Hyperpop pulls heavily from SoundCloud rap, emo, lo-fi trap, PC Music label, as well as from trance, dubstep and chiptune, Vice writes about the fluid genre. They hear Charli XCX, sonic fusionists/chaos-makers 100 gecs, glitchy rappers David Shawty, and animated electronic producers Gupi as representatives of hyper-pop. What is distinctive with this new genre is that its "identity is less rooted in musical genetics than it is a shared ethos of transcending genre altogether, while still operating within the context of pop".

Female artists and female-fronted bands - like Dua Lipa, Charli XCX, and Porridge Radio - have outnumbered men on the shortlist for this year's Mercury Prize, for the first time in its 29-year history, Sky reports. A total of seven female or female-fronted acts (of 12 nominees) made the 2020 shortlist; the previous highest total was five. In general, this year pop dominated the shortlist, with none left of the field albums.

The nominees:

Anna Meredith - ‘FIBS‘
Charli XCX - ‘how i’m feeling now‘
Dua Lipa - ‘Future Nostalgia‘
Georgia - ‘Seeking Thrills‘
Kano - ‘Hoodies All Summer‘
Lanterns on the Lake - ‘Spook the Herd‘
Laura Marling - ‘Song for Our Daughter‘
Michael Kiwanuka - ‘KIWANUKA‘
Moses Boyd - ‘Dark Matter‘
Porridge Radio - ‘Every Bad‘
Sports Team - ‘Deep Down Happy‘
Stormzy - ‘Heavy is the Head‘

Working with visionaries, and spreading their gospel has become harder and harder to do but when it does happen, it happens even bigger than it used to. Lizzo and Billie Eilish are perfect examples; real artists are breaking very big, very fast because there’s a thirst for superstars - Brandon Creed, manager of Mark Ronson, […]

The Guardian has an excellent article about female role models of this decade, in comparison to the ones from the noughties: "In their fallibility and resistance to commodification, the women who have defined this decade in pop look a lot more like role models than the corporate innocents sold to girls in the early millennium. […]

Billboard presents the latest edition of Queer Necessities, monthly LGBTQ-driven playlist where they catch on the latest and greatest bops by queer musicians. This time they've got Sam Smith with "a hard-hitting bass and a beat that's radio-ready" on 'How Do You Sleep?', Charli XCX & Christine and the Queens has "’80s-like drums, infectious synths […]