Let’s take a walk-through the albums that birthed superstars this decade, introducing us to the names that would come to define the sound of the 2010s.
Cardi B - Invasion Of Privacy
Cardi B’s Invasion Of Privacy became the first female rap album to claim Best Rap Album at the Grammys. It was a menacing, charismatic and emotional album that successfully expanded on the unexpected success of Bodak Yellow. With a child on the way and relationship woes front-page news, Cardi delivered one of the most cohesive and entertaining rap albums of recent memory. She recruited an A-team of collaborators but once the disc was over, Cardi was the only one you truly remembered.
FKA twigs - LP1
Critics were raving about FKA twigs long before her debut album arrived but the vision was fully realised when LP1 dropped. Beginning the campaign with the horny Two Weeks, she introduced to us an even more intimate side of herself while fusing pop hooks with experimental electronica. Twigs’ music was all about movement and as such she gave us elongated vocals and truncated beats that could be expressed fluidly in the live arena and in videos. One of the only records this decade that truly felt fresh.
Charli XCX - True Romance
Charli XCX is the people’s popstar now but back in 2013 she was flirting between the underground and mainstream success. As she’s done time and time again, she chose the former, delivering a distorted, industrial pop record that’s criminally underrated to this day. From the jittery You (Ha Ha Ha) to the alien Grins, she proved pop could be both accessible and uncomfortable.
A$AP Rocky - LONG.LIVE.A$AP
While prior mixtape Live.Love.A$AP is the project A$AP has spent his entire career chasing, his major label debut LONG.LIVE.A$AP came the closest to matching it. Taking full advantage of the major label budget, A$AP pulled in a masterclass of guests including Drake, Skrillex and Action Bronson. On top of serving braggadocious, Harlem-born rap, he also introduced us to his penchant for indie genres, giving Florence Welch and Santigold hooks. It’s something that’s expanded over his career but it’s never been done quite as genuinely as it was on this record.
Tame Impala - Innerspeaker
Innearspeaker was the record that took Tame Impala firmly out of Perth. Kevin Parker’s fuzzy, pop-infused rock had been making waves on the Australian festival scene but Innerspeaker pulled it altogether showing just how cohesive it could be. Opener It Is Not Meant To Be encased one hell of a pop song in a warm haze while lead-single Solitude Is Bliss introduced us to a disco penchant that would reveal itself more over Tame Impala’s career. Innerspeaker is a brilliant record but it’s also their worst which says more about the quality of future works than it does about this LP.
Disclosure - Settle
In 2013, two brothers took deep house from the British clubs into the mainstream. The took the beats and the samples and matched them with expertly written pop hooks sung by some of the 2010s best burgeoning singers. When A Fire Starts To Burn played closely to the original genre but songs like Latch with a then virtually unknown Sam Smith proved just how good Disclosure were at writing pop songs. There are so many hits on this record that it often feels like a Greatest Hits when played from start-to-finish.
Lorde - Pure Heroine
Lorde surprised everyone when she blasted out of New Zealand and into the world with Royals. Pure Heroine came scarily soon after she blew-up, scaring observers who believed it would be slapped together. As it turns out, Lorde was more than just a viral sensation. She was in it for the long-game and Pure Heroine proved she was a masterful songwriter, gifted at capturing the complexities of the teenage experience. Songs like Ribs and Buzzcut Season are so present, you feel as if you’re right in the party with her.
SZA - CTRL
SZA had a buzz surrounding her before she released CTRL but nothing could’ve prepared her for the universal adoration that rightfully came after. We already knew that SZA was an interesting artist but CTRL removed the mystery. She opened up her voice and wrote straight from the heart, letting us in on her insecurities and anxieties with a stark honesty. Few could open their debut album with a simple guitar pouring their heart out but SZA did and it connected. CTRL is the rare moment when an artist is able to block out everything and truly connect with themselves.
Frank Ocean - Channel ORANGE
Day ones will claim Nostalgia, Ultra as the true Frank debut but from a label perspective, it’s Channel ORANGE. This was the album that solidified Frank’s genius. Arriving spontaneously early to get on top of a leak, it felt like the world listened to Channel ORANGE together, learning about Frank song-by-song. Pieced together like a scrap-book made for tape, it tripped through his influences from tender R&B to spacey rock. The influences may not have been overly original but Frank had an unbelievable ability to pull listeners in. From the vivid story-telling of Bad Romance to the woozy boredom of Pilot Jones, he proved himself to be one the greatest songwriters of this generation.
Janelle Monáe - The ArchAndroid
In 2010, Janelle Monáe truly emerged in a cloud of mystery. She had the soul of Erykah Badu, the charisma of Andre 3000 and the mastery of Prince while possessing a unique ability to look like a superstar long before she was one. The ArchAndroid was an incredibly ambitious project for a debut. The 18-track effort moved from frantic funk to vintage rock‘n’ roll with ease, telling a story of an android sent back in time to free citizens of a secret society. Both freedom and repression came through on this record, shooting us into space with the most joyous moments and bringing us right back down to earth with the most emotional moments.
Dua Lipa - Dua Lipa
Few popstars actually debuted this decade. Apart from Ariana Grande, today’s top-tier pop artists, from Lady Gaga to Beyonce, debuted last decade and their reign continued. Lipa is one of the few that has managed to come close to their ranks. Her debut album Dua Lipa kicked it all off, introducing a personable, instantly admirable artist who had both the voice and songwriting skills to appease the public and the critics. Dua Lipa wasn’t a particularly complicated record but it was wall-to-wall hits housing the euphoric Be The One, the sizzling Hotter Than Hell and flip-off IDGAF. Oh, and also the world-dominating New Rules which wasn’t even released before the album dropped.
CHVRCHES - The Bones Of What You Believe
CHVRCHES' synth-pop was so epic and melodic that it was almost hard to believe when listening to The Bones Of What You Believe for the first time. Every moment went bigger, growing in-your-face synth work and anthemic vocals. It’s a record that doesn’t hold back anything which can sometimes be overbearing but not when your melodic instincts are this tight. We Sink pulsates with spine-tingling ambition, Recover rips the heart apart with frank lyrics and lead-single The Mother We Share still feels so damn good today.
Kaytranada - 99.9%
The producer record has often gone terribly wrong. The guests can outshine the producer’s personality rendering the project pointless. Not on Kaytranada’s debut though. His wobbly, bassy-heavy production had already become instantly recognisable and 99.9% simply expanded on that for a larger stage. Every guest on here feels like part of Kaytranada’s DNA from Syd’s Aaliyah-inspired delivery on You’re The One to Anderson .Paak’s soulful, boastful verses on Glowed Up. The telling sign that Kaytranada has the goods to make it on his own though is the endlessly enjoyable Lite Spots.
HAIM - Days Are Gone
HAIM were so good at writing songs that they already felt part of music’s class of masters before the album even dropped. Combining Fleetwood Mac’s sense of melody with ‘90s R&B and rock/pop, they made music that was effortless in every sense. Days Are Gone is a perfect pop record. The sisters are charismatic on every song, working as a true unit even when Danielle is firmly taking the lead. As familiar as it all sounded, they were crafting their own unique genre that hasn’t been successfully matched by any act since.
Sky Ferreira - Night Time, My Time
By the time Sky Ferreira’s debut album Night Time, My Time emerged, it felt as if she’d been an artist for a lifetime. She’d tried pop on a major label, retreated for a number of years and worked with producer-of-the-moment Dev Hynes. Night Time, My Time felt like she’d truly figured out her artistic vision on her own though. It’s a dark, intimate project that runs pop through filters of grunge and industrial electronica. At time she’s committed and forceful (Ain’t Your Right) while at other points she’s broken down, exposed (I Blame Myself). At every point she’s captivating though, crafting one of the true individual records of the 2010s.
Honourable Mentions: Travis Scott - Rodeo, Nicki Minaj - Pink Friday, Sampha - Process, Rae Sremmurd - SremmLife, Run The Jewels - Run The Jewels, Vince Staples - Summertime ‘06
