Top Songs of 2025, Brigitte Bardot's death, Harry Styles' music comeback, ‘Wicked: For Good’ deleted scenes

PopBase reveals Top Songs of 2025

Pop Base has unveiled its year-end ranking of the Top Songs of 2025, spotlighting a list that reflects both breakout moments and career-defining releases across pop, R&B, and hip-hop.

Claiming the No. 1 spot is Chappell Roan’s “The Subway,” a track that dominated online discourse and solidified her status as one of the year’s most compelling voices. Rosalía follows closely at No. 2 with “Reliquia,” continuing her genre-bending streak, while Kehlani’s “Folded” lands at No. 3 after a strong year on the charts and streaming platforms.

Taylor Swift appears at No. 4 with “The Fate of Ophelia,” marking another notable entry in her ever-expanding catalog, while Lady Gaga’s “Abracadabra” rounds out the Top 5, earning praise for its theatrical flair. The list also highlights rising and genre-blurring artists, including Ravyn Lenae at No. 6 and Leon Thomas at No. 8.

Ariana Grande’s “Past Life” secures the seventh position, while Sabrina Carpenter, Tyla, and PinkPantheress all make the Top 15, reflecting pop’s continued global reach. Jennie’s solo track “Like Jennie” and Kendrick Lamar and SZA’s collaboration “Luther” further underscore the year’s blend of solo dominance and high-profile partnerships.

With artists spanning multiple sounds and scenes, Pop Base’s Top Songs of 2025 captures a year defined by bold creativity, crossover appeal, and songs that shaped the cultural conversation well beyond the charts.

Brigitte Bardot dead at 91

Brigitte Bardot, the French screen icon whose image helped redefine stardom in postwar Europe, has died at the age of 91. Her passing marks the end of an era for French cinema, where she emerged as one of the most recognizable and influential figures of the 1950s and 1960s.

Bardot rose to international fame through films such as And God Created Woman, becoming closely associated with the cultural shift toward sexual liberation that swept across Europe in the latter half of the 20th century. Her on-screen presence, fashion, and unapologetic sensuality made her a symbol far beyond the movie industry, influencing music, style, and pop culture worldwide.

Despite her success, Bardot stepped away from acting at just 39, leaving behind a body of work that included nearly 50 films. She later explained her departure from public life with a line that would become one of her most quoted statements: “I gave my youth and beauty to men, I give my wisdom and experience to animals.” 

From that point on, she dedicated herself to animal rights activism, founding the Brigitte Bardot Foundation and spending decades campaigning for animal welfare.

Bardot’s legacy, however, was also shaped by controversy. In 2008, she was convicted for inciting racial hatred after stating on her website that Muslims were “destroying our country by imposing their ways.” She also faced renewed criticism in 2018 over comments that were widely viewed as dismissive of the #MeToo movement.

Harry Styles releases a surprise music video: ‘Forever, Forever’

Harry Styles has marked a quiet but meaningful return to new music, offering fans a reflective look back at the record-breaking Love On Tour era just days before the new year. 

On Saturday, the global pop star released the official video for “Forever, Forever,” an instrumental piece that had previously lived only in the memories of concertgoers who attended his final tour stop in Italy last year.

The song first surfaced on July 22, 2023, when Styles sat at the piano in Reggio Emilia and played the unreleased track during the closing night of Love On Tour. That performance ultimately became his last live show of the two-year run, which grossed $617 million worldwide and sold more than five million tickets, cementing it as one of the most successful tours in recent music history.

Rather than centering on Styles himself, the newly released video turns the spotlight toward the fans who defined the tour. The opening minutes feature lingering shots of crowds waiting outside RCF Arena, capturing handwritten signs, embraces between strangers, and the anticipation surrounding the tour’s final night. 

The visual tribute closes with a simple message flashed across the screen: “WE BELONG TOGETHER.”

The release of “Forever, Forever” marks Styles’ first new music-related video content since 2023, when he shared the video for “Satellite,” the final single from his Grammy-winning album Harry’s House. That album debuted in 2022 and spent two weeks atop the Billboard 200, further solidifying his status as one of pop’s defining artists of the decade.

ET showcases ‘Wicked: For Good’ deleted scenes featuring shirtless Boq and Fiyero

A long-teased deleted sequence from Wicked has finally made its way online, giving fans their first look at a scene that was quietly left on the cutting-room floor. The newly released montage features Jonathan Bailey and Ethan Slater shedding their shirts in character as Fiyero and Boq, a moment that had previously been hinted at by cast members.

The footage, released by Entertainment Tonight, brings renewed attention to comments Bowen Yang made last year about a cut post-“Popular” montage meant to show the main characters bonding. 

“They shot a whole montage after ‘Popular’… just to show the audience these are all friends now — Fiyero, Glinda, Elphaba, Nessa, and Boq — the five of them, running around in the fields, hanging out.”

He went on to describe a specific moment filmed outdoors in London that drew attention even during production.

“There was one moment, and there were paparazzi shots of this because they had to shoot in, like, a park in London, of them hanging out, where it's Boq and Fiyero, Jonathan Bailey and Ethan Slater, ripping their shirts off. And so you were supposed to see Jonathan Bailey in his full shirtless glory, like flexing,” he added.

Yang explained that the scene was intended to underscore Boq’s discomfort standing next to Fiyero, though he joked that the idea may have backfired.

“But then it’s like, ‘Wait, Ethan's got a great body,’” Yang said. “I might get in trouble for saying that. But the movie's out, it's fine.”

ICYMI:

• Beyoncé has reached a new financial milestone, officially earning a place on Forbes’ Billionaire List and solidifying her status as one of the most successful entertainers in the world.

• ADOR has announced that Danielle is no longer under contract with ADOR, marking the first confirmed termination among the group’s members. In contrast, Hanni has returned to the agency while Minji’s status remains unresolved.

• Apink has released the highlight medley for their upcoming album RE : LOVE, offering previews of the project’s tracks ahead of its official launch.

— Bea Bertuldo

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