Pinpointed: 2026 Music Industry Predictions

By Bailey Tolentino

1. Olivia Rodrigo Goes Rock

Word on the street is Olivia Rodrigo is going to drop her third studio album this year, and I think it will lean towards Pop Punk or Pop Rock. She is now old enough for teenage girls to really look up to her; but she is also beginning to establish herself as a respectable artist among rock greats like Jack White and The Cure’s Robert Smith. Her music may bring a very feminine edge to rock, though I am sure she will still pertain to pop standards as she is a hit-maker at the end of the day. GUTS showed us she is capable of tinges of punk rock, and I see proper rock influences as the natural next step. I am also hopeful that her influence will help our generation see rock as not such a male-dominated field.

2. EDM Pop grows tired (and people learn the difference between EDM and Techno)

With Charli xcx’s sound dominating the (at least online) world in the past couple years, everyone wants to be a party girl. If Charli xcx is the best beat drop on a night at the club, then Addison Rae is the sleaze of the afterparty, and Selena Gomez and Demi Lovato tried to write themselves onto the guest list (see ‘Bluest Flame’ and ‘Fast’), while PinkPanthress is the tipsy walk home with your girls. But we all have to wake up eventually. What I am trying to say is that a lot of pop music right now is disguising as EDM because we can all understand the intrigue of Charli xcx’s cool factor; but I don’t think every mainstream artist’s heart is really in it. Charli is a true rave darling and real EDM lives in muddy festival tents, while real techno lives in grungy warehouse raves… not in your car on the morning drive to work, nor in shopping malls. I think EDM-Pop music can be great — don’t get me wrong… but it is not the same as techno, and music trends of late have been treating it as such. What the average listener actually likes about Charli xcx’s sound is what the vocoders and synthesizers lend to the melody. EDM is an umbrella term for any dance music produced electronically, so both her music and cheap copies (like Selena’s and Demi’s) fall under that category by a technicality… But once there are lyrics involved, it is no longer techno, and I am not sure the general public knows that. I find it doubtful that we are all actually rave babes or that we all actually want to listen to pure techno beats on the radio. Leave that to the DJs. Instead, I think popular music may start to learn more towards hints of disco, with nostalgia for the pre-electronic world pervading people in their 20s and 30s right now. Harry Styles actually just announced his new album [Kiss All The Time. Disco, Occasionally] today, featuring a disco ball on the album cover. I think everyone wants to get back into in-person activities: specifically smaller social gatherings like house parties and whatnot… not raves, per se. Disco details in pop may allow for a little more conversation over the speakers than the deafening attempts at EDM of 2025.

3. Tate McRae finally finds her sound 

I have always been skeptical about this girl, for I feel she basically just makes music so she can dance to it. She is an amazing performer, but I have never been convinced by her actual artistry. That said, her recent Rolling Stone interview and photoshoot is clearly posing her as a new Britney, with promiscuous schoolgirl styling and emphasis on her alter-ego Tatiana (the sexy showgirl that she is on stage; while Tate is the chill, shyer girl she is on her days off.) Her recently released bonus tracks on So Close To What exhibit a whole new, more mature side to her. I am not yet entirely sold, but I was impressed by ‘ANYTHING BUT LOVE’ as it is a step up from what she and Ryan Tedder attempted with ‘Sports Car.’ A little more anger and a real focus on her Tatiana character may help her find her specific sonic path, and make a name for herself beyond her primarily teenage audience. Her near-exclusive production relationship with Ryan Tedder may help her hone in on — and grow into — a sound catered to her voice and style, like Taylor Swift did with Jack Antonoff back in her early 20s. I do not think ballads or pure bubblegum pop are the move for Tate. The whispered tone, mid-soprano range, anodyne melody, and sassy ad-libs in ‘ANYTHING BUT LOVE’ suit her perfectly. I hope to see more of that in her next record.

4. Country also goes out of style but jazz takes its place 

I find it doubtful that the connection between country music and conservative ideals will ever fully dissolve. As a result of this tension, I do not think country can last much longer as an omnipresent source of sonic and thematic inspiration for mainstream artists. However, jazz can still provide a somewhat “traditional” medium through which artists may try and express their artistry. After the chaos that ensued after Beyoncé won for Best Country Album at The Grammys, I am not sure anyone else is going to dare attempting a country-fusion album. If Beyoncé can’t get away with it, who will? Especially with many of our favourite pop stars of the 2010s settling down and getting married, I can see jazz influences (or samples and interpolations) being a way they may try and age gracefully. Plus, I think we are already seeing a step towards more soulful, live vocal sounds with Olivia Dean and RAYE capturing many an eye.