Y: Charli XCX, “i finally understand” – Charli XCX’s latest release, “i finally understand,” off her upcoming quarantine album, is exactly the vibe I have been looking for at this stage of lockdown. The song’s constant but contained energy has me bopping in my seat, without going so hard that I just get depressed about not being able to go out and dance with my friends at the club. According to Charli, it’s about the process of emotionally reconnecting with her boyfriend while they are isolated together. I feel you, Charli. 2020 is shaping up to be the true year of realizing stuff, maybe this will finally replace the Animal Crossing theme music as the soundtrack to my lockdown. —Lisa Fischer
Not really: Hailee Steinfeld, “End This (L.O.V.E.)” – On Hailee Steinfeld’s “End This (L.O.V.E),” she parodies the Nat King Cole classic and flips it into a hateful screed: “L is for the way you lied to me/O is I’m the only one who sees that/V, you’re so vindictive, so I’ll be vicious/And E-N-D this L-O-V-E, love, love,” she sings in a whispered tone indicative of Selena Gomez’s discography more than her own. Steinfeld has powerful pipes, and her most affecting songs make use of her range. In this one, she doesn’t even sound like herself. That could be an artistic choice, but her best moments are found elsewhere. —Maria Sherman
Not really: Hailee Steinfeld, “End This (L.O.V.E.)” – On Hailee Steinfeld’s “End This (L.O.V.E),” she parodies the Nat King Cole classic and flips it into a hateful screed: “L is for the way you lied to me/O is I’m the only one who sees that/V, you’re so vindictive, so I’ll be vicious/And E-N-D this L-O-V-E, love, love,” she sings in a whispered tone indicative of Selena Gomez’s discography more than her own. Steinfeld has powerful pipes, and her most affecting songs make use of her range. In this one, she doesn’t even sound like herself. That could be an artistic choice, but her best moments are found elsewhere. —Maria Sherman