Closing Arguments: The Resurrection Roundtable

chatting with the Resurrection team to count down a few final thoughts on the series

Welcome to Track Ten – this piece is part of my themed collection, Resurrection, about pop’s greatest comebacks, but you can read the pieces in any order. Every Monday, you can expect a piece about the impact of the stars and moments from pop music’s past and present. On Wednesdays, I publish the Chart Roundup where I count down the week’s biggest songs, take a look at what’s trending up in the weeks ahead, and let you in on the story behind the #1s.

We made it! When the Resurrection collection was just a fragment of an idea, I could not have imagined the amazing writing, ideas, and community that would come out of this project. I have followed Caitlin, Alex, and Natalie’s work for a while now, and the fact that they were as excited as I was to build out this series means the world to me.

Call me sentimental, but I can never let something end without giving it its own moment of closure. So I couldn’t resist bringing the gang together to wrap it all up by sharing a few favorite moments of resurrection from pop history, alongside their favorite moments from the series. Here’s what Natalie (N), Alex (A), Caitlin (C), and I (E) had to say:

What are your favorite resurrection moments that you didn’t get to write about in your main post?

Natalie’s Picks:

Carly Simon conquers stage fright decades after the height of her career

N: Carly always faced crippling stage fright, to the point where she’d experience fainting spells during her shows. Almost a decade after releasing music, and the death of two important figures in her life, her mother and close friend former First Lady Jackie Onassis, in 1995 Carly filmed a made-for-TV concert before a crowd of unsuspecting commuters in New York City’s Grand Central Station before going on tour with Hall and Oates. She overcame a massive struggle she’d once contented with to play the songs she’d written as tribute to her lost loved ones—in a way, resurrecting both theirs and her own legacy through her fortitude.

The Chicks challenge the country music establishment

N: The Chicks (formerly “The Dixie Chicks”) faced major backlash in 2002 after their lead singer Natalie Maines disparaged President Bush for leading the country to war. The Chicks were subsequently blacklisted by country radio, and further ostracized by the genre’s golden boy Toby Keith. In rebellion, Maines wore a hand bedazzled shirt reading FUTK (one can infer what it means) at a 2003 tour stop. Doubling down, Maines and her bandmates reignited the true meaning of country music by calling out establishment grifters and bringing the stories of disenfranchised folks back to the forefront, if only for a news cycle.

E: Okay, I totally love this choice - it's such a good example of how a comeback moment isn't always about reinventing in the way the public expects or "wants." The Chicks are iconic today mainly because of this - even if they had bowed down to the Country establishment I can't imagine they would have been accepted back.

N: Exactly!! They stood their ground (for lack of a better term) and ultimately were true beacons of the genre’s roots. toby keith also tried to call them out for not being true “songwriters” and then released the abomination that is courtesy of the red white and blue. How about shove a boot in YOUR ass dude

C: Loveeee this one! Chicks forever <3

Alex’s Picks:

Kid Cudi on Kid See Ghosts' "Reborn"

A: In October 2016, Kid Cudi wrote on Facebook that he had checked himself into rehab for depression and suicidal urges, inspiring a string of conversations around race, mental health, and masculinity under the Twitter hashtag, #YouGoodMan. He ended his post, stating that he would "be back stronger, better. Reborn." In 2018, he followed through on his promise with the release of KIDS SEE GHOSTS, a collaboration with Kanye West, where Cudi shines on the standout track, "Reborn."

The Return of Clipse

A: Brothers Malice and Pusha T, who formed the hip-hop duo Clipse, saw success in the early 2000s through their creative partnership with the Neptunes. While they were still reaching the height of their powers, Malice left rap and Pusha T opted for a solo career. In July 2025, Clipse reunited with Let God Sort Em Out, their first album in 16 years and a record that won them their first Grammy (Best Rap Performance: "Chains and Whips").

E: It's a shame that I had barely even heard the name Clipse until their reunion, but if anything that helps prove just how potent a resurrection moment it really was. Seeing that Grammy win was super satisfying!

N: I like the idea that separating can later result in an even more powerful collaboration. Sometimes things just need to simmer a while and that space can create an even more powerful result. Makes me hopeful for another future Boygenius return 😃

E: The whole reason I assembled this team of pop culture writers is so I could get brilliant moments like a Clipse/Boygenius comparison that I couldn't get anywhere else!

C: Love Clipse, and a resurrection so iconic that they even performed at the Vatican?!!

Caitlin’s Picks:

Lily Allen’s West End Girl

C: Lily Allen dropped the confessional and sequential West End Girl in October 2025. With her trademark wit and hyper-personal writing style, Allen tells the story of her heartbreaking divorce from a famous actor over 14 tracks. It was Allen’s first album in seven years, and her first album since getting sober in 2020. West End Girl’s success was more cultural. Critics adored the album, and Allen appeared in profiles in Vogue, British Vogue, Interview Magazine, and on the cover of Elle Magazine. Gwyneth Paltrow posted behind the scenes at her tour, and Allen sang on SNL and at the Chateau Marmont with Chanel launch party.

Shakira’s Renaissance

C: In 2023, Argentine producer Bizarrap dropped “Shakira: Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 53/66.” The track features a rageful Shakira singing about the dissolution of her marriage to Spanish footballer Gerard Pique and his infidelity: “A she-wolf like me isn't for guys like you,” “Women no longer cry, women get paid.” The song peaked at No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100 and broke 14 Guinness world records, alchemizing her pain. In 2024, Shakira dropped her first album in seven years, Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran ("Women No Longer Cry"). The album won the 2025 Grammy for Best Latin Pop Album, debuted at No. 1 on Billboard's Top Latin Albums, and was certified 7x platinum (Latin) by the RIAA. The album’s accompanying tour is the highest-grossing tour by a Latina female artist.

Kesha Returns to her Raunchy Roots

C: . (pronounced ‘period’), is Kesha's first album release on her own label, Kesha Records. The album is a return to form in sound and subject: funny, joyous party anthems (with the occasional ballad, too). When asked about the album’s callback to “recession pop,” Kesha responded “when I put out bangers, it coincides with people needing to party really hard.” . also includes great collaborations, including A.G. Cook, T-Pain, and younger artists whose work is clearly inspired by Kesha’s catalog: Rose Gray, Slayyyter, JADE. It is an album with her quintessential sound, now made on her terms.

E: I love the idea of a comeback also being a return to form, but on totally different terms. One thing we didn't really cover too much in the series was the way behind the scenes industry politics plays a role in which artists get to reinvent themselves and which don't. Kesha fought hard to take her destiny into her own hands.

C: I would read a whole other series about that!! Kesha, Jojo, TLC, Taylor, it is so unfortunately common

Eric’s Picks

Lady Gaga Performs Sound of Music Medley at the 2015 Oscars

E: Lady Gaga was on top of the world for years, but her image and popularity collapsed with the ARTPOP era. Two years later, though, she reset her image not with her own new music but by performing a medley from The Sound of Music at the Oscars. Gaga appeared on stage looking natural and helped people to see her as a serious and talented vocalist, which set the stage for her mega-comeback A Star Is Born a few years later.

Nelly Furtado’s “Promiscuous”

E: To go from “I’m Like a Bird” to this is genuinely so shocking, so funny, and so good. Imagine if Olivia Dean teamed up with Mustard and put out a club rap banger. This song hits just as hard today as it did when it was released.

N: I don’t even think people make the connection most of the time that these are by the same artist—truly a feat of conquering a spectrum of genres flawlessly!

E: It really is crazy when you think about not just the wild difference in vibe here, but also how "Promiscuous" kind of became one of the definitive songs of the whole Timbaland era. No one could have predicted that from her folk-y breakout hit.

So… what comes next?

Resurrection became more than I ever could have hoped thanks to my three wonderful guests. A huge part of Track Ten for me has always been about sharing others’ great taste (through my chart roundup guest verses) and now I’m proud to have a formal way to share others’ ideas and insights, too.

It’s still early days, but Volume 2 is already in the works. Alex, Natalie, and Caitlin have set a high bar for what a Track Ten Collection looks like, and I’m working hard to try to top it with the next theme and next group of guests. For now, can I leave you with a slightly cryptic series of emojis?

📀 📼 💽 🖥 🎧