Who, Pray Tell, Is This?

???????: Iggy Azalea, “I Am The Stripclub” – OK, Miss Iggy almost gets a pass from me because she was a great ally of Britney Spears this week and because, frankly, I think “Kream” is an underrated banger. But “I Am The Stripclub” is a desperate attempt at a club banger for the girls and gays. This wouldn’t be an issue if it didn’t come across so flat; the only line that really got my attention was in the second verse, when Iggy raps, “I woke up like a bad ass bitch/Pretty face with some perfect tits.” It’s a nice standard hip hop boast—she does, indeed, have a pretty face and some pretty perfect tits.

But can we… talk about her face for a second, because who…

… the fuck

… is this?

Iggy is back to being racially ambiguous, I guess.

The addition of ballroom dancers from The House of Balmain in the music video is a fun touch, and the callback to her “Work” video is intriguing, but that doesn’t make up for the forgettable song attached to it. —Ashley Reese

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I don’t think so: “Wrecked,” Imagine Dragons: Truthfully, until recently, the only thing I think of when I think of Imagine Dragons is big drums. Now, the other thing I will think about is this video, which was part of GLAAD’S Pride content, of Dan from Imagine Dragons doing a big wave while sharing his pronouns.

However, after this moment, I will likely never think about this song again, which sounds like an AI-generated rock song fit for both radio and a spin class. The chorus gives me Incubus, circa January 2000, which is coincidentally when I saw them at the Warfield in San Francisco. I… don’t like this. But someone out there does, so good for them! —Megan Reynolds

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Bye, gay: Amorphous featuring Kelly Rowland and CeCe Peniston, “Finally (Cannot Hide It)” – I can’t begrudge anyone in the business of hit-making for hopping on an obvious sample, even one as desperately obvious as CeCe Peniston’s all-time club classic “Finally,” which was released in 1991. Sure, it’s been done before (including by Peniston herself—more than once, in fact, and oh look she’s back again to feature on this track), but that’s capitalism, baby. I just feel like if you’re going to be so craven as to hitch your wagon to an enduringly no-brainer floor-filler, at least do it well!

This track, which cops the chorus of “Finally” and does some other less eventful stuff, was released Thursday, July 1, when Rowland posted an Instagram story featuring her dancing with a rainbow flag and a rainbow balloon (that she positioned on her head) while wearing a rainbow dress. “Pride is EVERYDAY! ,” reads the caption of her day-after-Pride post. No. Not like this it isn’t. Get your shit together and do your pandering in June. —Rich Juzwiak

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Y: Mariah the Scientist, “Aura” – The MOR-leaning big, hollow drums here—which remind me of Beyoncé’s “Halo” and crappier mushy pop—initially put me off. But the track’s garbled sweetness and the dynamism in Mariah’s half dozen distinct melodies drew me in anyway. “I believe you are a rainbow,” she sings in a chorus borrowed from the Isley Brothers. Note that she didn’t use Pride to advertise this one! —RJ