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This is a reference to one of Latin singer Selena’s most iconic songs, “Bidi Bidi Bom Bom.” In the original context, “bidi bom” is meant to be the sound of a heart beating, but Nick uses it to imitate the sound of her booty shaking.

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An empire is a population governed by a single supreme authority. On Skip’s debut single, “Lions,” he rebelled against the current state of the U.S., specifically Donald Trump and his Muslim ban. The “lions” are everyone who’s willing to stand up for freedom and equality.

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“Chained to the rhythm” can mean we’re all too happy to maintain the status quo in our lives. Just like we’re captivated by rhythm, we conform to oppressive, stifling norms. The lyric video supports this idea, as it depicts a hamster watching a TV show of a hamster wheel, a symbol of running without actually moving anywhere. Therefore, “chained to the rhythm” is a reference to how the working class are stuck in place and can almost never go up the ladder in society. As Karl Marx said:

The workers have nothing to lose but their chains

To promote “Chained to the Rhythm,” Katy left disco balls chained to objects in a number of cities around the world. The disco balls were connected to headphones playing the song.

PROPOSED SUGGESTION (BrunoReebelo): The fact that she repeats some words so many times in the song (rhythm, dance, etc.) is an anaphore for how much our lives has become a weel constatly spinning and repeating itself.

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The love storm reflects how Gaga and the cowboy’s relationship relies on danger to maintain its passion.

In order to achieve love’s calming bliss, represented by the tranquil eye of the storm, she’s willing to commit to fast horse rides and wild partying.

The bridge uses a common weather metaphor, the “eye of the storm” idiom, which refers to a meteorological phenomenon in the center of wind storms, such as cyclones and hurricanes, where an “eye,” or relatively calm area of low pressure, forms in the midst of swirling, turbulent storm winds.

Metaphorically, then, the idiom usually refers to a period of respite in the middle of a conflict, or a person who retains her composure despite being surrounded by chaos. In this case, though, the speaker seeks out the storm to find her place of comfort.

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It’s indeed dangerous to hang off the back of a horse, as improper horseback riding can lead to a bad time.

And that’s before factoring in how Gaga wants to hang onto someone else’s saddle at galloping speeds. Gaga illustrates the consequences well in the music video.

Her admission sets the scene for the song’s question: Is it better to be safe but boring, or dangerous yet exciting? The cowboy’s ripe for this dilemma, with a life of gunslinging and Gaga zooms in on John Wayne’s archetypical western performance for this song.

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The “fire” is all of the difficulties that come with love. Sometimes, it feels like loving someone isn’t even worth it, like how walking on fire has little benefit. Yet fire also represents passion, so maybe it’s worth sticking through it.

Amongst these uncertainties, Bebe wonders how her lover will approach it, the first of many questions she asks about their relationship in the song.

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Dua Lipa embraces the bad-girl mentality – and then some – in “Hotter Than Hell”, a tropical-house-influenced track that employs religious images as a metaphor for a passionate love.

The song was released as the fourth single from her self titled album.

Lipa spoke to the BBC News and The New York Times saying it was inspired by a “really horrible relationship [that] went off the rails. It was really bruising my ego and making me feel like I wasn’t worth it.”

This guy just made me feel like I wasn’t good enough, always kicking me down in a way emotionally. And I was in the mood to write a really sad song. But when I started writing lyrics I was like, ‘Oh, I don’t want to let him hear how he made me feel.’ I didn’t want to show weakness — that’s not what I wanted to portray. And I was like: ‘O.K., I’m going to flip the script. I’m going to make it seem as if he couldn’t get enough of me.’ And instantly, the second I started writing, I started feeling better about the situation because I went into this imaginative world where everything had changed.

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Anohni twists the concept of 1984’s “Big Brother,” an extreme type of authoritarian government that vigorously surveils its citizens.

Ever since the reveal of the true scope of the NSA, many have criticized the US for being a Big Brother state, but maybe “Big Daddy” is a more suitable term for the God-like omnipresence that is becoming more and more real to us. Anohni casts the government as a sugar daddy to match her ironic depiction of surveillance as voyeurism. The exaggerated, disturbing sexuality of the metaphor drives home how undesirable we should find the embrace of a surveillance state.

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Polish singer Margaret likens her coolness to a fire in her second international single, “Cool Me Down”.

The song was an nominee for Eurovision 2016, placing 2nd next to to Michał Szpak’s “Color of Your Life,” which became Poland’s entry. Fans loved Margaret’s song so much however, that they petitioned the government to change the winner.

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Calvin and Rihanna return to the club in “This Is What You Came For.” It’s their third collaboration, following “We Found Love” and “Where Have You Been.”

It makes sense that Harris is eager to get Rihanna’s vocals on this track. Their first collaboration in 2011 launched Harris into mainstream popularity. It was also a boon for Rihanna, becoming one of the best-selling singles in history. Harris had recently tried to lend a track to RiRi’s ANTi, though it didn’t pan out.

Harris and Rihanna recorded this song in New York, while Rihanna was on tour. Harris said they made this track in one all-night session, working until 8 in the morning. Rihanna didn’t hear the final version until they were backstage at Coachella in 2016. Harris told BBC 1:

She’s got the iconic voice. Like, the first time that I heard her sing ‘We Found Love’—I had listened to the guide vocal for so long. I lived with it. I was like, it can’t get any better than this, even if it is Rihanna. And then I heard Rihanna and it was like I was already listening to the radio, it was like I was listening to the top 40. Her voice is out of control. The tone, how distinctive it is, the way she carries it, like every little phrase, annunciation. There’s nothing like her. Stylistically, she can’t be touched.

On July 13th, 2016, Taylor Swift’s reps confirmed that she co-wrote the song under the name Nils Sjoberg, and she and Calvin agreed to keep it a secret. The “her” in the song is likely a reference to Taylor, who was Harris' girlfriend at the time of release. Swift was spotted wearing the cover art weeks before the single’s release, and some fans speculated that she sang the “oohs” in the chorus, which was later confirmed by her team.

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