5 Best Contemporary Pop Debuts That Prove How To Make a First Impression

In a world as formulaic and fleeting as the pop music industry, album debuts can make or break an artist’s entire career, no matter how incredible their second, third, or even fourth albums might be. First impressions matter, especially considering pop’s highly saturated and competitive landscape.

A great debut album should not only show listeners what you’re about as an artist right now. It should also give the audience a preview—even a small one—of your potential music to come. What’s this artist’s creative M.O.? Do they have a storyline? Is there more to the story than this record?

Many have tried to craft the ideal first release. Many have failed. We take a look at five of the most iconic examples of a stunningly successful pop debut.

‘Hot Fuss’ by The Killers

While we’d entertain the argument that the Killers are technically rock ‘n’ roll, with their earworm hooks and synth-heavy arrangement, we’d counter-argue that they deserve their fair place in the pop world, too. The Las Vegas band’s 2004 debut was a smash success, and it’s easy to see why. With hit after hit like “Mr. Brightside” and “Somebody Told Me,” Hot Fuss quickly became one of the most sonically defining albums of the mid-2000s.

Moreover, the Killers did a tremendous job telling listeners what they could expect in the coming years. While not every album would match the success the band enjoyed with Hot Fuss, it’s easy to make clear connections from their initial pop album debut to each of their subsequent releases.

‘Pure Heroine’ by Lorde

Few pop songs had the world in a chokehold quite like the lead single off Lorde’s debut album, Pure Heroine. Indeed, you’d be hard-pressed to find someone who doesn’t remember hearing “Royals” at least once. It was everywhere. It was infectious. And amazingly, Lorde released it when she was only 17 years old. The success of Pure Heroine would be impressive for an artist at any age, not to mention one who hasn’t even graduated high school.

Lorde’s minimalistic, electronic approach to her pop debut helped usher in a wave of artists that followed the same catchy but stark blueprint, like Maggie Rogers, Olivia Rodrigo, and Billie Eilish (more on her in a minute). Other notable bangers from Lorde’s pop debut include “Tennis Court” and “Team.”

‘The Fame’ by Lady Gaga

Lady Gaga burst onto the music scene in 2008 in what felt like a sequined fever dream. Between the strange rumors and scandals surrounding her identity, her wild stage persona, and her futuristic, synth-pop style, Lady Gaga made it clear that she was here to shake things up with her pop debut, The Fame. The lead single, “Just Dance,” became an instant success, followed closely by other hit cuts like “Poker Face” and “Paparazzi.”

For as full of chaotic energy as it seemed to be back in the late 2000s, in hindsight, Lady Gaga’s pop debut couldn’t have been more thoughtful. We got a clear taste of who she was as an artist and who she could still become. One year later, she would deliver with her 2009 The Fame Monster.

‘WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO’ by Billie Eilish

Like New Zealand artist Lorde, U.S. pop star Billie Eilish was still in her teens when she released her studio pop debut, WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO? The album proved to be a massive success for brother-sister collaborators Eilish and Finneas O’Connell, garnering them five Grammy Awards in 2020 for Album of the Year, Best Pop Vocal Album, Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical, Record of the Year, and Song of the Year.

From her whispery vocal delivery to the bass-heavy, pulsing rhythms from O’Connell’s instrumental production, Eilish couldn’t have released a better first-impression record to give audiences an idea of her darker, more intimate approach to Top 40 pop music. Since then, she and O’Connell have continued to expand and elaborate on her musical stylings.

‘The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess’ by Chappell Roan

Chappell Roan landed a deal with Atlantic Records in the late aughts that eventually fell through by 2020. Three years later, she released her pop debut, The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess, to tremendous critical acclaim. Her organic fan base, fresh approach to trendy pop sensibilities, and clear devotion to musical and visual aesthetics made her an instant hit in the queer community and, not long after, pop fans around the world.

At the time of this writing, Chappell Roan has no other studio full-length albums to which we can compare Rise and Fall. But even without hearing how the pop artist may or may not deviate or expand upon her debut, the narrative of the record seems to be an uncanny match to her current, tumultuous place in the music industry.

Photo by Rob Verhorst/Redferns