Tears left to cry: Pop goes dark this Valentine’s Day

It sounds like pop stars are going through a bit of a rough patch, collectively, in 2019. Whether it’s Ariana Grande dropping an entire album titled ‘thank u, next’ — not the three words your significant other has been waiting to hear — or the Wallows asking the most dangerous question of all, ‘Are You Bored Yet?’, these 14 new releases deal with doomed love and messy romance.

If you’re holding a grudge this Valentine’s day — or you just can’t get enough of other people’s relationship drama — we’ve compiled the perfect playlist for you.

‘Wicked Game’ is the kind of dark pop-EDM track that would work just as well at a nightclub as it is would on the soundtrack to a B-list teen vampire series. Its refrain is simple — ‘I don’t want to fall in love with you’ — but we can’t get enough.

You could pick any song blindfolded off of Grande’s new break-up album and it would fit our anti-Valentine’s theme. But ‘Bloodline’ — a track about meeting someone you like, but not enough to want to start a family with them — is particularly cutting.

Before his sudden death in 2017, Lil Peep ushered in a new era of emo rap, which is especially apparent here as Peep teams up with fellow rapper iLoveMakonnen and emo rock gurus Fall Out Boy to lament over a desperate love. Peep’s rough vocals work well across from the polished notes of Fall Out Boy frontman, Patrick Stump.

There’s a lot to like about this love-hate track: the throwback album art, the vocal collaboration between two young and hypnotic artists, and the expletive-dotted chorus delivered by Normani, who breaks away from her girl group background with Fifth Harmony.

Khalid’s EDM-tinged R’n’B single ‘Talk’, co-written and produced by electronic duo Disclosure, once again shows off his effortless vocal range as he urges his other half to communicate with him.

On this unlikely collaboration, producer Benny Blanco enlists the power of Juice WRLD’s vulnerable vocals: “Roses are red, violets are blue. My heart is dead, I’m such a fool.”

Meanwhile, Panic! at the Disco’s frontman Brendon Urie delivers a discreet bridge in the second half.

Singer Anne-Marie — a frequent Rudimental collaborator over the years — repeats a clear mantra: “Leave me alone, let me live my life.” The result is a feel-good ode to doing your own thing without outside interference.

The title says it all. Los Angeles trio Wallows team up with Clairo for a mellow, nostalgic tune, pulling the indie-rock staple of putting sad lyrics over a happy melody.

Drawing comparisons to Dua Lipa’s ‘New Rules’, British singer-songwriter Mabel’s ‘Don’t Call Me Up’ is a danceable track about being way, way over someone.

An inescapably emotional folk-rock effort from Irish newcomer Dermot Kennedy, whose penetrating vocals will pull at your heartstrings.

Australian boy band 5 Seconds of Summer team up with producer duo The Chainsmokers on this EDM-driven pop track about an unfaithful love.

Texan singer-songwriter Nate Vickers dips into his sorrow on debut single Ghost, where he unravels his withdrawal from an ended relationship.

Country goes electronic on this break-up song, a three-way collaboration between DJs David Guetta, Brooks and pop duo Loote.

There’s nothing more tragic than the slow, unspectacular death of a relationship, but trust the Backstreet Boys to spin a perfect pop tune out of it. The track has a Justin Bieber vibe, perhaps because Ian Kirkpatrick co-produced it. Kirkpatrick was behind Bieber’s single ‘The Feeling’ (ft. Halsey), as well as ‘New Rules’ by Dua Lipa and ‘Back to You’ by Selena Gomez.