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Global Pop Round-Up: October 2024 Edition

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Global Pop Round-Up

The Bias List is a K-pop blog that also covers a fair amount of J-pop. But just like most music fans, I enjoy tracks from all around the world. So, I thought I’d start a monthly round-up of some of the non-K-pop songs that have caught my ear. No ratings — just highlights!

February 2022 // March 2022 // April 2022 // May 2022 // June 2022 // July 2022 // August 2022 // September 2022 // October 2022 // November 2022 // January 2023 // February 2023 // March 2023 // April 2023 // May 2023 // June 2023 // July 2023 // August 2023 // September 2023 // October 2023 // November 2023 // January 2024 // February 2024 // March 2024 // April 2024 // May 2024 // June 2024 // July 2024 // August 2024 // September 2024

Bentley Robles – Hyper Heartbreak

Bentley Robles’ new EP is fantastic all the way through. All killer, no filler. For K-pop fans, this is the sound I’d love SHINee’s Key to pursue.

Chrissy Chlapecka – My Only Dream Is To Be Loved

A repackage of her recent EP adds a couple excellent tracks, including this anthemic banger.

Confidence Man – Control / Real Move Touch / Sicko

I have to feature multiple tracks from this album because it’s already a 2024 favorite. They encapsulate 90’s dance music so perfectly and these hits just get better with every play.

D.O.D – Feel The Passion (Charlotte Haining)

Just a big ol’ dance track.

Erika Vikman – Myynnissä

She’s as unhinged as ever, with synth-powered madness and a crazy NSFW music video. We need a new album!

Jade – Fantasy

The disco-powered Fantasy is more straightforward than her debut single, but I could see that adding to its longevity. The impressive outro is worth the price of admission alone.

Kylie Minogue – Lights Camera Action

I’m mostly including this out of loyalty because I don’t think it’s one of her best (neither is the new album, unfortunately). We need to move past spoken-word choruses.

Lady Gaga – The Joker

I’m really not into the “Lady Gaga sings the standards” shtick of Harlequin (she needed to reinvent them somehow), but I like the rock sound of this track.

LEXXE – Queen Of The Night

This is a Banger with a capital “B,” as is her entire new album. It’s also perfect for the Halloween season.

Loreen – Warning Signs

Again, I’m posting out of loyalty. This is pretty underwhelming and way too short.

Maria Jane Smith – Adrian

I adore this blend of 80’s pop and country, and the melodies are incredibly satisfying. That chorus is perfection!

Neea River – Alias

Not my favorite Neea River song, but she’s always good.

Nemo – Eurostar

This is their follow-up to the Eurovision-winning The Code and it’s really good! I love the contrast between the high-tempo EDM of the verses and the pomp rock of the chorus.

Ollie Alexander – Cupid’s Bow

Another Eurovision hopeful! This is solid dance pop.

Robin Packalen – Täydellinen ex

Robin continues his embrace of moody synthpop.

Senhit – Dangerous

Very over-the-top, bombastic pop you’d expect to hear as part of Melodifestivalen or Eurovision.

Sophie Ellis-Bextor – Freedom Of The Night

It’s like we’re back in 2003 again! This is very solid and the instrumental solo toward the end is pure euphoria. Sophie’s still got it.

Vincint – Happens All The Time (ft. Party Pupils & Durand Bernarr)

Not my favorite Vincint song this year, but he’s been delivering nonstop.

24 thoughts on “Global Pop Round-Up: October 2024 Edition”

    • BTW quick question Nick, are you planning on posting your favorite global pop/kpop Halloween songs on the blog later this month?

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        • Looking back at your Halloween feature now, man time flies. I forgot how far off 2016 was… those were good times with k-pop music.

          I’ll be down to send some more Halloween songs as suggestions/recommendations on the blog’s comments throughout the rest of the month (and others can too!). And I would love to hear your thoughts on all of our recommendations.

          Right now, here’s some Halloween songs that I can think of off the top of my head. Would be curious to know what you think of them:

          In addition, earlier this week I saw that you had featured EXO’s “Power” on your “9+ songs” thread on Twitter. I’m glad to see it grow on you (since afaik you rated it an 8.75 on the blog). I know you have already done a K-Pop A-Z post on EXO, but it’s been five years and our opinions can change since then (like what happened with GFriend’s Crossroads). So I’m curious to know what would you think of the Power Of Music b-sides (Sweet Lies and Boomerang) now. Have your thoughts change since writing your reviews on them five years ago?

          Sorry for the long post haha.

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          • By sheer coincidence, I just happened to hear this song when I was out shopping today and absolutely loved it. So, I guess I *do* have something to recommend (and add to my playlist)!

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              • Yeah, the first song (The Living Tombstone one) is inspired by a popular video game called Five Nights at Freddy’s, so it’s not really for everyone. It won’t do that much if you aren’t familar with the game/movie which I get. What I really liked about the song was it’s glitchhop instrumental and it’s ending; it’s so spooky.

                I agree with the other two songs though! The Rihanna one is one of my most favorite halloween songs of all time and the BSB one is really good. They both aged well for me.

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  2. looooved lexxe. disco witch and labyrinth also great. btw, have you listened to this artist? i’d like to know your thoughts on this song + her music fits perfectly with the halloween season.

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  3. Nick do you by chance, listen to Spanish-language music? At least the older stuff, tends to place great emphasis on lyricism and voices, and the instrumentals tend to be symphonic/orchestral but not much of a switch up, at least in the mainstream side. I’ll link a few songs, most of them notable for their vocal performance. I don’t really keep up with current music, so these are just some old favorites

    https://youtu.be/ggRs7qBBvuM

    https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ngRPQKRJ89Ihttps://m.youtube.com/watch?v=kN-qo-A5bMc

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  4. Edge of Saturday Night is already one of my most played songs this year, but I’m still sad to see it was the best song off Kylie’s new album, was hoping for at least one new song that matched it.

    and agreed The Joker is one of the highlights from Gaga’s album, though Happy Mistake is up there for me as well. However that’s primarily because of her live performance of it on Jimmy Kimmel – honestly prefer that live version, got chills from how amazing her vocals sounded there.

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  6. so, heres the final tier list of all the songs on just dance 2025 edition now that the game is out

    absolute best one: poker face – lady gaga (10)

    amazing i love it so much omg (10-9): basket case – green day (10), whenever, wherever – shakira (9.5), party in the usa – miley cyrus (9), vogue – madonna (9.5), yeah! – usher feat lil jon (9), in your eyes – the weeknd feat. doja cat (9.25), my heart will go on – celine dion (10), one last time – ariana grande (9.5)

    i think its good (8.75-8): yes and – ariana grande (8.5), the lion sleeps tonight (wimoweh) – the tokens (8.25), lunch – billie eilish (8.25), the boy is mine – ariana grande (8), we can’t be friends (wait for your love) – ariana grande (8.75), bang bang (my neurodivergent anthem) – galantis (8.5), sleigh ride – the ronettes (8), you love who you love – zara larsson (8.5), training season – dua lipa (8.25), in the shadows – the rasmus (8.5), sweet melody – little mix (8.75), stop this fire – nius (8.25), padam padam – kylie minogue (8.75), calabria 2007 – enur feat. natasja (8.25), sunlight – the just dance band (8)

    mid (7.75-7): unstoppable – sia (7.5), espresso – sabrina carpenter (7.75), payphone – maroon 5 (7.5), exes – tate mcrae (7.25), pink venom – blackpink (7), play date – melanie martinez (7), chattahoochee – alan jackson (7.75), dubidubidu – christell (7.5), break up with your girlfriend, i’m bored – ariana grande (7.25), move your body – the sunlight shakers (7), something i can feel – mandy harvey (7.75), paint the town red – doja cat (7.5)

    no likey (6.75-6): lovin on me – jack harlow (6.75), mi gente lo siente – don elektron & gotopo (6.75), halloween’s here – the just dance band (6.5)

    go to hell (5.75-1):

    not ranked: spongebob’s birthday – groove century, control response – hyper

    so my thoughts on the entire game: imma be honest, this is probably one of the weakest games in the franchise. a whole bunch of the maps rely too much on gimmicks than actually having a good routine, and there are too many troll maps than necessary this year (the my heart will go on routine is straight up cringe). plus, there are not enough good songs or routines to compensate for this. its like ubisoft decided to be as safe as possible this year. will not be wasting my money on this

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  9. I always love seeing Robin Packalen on here because it was such a pleasant surprise when I realized that wow, someone else knows about Robin!

    While I listen to his early (2010s) stuff in summer, his more recent songs always appear on my playlist during the winter; moody, cold vibes. This continues that tradition, but I don’ t love this as much as his previous two releases. I’m just looking forward to a track that can match Kuumilla hiilillä.

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