REVIEW: Tinashe’s Popstar Exists Between the Fantasy and Cost of Fame

Tinashe released her debut studio album, Aquarius, on October 3rd, 12 years ago. In the years since, she’s pioneered a wave of pop that blends hip-hop, rap, and electronic music. Some of her most popular hits, like “2 On,” “All My Friends,” “Me So Bad,” and “Nasty,” have become classics, regarded as 2010s and 2020s pop anthems. More recently, “No Broke Boys,” her collaboration with DJ Disco Lines, became the biggest hit of her career and set the stage for her latest album – her eighth – Popstar. 

Popstar is the culmination of over twenty years of work, dating back to her days in The Stunners, and it’s her most musically diverse and raw album. It’s a pop album, but it is not an album about pop. True to its title, Popstar is about the experience of a pop star or, more specifically, it defines what it means to be a pop star, from a pop star herself.

The pop star of the 2020s differs in style from pop stars of other decades. Pop stars of the 2010s included Taylor Swift, Selena Gomez, Rihanna, and Ariana Grande. Entertainment figures who remain relevant to this day, but defined pop as a genre a decade ago. Today, pop has the faces of PinkPantheress, Charli xcx, ADELA, and of course, Tinashe. 

Pop songs are less “wholesome” and more energetic, bold, and confident, mixing genres into a newer wave of hyperpop and electronic pop while staying honest about the realities of being a female pop star. Tinashe is a pioneer of this, and Popstar is her receipt.

“Sunglasses,” the first track of the album, opens with metallic drum sounds. It was produced by Ricky Reed, Zack Sekoff, electronic producer Machinedrum, and Arca, a Venezuelan-born musician known for her own electronic indie and hyperpop style. The calm, glitchy intro grabs your attention as it merges into Tinashe’s voice repeating a mantra.

“Eyes straight forward, I see tunnel vision.”

Throughout the album, Tinashe delves into the reality of being a pop girl. The good, the bad, and the ugly. This mantra sets up the album’s central idea: despite the challenges and existential dread, Tinashe’s popstar stays focused on a goal and, more importantly, her love for music. You don’t have to be a pop star to find “Sunglasses” relatable, but as a track, it does what the album does best: define what it means to be a pop star. 

As the title suggests, Tinashe sings confidently about being a pop star in “Too Easy.” The track carries the same electronic, metallic sound as the intro to “Sunglasses,” yet in the verses, the melody morphs into something catchier that recalls 2000s and 2010s pop songs, when pop stars were in every major publication, and everyone wanted to be the next star. It sets the tone high, and its energetic, badass lyrics highlight the good. Here, we hear a secure, satisfied version of the pop star. The rest of the album offers the opposing idea: being a pop star is a nonstop struggle. If you revisit the track after finishing the album, the first question that will probably pop into your mind is this: is being a pop star too easy? Tinashe says otherwise.

“Melatonin” follows “Too Easy” with a flawless transition. It’s one of the album’s most experimental tracks, pushing the glitchy, futuristic hyperpop sounds of the previous two songs toward techno, specifically acid. It’s the longest song on the album, yet it splits into three movements so distinct that it feels over almost as soon as it starts, and it leaves you thinking about it long after it ends. It fits the album’s theme and shows that Tinashe’s experimentation often ends in unique tracks that don’t resemble anything else in the industry. 

“Empty Stadium” is the rawest, most honest track. It’s angelic and calm, almost like falling into someone else’s dream, but the lyrics convey anguish. Although it’s one of the tracks that most closely examines Tinashe’s relationship with stardom, it’s less about Tinashe as a pop star and more about Tinashe herself experiencing self-doubt. Knowing Tinashe’s many years of trying to stay on the charts without becoming a household name like some of the pop stars of her time, the song carries even more weight.

“Flashbacks” follows “Empty Stadium,” and in it, Tinashe briefly leaves introspection and emotional vulnerability for a steamy, romantic, nostalgic message. The tempo and rhythm stay constant for most of the track – a change from the energetic, experimental sound of “Melatonin” and “Too Easy.” “Flashbacks” will surely make you think of your ex, but it falls short of evoking any strong emotion (This isn’t necessarily bad; “I’d Rather Be Alone” will also remind you of your ex and give you more to think about).

“Overdramatic,” a short prelude, sets up “I’d Rather Be Alone.” Here, Tinashe digs deeper into the relationship side of being a pop star, and she does it in a nostalgic track that’s hard not to associate with 1990s and 2000s R&B. It is a heartbreak song, but it’s also about choosing yourself over someone who is not emotionally available. 

“Crash Out” stands out for its hip-hop elements, rhythm, and background vocals. By this point, Tinashe has used different genres to convey different messages, and in “Crash Out,” she uses hip-hop to express discontent and the possibility that she may “crash out,” something often associated with female pop stars and celebrity drama. 

“Pillow Fight” then returns to being pop-heavy. Like “Flashbacks,” it lacks the emotional vulnerability and depth of other tracks, but it gives the album a fun, steamy song inspired by three decades of pop music, while “Nobody Wanna Dance Anymore” leans more on 2010s influences, with background vocals that give the track a spooky, “dark” vibe.

With “Twentyfive Eight,” we go back to the existential dread, and this time Tinashe expresses her concerns and views on the industry she always wanted to be part of more openly and clearly. For the pop star Tinashe introduces us to, music is the motivation, but as the star climbs the ladder to stardom, they grow disillusioned with fame and money. She alludes to the “rat race,” suggesting that even those who win do not escape it. As common as this sentiment may be, pop stars often shy away from discussing gloomy themes, but Tinashe does not. Instead, she delivers a track that’s as catchy and melodic as it is solemn. 

As we move forward, after a prelude with a sample of people cheering for Tinashe and calling out “popstar,” we get to the title track. “Popstar,” like “Sunglasses,” digs into what it means to be a pop star and what it takes to be one. It’s an energetic song, and the lyrics establish a balance between the good and the bad. 

First, Tinashe romanticizes and enjoys her success. She sings about how far she’s come, mentions riches and privileges, then switches gears by covering the downsides of being a celebrity, specifically in Los Angeles. Throughout the album, Tinashe is incredibly self-aware, and nowhere is it more apparent than in this track.

Only on the surface is it another catchy, optimistic pop song. Yet “Cloud 9,” by contrast, is optimistic on the surface and remains so throughout. Both tracks draw on 2010s pop and electronic pop. 

“Brainrot” and “Heavy Weight” go back to a more reflective stance. “Brainrot” still uses the electronic style of the previous tracks, but “Heavy Weight” shifts completely to an acoustic, slow, calm style. It’s reflective and accepting; Tinashe has spent sixteen tracks explaining – directly from the source – the experience of a pop star. Now she slows down, accepts it, and meditates on the life she chose. 

Twelve years after her studio album debut, Tinashe has just given us one of the year’s most adventurous pop albums. The use of multiple genres, styles, and themes across the album – and, at times, within a single song, as on “Melatonin” – makes this her most creatively ambitious project yet. And though it’s a pop album, her different approaches to the question “What does it mean to be a pop star?” create an album relatable to the average, everyday listener and other pop stars alike.

Tinashe’s Popstar, out now.