I haven’t been blogging for a while, but january 2015 has been a great month for pop music. Loads of new releases and quite a few excellent tracks. If you think you missed something, have a look below to see my favorite pop tracks of the month!

Rae Morris – Under The Shadows

Rae Morris is a new star in the British music industry, but she has been releasing EP’s and singles for a few years now. Her debut album Unguarded will be released next week, launched by the single ‘Under The Shadows’. This is a great track that perfectly shows off her potential. She sounds like she is influenced by Florence + the Machine and early days Ellie Goulding, which of course is a good thing. The song is like a contemporary take on ‘Running Up That Hill’ by Kate Bush and that is one of my favorite songs of all time, so no wonder I love ‘Under The Shadows’ to bits. One of the first big songs of 2015 for me.

Kelly Clarkson – Heartbeat Song

The release of a new single by Kelly Clarkson is always a big moment in pop music. She has a handful of classics to her name and she recently started the promotion for her upcoming new album Piece By Piece. ‘Heartbeat Song’ is the first single and it is what you would expect from Miss Clarkson: big chorus and big vocals. The only slightly unusual thing about this track is that the chorus is somewhat slower in tempo than the verses, but the insanely catchy melody makes it a very radio friendly song. Not her best work ever, but still very enjoyable.

Years & Years – King

Years & Years will experience their big breakthrough this year. Their infectious, danceable, electronic pop music got them the title BBC Sound of 2015 and lots of blogs expect great things from them. Last year they released the outstanding singles ‘Take Shelter’ and ‘Desire’ and they will start 2015 with a bang with their best song to date, new single ‘King’. What a chorus, ladies and gentleman. Olly’s voice once again sounds gorgeous and the video is really worth a watch as well. Keep an eye on these guys, they will blow up.

Florrie – Too Young To Remember

Florrie, a singer who frequently works with production team Xenomania and played drums on records by Girls Aloud and Kylie Minogue, has been working on a solo career since 2010. She released a handful of EP’s with great pop songs. Last year, she impressed with the excellent single ‘Little White Lies’. For a collaboration with fashion brand H&M, she recorded ‘Too Young To Remember’, a track with a retro feel and lyrics about all the great things she does not quite remember from the 80s and 90s. This song is catchy as hell and might become her biggest hit so far.

Sumera – I See You

Frequent visitors of this blog might have noticed already that I am a big fan of Dutch singer Sumera. She released the first single ‘Wolf’ from her upcoming debut album in 2014 and last week she premiered the second song ‘I See You’ and this might be the best thing she has done to date. WHAT A SONG. There is so much tension and emotion in her voice as well as the lyrics and the production is sublime. The way the beat kicks in during the last chorus is lush. The build up in ‘I See You’ is perfect and this is her best shot at a hit so far. Sounds like it could have been part of BANKS’ amazing debut album. This song screams to be heard! One of the best pop moments of 2015 so far.

Karen Harding – Say Something

When I first heard this song, I had no idea who she was, but her voice and the production of ‘Say Something’ immediately caught my attention. She participated in X Factor UK, but was eleminated quite early. She started working on solo material and MNEK did the production for her debut single. It is a 90s style dancefloor filler in the style that Kiesza brought back to the current charts last year. ‘Say Something’ and its huge singalong chorus already entered the top 10 of the UK iTunes charts which is completely deserved.

Indiana – Solo Dancing

Strictly speaking this is not a single from January 2015, but because Indiana’s label decided to re-release the track, I decided to include it. The British singer first released it last year in promotion for her upcoming debut album. It is a slightly unusual, but very sensual electronic pop track. The beat is strong and the melody has a hypnotic quality. I am curious to hear what more she has in store for us.

Meghan Trainor – Lips Are Movin

After the huge success of her debut single ‘All About That Bass’, many people probably expected Meghan Trainor to be a one hit wonder. The young singer immediately proved them wrong by releasing another smash hit with the same sort of retro style called ‘Lips Are Movin’. While I got tired of her first track pretty easily, ‘Lips Are Movin’ is a lovely song with a strong hook. The chorus is undeniable and the rap-singing in the verses is cute. I was not expecting to like her second single so much, well done Meghan.

Jess Glynne – Hold My Hand

Everybody that is interested in contemporary pop music probably knows Jess Glynne and her wonderful voice from her many collaborations. Her vocals were on Clean Bandit hits ‘Rather Be’ and ‘Real Love’ and she recorded ‘My Love’ with Route 94. Her first solo single ‘Right Here’ reached top 10 last year and now she is back with ‘Hold My Hand’ and this time she means business. This danceable track stays close to the style of her work with Clean Bandit. It has a soaring chorus, beautiful vocals, a danceable rhythm and trumpets! What’s not to like? This might be her first solo number 1.

Ellie Goulding – Love Me Like You Do

Last but not least Ellie Goulding is back with her new single ‘Love Me Like You Do’ which serves as the soundtrack for the movie 50 Shades of Grey. The singer did not write this one herself, but let Max Martin do the composing. I wasn’t convinced at first as I want Ellie to write her own tracks, because that is why I fell in love with her music. Anyway, after hearing this song more and more, I grew to really like it. Her vocals are gorgeous and the chorus, though repetitive, works really well. The track has an anthemic quality about it and she might be able to make this her biggest hit so far.