"Neon Lights"

Demi Lovato, "Demi"

It’s back to living in the shadow of long time pal Selena Gomez for Demi Lovato. Her new single “Neon Lights” is nothing short of disappointing. Its lyrics sound as though they were written in an attention-starved middle school girl’s journal: “Be still my heart ’cause it’s freaking out, its freaking out, right now…. Baby when they look up at the sky / We’ll be shooting stars just passing by.” The theme is vacuous, to put it bluntly. The melody doesn’t help her case either. It follows the cookie-cutter pop song formula, with big drops and pulsating vocal crescendos, all while Demi insinuates that we may all be dead tomorrow, so we must all sleep with each other tonight. Do better, Demi.

"Royals"

Lorde, "Pure Heroine"

The New Zealand sensation Lorde has captivated millions across America with her new single “Royals.” The single has proven to be anything but just another fleeting  pop song. It has substantive lyrics, which comment on the images in hip-hop music and how the rap industry lifestyle is so far removed from her life back home: “But everybody’s like Cristal, Maybach, diamond on your timepiece…. We don’t care, we aren’t caught up in your love affair.” Lorde isn’t just interested in making catchy music—though the song has a buoyant synthesized bass line that would bring artists like M.I.A. and David Guetta to their knees—she’s interested in making music that speaks to real people’s lives.

"Banga! Banga!"

Austin Mahone, album not yet titled

Austin Mahone, who appears to be a cloned combination of Justin Bieber and Aaron Carter, recently released a new single called “Banga! Banga!” The artist is sure it will be a hit among his fans, who he refers to as his “Mahomies.” With lyrics like, “You’re a banga banga banga banga banga / 
I wanna pledge a bet
 / Before the night is over
 / Girl, I’m gonna make it that” over an insistent, sugary synth line, the track has more than enough energy to pull people to the dancefloor. Mahone can sleep well knowing that he’s satisfactorily fulfilling his role as a teenage heartthrob.