Tinashe Is A Popstar on Her Own Terms

There is certainly a touch of irony in the fact that Tinashe chose to title her new album Popstar. Not because she doesn’t deserve the title, but mainly because one of the defining characteristics of her career so far has been the constant questioning and ultimately redefining of what that title actually means. More than a decade after her official debut, and having experienced first-hand the prejudices and limitations of the music industry, Tinashe, now operating as an independent artist, no longer seems interested in fitting into the restrictive boxes the industry has created for her. Quite simply, on Popstar, she isn’t chasing the title. She is redefining it and claiming it for herself.

The album completes the trilogy that began with BB/ANG3L and continued with Quantum Baby, only this time everything feels bigger, bolder and more spectacular. R&B, electropop, hyperpop and dance-club influences coexist within a musical universe that constantly demands movement, confidence and glamour. Yet behind the shine, the dance breaks and the sweat of the club, Popstar reveals something even more interesting, the contradiction between wanting to be at the centre of attention and simultaneously needing to disappear from the spotlight, even if only for a moment.

That contradiction becomes immediately clear on the album’s opening track, ‘Sunglasses,’ which, through its almost futuristic production, encapsulates the core of the entire record. Parties do not always function as a form of liberation, sometimes, they can become a performance themselves. They are spaces that, by their very nature, almost “force” you to feel better, even when mentally you are anything but. Here, sunglasses function less as a celebrity accessory and more as a form of armour: “Alright, already, It’s for my mental health.”

On ‘Too Easy,’ by contrast, Tinashe seems to embrace pop stardom in all its glory. “I feel like a celebrity, If you’re mad, then go to therapy,” she sings playfully over a production seemingly designed to be played loud (very loud). At this point, she is not remotely interested in proving that she is one of the most talented and successful pop stars of her generation. Instead, she almost seems amused by the fact that she once had to fight so hard to prove her worth in the first place.

‘Melatonin,’ undoubtedly one of the album’s highlights, follows a similarly upbeat path. Once again, Tinashe uses sarcasm as one of her sharpest weapons, winning you over from the very first listen. “Sleeping, sleeping, sleeping on me, Bitch, you so melatonin,” she sings, comparing those who continue to sleep on her artistry to the hormone synonymous with sleep itself. It is a cheeky wink at everyone who continues to underestimate her, despite everything she has already accomplished. Did we ever think melatonin would become the foundation for such a dynamic and sensual dance track? Probably not. And that only makes us love it more.

Of course, Popstar is not without its more vulnerable and emotional moments, and ‘Heavy Weight,’ is perhaps the clearest example. Closing the album, the song strips away some of the glamour and deafening confidence that came before it, allowing Tinashe to expose her more fragile side. “I been, I been holding all this heavy weight, And I don’t wanna bend until I break.” After an album filled with confidence, desire and constant motion, its final statement is not another explosive pop moment, but the emotional weight that only makes itself known once the lights go out.

Perhaps that is ultimately what makes Popstar such an accurate representation of Tinashe’s artistry. This is not an album attempting to convince its audience of her artistic status. Instead, it treats the pop star as a multidimensional human being, someone who can feel sexy and impossibly confident one moment, only to experience loneliness, fear and abandonment the next.

After all, a true pop star isn’t someone who is permanently standing beneath the spotlight, but someone who continues to shine even after the lights go out.