Boston

The breakout story of the batch. Stella Lefty — born Stella Lefkofsky, Chicago suburbs, now L.A. — writes in the same blurred country/indie-folk/pop space as Gracie Abrams or Jessie Murph, and “Boston” is the song that took her from unknown to a Hot 100 fixture that outlasted the typical viral-hit half-life. It interpolates Noah Kahan’s “Stick Season” (he’s credited as co-writer), builds on soft acoustic guitar, and sits in that specific, hard-to-fake register of a song about love, timing, and not knowing which one you’re out of.

It’s also, factually, now the highest-charting song with “Boston” in the title ever — passing Dave Loggins’ 1974 “Please Come to Boston.” That’s a real accomplishment for a newcomer. 8.0/10 — the song earns it.

Hero image: Stella Lefty performing in Seattle, May 2026, by Antrikshy, licensed under CC BY 4.0.