ATRL STAFF PICK | Bronze Avery has a great single in “ADDICTION №1,” and it deserves some love on ATRL. His new album, IT’S ALL FUN & GAMES, is our latest staff recommendation as we spotlight more openly queer Black artists whose music we’re excited to share.The singer, songwriter, and producer has been releasing music as Bronze Avery since 2017, exploring queer desire and relationships through sensual dance-pop. In 2021, he won Billboard’s inaugural NXT competition with Charli XCX as his mentor. His albums SOFTMETAL and HEATWAVE followed, and IT’S ALL FUN & GAMES continues that catalog with 13 tracks.“ADDICTION №1” is our starting point, but we’re recommending the full album. Give it a listen below.LISTENWATCH

Release Date: September 29, 2026Produced by Buddah BlessTINA SNOW IS BACKMegan Thee Stallion brings back her Tina Snow alter ego on “Tina Tuesday Freestyle,” her first single of 2026 and the first taste of her upcoming Act III era.Tina Snow dates back to Megan’s 2018 EP of the same name, and Megan previously teased the character’s return while discussing Act III. The upcoming project follows 2024’s Megan and Megan: Act II.WATCHACT IIIMegan originally hoped to release Act III during the summer, but decided to spend more time recording, writing and figuring out the direction of the project.She has said the album is coming in 2026, but a specific release date has not been announced.

The wait is over. Tinashe has released her eighth studio album, Popstar, a 16-track project arriving after “Nasty” and “No Broke Boys” brought her a new wave of mainstream attention.

Led by “Too Easy,” “Crash Out,” “Melatonin” and “Pillow Fight,” the album finds Tinashe continuing to carve out her own lane across pop, R&B, electronic and club music.

Listen to Popstar and join ATRL’s official album discussion.

Pop divas reclaimed the cultural zeitgeist in 2025.Lady Gaga released a Mastercard ad beloved enough by Little Monsters that she nearly scored a solo hit again. Lorde returned from her sojourn through self-actualization with a promotional cycle that had everybody wondering if she was about to transition. Sabrina Carpenter was still riding so high on her breakthrough era that it practically overshadowed the follow-up. Taylor Swift capitalized on the hype of her reunion with Max Martin and her engagement to Travis Kelce, overcoming widespread revulsion with the actual music to launch the fastest-selling* album of all time. Lily Allen dragged her ex-husband to Hell on a record that owned the tabloids, if not the charts. And Rosalía finally returned with another pretentious ambitious opus that dominated the year-end critics’ lists.All of these ladies left their mark on ATRL as well. But who truly defined the year? You can help choose the winner by ranking each of these 85 songs on a scale of 1-10 and then sending me your ballot by Sunday, October 18. Please listen to everything again at least once before submitting. I want honest assessments, not scores based on your memory or biases. Up to two decimal points are allowed. Feel free to include commentary if you are so moved. And no trolling or your ballot will be tossed. Enjoy!SongsMAYHEM“Disease”“Abracadrabra”“Garden of Eden”“Perfect Celebrity”“Can’t Stop the High”“Vanish Into You”“Killah” ft. Gesaffelstein“Zombieboy”“The Dead Dance”“LoveDrug”“How Bad Do U Want Me”“Don’t Call Tonight”“Kill For Love”“Shadow of a Man”“The Beast”“Blade of Grass”“Die With a Smile” ft. Bruno MarsVIRGIN“Hammer”“What Was That”“Shapeshifter”“Man of the Year”“Favourite Daughter”“Current Affairs”“Clearblue”“GRWM”“Broken Glass”“If She Could See Me Now”“David”MAN’S BEST FRIEND“Manchild”“Tears”“My Man on Willpower”“Sugar Talking”“We Almost Broke Up Again Last Night”“Nobody’s Son”“Never Getting Laid”“When Did You Get Hot?”“Go Go Juice”“Don’t Worry I’ll Make You Worry”“House Tour”“Goodbye”“Such a Funny Way”THE LIFE OF A SHOWGIRL“The Fate of Ophelia”“Elizabeth Taylor”“Opalite”“Father Figure”“Eldest Daughter”“Ruin the Friendship”“Actually Romantic”“Wi$h Li$t”“Wood”“CANCELLED!”“Honey”“The Life of a Showgirl” ft. Sabrina CarpenterWEST END GIRL“West End Girl”“Ruminating”“Sleepwalking”“Tennis”“Madeline”“Relapse”“Pussy Palace”“4chan Stan”“Nonmonogamummy” with Specialist Moss“Just Enough”“Dallas Major”“Beg For Me”“Let You W/In”“Fruityloop”LUX“Sexy, Violencia y Llantas”“Reliquia”“Divinize”“Porcelana” with Dougie F“Mio Cristo Piange Diamanti”“Berghain” with Björk and Yves Tumor“La Perla” with Yahritza y su Esencia“Mundo Nuevo”“De MadrugᔓDios Es Un Stalker”“La Yugular”“Focu ’Ranni”“Sauvignon Blanc”“Jeanne”“Novia Robot”“La Rumba Del Perdón" with Estrella Morente and Sílvia Pérez Cruz“Memória” with Carminho“Magnolias”Participants@Album Leak @Icarus @dwuw @K$Ellie @California @HonourableVomit @Florence Belch @Rev8 @Invisibility @Julia Fox @Démodé