Every so often I like to write a blog post about all the songs that I've been playing non-stop recently. The songs I've had on repeat this month haven't necessarily all been released in May, but they've still been on my playlist this month. 
What I've noticed about this month's picks is that most of them are very pop, whereas I usually have a bit of alternative or rap in there too. With that being said, I really love all of these songs.
There have been so many great releases, so I found it really hard to narrow it down to my top seven songs, but here they are:

If You're Over Me - Years & Years:

Alternatively, you can listen to May's picks as well as loads of previous favourites on the Pop Affairs' Picks Spotify playlist here:

Yesterday Shawn Mendes released his long-awaited third studio album. The self-titled album's lead singles, In My Blood and Lost In Japan showed off a more maturer sound from Mendes and teased what we could expect to hear on the album.
I liked Shawn's previous two albums, but didn't really listen to them much, and I was expecting to have the same reaction for this album too. However, after my first listen, I'm hooked!
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The album starts with In My Blood, a really good single and a really strong song to open the whole album with. The next song is Nervous, which I love because of the higher key Shawn sings in. I wouldn't typically imagine Shawn to sing in this key, but it actually makes the song. Where Were You in the Morning is again something that I wouldn't picture Shawn releasing because it's a very different sound from his usual music, but once again I love it.

Once I got almost halfway through the album and was listening to Fallin' All in You, I came to the conclusion that this is Shawn's best album to date. The progression he's made as an artist is incredible, both lyrically and in the style of his songs. Shawn has always been a talented artist, and the fact that he is allowing himself to grow as an artist while continuing to make great music that his fans love, is really impressive.
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As the album continued I found it nice to hear that there is a variety of songs, not just 14 tracks that all sound the same. The darker track, Why, is a nice contrast to the rest of the album and I would love to see it being released as a single (I’d also love to see Nervous released as a single too!).
Staying with the theme of contrasts, I also found Queen to also be a great listen because of the upbeat style of the song in combination with the darker lyrics. I really like songs that on the surface seem to be happy and upbeat, but when you actually listen to the lyrics, it actually has a dark side.
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One of my favourite songs on the album is definitely Youth. I adore Khalid's voice and I think both Khalid and Shawn's voices work together perfectly. The emotional meaning of the lyrics makes this powerful song stand out amongst the rest on the album.

​Shawn's maturity and growth throughout this album is truly stunning and makes for a really good record.
​Shawn Mendes making a bad album? It isn't in his blood.

This summer will see the release of lots of new albums from a variety of artists. So, who's releasing what, and when?

Ariana Grande - Sweetener 
Grande's long awaited fourth album is rumoured to be coming out on July 20th following the release of the lead single, No Tears Left To Cry. I'm really looking forward to hearing what Ariana has created for this album, as she's teased that we should expect the unexpected. 
Ariana has also been teasing fans of social media about the rumoured next single from Sweetener, The Light Is Coming. 

Shawn Mendes (self titled)
Shawn's new album is actually coming out this Friday (May 25th), and I'm so excited to listen to it. The lead singles In My Blood and Lost In Japan have shown a more maturer sound from Mendes, and I so this album should hopefully be his best one yet!

​5 Seconds of Summer - Youngblood
5 Second's of Summer's last album, Sounds Good Feels Good, was released all the way back in 2015 and I really wasn't a fan. I liked their debut album, but I couldn't actually sit through Sounds Good Feels Good without turning it off. Their comeback single, Want You Back, however was a lot better and gave me hope that their third studio album will be a good one! 
Youngblood is out on June 22nd. 

The Vamps - Night and Day (Day Edition)
 Last year The Vamp's released part one of this album, Night Edition, with the second part (Day Edition) being released on July 13th. ​Night Edition was a really good album, so I have really high hopes for the Day Edition ​too. 

I decided to do a Twitter poll to see what albums everyone was looking forward to hearing. The poll had a massive 1,044 votes, and there was one clear favourite.
Sweetener by Ariana Grande received 19% of the votes, while Shawn Mendes got 13% and Youngblood by 5 Seconds of Summer only got 11%. However, Day Edition by The Vamps got a massive 57% of the vote!

Personally I'm really looking forward to hearing Sweetener, but I think all four albums should be really good!

Anne-Marie recently released her debut album, ​Speak Your Mind. ​All of the singles leading up to the album's release were brilliant, so I was really excited to hear what the rest of the album would sound like. Just before the album was set to be released, Anne-Marie 'leaked' her latest single ​2002. 2002 ​is one of the most lyrically genius songs I've heard in a while, with the combination of loads of classic hits all merged into one chorus. I've never seen this done before on a song so I found it really impressive, and it also hyped me up a lot more for ​Speak Your Mind's release.

​What I really like about ​Speak Your Mind ​is the huge mixture of songs. The varying styles from upbeat to slower make for a very interesting listen because the next track is unpredictable. Before I listened to the album I thought that the whole album would sound quite similar and I would maybe give it a few listens and then move on, but I can honestly say ​Speak Your Mind ​is one of my favourite albums that has been released this year so far! This isn't just because of the variety of songs, but also because of the lyrics. Every song on the album almost feels like a mini story that draws you in and makes you feel connected to Anne-Marie. The song that particularly stands out to me lyrically is ​Perfect. ​This feel-good song encourages confidence and self love, and I think that's really important in today's society. Social media puts a lot of stress on young people to look and act in a certain way, but the fact that Anne-Marie is using her platform to remind her fans that not being perfect is actually perfect is so beautiful to see.  

​Anne-Marie's vocals and lyrics are brilliant, and ​Speak Your Mind ​was definitely worth the wait!