How many times have you sat through a rehash of the old rock ‘n’ roll (or hip hop) is dead speech? The morbid—and ridiculous—idea is brought up time and time again by people as varied as megastars and your uncle after his fourth beer. However, there’s a conspicuous lack of discussion around whether or not pop is dead, or will ever die. Of course, pop is short for “popular” music, which means it will continue to exist whether or not we’ll use it to describe Ariana Grande or future-nothing-like-Ariana-Grande. It’s mutable and flexible in ways that rock and hip hop sometimes aren’t, which is what makes it so easy to connect with; it’s literally made for you, in your time, space, and mindset.
N.Y.C.-based singer-songwriter VÉRITÉ is pure pop in this moment, and she’s worth paying attention to. Her work is in the same vein as Lana Del Rey and Lorde, but with a knack for solid storytelling and grabbing melodies. I will not misguide you: there is a high level of Top 40 influences here, and “Weekend” may end up on those same airwaves someday soon. But if it does, we won’t be disappointed—the more listeners the merrier.