To begin, let's look at the historical context for non-retrospective Ultimate rates:

1. 2016: Beyoncé - Lemonade, Britney Spears - Glory, Lady Gaga - Joanne, Rihanna - Anti
2. 2017: Katy Perry - Witness, Kesha - Rainbow, Taylor Swift - Reputation
3. 2018: none
4. 2019: Ariana Grande - thank u, next; Billie Eilish - WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO; Lizzo - Cuz I Love You; Taylor Swift - Lover
5. 2020: Dua Lipa - Future Nostalgia, Lady Gaga - Chromatica, Taylor Swift - Folklore, The Weeknd - After Hours
6. 2021: Billie Eilish - Happier Than Ever, Doja Cat - Planet Her, Lil Nas X - Montero, Olivia Rodrigo - Sour
7. 2022: Beyoncé - Renaissance, SZA - SOS, Taylor Swift - Midnights
8: 2023: none

As you can see, the first two Ultimate rates consisted solely of pop stars who were in their prime in the late 00s/early 10s, which was considered the golden era of pop music and the basis of most standom back when the subreddit was founded. From 2019 onwards, we have incorporated more and more newer acts as the pop music industry has largely evolved and moved past the late 00s/early 10s generation of main pop girls.

Following a quiet 2023 that we chose to take off from the Ultimate concept (this is Nicki shade), the past year has been marked by a deluge of pop eras that meet some or all of the past qualifications for Ultimate status. As such, we have chosen to lock in two ideas to cover what the rate committee feels are the undeniable inclusions, divided by age.

First, the official **2024 Ultimate** title will be bestowed upon the elder generation. Beyoncé's **Cowboy Carter** is a lock for dominating industry discourse around genre and racism in the first quarter of the year, together with another solo #1 Hot 100 hit for Queen Bey (which, for many years, seemed out of reach for her). Taylor Swift's **The Tortured Poets Department** and its whopping 31 tracks may have contributed to many users' Swiftie fatigue, but its rollout in conjunction with further Eras Tour shows made her an inescapable media personality for the second year in a row. Finally, Ariana Grande's **Eternal Sunshine** spawned two #1 hits on the Hot 100 that attracted much speculation about her current dubious relationship with fellow Wicked actor Ethan Slater, which everyone promptly forgave her for once they saw how great she is in the movie.

Second, a **Gen Z Royalty** rate will consist of the biggest stars of the generation that has emerged as the dominant force in pop culture over the past few years. Billie Eilish's **Hit Me Hard and Soft** featured her second biggest hit to date and an undeniable upward trajectory from her sophomore album that many called a slump. Sabrina Carpenter's **Short 'n Sweet** was a rocket launch out of the khia asylum that is easily on par or greater of an era than the breakout eras of Billie, Lizzo or Dua that earned them Ultimate spots. Finally, Olivia Rodrigo's **Guts** is a 2023 album that we did not get to last year, which technically prohibits this rate from officially being called an Ultimate, but her ever growing fanbase, touring clout, and #1 hit in Vampire makes the rate even more commercially successful than the real Ultimate. Also, the album did have a 2024 deluxe even if it did get overshadowed fairly quickly by fresher projects.

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That said, there are unresolved questions that, per tradition, we are leaving up to the results of a questionnaire. I will go through each section with arguments for and against each answer so everyone can make an informed decision:

1. Should the deluxe version of TTPD be rated, or just the first disc?

The last Taylor Swift album in an Ultimate rate had the bottom 13 songs...certainly ironic, but also a sign that her artistic output has not kept up with the raters' high standards in recent years. If all 31 songs on TTPD are rated, trends would suggest that we may see an even bigger landslide of Taylor songs on Day 1, which might not be the most enjoyable rate experience. That said, it would be an unprecedented move to purposefully cut songs to spare the feelings of an artist. The upside of a briefer runtime would be that, because Ultimate rates tend to attract new raters, it would make the rate easier to complete if they don't have to slog through an additional 15 B-sides.

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2. Should an album be added to 2024 Ultimate?

a. Yes
b. No
c. Yes if we're rating just the first disc of TTPD, no if we're rating all of it

3. If an album is added to 2024 Ultimate, rank the following options from most to least preferred:

a. Charli xcx - Brat
b. Dua Lipa - Radical Optimism
c. SZA - Lana

These two questions go hand in hand. To start, let me explain the logic behind the potential additions:

* A rare example of a Popheads subreddit favorite escaping the bubble, Charli xcx's **Brat** had an outsized cultural impact compared to its chart success, at least in terms of creating radio hits. Despite this, some would argue that the album's impact on politics, fashion and culture, together with its general critical reverence, makes it a better fit in a more outwardly important rate than the more underground rates it would end up in otherwise. Important to note is that due to a lack of strong options and because we're preemptively locking in two rates already, there will NOT be an official 2024 Sub Faves rate this year, which is where Charli has largely been rated in the past and would otherwise be her default placement.
* Dua Lipa set the bar high with her long-lasting Future Nostalgia era, but her **Radical Optimism** era comparatively came and went. Not helping matters is that Dua has not been a pop staple for quite long enough that her underperformance was particularly shocking. That said, it still had mild chart impact with a few songs (especially in Europe), and the Ultimate rate has always been a home for discourse-generating main pop girl flop eras.
* SZA is not having a problem with the word "flop", but rather with the word "era", as her recently released **LANA** is a deluxe edition tacked onto the already rated SOS. With her management going through a shakeup, no radio single in sight, and perhaps even more songs to come, it may feel like odd filler to place this alongside carefully crafted and executed eras that the locked artists all share.

If you feel strongly that any of the above deserve a spot, you should vote Yes on Question 2 (above); if not, vote No. If you're undecided, I would encourage you to vote for Option C, as it would prevent the rate from being a whopping 75+ tracks if The Anthology is included per Question 1.

I highly recommend that even if you vote No on Question 2 that you complete your ranking of the artists in Question 3. If nothing else, consider other ideas that may include each of the albums: Charli would likely go with electronic artists like Slayyyter or Allie X, Dua Lipa would likely go with basic/"least personal" artists like Ava Max or Kylie Minogue, and SZA would likely go with mainstream R&B artists like Kali Uchis or Kehlani.

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4. Should an album be added to Gen Z Royalty?
a. Yes
b. No

5. If an album is added to Gen Z Royalty, rank the following options from most to least preferred:
a. Charli xcx - Brat
b. Gracie Abrams - The Secret of Us
c. Tate McRae - Think Later

Same setup as the above but for the other rate, with one of the same options.

* Copy paste the same context for **Brat** from above, but with the argument that its blasé attitude and aesthetic were largely driven by Generation Z (even if Charli herself is firmly a millennial agewise).
* Gracie Abrams has proven to be highly controversial on the subreddit for her nepo baby background and association with Taylor, but her album **The Secret of Us** has landed many Hot 100 hits thus far including the smash and potential future #1 "That's So True." It may be premature to place her in such a high caliber rate, but it is hard to deny her clout...just that it largely exists outside of this subreddit.
* Similarly, Tate McRae sparked discourse last year with her smash hit "Greedy" over whether she was truly a budding main pop girl as many users suggested. Although her album **Think Later** did decently well, the jury is still out on whether she is truly coming for that next level: her tour has shown strong sales, indicating a healthy fanbase (largely consisting of people younger than the average pophead), but the singles for her next album that I forget the name of have shown a downward trajectory thus far, which may preclude Tate from the rate despite her success.

As for other rates these albums could sneak into, there has been much discussion on Discord over a potential "diary pop" idea of similar young Taylor-protege songwriters including some combination of Conan Gray, Maisie Peters, Renee Rapp, and Sabrina Carpenter's Emails I Can't Send. Both Gracie and Tate could be matches for this idea depending on the exact theme.

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Just as I began this very long writeup, I will conclude with further historical musings before sharing the final, very serious question. The rate committee has historically considered all albums by past Ultimate-worthy artists for future Ultimate rates. This was not always applied consistently but was a good rule of thumb considering that, since the first two Ultimate rates, past commercial success has been at least as important as present commercial success (otherwise, we would have never had the iconic Slumber Party win over all of Lemonade). This year, two albums have proven to be the breaking point for that policy: Katy Perry's 143 and Lady Gaga's Harlequin. Going forward, past "main pop girl" clout will still be a contributing factor for Ultimate placement, but not a guarantee for consideration. In essence, this will officially establish that present commercial and cultural relevance is more important than historical for Ultimate rates going forward. With the latest generation of pop growing more and more each year, we feel this will better reflect the interests of the subreddit and make us seem less like those Japanese soldiers who were still fighting WWII in the 70s. With that in mind, as a celebratory end to an era of Ultimates, the final question is as follows:

6. Gun to your head, if you HAD to add one of the following to the Ultimate rate, which would it be?

a. Katy Perry - 143
b. Lady Gaga - Harlequin