2021, The Year Of The 'Sad Girl'
Adele performs at Wembley Stadium in London, England. Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images hide caption
Adele performs at Wembley Stadium in London, England.
Gareth Cattermole/Getty ImagesAdele's new album "30" drops Friday and Variety is already calling it her "Emotionally Rawest, Riskiest, and Best Record." Although fans are eagerly waiting to ugly cry to this particular album, they've got plenty of new sad music to tide them over.
Between Taylor Swift's re-release of "Red" and a new song from Mitski, it's been quite a month for so-called "sad girl" music – a category of female artists whose searing, poetic lyrics about breakups, and heartache accompany us through our days.
Even before November, this year has been dominated by a bevy of sad girls – from Olivia Rodrigo to Julien Baker, and from Phoebe Bridgers to Billie Eilish.
But what really is sad girl music? Is it anything new? And what makes it so resonant right now?
Lucy Dacus, Sonia Rao, and Brittney Spanos join us for the conversation.
Like what you hear? Find more of our programs online.