Xavi's Playlist Archive

My personal playlists and the stories behind them

This Is:

pop bops

The Playlist That Made Me Embrace My Poppy Taste in Music

The Story Behind This Playlist

I created this playlist back in 2017, when I finally started embracing female pop as my favorite genre — and stopped feeling embarrassed about it. During my teenage years, I felt I had to hide my love for pop because of the tired stereotypes: that it was too mainstream, too shallow, too “basic.”

But this playlist became the turning point. It marked the moment I started embracing my real love for pop music.

It also became my way of exploring the spectrum of pop — bubblegum pop, Scandipop, britpop —

It was a way of expanding my taste, turning pop music into my personality, and realizing that pop is actually more than the songs playing on the radio.

When I Used This Playlist

Back then I used this playlist to enjoy my love for pop in secret. I didn’t really talk about it or share it—just quietly collected the songs I loved.

Now I listen to it (and share it) with pride. It’s funny how a playlist that started as a private guilty pleasure has become a personal archive of my identity.

How This Playlist Helped Me

Looking back, I wasn’t just embarrassed to like pop because people said it was “generic” or “mainstream”—I was also scared of what it said about me. Pop music was often associated with femininity and queerness, and I wasn’t out yet. I didn’t want people to assume things I hadn’t even admitted to myself.

This playlist became part of that quiet, inner process of unlearning shame. It helped me feel okay with liking what I liked—and eventually, being who I was.

Pop music gave me a space where queerness was not only accepted but celebrated. Through many pop songs, I saw emotional openness, bold femininity, and confident self-expression—qualities I’d been taught to tone down.

Pop music, and this playlist specifically, helped me explore my identity and become more my real me.

Top 3 Tracks

About You Now - Sugababes

The first time I encountered this bop was on MTV—I was around 8 years old, and I got immediately obsessed. I always like to think this was the moment my passion for pop was born.

Touch - Little Mix

This was my go-to pop anthem during my teenage years—a true pop gem (Charli XCX agrees). It was the perfect song to play when I wanted to dance in my room and just feel myself.

Dance For The Hell Of It - LOVA

A friend who shares my love for Scandipop introduced me to this song, and it quickly became my most-played track ever. To me, this is the definition of the perfect pop song.

Lyrics Highlight

“I'm right over here, why can't you see me?”
Dancing On My Own - Robyn

Prompts That Helped Me

Which pop songs did I love as a teenager—even if I was “too cool” to admit it back then?

What tracks make me want to dance in my room with zero shame?

Which songs feel like a queer anthem, even if they weren’t intended that way?

Xavi

If I were a playlist, the title would be short and sweet (and creative), the description would include a pop culture reference, and the thumbnail would be a late ’90s anime frame with a nostalgic aesthetic…

Wait a moment... This is exactly how my playlists are!!!