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Song vs. Song with Todd In The Shadows
Song vs. Song with Todd In The Shadows

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New poll! "Espresso" vs. "HOT TO GO!"

E-S-P-R-E-S-S-O, you can take me espresso

Anyway, it's our last pod of the year, and since this has been a surprisingly big year for pop I think it's time for us to handle two of the biggest breakthrough pop stars of the year. Vote now, Sabrina Carpenter's "Espresso" or Chappell Roan's "HOT TO GO!"

Comments

have you guys thought of adding a 2$ teir that doesnt do anything different from the 1$ but it's an option

no

I will never forgive Todd for not making this Please Please Please vs Good Luck Babe >:(

wjZephyr

Isn't that what sufjan Stevens is for

SammiSamSam

I don't know how many times I have heard both songs, and I can never remember a thing about Espresso, so guess it's Hot To Go for me!

Emma Hart

Espresso is kinda dull in my opinion. It’s just vibes, and I’m so sick of vibes. The energy of Hot to Go makes me smile. I can really use that right now

Katie Gunn

Song VS Song, Espresso takes it. Artist VS Artist, Chappell Roan wins. No offense to Sabrina, but short and sweet does not win against intense conceptual lesbian angst.

no one

Espresso jus feels like a 7/10 ripoff of doja cat's say so while hot to go feels like a 9/10 ripoff of Mickey, also yall missed yall chance 4 a Drake vs Kendrick 2024 year end matchup

Jarvis Alive

Both are good songs, so I voted for Hot to Go to spite Buckley.

Joseph Adams

I have to go by the most basic metric possible: I listened to both songs once a week ago, and "Hot to Go" is the only one I remember anything about

Cameron Cook

My stance is this: these are both B-tier Katy Perry songs that would have fit on her first 2 albums. 'Espresso' will undoubtably be the high point in Carpenter's career that she throws back to as her audience once again constricts into pop diva loyalists, while 'Hot To Go' feels destined to be a forgotten throwback to an artist who (I hope) becomes increasingly weird and important. But for now, Carpenter is much better at being this type of pop star, so 'Espresso' gets my vote, despite being a total 'Say So' rip off. Roan would have won if this was 'Please Please Please' vs 'Good Luck, Babe!' - another comparison of songs that remind me of pre-embarrassing Katy Perry.

Kynan Clarke-Chancellor

It's the hype that's got em. Chappelll Roan means something bigger than the music itself imo

nic

I absolutely am here for Chapelle Roan's gay agenda but Hot To Go makes me feel old and tired. I need a gay anthem about naps, not clubs. Anyway I'm voting for the song about not getting enough sleep, caffeine, and being out of fucks to give.

Lanth

I cannot forgive the cardinal sin of rhyming "singer" with "finger" - "ng" is a completely different sound to "n" then "g" and it haunts me to this day

El

This poll shows that there are more theatre kids in the Song vs. Song fandom than initially thought.

Jeremy Hanna

That line is one of the reasons I voted for Sabrina actually

Hillel fraenkel

I’m with you on this one. To me it’s superior in every way. If it were Taste vs Good Luck Babe it would’ve been much harder for me to choose.

Hillel fraenkel

P.s. speaking of lesbian music icons, I’m still waiting on that Tegan And Sara vs Metric episode that Todd discussed a few years ago…

Hillel fraenkel

Chappel is great, but I need the inverse - a gay man making depressing and/or angsty music, I need to feel validated too…

Hillel fraenkel

Chappell Roan has brought a very new perspective to pop music by writing about about being a horny gay loser who is surprised that she gets dates... .... I feel so seen.

WhyDoIBother

Voted Espresso cause it's dreamy and I love a dumb pun, and that song is filled with dumb puns.

Jennifer Y

“blow-up doll”? congrats for having the grossest comment in this thread

Celeste Romero

"Hot to Go" is gay "Mickey" and I'm here for it.

Dork Mode

Hot to Go is damn catchy though. That's why I voted for it over Espresso.

Dork Mode

In the spirit of hot girl shit, can I just vote that everyone will have a good time?

Nico Niconi

I’m voting for “Hot to Go” because “Good Luck Babe” wasn’t an option

The Common Man

Fair match (not good but fair) given these are the most airheaded songs from each artist. In that respect I'm voting for Carpenter because it fits her applaudable and utter commitment throughout the year to look as much like a blow-up doll as possible. Roan's whole Gottmik luchador presentation is commendably silly as well, but this type of sweaty non-sequitur come-on just doesn't fit her as well. It's kinda like Liz Phair's mid-00s pop turn in the sense of ma'am I've heard your other music you don't have to do this. If this were between any other pair of songs I'd probably vote Roan, but Carpenter makes this particular one click with her entire package. That really is that her espresso

Gal Hazor

song suggestion for your show Todd. look into 'Cry little sister'. for sure a one hit wonder because it even takes digging to find out who the hell did it. great tune.

michael clarke

Listened to Hot To Go for the first time and realized she’s mimicking that slap back delay thing from the 80’s but I wonder if she realized those pop and punk guys in the 80’s were mimicking the blues and early rock guys from the 50’s. At any rate I really liked it. I’m a sucker for that production shit. So anyway I voted for Espresso. It just fits my current mood better.

Nicholas

Look: I'm a big oblivious goober. As much as I love the flirtiness of Espresso, if you're interested? I'm gonna need you to spell it out for me. (Hot to Go gets my vote)

Joe Frangles

I think Espresso is a better song. hot to go sounds like a Charlie xcx song. Not that that's a bad thing. Also I personally relate to espresso because I like to indulge in late night coffee. Don't do this you won't be able to sleep, not because of Sabrina carpenter but because of the caffeine in your system.

Comet

Update: Having now listened to both songs for the first time, I don’t know why anyone would choose Hot To Go over a song with such a funky bass line. Sabrina all the way.

Beau Dure

Being the resident old guy whose SiriusXM channels are various “decades,” along with XMU, Alt Nation and Yacht Rock, I would cast a third party vote for Espresso Love by Dire Straits. But upon seeing all the comments about the importance of having a song representing queer culture, I vote for Least Complicated by Indigo Girls. (Saw them twice this year. They rock.)

Beau Dure

Check out the Weezer sketch sometime.

Beau Dure

I am just now learning that the gay community has very strong opinions here. I’m happy to expand my worldview

Cole Cox

Hot to Go for driving over people in Fortnite, Espresso for actually enjoying music

Cole Cox

love Chappell, but no matter what anybody says, "You can take me Hot To Go" makes just as much sense, probably even less than "That's that me Espresso" so

The Hand Of The People

I can't vote for a song with a cheerleader chorus. I'm taking the coffee.

TimeBombMan

I went for Sabrina Carpenter for her Taste MV with Jenna Ortegga homage to Death Becomes Her. My first knowledge of Chapelle Roan was the Political discourse which is terrible. My mid-40s Cis-Het White Male will just listen. The songs are catchy.

Eric

Why do I have to choose? If I’m ordering espresso, of course I want it hot to go! What were we talking about?

Adam Hicken

Yeah understandable, I’m bi but still voted for Espresso.

Alaina L

I made a fireworks show in planet coaster synced to hot to go. It worked so well. This is a new Fourth of July classic if enough places do that in real life.

Trevor Jones

If this were between Espresso and Good Luck Babe! Good Luck Babe! would have been my pick as like Espresso, it's a genuinely well made pop song and one of the best pop songs of the 2020s. Hot to Go is solid, but it didn't grab me the way Hood Luck Babe! did. But as an evil cishet metalhead white guy, I was shocked that Espresso cracked my Spotify Top 5. So Espresso it is.

Ryan Moore

The line that made it for me was "Switch it up like Nintendo" once I confirmed that was the real lyric, I had no choice but to vote for Hot To Go.

Formless Being

Should've chosen Good Luck Babe, but it's fine, it's cool. Should've chosen Feather, but I'm excited to never talk.

Eric J

I could listen to Espresso five times in a row and not get tired of it. I get tired of Hot to Go after one play. I enjoy Chappell Roan, and I'd be voting for her if Espresso was against Good Luck Babe, but here we are.

Nick Ozorak

I've never seen anyone call HTG clever lol

Empire Ants

After my sister played the entire album in the car, I stand by HOT TO GO as one of the lamest songs on that album.

ol bill

I think that’s true of Hot To Go, but I don’t know if that holds up for Pink Pony Club. I wish more of her music sounded like that and less like lesbian flavored Taylor swift.

ol bill

it would be hot to go easily if the vocal harmonies on the chorus were arranged a little differently. idk why but there's sth about them that grates my ears in a way abrasive bands like xiu xiu, king crimson, 100 gecs, and melt-banana dont. but also sabrina's good

Kite

When Sabrina says she can't relate to desperation, I believe her. That's why I'm voting for Chappell

Joannasaurus rex

“Hot to Go” is not nearly as clever as it thinks it is, meanwhile, “Espresso” is just such a perfect summer pop song. I feel any votes for Chappel are more for the rest of their ouvre than the actual song choice.

Andrew Behm

These are both really good. There's no bad choice here... Except not choosing to make the match up "Please Please Please" and "Good Luck, Babe!" like Lina said. And if you're wondering, my vote would have gone to "Good Luck, Babe!" because I'm the kind of straight male who likes to hang out with the lesbians on Gundam Blusky.

Nawf4

I mean, I kind of get what you’re saying, but what if the success of HOT TO GO is just proof that songs which spell words out and have an associated dance are fun and we should have more of them? I don’t think the song’s being “ironically annoying” or anything, it’s just a great hook

Sandy Nimmo

Look, it's simple enough. I'm a lesbian, I go out and Hot to Go is just playing. I dance to Hot to Go, make out to Hot to Go, it's what the culture's feeling. But I'm also a hot girl and I Eapressois just way more hot girl shit. I guess I prefer Sabrina Carpenter's knowingly stupid vibes to Chappel Roan's drag queen thing

Cochlearia

Eww to both places, and Papa John Schnatter in particular

Russet Burbank

"Horny American Kate Bush" is a pretty good description of Chappell Roan.

SteveG

H O T T O G O/ Bet-ter song than Es-press-o

Theo Gerome

Long time listener, first time poster. I like both of these songs (HOT TO GO! wins by a whisker), but my third party vote for 'song by a pop girl who made it big this year' would be Apple by Charli xcx.

Sam Potts

It's more her, while being a millionaire, trying to get free labor from other musicians. And being an enabler/codependent creep with Gaiman for years. And doing g the most cringe Leonard Cohen cover ever, and I'm including the one on SNL in 2016.

Jeff

I find this insulting. Making it about little Caesars when Chappell EXPLICITLY told you to get it hot like Papa John's!

SammiSamSam

HOTTOGO is a relentless earworm. Espresso is a smooth jam whose melody I've forgotten 3 seconds after it ended. Take out the lyrics, and I'd throw it in a lofi playlist to read or write to.

Jill V Friedman

@kathleen - no, i meant sabrina is a much better singer than katy, not chappell

Austin F

HOT TO GO! is a fine song, but a little too cheerleader for me. Espresso, meanwhile, has fully set up shop inside my brain for months. I heard that synth riff in the pre-chorus & it was all over for me. Sabrina has that joyous himbo swagger that I just can't resist. That said, if Red Wine Supernova had been the matchup, I'd have to give it to Chappell for superior horndog energy (and back-up singers) What a good year for the pop girlies, goddamn

Morgan

I’m still not entirely sure what constitutes a “me espresso” but the song bangs so I guess it doesn’t really matter.

DIPDOP

As a dyslexic, I always appreciate a song that teaches you how to spell. Chappelle Rome gets my vote

Kidd Campbell

I’m tempted to say Charli XCX but that might just be the “brunette with green album art” talking

Joni Shapiro

I like Espresso, I vibe to it when I’m listening to it, then five minutes later I couldn’t hum a bar of it to you. Whereas Hot to Go has been stuck in my head on loop since the first time I heard it. Also, I guess I just relate more to desperately trying to get some versus suave total desirability.

Martha Boatright

I don't know details I'm just bringing up what I heard.

Angela

For me, this poll is that Top Gear meme where "HOT TO GO!" is "This is brilliant" and "Espresso" is "But I like this." Those breathless repeats of "Yes" before each line in the second half of the pre-chorus absolutely mountain do it for me.

StuTheShoe

ALSO among the dozens of parodies of both of these songs we got this year my personal favorites were the kid going "H-O-T-D-O-G-S! One dollar and fifty cents!" at Costco and the guy going "P-I-C-K-L-E-S! Yeah my pickles are the best!" at the Ren Faire

Sara

I am a proud and smug early investor in both of these ladies!! I appreciate that you didn't put Good Luck, Babe! against anything because it would have been an absolute bloodbath (AS IT DESERVES), but still going with Chappell because it was such a special experience to do the dance whenever the song came on in public and watch the number of other people doing the dance increase throughout the year. I don't think I've ever been as enthused about a pop star as I am for her. Is this how people felt about Madonna in the 80s, because if so I get it now.

Sara

That lyric has worked its way into my head in a way that no other has in a very long time. It pops into my head when I'm not doing anything constantly.

StuTheShoe

I hate this chappel roam plant

NinjaTylerBlack

So, let's see: If she were a "normal" mainstream artist, it would be perfectly acceptable for her to engage in coke-fueled orgies, or kill off one of several exes, or rape minors, or destroy property everwhere she went, or engage in satanic practices, or blackout for days on end, or almost die from heroine, because, you know, that's what rock stars do, right? But instead, she does a novelty song in which she and a friend are performing as conjoined twins at one point, and writes a poem to try to see if she can show empathy for the Boston Marathon bomber at another point, and THAT makes her "not have a great rep as a human being"? And even if it could, all of that was more than 10 years ago, and she's apologized for all of it several times over.

Michael Murphy

I'm just going to write what was in my notes app when I first heard hot to go: If hounds of love Kate Bush was trying to be 2010-era Kesha

Niall Heaphy

damn americans and their insistence on the two song system there were so many more great pop girlies this year as well that we haven't seen my third party vote is for proportional representation

Niall Heaphy

I help run a queer prom in Maine. When HOT TO GO! came on last year the place went electric, and I saw 300 kids—many from rural and isolated areas—dancing exuberant and joyful in their own bodies and sexualities. Espresso is a very good song. HOT TO GO! is an important one.

Benjamin Perry

I love both songs so this is damn hard, but my vote has to go to Chappell. I saw her last year at a tiny 200 person venue here in Berlin before anyone knew who she was (been a fan since 2021) and that's where I first saw the HOT TO GO! dance. Then a few months ago she played a 13,000 seat arena here (her largest non-festival show!) and seeing 13,000 queers do the dance warmed my heart a lot. So it's going to be that.

Luke Bovard

I would love Espresso if the chorus changed even a LITTLE it's the exact same melody 4 TIMES IN A ROW Also this is not really a knock against it, but it's interesting that the song is 80% loops from a sample pack. https://www.tiktok.com/@pastelmusique/video/7369666036590775584

giascle

So far 65% gay but come on, gang, we can pump those numbers up.

Daniel Shaltes

Well, time to find out how gay the song v song audience is.

Daniel Shaltes

Maybe I'm nuts... but honestly I think "I'm working late cuz I'm a singer" is one of the best lines I've ever heard in a pop song

Maxine - RaccoonRevolution

"Hot And Ready" is the Little Caesars slogan. Which, as has been pointed out by other observers, is like the bare minimum standard for fast food to meet. I think Chappell has a better song than that.

Russet Burbank

There's gotta be a Buttercup out there, anyone more equipped to tell who that is, please do

Russet Burbank

Sorry for being bad at being a dyke 🥲

Zali J

I prefer Chappels full discography to Sabrina's but for these songs Espresso is my prefered song

Zali J

I love both songs, but I’m going with Hot to Go. It’s so fun! A bit tired of both songs right now but that will die down once they’re not so new and overplayed. I get you picked Hot to Go for this over Good Luck Babe because it matches Espresso better as a fun pop song, but Good Luck Babe is truly the song of the year. And how often have we been able to say that about a queer anthem like this? ❤️

Tanya

I’m a 40 year old straight male who largely avoids pop radio, so I’ve managed to avoid both. After listening to the first half of both songs once, I’ll go with Hot To Go for being slightly less bland.

Richard Angle

A very tough pick, but if these two ladies are in fact 2/3 of the Powerpuff Girls, you need to go with Blossom. My vote is for Chappell, commander and the leader

Joni Shapiro

I just mean...doesn't Amanda Palmer not have a great rep as a human being?

Angela

Listening to them (and watching the official videos) for the 1st time tough choice, Espresso is a much slicker song and HOT TO GO if a bit kitsch/retro has more heart (or maybe some other part of the anatomy). But Espresso has the line "Switch it up like Nintendo" as an innuendo, so sure that.

Allan Olley

Espresso vs. Good Luck Babe is a much harder choice.

Keith Badje

Espresso is Starbucks. It's everywhere, and corporate, and kinda' soulless, but people love it for a reason and will probably continue to love it and visit it almost daily forever. It just works. HOTTOGO is Little Caesars. It's fine in a pinch at a party, but it's ultimately empty calories. You can also easily turn it into a song about Little Caesars Pizza. H-O-T-T-O-G-O Pizza fresh and hot to go! H-O-T-T-O-G-O Little Caesars Hot to Go!

Keith Badje

Really like Espresso but Sabrina's "so stupid" aside kills it for me. Its the same reaction I have to Taylor Swift's fake giggle in "Shake It Off".

FunFawn21

I've got friends that stream Fortnite, so the main place I've heard Espresso is the emote that uses it, and it's fun! Got a fittingly caffeinated energy to it. Problem is, that's because the version they use is sped up...

Wontolla

She pretty much stresses every syllable.

Russet Burbank

Espresso is a truly insidious earworm. I heard it twice and was constantly humming it after. It wasn't even the chorus, my brain was just stuck on "I'm working laaaaaaate, cuz I'm a singerrrrrr"

Drewmanian

Great matchup, but hot to go kicks way more ass in fortnite festival than espresso. And fortnite festival is the ultimate measure of a song's quality of course

Dax

I wont lie. I feel like a bad gay person but out of the two, it’s gotta be Espresso

ol bill

she says espresSOH, instead of esPRESSoh

Alina

I mean the lyrics for Espresso are also fun, but HOT TO GO is more turn up the volume, do a little dance, sing along at the top of your lungs fun!

Lizzord

I need Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band to cover Hot To Go.

Morgan Schmitt

If it was artist vs. artist I'd vote for Chappell, but Hot to Go is not a favorite of mine. Espresso is a perfect pop song and gets my vote. But I have to say, I would have to vote for Espresso on the "which of these songs would you make disappear" question. Nothing against Espresso, but the way Hot to Go took Chappell from relative unknown to global sensation practically overnight was like watching "That Thing You Do" happen in real life. Amazing stuff.

Les

not a fan of coffee or the heat. kind of in a pickle here

Lee Breezy

I have a couple friends who pronounce the song as “Expresso”

Christian Reiswig

To the tune of HOT TO GO! E S P R E SS O working late is her MO E S P R E SS O thats that Me Espresso

Tori Schmidt

Espresso? Hot to Go? Sounds like we're all ordering the same coffee!

Notm

Hot To Go makes me feel like I'm being ordered at gunpoint to follow the bouncing ball and sing along. And the gun is hot pink and shoots sugarcubes.

Mouser

Chappell Roan just feels like a pastiche of millennial culture. It's like kid's music... but on crack 🤪 Kinda like a simulacrum of feminine Pop, which imo is supported by her adoption of the drag aesthetic. It's doesn't feel like it's a satire of gender, more just elevating the negative aspects of femininity women are expected to perform to. Her music sounds like it is made for people who look at the Campbell Soup can painting by Warhol, and think "The can do look cool!" Carpenter is cool though! I think she's a good lyricist, just her sound is a bit tame, and un-adventurous. She can write/ pick a great hook!

Yurple

This is just a referendum on how oversaturated Hot To Go is IMO. Midwest Princess is gonna go down as one of the most iconic pop albums of the era, which in my opinion actually works super hard against Hot To Go. Hot To Go when performed by a small indie pop girl is a pastiche of these sorts of kiddie singalong spell-along chanting songs like Toni Basil’s Mickey, except the lyrics are about the thrills and heartbreaks of exploring your sexuality headfirst as a repressed midwesterner in her early 20s. By evoking “annoying” cheerleader music, Chappell is normalizing that experience to her audience in the language of the monoculture, and literally cheering you on to discover yourself. I do feel like its absorption into the monoculture – inclusion in retail ads that only play the instrumental and make some dumb pun with the lyrics of the chorus like “I’m H O T T O G O shopping for BLACK FRIDAY DEALS at TARGET” – reduce it almost to the point of just being another annoying cheerleader type song, but it only got there because it represents a part of the cultural shift in queer culture’s representation at the tier of success Midwest Princess has achieved. Espresso is a catchy brainless song written for a Disney alum blond gorl.

Scott Haddlesey

Would have made this much easier if you'd picked "Good Luck Babe"... Espresso is a song that I thought sounded perfectly okay when I first heard it but by the end of the year, on repeatedly hearing it in the wild, I just find it so bland that it annoys me (similar thing happened with that Shaboozey song, albeit much faster). It feels like the decaffeinated version of Sabrina's playful tastelessness to me, and the lyrics... even when I was more okay the song overall, I sort of felt it was skirting the line of good stupid and bad stupid. My problem with Hot To Go! is that I don't like music that reminds me of a pep rally. I will admit that aside from the cheer squad chorus its's fine, but I still always skip it when it auto-plays (I don't encounter in the wild near as much). So instead of choosing between these two songs that I don't like, I'll give a 3rd party vote for a Taste / Red Wine Supernova ticket.

Joel Thomas

Espresso has grown on me as the year has gone on, but not because its actually gotten better but because despite overplay its never gotten worse. Compared to say, Lose Control, which started ok and is now one of my least favorite songs of the year.

Gemini Man

Oh, it it fantastic. What I mean is "a gay-friendly 20-something redhead banging away on the piano about the most heart-wrenching subjects and making kick-ass rock and roll in the process." See: The Dresden Dolls by The Dresden Dolls, and from Amanda Palmer's solo work: Who Shot Amanda Palmer, Theatre Is Evil, and There Will Be No Intermission. Much in the same way that many bands have been jacking the style of The Tragically Hip without giving them credit (because not that many Americans want to credit Canada), many female artists, from as far back as Karen O, have been jacking Amanda Palmer's style without giving her credit (because no one inthe New York scene wanted to credit Boston). That's all I meant.

Michael Murphy

What the fuck is going on in England, damn.

Shiny Skunk

Unlike Sabrina, I can relate to desperation, which is why I voted Hot to Go.

Shiny Skunk

Let's just take a second to acknowledge how mean-spirited and unfunny both of the SNL skits were.

Timothy Holmes

Maybe it's just cheerleading not being a thing where I'm from, but I find "Hot to Go" really annoying. Any other of Chappell's hits would've beat out Espresso for sure, but for this one I'm going with Sabrina.

Czarny

That’s that me

Kathleen

Actually...third party vote for Eurostar by Nemo. They're AMAB nonbinary, so Eurostar is not technically a "girl" party anthem, but it is a queer party anthem. A big messy, drunk rager of a celebration. And while(as an ace person) I'm not really bothered by the aggressive sexuality of Hot to Go, I don't entirely connect to it either. Nemo's gleeful bender is more my speed then either of these two songs.

Angela

I do listen to Short n Sweet more than Midwest Princess, but I adore Chappell the most. Cig in wig, lipstick on teeth at tiny desk had me captivated by her artistic vision

Sedzellica

well it's gotta be Chappell. Her style is more fun to me. But man first year in a while where there's actually some fun stuff happening in music. There'sno losing here.

Birthe_bird

Also one of the other comments pointed out Espresso sounds like Say So, and I can’t unhear it. And I like Say So better, which confirms my decision.

Kathleen

Ace gal here too. I'm not too bothered, but then I've always been the type of ace that doesn't really mind sex and sex related stuff, just would rather not do it herself.

Angela

...is that a good thing?

Angela

I'm voting for Chappell. I like her brand of pop better, plus I'm constantly thinking up which of my indie pop boy/person Eurovision finds would do the best duet with Chappell. I'm leaning towards Nemo. They have great chaotic queer energy, anything they do with Chappell would be a banger XD. Just listen to Eurostar.

Angela

I like Hot to go better than Espresso, but I agree it’s not even in my top 5 Chappell songs

Kathleen

Claiming Chappell isn’t at least an equally good singer is wild. Go watch Sabrina’s Christmas special.

Kathleen

Love Sabrina, but I truly feel lucky to be alive at the same time as Chappell Roan. I don’t think I’ve seen/felt this kind of excitement over a new artist in decades. Even if she never made another album, Midwest Princess would go down as a classic. Hot To Go isn’t in my top 5 songs off the album, and I still like it better than Espresso, which is a bop.

Kathleen

God I hope not, that Melanie album aged bad for a couple pretty specific reasons

(William) Patrick Hodges

Such a good year for pop ! I'd pull a third party vote for "Please please please", "Good Luck babe !", "Million Dollar Baby" and "Hello Goodbye", "training Season" too many to count (I voted for Espresso but really both of them are fine by me)

Victor bucaille

I have to go with Chappell Roan because she's basically the Gen Z equivalent of Amanda Palmer.

Michael Murphy

Hot To Go is the better song, but Espresso has more claims to the best 2 seconds in pop music of the year. Obviously "cuz I'm a singerrrrr" is a top choice, but my pick would be "one touch and I brand newed if for ya (stupid)".

Jason Lee

I vote for "Espresso". I love the exuberance of "Hot To Go", but the spelling drives me nuts. "Espresso" is tight and controlled, which makes all the silly wordplay and the fun Sabrina has with it pop.

Nigel G

It was also the perfect culmination of the "I hope she sings Hot To Go" "Um, this is a (insert not Chappell Roan event)" meme/Tiktok trend, where it turned out actually yes, Olivia will sing Hot To Go.

Jason Lee

The highs of the chorus from Espresso are higher than the highs from Hot-To-Go, but Espresso’s verses annoy me after so many plays that I can’t vote for it. I might blame the SNL skit with Ariana Grande.

JazzySpF

no, please do tell me. you're not saying something obvious. i don't understand your reasoning. as a gay man that's been immersed in this whole scene for years, straight women pop stars are a huge part of queer culture and have been for a very long time. (i also don't even get why sabrina would be particularly heteronormative. is it just because she's straight herself...?)

Austin F

That last one is Remi Wolf btw and it's included because Big Ideas was my favorite album of the year and Soup was the song that kept me sane as the year wound down.

Kyle B

Yes, barista, I'll have one ESPRESSO. I'm gonna have it HOT TO GO, since I'm going to pop over to the Panera next door to get some LUNCH with an APPLE on the side. I can't help it, I just love the TASTE of their SOUP.

Kyle B

I'm as straight as a Kansas country road, and my vote is for Hot to Go. Best song of the year in my mind. So goddamn catchy.

Dork Mode

Guess I’ll just continue to vote for the losers. Hot to Go isn’t bad by any means but that target ad ruined any mild enjoyment I had for it; Espresso is dumb fun and I need more of that in my life

Josie

Weird Al has been off that grind since 2015 and seems happier for it.

Russet Burbank

It sounds fine to me. "I GUESS so, esPRESSo, ninTENDo".

Russet Burbank

Cuz the pop boys aren't serving up any competition the last few years, and the girls are basically keeping the industry alive at this point.

Lauren Netherton

A shot of Espresso will do it for ya, just not enough to deal with Lesbian YMCA… or regular YMCA if my tired old ass is honest.

Robert Mischief

Hey, no parody, but there's a weird al cover! Almost more of an honor IMO

Maria Rainero

lol ok dude, if you don’t see Sabrina as the avatar for heteronormativity, I don’t know what to tell you

NoU

Nah, Olivia takes herself too seriously and has too much dignity to be the heir apparent of Katy Perry. She's heir apparent to the vacant throne Avril Lavigne left behind.

MJS

D-I-R-T-M-A-N! LEAVE A LITTLE DIRT UNDER YOUR PILLOW FOR THE DIRTMAN

Sam

Was never quite comfortable with Chapell Roan’s appropriation of drag culture. Sabrina’s cover of Good Luck Babe is superior to the original if that counts

Colin

i assume the original poll was going to be Good Luck Babe vs Espresso, but was changed to avoid a *complete* blowout

Marie Isabelle Lunais-Adora

With that title I can't stop thinking of Dire Strait's Espresso Love I'll go that direction on that thought

Erik Berg

If only you'd done this matchup in the summer you would have had to stretch to bring up Star Trek, but now you'll have to talk about 2024's biggest subtweet... (Or if you'd done it last year; both artists did work in 2023 and would have been more interesting than the Billie/Olivia rematch)

Jeff

I have nothing against Espresso -- it's a perfectly cromulent pop song -- but it's success baffles me. Hot-to-go has a dance to go with it, and therefore is superior in every way possible.

Chris Carline

I now wish there was

This is the Endtimes

Should do an album vs album with Midwest Princess vs brat and make all us queer folk’s heads explode all at once.

J.D. Laney

As a Midwestern theater person, I have to vote for my Midwest Princess.

Mallory W

I honestly prefer other songs by these artists. I like Chappell’s one song about wanting to have lesbian sex a little better than Hot to Go. And I prefer that one song by Sabrina about having hetero sex a little better than Espresso.

J.D. Laney

Was there a Weird Al parody I was previously unaware of? lol

Jon Heiman

A fair position, though I must disagree lol

drd

Better melody, though.

Jon Heiman

"Pink Pony Club" > all of them.

Jon Heiman

I thought Olivia Rodrigo was closer to the heir apparent of Katy Perry.

Jon Heiman

As an Ace(-spectrum) person, "Hot to Go" still rubs me the wrong way. So does Sabrina Carpenter's "Taste" for that matter.

Jon Heiman

ah yes, pop songs by female singers that you can dance to and have a bit of sass, a thing that queer culture famously opposes. please tell me you're joking. you can like what you want (and i appreciate chappell as queer representation), but this is an incredibly absurd thing to call "aggressively straight"

Austin F

At the end of 2024, chanting along to an upbeat, queer sports anthem hits more for me than the breezy mischief of Espresso. I like both, but I am Hot with rage and ready To fucking Go.

Hilja

I feel like voting for Sabrina is voting against queer culture and the wrong thing to do, like you’re being aggressively straight lol

NoU

sabrina's also a much better singer. i actually didn't even realize sabrina was an especially good singer until i saw her do a tribute to a broadway star because i left the TV on in my hotel

Austin F

Exactly.

Cheeseburger_666

i agree with the person who said it's an age thing. i don't think katy perry or rihanna were any more "sincere" than sabrina or chappell. neither were a lot of the pop stars before them. actually, i'd say taylor is more 'sincere' than the average pop star (sometimes to her own detriment)

Austin F

Sabrina sounds like she could take or leave you, but Chappell *wants* you, right now. I don’t know if I’m revealing too much about myself, but it’s an easy vote for Hot to Go for me.

Jakob Eyjólfsson

Neither is the best song on the album but they're both good... my heart is kinda with Sabrina here - Chappell Roan is *supposed* to be good. She fits the model of "artist I will think is nifty" and Midwest Princess is the better album. Sabrina Carpenter, meanwhile, is just "that blonde girl" - who nonetheless has written some great fuckin songs! Eh, in the end it's still more fun to sing H O T T O G O

Vince Whitacre

As someone who never intentionally listened to either of these songs this year: I can remember the chorus to Hot to go easily, but I'd have to listen to Espresso again to remember how it goes...that should tell you all you need to know. 😅

Joseph Timian

You're just getting old. Happens to all of us.

Russet Burbank

Tough choice, they're both so endearingly awkward. "Hot To Go" is almost the Little Caesars slogan, yet it somehow works. Sabrina's mangling of the English language is on the Shakira level, but again it somehow works. I'm just gonna marinate in the feeling of actually being familiar with the two pop-songs-of-the-year for once and let everyone else make the decision.

Russet Burbank

These songs are both great so I'm voting for whichever makes it closer to a 50/50

Cliff Excellent

I think the stupid lyrics in Espresso are more charming. I'm just a little fatigued by Chappell and HOT TO GO, hearing it in every queer space I'm in. I also get a sinking feeling Midwest Princess is gonna age in the same way Marina's Electra Heart and Melanie Martinez's Crybaby did for me where I loved it at the time, but would not enjoy a full listen after a few years

Thomas R

Yeah, i totally agree. I almost refuse to believe the results are because people actually like HOT TO GO so much more. It feels more like a referendum on the artists, in which case, I agree

Zety Scouse

Voting for Chappell because I do relate to desperation, no one's touched me there in damn hot minute.

lukas

Espresso is like the perfect Sabrina song while HOT TO GO... i mean, have you heard Good Luck, Babe? It's close but i have to give it to Espresso here

Zety Scouse

I’m specifically thinking of the feeling of a room full of queers singing along to “Do you like magic?//Cuz I got a wand and a rabbit” 😄

AthenaSalem

Imagine in 30 years trying to explain to a teen why Taylor Swift was so popular. "Oh, it wasn't despite her being bland - it was BECAUSE she was bland." And I guess that applies to all popular music in the 20s. Just people who don't sound like anything, singing songs that are just background noise. Putting words in a row, forming sentences, that I can not see anyone believing that they actually mean. It all just sounds insincere, hollow and bland to me. Just look at these two...

Cheeseburger_666

I’m not happy about having to choose between these….

David Bedard

I started the summer not really caring about Chappell Roan, but then every lesbian dance party I went to played her, and I love her stuff now. Also, it’s still so exciting to have the top summer hit be explicitly about 2 girls fucking. We’re finally post-“I Kissed a Girl”!

AthenaSalem

espresso is a perfect pop song but at the end of the day, that’s all it really is. hot to go & chappell in general to me represents a celebration of queerness & queer culture that i really fucking needed considering the current shitshow of a political climate. having chappell as a young queer kid would’ve done wonders for me, espresso is lovely but it just doesn’t carry that emotional weight to it. also the dance is fun asf i missed fun pop !!

fae

Don't even like Chappell Roan, but come on. The girl knew what she was doing.

Roughhousin By Proxy

Only one of these songs has had the words adapted to be sung by a choir for the funeral of a duck on the UK's main radio station. And that's why I voted HOTTOGO #RIPLongboi

Joe hutchinson

This feels like a Meta Data Mining Scheme. One side is straight, the other gay, and poor bisexuals forced to choose. Haven’t they been through enough?!

Zero

You think moutain dew it for ya isn’t fun?

Nolan Thompson

Espresso is definitely THE pop song from this year. Gonna be timeless

Nolan Thompson

Sabrina has much more personality and charisma than Katy let’s be clear.

Nolan Thompson

as much as Sabrina Carpenter is a mood for silly bisexual dudes like me, lesbians win this time

Tristan

Espresso is almost a perfect pop song, but I would’ve picked good luck babe, Chappells actual hit song this year but you went with hot to go? Todd…you could’ve put Good Luck babe…it was right there!!

Nolan Thompson

I'd take most other Chappell songs over Espresso, but the Hot to Go chorus and hand motions are just not as clever and catchy as it wants to be.

Lauren Netherton

I enjoyed HOT TO GO a lot when I first heard it in May. Several months and many unskippable Target ads later and I never want to hear HOT TO GO ever again. I can’t imagine how cheerleaders had to suffer. Espresso, for me, is a perfect song. No notes. It was everything I wanted in pop music this year. The choice was incredibly easy for me. Sabrina all the way.

AnalogSkullerosis

So this year I started the year, just starting my 30s, with the mantra "be gayer", something I struggled with in my 20s. There were a lot of euphoric nights at gay bars surrounded by the local queer community I've grown to love, sound-tracked by Chappelle Roan. Hot To Go was a drunken sing-along highlight, and I wouldn't trade those moments away for anything.

Felix O'Ryan

THIS

Lauren Netherton

Hot to go is inherently anthemic and espresso is a bop and a half. Gonna go the good Charlotte route and vote for the anthem

Evan Morgan

Why must we continually pit women against each other?

Kim P.

This is too easy for me. My band played a Halloween cover show this year and I got the chance to choose one cover song for us to play. You better believe I dressed the part when served HOT TO GO! Our queer friends were FLOORED.

Jack Darnell

The heir apparent to Katy Perry vs. the heir apparent to Lady Gaga. Liked Gaga better back then and that dynasty remains stronger

MJS

Just wait til it plays at a 5 y/o’s bday party and all the kids will be singing it too

Sav

Unrelated anecdote I also have to share, as a Brit I don't know a thing about SNL outside what you guys say about it, but my American partner's parents are big fans. They sent us over the sketches they performed on the show based on these two songs and man, that's the show you guys are always talking about? It made me almost want to abstain from voting.

Brandon Hay

There’s a parody on Youtube right now called “Home Depot” made by some highschool kids (I think?) and it’s my favorite thing ever. It reminds me of the charming amateur-ness and earnestness of late 2000’s Youtube.

Franco del Rosario

The fact that Hot To Go has endless potential for parodies and yet Weird Al covered it straight is a testament to its greatness

Jordan Elder

HOT TO GO! has my vote because it's children's music for adults.

T. Ryder

After seeing Weird Al and Will Forte singing Hot To Go, I have to say that it is the bop of the decade.

Jon Nepsha

When applicable, I have to defer to the true deciding factor that is Kidz Bop covers. Now as much as I appreciate the artistic choice to make Kidz Bop's Hot To Go literally about food, I think I have to give the win to Espresso, both because it has the funnier lyric changes, but also because the Hot to Go cover sounds genuinely demonic. They slapped so much reverb on that thing I was half convinced it was AI.

Brandon Hay

Good Luck Babe>Espresso>Hot to Go Von Dutch and 360 above all

drd

I'd rather take my coffee neeeee-ee-eat

Gator McKinley

I like the song fine enough, but I feel like Espresso is just Doja Cat’s Say So without the rapping. 🎶 I'd let you had I known it, that me es-press-so 🎶

Franco del Rosario

Additionally, being from Missouri myself, I’m so glad that queer folks back home have someone like Chappell to look up to

(William) Patrick Hodges

Espresso commits my most hated song sin - mispronouncing a word in order to make it fit the meter. "That's that me, espresSOH" is a crime against both the English language and coffee. Hot to Go gets additional points for being Amber Glenn's exhibition gala this season (this is a figure skating reference).

Alina

Espresso is a great song that finally sold me on Sabrina. HOT TO GO is one of the best songs by one of my new favorite artists. Super fun 80s throwback sound, great music video, and already a sporting event classic. Go watch the Temple Owl’s band halftime where they do Chappell songs, great version of it there

(William) Patrick Hodges

Open suggestion: Put up other matchups from the year as bonus polls for patrons. Maybe TV Off vs. Sticky, Lose Control vs. Beautiful Things, The Boy Is Mine vs. Birds of a Feather, Euphoria vs. Family Matters and let patrons vote on those as well.

Gator McKinley

Espresso is about the smug joy of knowing how much someone wants you, while HOT TO GO is about the explosive joy of wanting someone. both extremely cool emotions to write a song about and they’re both really fucking good so I’m going to have to think about my vote for a while

TJ Guiney

My brother and one of my best friends both have a weird hatred for Espresso and Sabrina's music in general. As much as I'd love to prove them wrong, HOT TO GO is also maybe one of my favourite songs ever?

Heather

Coffee Coffee Coffee Coffee Coffee...

Joseph Bergeron

that live performance of HOT TO GO Chappell did with Olivia Rodrigo really kicked up the affection I already had for the song. it's like the movie But I'm A Cheerleader condensed into one hyperactive package!

Calla the Crick

I do not have a share in this poll. For I am too much of a Gen Z dork who thinks he was born in the 90’s. I’m going with Never Said by Liz Phair as my vote

Connor Rankin

I really like the instrumentals on Espresso and all, but there are a lot of artists in the Future Funk scene that have a similar vibe I could listen to. HOTTOGO is a lot more fun and has a ton of personality and more memorable lyrics. Also, third party vote for “Death & Romance” by Magdalena Bay

Gone

I think it could be either of these and would be happy either way, but I'm going with Espresso. That little song was my earworm for this year.

T.A. Summers

HOTTOGO is great but only one of these songs has tricked me into skating 3 extra laps at the rink bc the vibes were too good and for that I must give Sabrina her crown 👑

Sarah

Funny how just days ago these two collaborated on a cover of Last Christmas and it sucked ass, yet this match up still makes sense

Jane Doe

Espresso’s so fucking good that while I’m listening to it, I almost believe that I have dance skills above a drunk auntie at a wedding. (I don’t. ) (Not at all.)

Mara Copland

This is incredibly unfair 😂

Alicia Kahre

espresso is great and i think it'll probably be the song from 2024 that sticks around for many years. it's the kind of pop song that is just great at being a pop song. hot to go is pretty good but espresso is one of my favorites from this year. (also, sabrina's album was really good, too)

Austin F

My personal vote is Espresso, but if Good Luck, Babe had been the Chappel pick it would have easily cleared for me.

Ross Ward

Espresso has really grown on me but HOT TO GO is more fun and that’s really what I need most from pop music in 2024

Lizzord

Since the video was shot a mile from my house, I'm obligated to vote HOT TO GO!... and I would have anyway

Kyle Burbank

Is it that sweet? idk i guess so!

Keirik

I really don't get Chapelle Roan, but HOTDOGGO is the better song

This is the Endtimes


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