90s grunge remains a pretty specific genre, usually centering on a specific place (Seattle) and a specific cluster of bands (Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, etc). But at the same time that it’s possible to actually trace grunge back to Tina Bell of Bam Bam, it’s also possible to name several pop stars that carry a smidge of grunge along for the ride. Grunge is about playing guitars in Seattle, and it’s also about being a weird girl in pop music. Both things can exist, and here’s how.

Caroline Polachek

Hailed as the second coming of Kate Bush (by me just now), Caroline Polachek embodies what I’m calling art grunge pop. She’s often favored by pop girlies who want a little weirdness but don’t want to stray too far into the unknown. Just avant garde enough to make you go “hm,” but familiar enough to be comforting. I believe her grunge edge comes from her vocals, which contain spectacular range already. But she uses her voice almost like a weird medieval instrument, warbling and trembling, sinking low before scraping the ceiling of Heaven. Pop sensibilities and arthouse flavor with grunge execution.

Marina

My big hipster moment is that I was on the ground floor of Marina’s rise to fame in 2010, when she was still called Marina and the Diamonds, but that’s neither here nor there. Marina flirts with an edge of grunge on her debut album, The Family Jewels. She’s gone through several style shifts in the ensuing years. There’s the bubblegum-pop femme fatale record Electra Heart and the Euro-pop inspired Froot. But The Family Jewels started out with a strange grit that has since receded slightly. However, it never eroded completely from Marina’s work. The beats became more slick and stylized, but the heart of Marina’s music remains. That is, her willingness to write songs that are a little off-putting sometimes. And that’s a compliment.

Olivia Rodrigo

Olivia Rodrigo, also known as pop-punk’s cool little sister. She broke through in 2020 with the single “Drivers License,” which broke several streaming records within a week of its release. While still a teenager, Rodrigo possessed an impressive taste in music, which influenced her 2021 debut album Sour. That edge of grunge and pop-punk definitely showed in songs like “Good 4 U,” which was often compared with Paramore’s “Misery Business.” Her visuals are delightfully youthful and carefree, even as she sings about heartbreak and young adult insecurities. The music icons that have shaped her personal influences come through loud and clear. Sure, she takes her pop inspiration from Taylor Swift, Lana Del Rey, and Lorde. But other varied influences include Jack White, St. Vincent, Babes In Toyland, Rage Against The Machine, The Cure, and Fiona Apple.

Photo by Matt Keeble/Dave Benett/Getty Images

Doja Cat’s fourth studio album, Vie, is now just a week away from release. Doja’s gone all-in on the ’80s motif during the , with the multi-talented star sharing its release date with a French-speaking video clip, dropping an ’80s pop-inspired single, “Jealous Type,” and doubling down on the ’80s nostalgia with her MTV Video Music Awards performance. Even the deluxe edition announcement saw Doja nod to pop culture of the era, donning a Max Headroom-inspired persona.

Today, she shared the album’s tracklist, along with a snippet of “Gorgeous,” which will presumably be the next single. She posted the clip — which leaned even more into the New Wave aesthetic, referencing artwork specific to the time period — to Instagram. The clip even has a little VHS/CRT filter, giving it some authenticity in that respect.

Back in July, Doja tipped fans to the sound of the new album in an interview with V Magazine, saying, “I do want to be self-aware enough to admit the fact that this is a pop-driven project. I know that I can make pop music, and pop is just that it’s popular. It starts to become a bit of a thing that’s viewed as a sport by people who are just bystanders to it, who enjoy it, but maybe also don’t respect it or what it is, which is just music … They see it as if this is some kind of football for girls and gays.”

She’s not interested in competing, just in being herself, and judging from the stuff she’s put out so far, there won’t be much like her latest this year — and that’s just how she likes it. You can check out Vie the tracklist below.

Doja Cat Vie Tracklist

01. “Cards”
02. “Jealous Type”
03. “Aaahh Men!”
04. “Couples Therapy”
05. “Gorgeous”
06. “Stranger”
07. “All Mine”
08. “Take Me Dancing”
09. “Lipstain”
10. “Silly! Fun!”
11. “Acts Of Service”
12. “Make It Up”
13. “Happy”
14. “One More Time”
15. “Come Back”

Vie is due on 9/26 via RCA Records. You can find more info at DojaCat.com.