Do you think pop’s all glitz and glam? Well, move on and other because, over time, pop has gotten a grittier and more realistic take on things. We’re still living the electro, the cuteness with Sabrina Carpenter and co, but of course, the way pop songwriting has evolved has now widened what it can be capable of thanks to a variety of songs with banger beats and melodies, but unexpectedly, lyrics so sad you’ll cry while you sing them at the karaoke.
In this article, we’ll talk about this list of catchy pop tunes that’ll make you sad while crying in the club!
Your Type – Carly Rae Jepsen
Don’t let the 80s synthpop influence fool you – Carly Rae Jepsen is at her rawest and best at her EMOTION album, while what followed her next was a more mature take on love. EMOTION is all about the romance and recklessness of young love and an idealized love, which resonates so well with the LGBTQIA community.
Your Type is another familiar heartbreaking song from Jepsen because not only is it a fun use of the 80s tune influence, but it puts us in the perspective of its narrator. And the experience is something a lot of us might easily relate to. In this song, Jepsen sings about being in love with a friend, but that love is unrequited and full of yearning and deep, intense love that perhaps only the queer community can truly resonate with.
Like the unpredictability of the roulette wheel online, this song has us in so much pain and high while singing it, especially its intense chorus that conveys how the persona is willing to make the relationship work despite the person whose affection is already taken.
Dancing On My Own – Robyn
Dancing On My Own is also another pop hit with the LGBTQIA community. It has been featured in Never Have I Ever and Bridgerton.
The persona in this Robyn song sings about dancing in a club all on her own after getting broken up whenever this song is sung by a queer man, the narrative of the song changes and becomes more powerful as the subtext is framed even more precisely from the perspective of a closeted queer person.
The song delves into dancing alone in the club after getting broken up while watching the persona’s ex dance with someone new. There’s a little yearning, pain, hope, and a lot of emotions in between.
Not Strong Enough – Boygenius
Mental illness is a theme that occurs in the narrative of the song, despite its layered and complex melodies that go into the rock and folk genre. The narrator talks about experiencing self-loathing and self-importance – and goes into self-awareness, self-doubt, and the quest for identity as they grapple with feeling inadequate enough to show up for their partner.
The beauty of the song is in its themes of identity, and the rainbow is in its textured melodies.
The One That Got Away – Katy Perry
Katy Perry’s hit song hits different, of course. Perry writes and sings about a sweetheart she used to meet up with and had a matching tattoo with. It’s nothing short of the quintessential “the one that got away” with its catchy and evocative bridge lyrics.
This song digs deep into the classic The One That Got Away trope. Perry had hoped, in her interview, that the song would help people live their lives without regret and avoid having more The Ones That Got Away in the process.
Supercut – Lorde
In four more years, Supercut is getting its 10th anniversary. Synth and electropop marry together with melancholic lyrics in the title track of Lorde’s album; this album chronicles a lot of the emotional journey of Lorde.
Supercut is an act of remembering the happier parts of a relationship that’s now over. However, the real relationship, the narrator realizes, is not as positive as the one she remembers and has idealized it. Although it is bittersweet, Supercut is a hymn for the girlies who want to move on and are healing.
Wrapping Up
A lot of the most agonizing and painful lyrics are hidden in a splash of layered and catchy melodies. It’s amazing how these female voices sing and write about different life experiences while producing melodies that fool you into thinking it’d be a happy song when it’s not. For the female songwriters’ girlies who wanna reminisce or feel emo while listening to music, then this song collection might be for you!
