Though Trent Reznor helped bring industrial rock to the mainstream as the frontman of Nine Inch Nails, he has revealed himself to be a pop fan in recent years. During a red carpet interview at the Golden Globes, he continued that trend while naming his favorite song of 2024.
This past weekend, Reznor caught an interviewer from the Los Angeles alternative radio station 98.7 off-guard when he chose Sabrina Carpenter’s hit “Espresso” as his song of the year. Sadly, he didn’t elaborate on the choice.
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Last summer, Reznor admitted he previously had a stance that pop music “sucks generally,” but changed his mind after “tearing up” while hearing his daughter sing along to Dua Lipa’s “Levitating.” While appearing on Rick Rubin’s podcast, Tetragrammaton, the artist explained, “It really reminded me of the art of writing a well-crafted song,” and praised the track as “a really well-done piece of music.”
During the Golden Globes ceremony, Reznor and his longtime collaborator Atticus Ross — whom we named as Consequence’s 2024 Composers of the Year — struck gold for their work on Luca Guadagnino’s Challengers soundtrack.
Reznor and Ross are also on the shortlist for both Best Original Score and Original Song at the 2025 Academy Awards. Looking ahead, the duo will revive Nine Inch Nails to score the upcoming TRON: Ares, marking the band’s first new music since 2020.
See where Carpenter and Reznor’s work with Ross landed on our lists of the best albums and songs of 2024.