I can’t believe we are a few days away till the end of July 2026. As always, the year is flying by so fast. This past month, I’ve been digging cooking shows like Kids Baking Championship, 100 Cooks, Kitchen Nightmares, and MasterChef: Global Gauntlet. The latter show recently came back with new episodes after a six-week-long gap because of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Music-wise, I’m still listening to Michael Jackson like nonstop because I have no control over how long my obsessive cycles last; my longest cycle was four years, but every cycle is different. I still found time to squeeze in some other artists, especially since Ariana Grande’s new album, Petal (2026), comes out on July 31, which I’m pumped about! With all that said, let’s get on with the music!
10. “According to You” by Orianthi from Believe (2009)
Before she was Richie Sambora’s (temporary) girlfriend, Orianthi was Jackson’s guitarist for the ill-fated This Is It concert residency at the O2 Arena in London, England. After recently seeing the This Is It (2009) documentary film, which includes footage of Jackson preparing for the shows, I fully understand why Orianthi was chosen as his female guitarist. I actually feel bad the residency never happened because it would’ve been great exposure for her. Besides the crap she did with Sambora, the only song of hers I know is “According to You” from her second studio album, Believe, and I haven’t heard a peep from her since then. Orianthi actually has a good singing voice, she can play tasteful licks on the electric guitar, and she has this confident stage presence that makes guys drop dead. I also give her props for featuring an Ozzy Osbourne era Black Sabbath poster in the “According to You” music video.
9. “Circus” by Britney Spears from Circus (2008)
Apparently, Britney Spears is known as the “Princess of Pop.” Now I understand why she sang with Jackson at his 30th Anniversary Celebration in 2001. A fitness YouTuber I follow, emkfit, has a couple of dance workouts themed to her music and they’re so much fun! Pop culture wouldn’t be where it is today without Spears. I can’t imagine the 1990s and 2000s without songs like “Oops!…I Did It Again,” “…Baby One More Time,” “Toxic,” “I’m a Slave 4 U,” and “Circus.” The latter I remember watching the song’s music video in my parents’ bedroom, but for the life of me, I can’t remember what channel it was on. The sensual and playful intro sets the mood before the first verse kicks in with Spears’ unmistakable vocals. As perfectly described in the lyrics (“I’m like a ring leader, I call the shots / I’m like a firecracker, I make it hot”), Spears knows she’s hot stuff and when the chorus hits, the world turns into a strip club!
8. “In the Stars” by the Rolling Stones from Foreign Tongues (2026)
I didn’t even know the Rolling Stones were releasing a new album until the week of its release! That proves how offline I’ve been with the music world lately because well, I don’t go on social media except for YouTube. The Rolling Stones have been around since the 1960s. They already paid their dues as musicians, so I give them props for still releasing new music, not because they have to, but because they want to. The Foreign Tongues album cover is weird, bizarre, disgusting, and I love it! “In the Stars,” the album’s first single, is a rock ‘n’ roll song with a commercial feel thanks to its luscious pop hooks. Also, I love how the “oooh” vocal melodies in the chorus give it a dreamlike state. Please refer to the song’s music video to understand what I’m talking about!
7. “OMG” by Usher featuring will.i.am from Raymond v. Raymond (2010)
My bedroom is right in front of a street outside my house, and every day I hear cars blasting their music loud enough to make the drivers go deaf, which is annoying as heck! Most of the time, the music is garbage (in my opinion), but occasionally, I’ll hear songs from my childhood that I like, one of them being “OMG” by Usher. If I’m not mistaken, this was the first song I heard with autotune, so that was quite a learning experience. “OMG” has a danceable electronic beat for the chorus, Usher’s vocal delivery is smooth as heck even for the lyrics I don’t like, it’s got an infectious hook, and I love the softness of the pre-chorus. I used to like this song a lot in sixth grade, but I grew out of it for some reason. I’m still bummed about not being around when Steve Clark was alive, but I must admit that my generation had some really good pop tunes!
6. “Superstitious” by Europe from Out of This World (1988)
A few weeks ago, I pulled out my Out of This World CD from Europe and was transported back to the late ‘80s. It was a time of big synthesizers, big melodic hooks, and big hair. Out of This World is not mind-blowing, but it has some good songs, like the album’s first single, “Superstitious.” It immediately sucks listeners in with an a cappella chorus intro, then the pounding drums and sizzling guitar melodies take over, and it’s off to the races! What I love most about the song is its usage of keyboards, particularly in the chorus. The keyboards add so much color to the song without saturating it with sparkle and fat. The guitar solo is gorgeous and Joey Tempest’s vocals are excellent; I especially love his breath delivery and choice of melodies for the song’s bridge.
5. “Good Friday” by The Black Crowes from Three Snakes and One Charm (1996)
When The Black Crowes did their Happiness Bastards tour in 2024, I watched them like a hawk! Checked out the venues they played, the setlist for each show, the stage setup, and to some degree, the outfits they wore (at least for Rich Robinson). For their current Southern Hospitality tour with Whiskey Myers, however, I decided to remain lowkey. I still check out their setlist for each show, but not on a consistent basis. One of the songs they played recently was “Good Friday,” my seventh favorite Black Crowes song ever. These recent performances aren’t from the Brothers of a Feather shows, so the live versions are electric with the whole shebang. That’s not a bad thing, but I prefer the stripped-back acoustic version of “Good Friday” with just the Robinson brothers because that’s when their vocal harmonies really shine. Despite that, the live versions with the full band are good too; you still got Chris Robinson on the harmonica and Nico Bereciartua’s slide guitar playing is chef’s kiss.
4. “Life Is Sweeter” performed by the cast of Descendants: The Rise of Red (2024) from the film’s soundtrack
Did we really need another Descendants film after Cameron Boyce’s passing? No, but the first three films were really popular and as Jackson previously sang, “Anything, Anything / Anything for money / Would lie for you / Would die for you / Even sell my soul to the devil.” Who’s the devil that Disney Channel sold their souls to? Beats me, but as a result, we got Descendants: The Rise of Red. It was a cool concept, dealing with the Queen of Hearts’ daughter traveling back in time to prevent her mom from turning evil, but it was poorly executed. However, as soon as I heard one of the songs in the film, “Life Is Sweeter,” I was drawn to it. There’s something so innocent and charming about a person who tries to find the good in everything. The song is exactly as it sounds: a sugary sweet pop tune made for a Disney Channel movie.
3. “Burnin’ Alive” by AC/DC from Ballbreaker (1995)
About two weeks ago, I made a YouTube video talking about my favorite AC/DC album ever, Ballbreaker, the first album with drummer Phil Rudd back in the band. That’s when I really started to dig into the inspiration behind my favorite song on the album, “Burnin’ Alive,” which is about the Branch Davidians cult siege in Waco, Texas. I gained a new appreciation for the song after listening to it more often for the past couple of years. I found a really good fanmade live version of “Burnin’ Alive” on YouTube last year, which made me love the song even more. The song has such a good feel, thanks to Rudd’s simplistic beat, Cliff Williams provides a juicy bass line, Angus Young does some killer bluesy guitar licks, and it suits Brian Johnson’s vocals perfectly. The chorus is very repetitive, but that’s expected from AC/DC.
2. “Why You Wanna Trip on Me” by Michael Jackson from Dangerous (1991)
Steering away from Jackson’s first three studio albums (Off the Wall, Thriller, and Bad), I wanted to explore his later catalog, the albums that don’t get as much love in the U.S. I’m not counting the Motown solo albums because from a creative perspective, he wasn’t on his own yet when he made those records. Lately, I’ve been digging Dangerous because of the different musical styles present on the record. By this point in time, Jackson was already considered a “freak” because of false rumors in the tabloids and since his first attempt to get the press off his back (“Leave Me Alone” from the Bad album) didn’t work, he tried again with “Why You Wanna Trip on Me” on the Dangerous album. Surprisingly, Jackson didn’t write the song; it was written by producer Teddy Riley and Bernard Belle. Backed by a funky new jack swing groove and a slamming acoustic guitar riff, Jackson repeatedly questions why the tabloids want to pick on him when there are more important social issues to worry about.
1. “Piano” by Ariana Grande from Yours Truly (2013)
I have wonderful memories of Grande’s Yours Truly album because I used to play it on YouTube while doing my homework during my freshman year of high school. Yeah, I know, my study habits were not great in high school. I gravitated towards the singles like “The Way” and “Baby I,” but never appreciated the deep cuts until I bought Positions (2020), which I didn’t buy right away. “Piano” has a fun and carefree vibe with the handclaps and danceable beat. I love how the vocal melodies are structured, everything from the chorus to the bridge. Yours Truly has a different vibe compared to her following albums. More wholesome and pure, you know, before the media and press got all up in her face.
There you have it, people! Those are my favorite songs from July 2026. Another odd group of songs from different genres. I don’t really have an outro for this post, to be honest, because as I’m typing this, I’ve been watching a documentary series on Jackson’s This Is It concert residency by a YouTuber named Hannah Savage and that’s literally been on my mind for the past week. The only reason why I’m not throwing a hissy fit over the circumstances leading up to Jackson’s death is because I have music to calm me down. I truly believe music is the greatest medicine in the world and that cannot be more true with where I’m at currently in my life. So, if you’re really going through the motions right now, blast your favorite songs as loud (and safely) as you want!
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Take care and see ya real soon!
Lana
Lana Teramae | Me, Myself and Time 
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