In 2024, pop music was defined by a combination of A-list releases — from Taylor Swift, Beyoncé, Billie Eilish and Ariana Grande, among many others — and breakthrough moments for newly minted superstars like Sabrina Carpenter, Chappell Roan and Charli xcx. Those two groups often dominated the year’s discourse, yet those paying close attention to the entirety of 2024 pop music also spotted the many gems beneath the headliners, as several of the most compelling songs of the year could be found outside of top 40 radio or the major streaming playlists.

Some artists, like JADE and Lauren Mayberry, stepped forward outside of their respective group dynamics, and delivered stunning solo turns; others, like Jane Remover and Porter Robinson, upended expectations and uncovered rock-solid hooks in the process. For every Saya Gray just getting started, there was an Allie X, a pop veteran still offering up bold ideas in her songwriting. And while artists like Kenya Grace and AESPA have found recent commercial success, they also released singles in 2024 that simply should have been bigger.

During a crowded year in pop, these 20 songs still managed to stand out, and evolve the sound and approach of the artists behind them. Imagine a world in which any of these songs — or all of them! — were hits in their own right. What a wonderful world that would be.

Below are our picks of 20 pop songs from 2024 that deserved to be smashes, listed in alphabetical order by artist. Read all about them, and then listen to all 20 in our custom playlist at the bottom of the post.