Opinions and Editorials Section
By Owen Gorsuch, Staff Writer
According to many pop music fans, 2025 has been a disappointing year for music. I disagree because this year has been an exceptional year for alternative artists.
I think pop music fans are slowly waking up and realizing what fans of other music genres have known for decades; pop songs are primarily designed to sell records and are not designed to be works of lyrical art. If a pop song is memorable or has a deeper meaning, it is by accident not design.
As someone who grew up on alt-rock and 1980s new wave music, pop music has never really been my cup of tea. Pop songs tend to be cookie cutters of whatever genre studio execs think will sell best.
Pink Floyd put it best in “Have a Cigar”: “And did we tell you the name of the game, boy? We call it riding the gravy train.”
Calling a pop song “art” is like calling McDonald’s “gourmet.” Sure, McDonald’s isn’t bad, but it’s nothing to write home about either.
It’s now time to take a look at the current state of the alternative music scene, the Five Guys of music genres.
The most notable breakout alternative artist of 2025 is Shane Michael Boose, known professionally as Sombr. The 20-year-old singer from New York City rocketed to fame in March when his song “Back to Friends” went viral online. When I first heard it on the radio, I was blown away by his hauntingly beautiful vocals. The opening piano notes in “Back to Friends” were an earworm that stayed in my head for weeks.
Sombr followed up “Back to Friends” with “Undressed,” a song with similar themes about a relationship gone awry. Though “Undressed” did not wow me as much as “Back to Friends” did, it was still wildly popular, becoming a top 10 hit in multiple countries.
Although pop artists like Dua Lipa have some top hits, staff writer Owen Gorsuch argues that the real artistry is in alternative music.
However, my favorite song from Sombr’s new album is without a doubt “12 to 12,” an uptempo dance song with a catchy bass line. This was one of my favorite songs from this summer. MTV agrees, as “12 to 12” was nominated for “Song of Summer” at last month’s Video Music Awards.
Twenty One Pilots also achieved huge mainstream success in 2025, with their album “Breach” being their first album since “Blurryface” in 2015 to debut at number one on the Billboard 200 album chart.
Balu Brigada have not had the mainstream success that Sombr and Twenty One Pilots have, they have still done well in the alternative music scene this year.
Hot off the heels of their debut single “So Cold,” the New Zealand-born duo released another outstanding track titled “Backseat,” a synth-pop heavy song perfect for summer drives. “Backseat” was one of my favorite songs from this summer and might even be my favorite song from this year.
This is just a snapshot of how many hits the alternative music scene has had this year. Honorable mentions include Djo, Nine Inch Nails, Tame Impala, The Wombats, Of Monsters and Men, Hayley Williams and Royel Otis.
To those bemoaning the lack of creativity in the pop music industry, I suggest you broaden your horizons to other genres. Who knows, your new favorite song might be hiding in plain sight.
