If the fictional high schoolers of The Breakfast Club hadn't found saccharine commonality during one Saturday afternoon detention, the film's delinquent Bender could have walked off the school grounds to Sky Ferreira's latest single, "Don't Forget" — fist-raised, but perhaps middle-finger up. Her first new song in three years after 2019's "Downhill Lullaby," "Don't Forget" plays to the pop star's strengths: pairing her strong, slightly-sneered vocals with slick '80s rock, fit with a programmed drum beat that sounds like it could break through walls.
There's always been a welcome, self-aware bitterness to Ferreira's music, a rising tween star turned alt-pop darling with a career marred by shaky live performances, blog tabloid chatter and frequently stalled album releases. On "Don't Forget," just as she did on "I Blame Myself," she plays her part as pop rebel once again, breaking the fourth wall: "I don't need to deceive you, I'm the real bad girl," she sings. Out of the shadows, if even for a moment, Ferreira's still got it.
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