Hi everyone, Zoom-thony In-tano here, the internet's busiest music nerd, and it's time for a review of this new Tinashe record, Popstar.

Here we have the latest full-length album from singer, producer, songwriter, actress, dancer, Kentucky native, Miss Tinashe, who is now on her eighth full-length album, damn, and is also, frankly, at a very interesting point in her career.

It's crazy to think of how many albums she has already under her belt, because at this point, right now, she feels almost like an entirely new artist. If you've been following Tinashe's trajectory up until this point, you know she has been dropping records since the mid-2010s, after transitioning out of the now-defunct girl group Stunners.

And while it is true she did have the backing of RCA Records out of the gate into her solo career, you would be forgiven if a lot of those early works flew under your radar, as they didn't really make the commercial splash that her and the label were hoping for.

And, from my personal perspective, a lot of Tinashe's early stuff inhabits this weird, neutral space between numerous R&B and pop trends that were ongoing at the time. The music wasn't poppin' or bright or formulaic enough, I think, to kind of cut it on the mainstream front, but simultaneously, was not left-field enough to really compete critically with a lot of the more alternative voices that were rising up out of the R&B scene around this time, too.

And not to say that the first five years of Tinashe's career were devoid of highlights or hits, but she did eventually split from her label due to a lack of commercial success, but also the many, many, many creative disagreements that she had with RCA that she has talked about numerous times in many an interview. So this left her to basically take the success of her career into her own hands on an independent run that has been getting more and more interesting with each new record.

Because while I wasn't necessarily blown away by 2019's Songs For You, the following 333 showed that she was actually very willing to experiment and take risks with some pretty otherworldly production. And then, it wouldn't be too much longer until she started making mainstream waves while staying on this independent track.

Cause, after this, she had two landmark projects, one of which was, BB/ANG3L, 20-minute "album" that, yes, was very short and to the point, but still was loaded with wall-to-wall heat.

A few of her best singles to date, notably, "Talk To Me Nice," as well as "Needs." Very smooth, modern, skeletal, low-key R&B jams that, despite their subtlety, were impeccably catchy. And then, the following year, we had the unforeseen smash hit, "Nasty," which was completely inescapable for a little over a year. And led Tinashe to release the follow-up Quantum Baby, a record that, in its aesthetics and brevity, shared a lot in common with BB/ANG3L, but was nowhere near consistent, had just maybe a few highlights on it. It was a much weaker release by comparison, but that didn't really matter at this point, as the popularity of "Nasty" kind of solidified Tinashe in the minds of this newfound audience - people who were mostly unaware of her up until this point, as well as those who have maybe been doubters.

So with the battle for attention finally being over for Tinashe, it's kind of time for war. So with Popstar, she's kind of sitting down and formulating a record that's gonna be kind of defining for her, and also reflect on this newfound change in popularity and status.

For the most part, this record did have a pretty unassuming rollout. You had fun teaser singles, one of which had a funny TMZ tie-in at one point, topped with a face photo album cover whose starry contact lenses you might not even understand the context of unless you read into a few deeper lyrics.

And yeah, then also a title that basically dares you to predict what this album is gonna be. Popstar does actually contain quite a few of surprising twists and turns, though, in its 39 minutes of runtime and 16 tracks, which come along with a few short transition cuts.

And all of these songs culminate into a pretty choppy and disorienting album flow, that sometimes feels like I'm listening to a fast-moving DJ set more than just a traditional run of segmented and separate tunes. It's kind of like the creative ethos and curation of BB/ANG3L and Quantum Baby, but extended out with a chaotic energy that somehow draws me in, while simultaneously leaving me scratching my head.

And I think this makes sense, given in interviews, Tinashe has talked about this album being sort of like, all of her influences coming together and she's kind of the through line, running between all of them.

And as all over the place as that might feel, I do find it kind of encouraging that at this peak of attention she has reached, rather than whittling things down and finding ways to conform to audience expectations, Tinashe is instead doing whatever the hell she kind of feels like doing. And I think that makes Popstar, above all else, very fun and curious creative as a listen. That's an energy which is clear from the opening track, "Sunglasses," which boasts, production credits from the likes of Arca as well as Machine Drum.

And vocally, sees Nashe switching between smooth, hypnotic, and alluring deliveries over a bassy, glitched-out beat that kind of feels like a futuristic R&B number. And then from here we have a very strong contrast with the next track, which is much more aggressive and dancey, "Too Easy," which feels kind of like a girly Y2K banger with a weird electro twist. And while this track is on the short side, it does give us a very quick transition into "Melatonin," and with the weird dance beats and low-pitched vocal refrains that are chopped and placed throughout this track, this song kind of feels like I'm listening to a remix of a pre-existing song.

Which, I don't know if I'm too crazy about, as a singular moment, but I do think it says a lot about Tinashe's overall vision for Popstar as a listening experience, as I think there's more emphasis being placed on the macro picture of this album as opposed to any one single song.

And this becomes clearer as we move along, as there are deeper cuts that also have very quick transitions from one cut to the next. There are some songs that, rather than contributing to a momentum, contribute narratively to a story or an overarching theme on the record.

"Empty Stadium," for example, is a surrealist fantasy set to strings and skittering breakbeats, where Tinashe sings about singing to an "empty stadium," which basically serves as a representation of her unquenched thirst for fame and success.

The track is equal parts eerie and beautiful, and is matched with the low-key energy of "Flashbacks." Which is, yes, a cool-down moment, but one that is kind of steamy in a way. It's like a deconstructed pop-rap tune, or like, I don't know, if Björk was making sexy R&B-flavored J-pop or something. Instrumentally, that's really, like, the closest point of comparison I can make. Lyrically, the track is kind of what the refrain is telling us. We're being given a series of freaky "flashbacks" that Tinashe is experiencing. It's like an exercise in combining lust with teary-eyed nostalgia.

"I'd Rather Be Alone" is a track that I think will appeal to a lot of the FKA Twigs and Kelela-heads. Like many cuts off their recent albums, this is a sad slow jam, with a breakup angle. But I will say, by comparison, Tinashe's voice is a lot bolder and has a sharper, more commercial appeal, with the production having this kind of epic, soaring, '80s anthem quality to it between the guitars and the synth tones. And I'm also loving the breakneck transition we make into the track "Crash Out," which was not only a stellar single to this record, but is so mean and cold-blooded.

It's a quiet banger with a lot of the contrast and evolution in the structure being basically left to Tinashe changing up her vocal approach. Which, given the range, given the versatility, she nails perfectly.

The following, "Pillow Fight," also finds interesting ways to subvert a lot of these same sounds and influences. It's like a 90s R&B jam with fragmented anime soundtrack pianos, and then bolstered with this smooth, nocturnal pop-rap hook. Lyrically, it's a multi-round sexcapade that kind of makes it a shame the song is so short. I suppose that's the reason the replay setting exists.

However, transitioning instantaneously into "Nobody Wanna Dance Anymore" is not too bad of a thing. Especially given how this track feels almost like a pop and R&B spin on a Nine Inch Nails' Closer and a Def Leppard anthem.

And honestly, if this song somehow ended up sounding this way without influence from those places whatsoever, I don't know, I just feel like that makes Tinashe even more insane.

The song "Twentyfive Eight" is a kind of strange eerie cut all about the amount of work and effort and focus Tinashe puts into what she does. I wish it developed more, but it has a very unique and stripped-back sound nonetheless that has a sort of subtle UK bass flavor to it too.

As far as the final moments of this album are concerned, they are just as all over the place as the rest of the album in ways that are both good and bad. The title track is a highlight for me and is an interesting lyrical meditation on feeling kind of disillusioned with finally attaining what Tinashe has been working toward for so long, as now that she's much deeper into the industry and the pop world, she sees how vain and shallow so much of it is.

This statement is, of course, soundtracked by these lush droning layers of airy synths and buzzing vocal harmonies that make me feel almost like I'm listening to not hyper-pop, but maybe hyper-R&B. The track "Brainrot" has a vocal delivery and flow that is really nasally, I'm not sure, is really Tinashe's strong suit, but I do appreciate the off-kilter beat and very clear influence coming from the likes of Kelis on this track. "Cloud 9" structurally is a little one-note but I find the booming beat loaded with these, soulful string chops to be really interesting.

And then after this we have an acoustic closer that I really like the lyrics and messaging of this track, however I did find kind of like the, again, acoustic-tinge production to be a little stagnant, in need of maybe just a little bit more development, but I do think taking things in this direction stylistically is an interesting note to end off on.

And again, just kind of further shows the creativity and versatility of this album and how many places Tinashe is coming from on this record in terms of her vision as just a general music fan. How she really did attempt to embody all of her biggest inspirations on this one. And I think she did so in a really interesting way. It's really the way these influences are laid out so chaotically that I think is Popstar's blessing, but also curse, as it does lead to some tracks feeling like a little half-baked.

But still, as an overall statement, I found Popstar to be one of the most fun experiences I've had in the pop lane in 2026. Which is why I'm feeling a light-to-decent 8 on this one.

Anthony Fantano. Tinashe. Forever.