The Hot-Pink Effervescence of Judith, Chingona Pop Star-in-Waiting
A 27-year-old restaurant server made some of the best pop songs of the year
In a huge year for bubblegum-pink pop music—from the winky wiles of Charli XCX to the candy-cane coquettishness of Sabrina Carpenter—the best I heard in 2024 came from Judith, a mononymous 27-year-old with bangs who daylights as a restaurant server and lives in Los Angeles with three roommates. With just a handful of songs and a cheeky array of videos to accompany them, Judith makes unexpected confections in Spanish and English, singing by turns in breathy mewls, wavy modulations, and sneery screams over shiny-seeming beats that draw from trap, pop-punk, and reggaetón.
Por ejemplo: On “Superboom,” an effervescent jam that in a less corporatized world would have been up there on the charts next to your wee “Espresso,” she professes her devotion to a lover in a sweetly longing voice. The superboom in question is either a heartbeat or a lusty come-on, but either way it provides an unshakeable chorus punctuated by eager “wow”s across a glittery sprinkle of synths and bass. Its video, which begins at a TikTok dance video shoot in a parking garage and ends in a throuple, showcases a charisma that plays up her knowing innocence.
