Tinashe Steps Into Her Own as a ‘Popstar’

Rating: 7.5

Tinashe’s eighth studio album, released Sept. 25, takes a different direction from her previous discography — she’s playing by her own rules, not the rules of mainstream media.

Starting her music career as a part of the girl group The Stunners in 2007, Tinashe’s played a role in the music industry for over a decade. Despite this longevity, she has yet to break into the mainstream as an official pop powerhouse.

What her experience does give her is insider knowledge built only through years of honing and observing. In her latest record, she uses this to critique the role of the “Popstar,” making the statement that one shouldn’t “fall in love with a popstar” because of how artificial their personas are on the title track.

But on the album named for the facetious persona, and after years of playing it safe — mainly due to creative suppression from her label — Tinashe has finally released an album that feels authentically her.

“Popstar” starts with “Sunglasses,” an experimental track co-produced by the experimental visionary Arca. It begins with an odd-sounding beat until Tinashe hops on, expressing her religious love for music. 

“Eyes straight forward, I see tunnel vision / Speaker so loud, music my religion,” she sings.

“Sunglasses” is the perfect way to start the album, showing her ability to break the mold of the kind of music people expect her to make.

The next two songs are a quick change of pace. “Too Easy” is sassy yet short and “Melatonin” is fast-paced and Shygirl-esque in its glitchy production and electronic vocals. Both of these tracks make sense for a post-“brat” world, giving the energy of a trashy techno club hit. 

For “Empty Stadium,” “Flashbacks” and “Overdramatic,” Tinashe uses alluring, dreamy sounds to explore conflicts she has with feeling unseen, the sultry yearning of a memory of a partner and ignored criticism.

The three tracks all blend together to strengthen the cohesion and flow of the album, creating a more seamless listening experience.

A clear standout from the album, “I’d Rather Be Alone” is not only ear candy, but also vulnerable. Instead of staying in an unhealthy relationship, Tinashe seemingly chooses to be alone.

“Guess this isn’t gonna be my happy ending,” she sings on the paradoxically euphoric electro-ballad.

Playing into the ‘I don’t care’ energy of the album, “Crashout” angrily expresses her frustration with people testing her limits, while effortlessly singing over an aggressive hip-hop beat.

The younger sister of her viral song “Nasty,” “Pillow Fight” has a softer vibe in comparison. The track features a lullaby-like melody where she sings about the urge to have a pillow fight, eventually falling in love after being playfully hit by a pillow.

In a slower, almost punk-pop track, “Nobody Wanna Dance” is a catchy and assertive song that sounds like a more restrained version of Slayyyter’s “DANCE…” lacking the build up that makes Slayyyter’s song such a hit.

The album’s only two skips are “Twentyfive Eight” and “The Show Must Go On.” While the former is extremely forgettable and a tad bit boring, the latter is just an interlude that sets up the next track.

With hyperpop becoming increasingly popular, it’s only right for the album to feature a few hyperpop tracks — enter “Brainrot” and “Cloud 9.” While they aren’t the most memorable songs on this album, they bring the experimental allure to “Popstar” Tinashe was clearly shooting for.

The final track “Heavy Weight” is a slow and acoustic cut, only featuring a guitar and Tinashe’s vocals — a complete 180 from the rest of the album. While the song won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, it’s still a great reminder of Tinashe’s genre range.

Not many will get “Popstar” on the first listen, but sometimes it’s the best things you don’t understand at first. As time goes on, people will begin to realize Tinashe means business, and eventually she’ll receive her flowers, finally crossing the threshold into mainstream music.

“Popstar” is available to stream everywhere.