It's that time already? Well, as Scooter Braun probably has once said, a contract's a contract. Let me just a cut a hole in this floor for my entrance aaaaand... ...there we go. What's funny is, it's kind of not that time yet. BPG 2019 opened in mid-January. A more innocent time, I'm sure we'll all agree. It's been a hard year, and I don't need to recap why. But one magical silver lining of this weird, wacky, scary time has been that our divas had plenty of time to feed us like the sad little baby birds we are. Every goddamn artist not named Rihanna released music this year, gifting us with a completely stacked slate - probably the best lineup since 2016. The albums are out, the fans are clamoring, @RJF and I have settled the lawsuit (can't disclose details but I will say I got a new apartment), and everyone has a LOT of goddamn time on their hands. Why wait? Christmas? Pfft. THIS is the most wonderful time of the year. The messiest, stupidest, messiest, kiki-est, messiest, most wonderful time of the year. That being said, we do have some rules in case this is your first time. Don't worry, I'm gentle. 1. You give all of the below songs a score between 0-10, and one song can be awarded an 11/10. Half points are allowed. Spare us the rest of the decimals. Every year some overeager Tracy Flick slides in with a ridiculous ballot filled with scores that look like pi. Save yourself the time, save us the rounding. 2. Don't be a fucking moron and troll. A hard rule to enforce, but @RJF and I will step to you if we see funny business, and don't think we won't. We know this pink purgatory well enough now to know that scoring unreasonably - i.e., trying to bomb out an album or inflate one artist's scores - just makes you look foolish and desperate. And then we'll toss your ballot too. Sad! 3. Send your scores to me AND @RJF by January 10th. This makes life so much easier for us both. Also we're competitive as fuck and Ronald J. Feasley will get pressed when I get more ballots than ha! Don't sew discord among the showrunners, girls. Just PM us both. On time. 4. Commentary is ONLY permitted for your 11/10. This forum-shaking rule was introduced last year and immediately sent tongues wagging, which was good because it meant you were talking instead of shooting 50-page tomes into our inboxes. Pour your hearts out about your favorite song of the year, and save the rest for the thread. Run that post count UP. I want a hit thread, goddammit. But whaT are we rating, preciouses? I'm glad you asked. Dua Lipa - Future Nostalgia After a debut era that took a long time to get going, Dua took all the momentum and floored it (look at that cover, you know she just ran someone over and doesn't give a fuck). Future Nostalgia smashed into the pop world like an asteroid, officially staking Dua's place in the pop pantheon as loudly and aggressively as it could. With a place on the Mercury Prize shortlist and an Album of the Year Grammy nomination already secured, what sort of statement will it make here? 1. Future Nostalgia 2. Don't Start Now 3. Cool 4. Physical 5. Levitating 6. Pretty Please 7. Hallucinate 8. Love Again 9. Break My Heart 10. Good In Bed 11. Boys Will Be Boys Lady Gaga - Chromatica Academy Award winner, esthetician, and Tudor Watch enthusiast Lady Gaga took us to Chromatica this year and tragically jettisoned @RJF out with the space junk along the way. Y'all want this damn stupid love? 1. Alice 2. Stupid Love 3. Rain On Me (with Ariana Grande) 4. Free Woman 5. Fun Tonight 6. 911 7. Plastic Doll 8. Sour Candy (with BLACKPINK) 9. Enigma 10. Replay 11. Sine From Above (with Elton John) 12. 1000 Doves 13. Babylon Taylor Swift - folklore After being told that black magic rituals are most effective in the forest, Taylor traipsed straight out to the woods and cast a spell for her third Album of the Year Grammy. Birthed from the fire was folklore, a serene and subtle record that sees Taylor returning to her storytelling roots. Only this time, since she's a multi-gajillionaire with like 18 houses and a tall British boyfriend and most people don't find that too relatable, she's mostly writing about other people. Do you think she's mad she burned the title 'Beautiful Ghosts' on a song for the Cats movie instead of this album? 1. the 1 2. cardigan 3. the last great american dynasty 4. exile (feat. Bon Iver) 5. my tears ricochet 6. mirrorball 7. seven 8. august 9. this is me trying 10. illicit affairs 11. invisible string 12. mad woman 13. epiphany 14. betty 15. peace 16. hoax 17. the lakes - bonus track Katy Perry - Smile Every rate has its veteran, and Katy takes that slot here with a strong, cohesive album that contains some of her best work in years. Though it underperformed critically and commercially, does Smile right the ship knocked round by Witness? 1. Never Really Over 2. Cry About It Later 3. Teary Eyes 4. Daisies 5. Resilient 6. Not the End of the World 7. Smile 8. Champagne Problems 9. Tucked 10. Harleys In Hawaii 11. Only Love 12. What Makes A Woman Ariana Grande - positions Last year was the first time a BPG had entered albums two years in a row. Ariana makes it a threepeat here, returning to consideration with her cooiest, gooiest album yet. Will a more lowkey effort than previous records - not to mention no input from Max Martin - make her an also-ran, or will that heavenly voice be a siren song to the voters? 1. shut up 2. 34+35 3. motive (with Doja Cat) 4. just like magic 5. off the table (with The Weeknd) 6. six thirty 7. safety net (feat. Ty Dolla $ign) 8. my hair 9. nasty 10. west side 11. love language 12. positions 13. obvious 14. pov ...so did you guess it? Megan Thee Stallion - Good News As soon as @RJF and I read that Megan was planning an album for the fall, we had her penciled in as the sixth entry. Even before Good News dropped, few in 2020 had driven culture in the way she did: two number ones, an irresistible personality perfect for today's media, and a fearless survivor's resilience toward an incident that could have left her gravely injured. And then the album showed up - a giant fucking party of a record slathered in hooks and one-liners, firmly entrenched in pop - and it became clear that Megan was here. Do you think that's good news? 1. Shots Fired 2. Circles 3. Cry Baby (feat. DaBaby) 4. Do It On The Tip (feat. City Girls & Hot Girl Meg) 5. Sugar Baby 6. Movie (feat. Lil Durk) 7. Freaky Girls (feat. SZA) 8. Body 9. What's New 10. Work That 11. Intercourse (feat. Popcaan & Mustard) 12. Go Crazy (feat. Big Sean & 2 Chainz) 13. Don't Rock Me To Sleep 14. Outside 15. Savage Remix (feat. Beyoncé) 16. Girls In The Hood 17. Don't Stop (feat. Young Thug) 18. WAP (with Cardi B) Spoiler: PM List - SEND IN THIS ORDER 1. Future Nostalgia 2. Don't Start Now 3. Cool 4. Physical 5. Levitating 6. Pretty Please 7. Hallucinate 8. Love Again 9. Break My Heart 10. Good In Bed 11. Boys Will Be Boys 1. Alice 2. Stupid Love 3. Rain On Me (with Ariana Grande) 4. Free Woman 5. Fun Tonight 6. 911 7. Plastic Doll 8. Sour Candy (with BLACKPINK) 9. Enigma 10. Replay 11. Sine From Above (with Elton John) 12. 1000 Doves 13. Babylon 1. the 1 2. cardigan 3. the last great american dynasty 4. exile (feat. Bon Iver) 5. my tears ricochet 6. mirrorball 7. seven 8. august 9. this is me trying 10. illicit affairs 11. invisible string 12. mad woman 13. epiphany 14. betty 15. peace 16. hoax 17. the lakes - bonus track 1. Never Really Over 2. Cry About It Later 3. Teary Eyes 4. Daisies 5. Resilient 6. Not the End of the World 7. Smile 8. Champagne Problems 9. Tucked 10. Harleys In Hawaii 11. Only Love 12. What Makes A Woman 1. shut up 2. 34+35 3. motive (with Doja Cat) 4. just like magic 5. off the table (with The Weeknd) 6. six thirty 7. safety net (feat. Ty Dolla $ign) 8. my hair 9. nasty 10. west side 11. love language 12. positions 13. obvious 14. pov 1. Shots Fired 2. Circles 3. Cry Baby (feat. DaBaby) 4. Do It On The Tip (feat. City Girls & Hot Girl Meg) 5. Sugar Baby 6. Movie (feat. Lil Durk) 7. Freaky Girls (feat. SZA) 8. Body 9. What's New 10. Work That 11. Intercourse (feat. Popcaan & Mustard) 12. Go Crazy (feat. Big Sean & 2 Chainz) 13. Don't Rock Me To Sleep 14. Outside 15. Savage Remix (feat. Beyoncé) 16. Girls In The Hood 17. Don't Stop (feat. Young Thug) 18. WAP (with Cardi B) VOTES DUE JANUARY 10TH. GODSPEED.
LEADERBOARD 85. Katy Perry - Resilient 84. Lady Gaga - Fun Tonight 83. Katy Perry - Smile 82. Dua Lipa - Good In Bed 81. Lady Gaga - Plastic Doll 80. Katy Perry - What Makes A Woman 79. Dua Lipa - Boys Will Be Boys 78. Katy Perry - Not the End of the World 77. Lady Gaga - Stupid Love 76. Lady Gaga - Sine From Above (with Elton John) 75. Lady Gaga - 1000 Doves 74. Megan Thee Stallion - Movie (feat. Lil Durk) 73. Megan Thee Stallion - Intercourse (feat. Popcaan & Mustard) 72. Megan Thee Stallion - Cry Baby (feat. DaBaby) 71. Ariana Grande - shut up 70. Lady Gaga - Enigma 69. Ariana Grande - six thirty 68. Ariana Grande - off the table (with The Weeknd) 67. Lady Gaga - Free Woman 66. Lady Gaga - Sour Candy (with BLACKPINK) 65. Ariana Grande - west side 64. Katy Perry - Only Love 63. Katy Perry - Champagne Problems 62. Ariana Grande - obvious 61. Lady Gaga - Alice 60. Megan Thee Stallion - Go Crazy (feat. Big Sean & 2 Chainz) 59. Lady Gaga - Replay
Yes so here for this! The only album here I haven't heard yet is Megan's so that'll be fun. And it'll be interesting revisiting Chromatica for the first time since release date. Hoping that Ari and Katy will do well here, but I'm sure Dua will dominate - understandably. I hope Taylor gives her a worthy fight though.
I'm down, but that... Isn't Good News. WAP also isn't actually on the album, so I hope that won't contribute to the average. Can we add Fever to Future Nostalgia?
I don't know that Good News is the BPG album she was capable of but I am ready to shower it with some 10s nonetheless. Happy WAP was included. Poor the Katy & Gaga bonus tracks.
Shoutout to @RJF for suggesting a horse stamp instead of my idea, a flaming poo emoji to represent "real hot girl shit"
You're trying to get banned from the rate so that you have an excuse to not listen to folklore but it's NOT GONNA WORK!!!!
Already bracing myself for the p*re pop gheighs to tank Megan. The rest of us hot girls need to protect her! Will "Don't Start Now" win this thing twice in one year?
Hopefully there will be enough voters to balance the scores out, and if they're purpisely tanking one album but not others, their ballot won't be accepted. To be honest I hope not. I think if any Dua song will win, it'll be Physical or Levitating.
