fact that it's a full 6 minutes of disco-flavored nonsense. The song "Pretend You're God" is also doing way too much cramming a ton of ideas into just a few minutes without much care for how they go together. 

So yeah, despite a really promising first half I can't exactly say I'm loving Something Beautiful. Though it may have one or two of the best songs of any record I'm reviewing today, the second half slog that it demands you sit through made it a harder and harder listen each time. Again, despite Miley's promise, her peak seems to hover around the "mixed bag" range. 5.5/10

Fancy That - Pinkpantheress

I wasn't in love with Pinkpantheress' 2021 breakthrough mixtape to hell with it, something that her fans love to remind me. But in the wake of Ice Spice of all people showing me the way on her "Boys a liar" remix, I went into Pink's debut with an open mind. That turned out to pay off as she served up a rock solid collection of punchy, playful bedroom pop and dance cuts. That's exactly what she continues to serve up on this new mixtape. Simples like the Underworld-sampling "Illegal" and the utterly infectious "Tonight" may sound like Pinkpantheress sticking to her guns, but there's a reason she has the guns in the first half. 

The middle single "Stateside" may genuinely be my favorite Pinkpantheress song to date, which it pains me to admit because it's produced by The Dare. Pink's playful cross-Atlantic flirting is absolutely adorable, and the extent to which she is able to tell a story with so little time and space is excellent. Fittingly, we also have the most British song she's ever released, "Stars," which is just as short, hooky, and fun as you'd expect. Plus, there's a moment like "Nice To Know You" which shifts the aesthetic to something a little dreamier with these nice little chimes worked in. It serves as a really strong change of pace late in the record. 

For how short it is, I do with Fancy That was a little bit tighter. "Girl Like Me" has a stiff beat that really needed another pass over. "Noises" has a short sample that basically serves as a hook, and I don't think it works very well. But for the most part, I think this is an improvement over her last mixtape, even if it feels like a step back from her debut album. For pop and dance music fans, Fancy That is worth a try for no other reason than the fact that you'll be wrapped up before you know it. 6.5/10

So Close To What - Tate McRae

It wasn't all that long ago that Tate McRae's single "she's all I wanna be" had me really excited for where she would go next as a pop star. But pretty much everything since then, from the album it landed on, to the follow-up album, to the singles for this album, really didn't seem to inspire much beyond mediocrity. And to tip my hand for this review, mediocrity is exactly what you get with this record too. I wanted to cover this when it dropped because Tate really has positioned herself right underneath the A-list with a series of mid-level hits that have always left her feeling primed for a major breakthrough. But I couldn't write 1000 words about So Close To What if my life depended on it. 

I can talk about the fact that it gets off to a bit of a rocky start. "Miss possessive" and "Revolving door" aren't outright offensive songs, but they fall apart on the hook with deflating refrains or dumb lyrics, respectively. There are some moments I outright dislike. "It's ok I'm ok" has a chorus that's been a punchline for months now. There's a rough collaboration with The Kid LAROI on the song "I know love" which kind of hilariously contrasts with the defensive "No I'm not in love" just a few songs later. But mostly my only specific complaint about the album is how generic it feels. Her ever-so-slightly danceable instrumental palettes are mathematically in line with the current pop zeitgeist, and the trick of revving up the pitch and tempo on chorus after chorus on this record gets so old fast. 

But for those same reasons, I don't think So Close To What is awful or offensive. "bloodonmyhands" is a collaboration with Flo Milli where she absolutely steals the show even if I think her verse could have been interpolated a little better. It might be Stockholm syndrome from the song's chart run but I still kind of enjoy "sports car." And as a frequent purple lace bra wearer myself, I have no choice but to cosign "purple lace bra." Despite its algorithmic genericness, it has ever so slightly more personality on the lyrical end than most of what's here. So Close feels like an NBA Youngboy album, let me explain. Rather than entering this with any artistic intent or ambition, Tate seems to just need to put out music that isn't bad enough that people will notice in order to keep up her place in the spotlight and her rising ambitions as a touring artist and budding pop star. Her collaboration with Morgan Wallen that followed this record kind of proved every initial impulse I had about it correct. This is, first and foremost, a business maneuver, and by and large, one that seemed to work. It's just a record I could never see myself volunteering to return to, even if it's far from the worst listening experience I've ever had. 4/10