New Pop Songs to Add to Your 2021 Playlist: Selena Gomez, Taylor Swift & More

The new year may have just started, but there's already plenty of new pop songs to listen to. Whether you're looking for a sad song to nurse your heartbreak, or an upbeat one to get you through another day working from home, we've rounded up a selection of our favorite tunes to stream right now.

 

"Driver's License" by Oliva Rodrigo: There's a few reasons this song has risen to the top of basically every hit list, breaking Spotify's record for the song most-streamed song in a single day (excluding holiday songs). For one thing, it involves teen drama between its writer, Olivia Rodrigo, and her lost love, fellow Disney star Joshua Bassett (his new girlfriend has released a new song of her own in response). For another, it's in practically every new TikTok video. But most of all, it's just a really good, catchy and wistful song, written in the vein of Lorde and Taylor Swift.

 

 

 "Anyone" by Justin Bieber: This peppy, synthy ode to Bieber's wife Hailey was released on January 1 and while the lyrics contend with the singer's fear and uncertainty, the song still has a cheerful, optimistic beat that's more-than-appropriate for a new year anthem.

 

 

"Right Where You Left Me" by Taylor Swift: Taylor Swift has been having the productive quarantine everyone else wishes they could be, producing two albums in less than a year. This song was released as a bonus track to her latest album"Evermore," and its lyrics about being trapped in one place certainly feels relatable these days.

 

 

"De Una Vez" by Selena Gomez: This is the first Spanish-language single Selena Gomez has released (though not the first time she has sung in Spanish), and the magical realism video is clearly an ode to her Mexican heritage. The song – about recovering from heartbreak – has an upbeat and pulsating tempo.

 

 

 "When You're Home" by Tyler Shaw: This melancholy tune is about making the most of spending time at home, which is not only an incredibly familiar theme right now, but a hopeful one as well. "We'll make a palace of this apartment," Shaw croons – sounds like a plan to us.

 

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