friday music guide
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Billboard’s Friday Music Guide serves as a handy guide to this Friday’s most essential releases — the key music that everyone will be talking about today, and that will be dominating playlists this weekend and beyond.
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This week, Gracie Abrams’ much-anticipated second LP arrives with a famous friend in tow, Peso Pluma bows in grand 24-track fashion, and Ariana Grande and Charli XCX’s new remixes land with headline-capturing guest stars. Check out all of this week’s picks below.
Peso Pluma, Éxodo
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The biggest name in música Mexicana returns this week with his sophomore LP Éxodo, a star-studded, 24-track, two-disc affair. The first disc is full of familiar names like Junior H, Natanael Cano, Gabito Ballesteros and “Ella Baila Sola” co-stars Eslabon Armado, while relying mostly on the sort of corridos tumbados that made him a star in 2023 — albeit with some new elements, like heavier guitar on “La Patrulla” and bookending piano on “Bruce Wayne.” Then, the second disc includes some different sounds and first-time collaborators, like English-language rappers Rich the Kid, Cardi B and Quavo on the trappy first three tracks, respectively, as well as Ryan Castro, Anitta and DJ Snake on songs that lean more reggaetón and/or EDM. It’s an interesting juxtaposition, and both discs still end up sounding quite naturally Peso, proving we’ve only really seen the beginning of what he can do in global pop music. (Read our ranking of all 24 tracks here.)
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Gracie Abrams, The Secret of Us
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Hot off her first Billboard Hot 100 hit as an unaccompanied solo artist, with the long-teased synth-pop banger “Close to You,” Gracie Abrams arrives with her sophomore LP The Secret of Us. It’s an expert collection of pop confections and folky ballads — and folky pop confections — mostly co-written and co-penned by indie-pop superproducer Aaron Dessner. The new song that will get the most attention is undoubtedly the power ballad “Us,” which features Abrams’ Eras Tour headliner Taylor Swift, but highlights also include the humming “Let It Happen,” the sighing “Good Luck Charlie” and the pulse-racing “Free Now.” “This album has meant so much to me because it has supported me through a period of transitions,” Abrams told Billboard about Secret earlier this month.
Ariana Grande feat. Brandy & Monica, “The Boy Is Mine”
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We probably should’ve known: You just don’t give a song the title “The Boy Is Mine” if you don’t plan on getting Brandy & Monica involved somewhere along the line. The two ’90s R&B icons both make appearances alongside Ariana Grande on her new remix to the Eternal Sunshine single, with Brandy kicking off the first verse, Monica leading the second, and both sharing the harmony-laden bridge, including the lyric, “I told you once before, I’ll tell you once more, the boy is still mine.” Shoutout to Grande doing the right thing here — as always, pretty much — and to Brandy and Monica for giving longtime fans the semi-official “The Boy Is Mine” sequel they’ve waited over a quarter-century for.
Post Malone feat. Blake Shelton, “Pour Me a Drink”
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After his Morgan Wallen collab “I Had Some Help” debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and spent its first five weeks on the chart in pole position, Post Malone returns with his next country-era team-up. This time, longtime genre stalwart Blake Shelton is in tow to help out on with the down-on-our-luck singalong “Pour Me a Drink,” with the two co-stars splitting vocal responsibilities in fairly equal measure on both the chorus and the verses, Post’s resonant warble meshing surprisingly well with Shelton’s twangy croon. Without Wallen’s contemporary commercial clout, it might not be quite as immediate a chart super-smash, but it certainly sounds like it’s gonna end up being two-for-two for Country Posty.
Coldplay, “feelslikeimfallinginlove”
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A mouthful for a one-word song title, but “feelslikeimfallinginlove” isn’t really nearly as frenzied or smushed together as its name might imply. Rather, it’s Coldplay generally doing what they do best: love songs with moody verses and blood-rush choruses that you can remember after a single listen. Much of the same superteam of producers behind 2022’s Music of the Spheres, including Max Martin and Oscar Holter, return for the new song, so you know it’s got the same top 40 crackle and sparkle of that album’s highlights — and should get fans excited for the band’s upcoming 10-track set Moon Music, recently announced and due in October.
Kehlani, Crash
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R&B star singer-songwriter Kehlani has been one of the more consistent albums (and mixtapes) artists of the past decade, so it’s always a good Friday to be getting a new set from her — as it is today with her eclectic and spellbinding Crash LP. You already know about the coolie dance riddim lift (via Nina Sky’s 2004 dancehall classic “Move Ya Body”) on the viral hit “After Hours,” but the lustful “What I Want” also includes an inspired pitched-up sample of Christina Aguilera’s TRL-era Hot 100-topper “What a Girl Wants” (and the even-more-inspired chorus hook “I need all the pretty girls to the shower”). Meanwhile, “Vegas” is her biggest-sounding pop killer in years, and the grungy, guitar-driven title track is a real lighter-waver, a future setlist closer to be sure. Perhaps in this month of longtime cult favorites experiencing overdue pop success, Kehlani can follow her fellow Crash artist to the top tier of the charts this June.
Charli XCX feat. Lorde, “The Girl, So Confusing Version With Lorde”
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Speaking of Kehlani’s fellow party Crash-er, Charli is back this week with a new Brat remix — and if you thought her “Club Classics” redo with Robyn and Yung Lean was clever, just wait till you see who she’s got on her “Girl, So Confusing” Pt. 2. Lorde, the longtime peer of Charli’s who many believed to be the subject of the original love/hate-themed “Girl,” appears to answer the latter’s call to “work it out on the remix,” running through her own mixed feelings about their relationship (as well as her own body and self-image issues) before concluding “I ride for you, Charli.” And unsurprisingly — as Charli predicted on the original — the internet is indeed already going crazy for it.
This week in dance music: Miami’s III Points announced its full 2024 lineup led by Massive Attack, Justice and Disclosure, a book featuring never-before-seen images of Avicii was released in Europe, we spoke with the founders of The Circuit Group about how they’re helping electronic artists create independence through their intellectual property, and father/daughter duo Floorplan discussed what it’s like playing clubs and festivals as a family act.
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And to all that, we add the best new dance tracks of the week.
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Tokimonsta feat. Cakes da Killa & Gawd, “Switch It”
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The announcement of a new and forthcoming Tokimonsta album comes with a bonus prize in the form of “Switch It.” The lead single from the L.A. producer’s seventh studio LP, Eternal Reverie, the track is a punchy, house-meets-hip-hop party starter that features vocals from SoCal R&B duo Gawd along with previous Toki collaborator Cakes da Killa, who lights an already hot track on fire with his characteristically rapid-fire verse.
“Exploring my take on dance music is a risk,” Toki writes in conjunction with the release, “but I’m entering my unapologetic ‘do what feels good’ era (as someone who’s overly apologetic, this is a big deal.. amirite?) Thnxxx.” To that we say no, thank you, and add that Eternal Reverie is coming through Tokimonsta’s Young Art Records in conjunction with a 26-date tour that starts at San Diego’s CRSSD festival this September.
SG Lewis & Tove Lo, “Heat”
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The duo — who worked together with Nelly Furtado on last month’s “Love Bites” — come in hot in multiple ways with their shimmery club anthem “Heat,” which puts Lo’s singular voice on display over a brightly pulsing production. (And please head over to YouTube to watch the song’s happily carnal and Pride-centric video.) The track comes from the duo’s four-track collaborative EP Heat, which had a packed release party last night in West Hollywood and is out through Lo’s own label, Pretty Swede Records.
“We share a lot of fans in the queer community, and this EP is very much inspired by the energy we feel from the crowd,” she says. “We wanted to celebrate that with these four bangers. Sam and I met on the dance floor, and I think when we first worked together we felt that special creative connection that rarely happens. So after making a few songs together that ended up on both our albums, we felt like we had more to give to our mutual fans who, like us, love to dance in sweaty warehouses.” The project features additional production from fellow tastemaker Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs.
Sofi Tukker & Heidi Klum, “Spiral”
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Self-proclaimed party animal Heidi Klum returns to the scene with her second dance project of the year: a starring role in the video for Sofi Tukker’s latest, “Spiral.” A singalong anthem about a relationship in its downward trajectory phase, the song is built around urgent Eurodance production and Sophie Hawley-Weld’s ever-silky voice, coming with a cheeky music video that features Weld and Klum having a sort of post-breakup slumber party, complete with frilly robes, catwalking and sex toys used as microphones. The track is the second single from Sofi Tukker’s forthcoming album, Bread, out this August.
Carlita, “Planet Blue”
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A piano house anthem as bright and enjoyable as summer sunshine, “Planet Blue” is the latest from Turkish/Italian producer Carlita. She says she worked on the song in her head during “countless rides on Lime bikes to my London studio sessions,” adding that playing it at settings including Space Miami and Manchester’s Parklife Festival over the last few months “has been an indescribable joy for me.” The track is out via Counter Records and and features vocals from Cleo Simone.
Mathame, “I Will Find You”
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The rising Italian duo bring the Pure Moods vibe with their latest, “I Will Find You.” The brothers started working on it six years ago, taking inspiration, they say, from “music we listened to in the early 2000s in Italy, that underground world of parties and unrepeatable moods that only those who have lived can understand.” What that sounds like in practice here is cinematic and sweeping progressive techno with a celestial vibe, an edge of darkness and a memorable and sort of haunting melody.
“Thank you,” they add, “to all the legends of Italian progressive techno for making us fall in love with this when we were kids and went dancing, much more than ten years ago.” They’re being literal, as the song is a take of a 1993 version by late Italian DJ and vocalist Franchino, whose own release was an edit of the Clannad theme song from the 1992 Daniel Day Lewis film The Last of Mohicans.
Billboard’s Friday Music Guide serves as a handy guide to this Friday’s most essential releases — the key music that everyone will be talking about today, and that will be dominating playlists this weekend and beyond.
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
This week, Normani’s debut album is at long last with us, as are new sets from Don Toliver and NxWorries, and a new Father’s Day-ready LP from Luke Combs. Check out all of this week’s picks below.
Normani, Dopamine
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That’s right, everyone: We made it to Normani release week. After years of teases, delays and false starts, the 5H alum’s impossibly long awaited solo debut album Dopamine is finally here. The 13-track affair, featuring pre-release singles like the Cardi B teamup “Wild Side” and “1:59” with Gunna, is an impressively tight affair, with its biggest thrills including the Slim Thug sample (via Mike Jones’ “Still Tippin’”) on “Still,” the shredding guitar solo late in “Insomnia,” the skipping house beat on “Take My Time” and of course the Billboard shoutout on the album-opening “Big Boy.” Only her longtime fans can really determine whether the set was worth the wait, but it’s a welcome listen this Friday regardless.
Tommy Richman, “Devil Is a Lie”
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If you’ve finally gotten your fill of breakthrough hit “Million Dollar Baby” — unlikely, given how the song is still hanging around the top five of the Billboard Hot 100 — breakout singer-rapper Tommy Richman is back this week with its follow-up. “Devil Is a Lie” is intoxicating in many of the same ways “Baby” was, with his buttery falsetto floating over clean, throwback-tinged trap-n-B beats, and a chorus hook (“I’m not no Travis, baby, not no Chase B/ I work too hard, can you f–kin’ pay me?”) that should do big business on TikTok. We’ll see whether it’s enough to disqualify Richman from one-hit wonder status in his first post-“Million” try, but it certainly sounds like another potential smash.
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Luke Combs, Fathers and Sons
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Happy Father’s Day from Luke Combs! The country superstar announced his new album, Fathers and Sons, just a week ago, planning it for release just before the patriarch-celebrating holiday. The album, which was previewed last Friday (June 7) by the advance single “The Man He Sees in Me,” is a predictably emotional and heartfelt set of tributes to his two sons Tex Lawrence Combs and Beau Lee Combs, as well as to his own father, Chester Combs. Touching (and occasionally tear-jerking) stuff, of course — though some of us who prefer the less-sentimental version of Combs may stick to his booming Twisters: The Album soundtrack hit “Ain’t No Love in Oklahoma” when building our summer playlists.
Don Toliver, Hardstone Psycho
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The Cactus Jack lieutenant is back with his fourth studio album of booming trap beats and piercing R&B vocals. Don Toliver‘s Hardstone Psycho is divided into four sections of four tracks each, and features the advance singles (and Billboard Hot 100 hits) “Bandit” and “Attitude” (featuring Charlie Wilson, Cash Cobain and a clever sample of Pharrell’s hook from Snoop Dogg’s “Beautiful”). Additional guests include Future and Metro Boomin on “Purple Rain,” label boss Travis Scott on “Ice Age” and Kodak Black on album highlight “Brother Stone,” while other inspired samples include a pitched-up Whitney Houston singing “Exhale (Shoop, Shoop)” on “Glock.”
Pharrell, “Double Life”
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Pharrell plus the Despicable Me franchise always equals pure pop soundtrack gold, right? Maybe, though this new entry from the upcoming Despicable Me 4 film probably doesn’t quite sound like what you’d expect: “Double Life” rides a grungy guitar riff, sharp chorus harmonies and an action-packed bridge to maybe the most dramatically high-stakes Pharrell soundtrack single yet. “It doesn’t matter to you if you get heads or tails/ You just don’t like the flip all the time,” a double-tracked P belts on the chorus, sounding more like he’s trying to match “One Night in Bangkok” than “Happy.”
NxWorries, Why Lawd?
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Yes, it’s the return of the other superduo featuring R&B critics’ darling Anderson .Paak. We haven’t gotten a full-length project from NxWorries, which pairs .Paak with underground favorite hip-hop producer Knxwledge, since 2016 — with .Paak also experiencing pop stardom in the interim as half of Silk Sonic with Bruno Mars. The new project Why Lawd? might not experience that level of chart-topping success, but it should be a joy for longtime fans of the producer and singer-songwriter — with its 19 tracks of chill grooves also soundtrack from big names like H.E.R., Earl Sweatshirt, Snoop Dogg and of course R&B legend Charlie Wilson, who appears to be absolutely everywhere in 2024.
Billboard’s Friday Music Guide serves as a handy guide to this Friday’s most essential releases — the key music that everyone will be talking about today, and that will be dominating playlists this weekend and beyond.
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
This week, we have the long-awaited new album from Charli XCX and the longer-awaited debut album from Tems, as well as a musical swerve from Sabrina Carpenter and a theatrical epic from RAYE. Check out all of this week’s picks below.
Sabrina Carpenter, “Please Please Please”
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If you’ve fallen for Sabrina Carpenter over the course of her past couple sublime disco-pop smashes, you might be a little taken aback by “Please Please Please.” The song still has a good amount of the dancefloor snap of “Feather” and “Espresso” — down to the guitar chops and handclaps on the chorus — as well as the cleverly snappy lyrics (“Heartbreak is one thing, my ego’s another/ I beg you don’t embarrass me, motherf–ker”). But there’s a melodic unpredictability at play here, along with a near-country twanginess to the guitar picking and Carpenter’s yearning vocal, that makes “Please” a truly fascinating and surprising listen. It won’t likely interrupt any kind of Song of the Summer bid for “Espresso,” but it might make you even more excited for her full Short n’ Sweet album this August. (Also: rumored real-life paramour Barry Keoghan appears in the music video.)
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Tems, Born in the Wild
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Tems has already proven to be such a major part of the pop landscape of the past few years — with star-making guest appearances on global smashes by Wizkid and Future, and her own solo favorites like “Free Mind” and this year’s “Love Me JeJe” — that it can be tough to remember that she’s still yet to release a full-length solo album. That LP arrives this week with Born in the Wild, her 18-track debut, and it’s safe to say it was worth the wait: The set is full of the kind of blissful grooves, piercing lyrics and heart-melting melodies fans have come to expect from the Nigerian singer-songwriter, along with special guest appearances from fellow Afrobeats hitmaker Asake and star American rapper J. Cole.
Charli XCX, Brat
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It feels like Charli has been teasing her Brat album for years, drumming up excitement with singles like “Von Dutch” and “360,” and now the full set is finally upon us. Already attracting some of the best reviews of her highly acclaimed career, Brat spans future-club bangers, emotional synth-pop ballads and countless shades in between, whipping through its 15 tracks at near-breakneck speed. It’s fun, it’s flirty, it’s often bitchy and it’s occasionally incredibly poignant, and it feels like the album that most of the past decade of Charli XCX has been building towards.
RAYE, “Genesis”
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Turns out the winding, cinematic, five-minute drama of RAYE’s 070 Shake-featuring 2023 smash “Escapism” was only the beginning. “Genesis,” the new song from the singer-songwriter born Rachel Agatha Keen, is a seven-minute, three-part epic, produced by R&B legend Rodney “Darkchild” Jerkins and evolving from a self-flagellating orchestral intro to a dark and decadent R&B shuffle to a swinging and scatting (and nearly optimistic-sounding) big-band outro. It’s a lot, and none of it is expected — meaning it might not quite have the pop appeal of “Escapism” — but it will certainly find its audience, and for many it will likely end up being nothing short of a revelation.
Zach Bryan feat. Noeline Hofmann, “Purple Gas”
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Just a week after his “Pink Skies” scored a No. 6 debut on the Billboard Hot 100, Zach Bryan is back with a new duet. Noeline Hofmann might not have the name recognition of previous partners Maggie Rogers or Kacey Musgraves — the 20-year-old singer-songwriter, who wrote and originally recorded “Purple Gas” solo as “The Belting Bronco,” has no other songs even officially available on Spotify — but the sharpness and clarity of her Emmylou Harris-like delivery makes for one of the most lovely harmonic blends yet with Bryan’s gruffly unassuming croon.
“This song brought me to tears the first time I heard it so it was really important for me that Noeline gave me the privelage to sing it with her,” Bryan wrote on Instagram. “I have never covered another musician on an album, and it’s because I was waiting on someone to write a song like this. Noeline resonates like Gillian Welch to me and Gillian is one of my favorite musicians to ever live; now Noeline is too.”
Jung Kook, “Never Let Go”
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Following a 2023 in which he became a global solo star in his own rights, with a trio of top five Hot 100 hits — “Standing Next to You,” the Jack Harlow collab “3D,” and the Latto featuring (and chart-topping) “Seven” — BTS alum Jung Kook is back with the new single “Never Let Go,” which may be ticketed for similar pop success. The song rides a bit of an Afrobeats bounce, with a melodicism borrowed from The 1975 and even the sentence-punctuating snaps of Tame Impala’s “New Person, Same Ol Mistakes,” as Jung Kook belts with clear-eyed sentimentality, “And when the days gеt longer/ You fill my world with wonder.”
Gracie Abrams, “Close to You”
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With Abrams long functioning as your favorite pop singer-songwriter’s favorite pop singer-songwriter, she’s seemed for most of the 2020s to be right on the verge of a major mainstream breakthrough. “Close to You” feels like her bid to complete that crossover, a storming, synth-driven declaration of love and lust that sounds reminiscent of Pure Heroine-era Lorde covering 1989-era Taylor Swift, with all the radio-ready implications baked into that. Whether or not it reaches those chart-topping heights, it should set the stage nicely for her new album The Secret of Us, due out in just two weeks (June 21).
Billboard’s Friday Music Guide serves as a handy guide to this Friday’s most essential releases — the key music that everyone will be talking about today, and that will be dominating playlists this weekend and beyond.
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
This week, Eminem returns to recapture the glory days of him trying to recapture his glory days, Normani’s debut album is finally just weeks away, Foster the People are back on a new label with a new sound and much more. Check out all of this week’s picks below.
Eminem, “Houdini”
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Not surprising that Eminem begins “Houdini” — reportedly the lead single off his upcoming The Death of Slim Shady album — with a callback to his classic 2002 single “Without Me,” recreating that song’s famous “Guess who’s back?” intro. More surprising is the lift that follows: Eminem not only swipes the backing melody from the Steve Miller Band’s 1982 Billboard Hot 100 topper “Abracadabra,” he more or less recreates the chorus wholesale, just swapping out Miller’s “I wanna reach out and grab ya” for “I’m bout to reach in my bag, bruh.” Unfortunately, in this case, Em going in his bag involves making jokes about R. Kelly, the Megan Thee Stallion shooting and his “transgender cat,” before proclaiming, “If I think that s–t, I’ma say that s–t/ Cancel me, what?” Well, if it hasn’t happened yet for Eminem after 25 years of superstardom, this song probably won’t be the thing that does it, anyway.
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Normani, “Candy Paint”
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Only two weeks until Normani’s long- — and we mean long — awaited debut album, Dopamine, finally arrives. In the meantime, we have one more advance single: “Candy Paint,” in which she boasts about her ability to steal your man if and when (and for as long as) she’s so inclined. “If you let me take him, you might never get him back/ I’m a baddie and I don’t know how to act,” she proclaims in the chorus, with the first part evolving to “When I’m finished, baby, you can have him back.” It’s a frisky and fun three minutes, with a Coke-bottle-clinking beat from co-producers Starrah and Tommy Brown that keeps everything moving nicely.
Shaboozey, Where I’ve Been, Isn’t Where I’m Going
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Few artists releasing albums in 2024 have done more leveling-up since their prior LP than Virignia country artist Shaboozey, who featured prominently on one of the year’s biggest sets in Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter, then scored a breakout hit of his own with the Billboard Hot 100 top 5 hit “A Bar Song (Tipsy).” That still-growing smash is found on Shaboozey’s third album, Where I’ve Been, Isn’t Where I’m Going, along with other dusty and lightly hip-hop-inflected bangers like “Highway” and “Let It Burn,” as well as ballads like “East of the Massanutten” and the Noah Cyrus collab “My Fault.” But there’s also some fun newer looks for the artist, like the Post Malone-sounding pop-rock of “Anabelle” and the trappier, BigXthaPlug-featuring “Drink Don’t Need No Mix.”
Charli XCX feat. Robyn & Yung Lean, “The 360 remix with robyn and yung lean”
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Yes, that is the real title of the star-studded new remix of Charli XCX’s “360” single, now featuring a pair of Swedish guests in rapper Yung Lean and pop icon Robyn. The three trade lyrics breathlessly and almost interchangably throughout the two-minute redo, amping the energy of the already impressively kinetic original version. And of course, the best lyrics belong to Ms. Carlsson: I started so young, I didn’t even have e-mail/ Now my lyrics on your booby.”
Ayra Starr, The Year I Turned 21
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Rising Beninese-Nigerian singer-songwriter Ayra Starr releases her follow-up to 2022’s 19 & Dangerous with this week’s aptly titled The Year I Turned 21. The album, which features the the top 10 Billboard U.S. Afrobeats Songs hit “Commas,” seamlessly mixes Afrobeats with genres like pop, R&B and amapiano, all tied together with Starr’s rich, deep vocals. “It feels very cohesive because of my voice,” she told Billboard earlier this week. “My voice is my sound — so whatever genre I find myself in, as long as my voice is there, you’re gonna hear the Afrobeats.”
Foster the People, “Lost in Space”
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Speaking of artists with a “Houdini,” 2010s alt-pop hitmakers Foster the People are back this week with the new single “Lost in Space,” the band’s first taste of their just-announced upcoming album Paradise State of Mind, FTP’s first new set in seven years. “Space” takes off with a squelching synth bass line and disco groove that sounds closer to “Pump Up the Jam” than “Pumped Up Kicks,” with a falsetto vocal hook from lead singer Mark Foster — all making for an auspicious beginning to the group’s new era, which they’ll be beginning on Atlantic Records after spending their first three years on Columbia.
Billboard’s Friday Music Guide serves as a handy guide to this Friday’s most essential releases — the key music that everyone will be talking about today, and that will be dominating playlists this weekend and beyond.
Explore
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See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
This week, Zach Bryan returns with a lyrical farewell, Twenty One Pilots put a bow on a long-running story, and Sexyy Red gets an assist from Drake. Check out all of this week’s picks below:
Zach Bryan, “Pink Skies”
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As he has graduated from cult audiences to stadium crowds, Zach Bryan has never betrayed his storytelling intuition: on “Pink Skies,” a somber and striking new single, the singer-songwriter forgoes any crowd-pleasing impulse to tell a tale of a funeral preparation, addressing a deceased loved one as their grown children get ready to wish them farewell. With careful guitar strums and unabashed harmonica blasts, “Pink Skies” is a full-bodied entry in Bryan’s quickly growing discography — and while its subject matter does not scream “country radio,” he has long succeeded by shrugging off conventional wisdom, and will likely do so again here.
Twenty One Pilots, Clancy
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Nearly a decade ago, Twenty One Pilots’ Blurryface introduced a multi-album narrative arc from the band, along with producing enormous crossover hits like “Stressed Out” and “Ride”; with Clancy, the best-selling rock duo concludes that particular story, while offering more alternative radio fodder like the contemplative “The Craving” and the quietly grooving “Backslide.” Regardless of how closely you’re monitoring the group’s world-building details, their seventh studio album continues to expand upon a proven formula.
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Sexyy Red, In Sexyy We Trust
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Although the majority of the initial attention paid to Sexyy Red’s surprise new mixtape will center on Drake’s guest spot on “U My Everything,” which name-checks and flips Metro Boomin’s “BBL Drizzy” beat in a master troll move, the St. Louis rapper more than holds her own across In Sexyy We Trust, which uses the audacious single “Get It Sexyy” as a starting point for a full-blown swagger showcase. Sexyy sounds magnetic when talking trash over bruising beats, and In Sexyy We Trust will endure beyond its most eyebrow-raising guest verse.
RM, Right Place, Wrong Person
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By preceding his second solo album with the heartfelt, six-minute-plus sprawl of “Come Back To Me,” RM hinted at a project that was going to showcase his emotional intelligence and creative sensibilities rather than chasing hits; indeed, Right Place, Wrong Person finds the BTS member exploring his artistry unapologetically, offering an honest, sometimes explicit, multi-lingual check-in on a superstar growing into adulthood. Plus, he’s got some great guests: Little Simz, Moses Sumney and DOMi & JD Beck stop by the project, all of whom translate their outside-the-box talents into RM’s world.
PinkPantheress, “Turn It Up”
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Since breaking through last year alongside Ice Spice with “Boy’s a Liar Pt. 2,” PinkPantheress has continued to release pillowy, subtly beautiful rhythmic hyperpop, first with her Heaven Knows album and now with her first new single of 2024. “Turn It Up” examines shared music experiences, both in public and then through a more intimate exchange: “You just make me wanna say, ‘Hey, it’s me’ / We’ve been talking twice a week / I like this beat / It just makes me wanna sing,” she sings, right before clowning on her subject for singing the wrong words in the club.
Editor’s Pick: Clairo, “Sexy to Someone”
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After her sophomore album Sling leaned into Clairo’s quietest impulses, delightful new single “Sexy to Someone,” which precedes its follow-up Charm, return Claire Cottrill to the hook-friendly indie-pop that made Immunity one of the most engaging debut albums in recent memory. Waxing poetic about the lightning-bolt feeling of catching the eye of a stranger, Clairo bounces her voice off of a gorgeous collection of piano and bass, allowing the instrumentation to amplify her intimate thoughts and returning to a studio mode that suits her impeccably.
Billboard’s Friday Music Guide serves as a handy guide to this Friday’s most essential releases — the key music that everyone will be talking about today, and that will be dominating playlists this weekend and beyond.
Explore
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See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
This week, Billie Eilish hits new sweet spots, Zayn enters a fresh phase and A Boogie Wit da Hoodie keeps climbing. Check out all of this week’s picks below:
Billie Eilish, Hit Me Hard and Soft
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Forget the standout tracks (although there are several of them) and the general atmosphere (which is richly developed and immediately engrossing); the miracle of Billie Eilish’s third studio album, Hit Me Hard and Soft, is the fact that one of the most celebrated young superstars in the history of popular music — who’s coming off of her second Oscar win, at the age of 22! — can continue to sound so freed from expectations, and unconstrained from modern pop trends. Eilish has always made unflinching choices in the face of ever-expanding fame, and from the crackling pop-rock of “Lunch” to the labyrinthine saga of “Bittersuite” to the heartfelt jangle of “Birds of a Feather,” she remains impossible to predict, and a master of her craft, on her latest full-length.
Zayn, Room Under the Stairs
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Room Under the Stairs is Zayn’s first album since he entered his thirties last year — and while the rustic, country-rock sound denotes a change in approach, the songwriting and vocal performances also capture a maturation, as the former One Direction star sounds fully removed from the trappings of pop stardom and ready to tell his story his way. Lead single “What I Am” quickly sets the tone, but “Stardust” immerses the listener in the promise of Zayn’s new era, marrying his knack for melody with deep, hard-earned soulfulness.
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A Boogie Wit da Hoodie, Better Off Alone
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In a few weeks, Bronx rapper A Boogie Wit da Hoodie will perform a headlining show at Madison Square Garden, a full-circle moment for an MC who has always operated left-of-center when it comes to hip-hop’s elite but has steadily built a dedicated following and racked up hundreds of millions of streams. New album Better Off Alone includes guest spots from Future, Lil Durk and Young Thug, among others, but the percolating “Body,” featuring rising star Cash Cobain, best distills A Boogie’s new-school take on NYC hip-hop by way of Jersey club, and sounds like a surefire hit.
Luke Combs, “Ain’t No Love in Oklahoma”
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Luke Combs’ burly new rocker comes from the soundtrack to the upcoming Twister sequel Twisters, which helps explain lines like “You’ll know when it’s coming for ya / Riding in on the wind and rain.” Removed from the context of the film, however, “Ain’t No Love in Oklahoma” allows Combs to playfully roar over meaty guitar riffs, showcasing a side of the superstar that might be unfamiliar to non-country fans who only know his delicate “Fast Car” cover.
Editor’s Pick: Saweetie, “NANi”
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Saweetie climbed the charts and crossed over to mainstream listeners thanks in part to pop-rap confections like “My Type” and the Doja Cat collaboration “Best Friend,” and new summer single “NANi,” with its plinking keyboard riff and sing-song melody, has a great shot at following in the footsteps of those hits. As always, Saweetie’s rock-solid flow holds her sound together, as she concludes, “Another day, another f–kin’ bag,” with the braggadocio of a superstar.
Billboard’s Friday Music Guide serves as a handy guide to this Friday’s most essential releases — the key music that everyone will be talking about today, and that will be dominating playlists this weekend and beyond.
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This week, Post Malone and Morgan Wallen help each other out, Gunna stays prolific as ever and Megan Thee Stallion turns even more cutthroat. Check out all of this week’s picks below:
Post Malone feat. Morgan Wallen, “I Had Some Help”
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No artist logged more weeks atop the Hot 100 and Billboard 200 in 2023 than Morgan Wallen; meanwhile, Post Malone has been enjoying a hot streak as a collaborator, with recent features on Beyoncé and Taylor Swift’s respective blockbuster albums, while also nodding toward a country crossover. Those fruitful paths cross on “I Had Some Help,” a country rocker with a faster pace than Wallen’s biggest hits and more twang than Posty’s typical oeuvre; popular country has been increasingly impacting the mainstream, and this team-up sounds like it’s ready to dominate the summer.
Gunna, One of Wun
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Last year, Gunna’s album a Gift & a Curse reflected on the rapper’s complicated feelings around the YSL RICO case, and included no features; One of Wun is a different story, with a more celebratory flair (particularly after the success of last year’s smash “Fukumean”) and Offset, Normani, Leon Bridges and Roddy Ricch all dropping by. In both modes, Gunna sounds masterful bending syllables over zonked-out beats, and One of Wun may approach the 60-minute mark but flies by, hitting a groove midway through with solo tracks “Back in the A,” “Still Prevail” and “Blackjack.”
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Megan Thee Stallion, “Boa”
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“All of a sudden they vegan, they don’t want beef,” Megan Thee Stallion — who’s already topped the Hot 100 once this year with a diss track, “Hiss,” to kick off a year of enormous diss tracks — sneers near the top of new single “Boa.” While her latest single gestures toward slicing down more enemies, “Boa” actually showcases Meg’s pop know-how: a smart sample of Gwen Stefani’s “What You Waiting For?” animates the hook, setting up a sleekly designed chorus in between the ferocious wordplay.
Camila Cabello feat. Lil Nas X, “He Knows”
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The reinvention of Camila Cabello continues with “He Knows,” which harnesses the edgier exterior of “I Luv It” but delivers more straightforward pop delights, complete with handclaps, a cooing hook and Cabello rhyming “provocateur” with “connoisseur.” Lil Nas X knows a thing or two about provocative pop, and spends his verse doubling down on double entendres before joining Cabello for some nicely rendered harmonies on the chorus.
Ice Spice, “Gimmie a Light”
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Throughout her ascent over the past year and a half, Ice Spice has sounded calm, cool and collected, never allowing her flow to be bothered even as beats percolate around her voice and A-list collaborators crash onto her tracks. New single “Gimmie a Light” represents a new shade for the rapper, as she uses the Sean Paul classic as the basis for a breathless shout-along; the track is designed to rattle club walls, but also opens up more possibilities for Ice Spice’s aesthetic, as she continues taking the formula for New York hip-hop and running in various directions with it.
Editor’s Pick: Chief Keef, Almighty So 2
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Fans of Chief Keef have been waiting for the follow-up to 2013’s Almighty So for such a long time, with years of targeted release dates giving way to countless delays, that the arrival of Almighty So 2 feels like a minor miracle. The even better news is that the sequel is Keef’s best project in years: building off of the momentum of his recent collaborative project with Mike WiLL Made-It, Dirty Nachos, the drill legend pulverizes an hour’s worth of beats here, locating a strand of his early-career energy and delivering a mix of hunger and confidence on every track.
Billboard’s Friday Music Guide serves as a handy guide to this Friday’s most essential releases — the key music that everyone will be talking about today, and that will be dominating playlists this weekend and beyond.
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This week, Dua Lipa gets the party re-started, Kendrick Lamar is drinking Haterade, and Gunna drops another zonked-out hit. Check out all of this week’s picks below:
Dua Lipa, Radical Optimism
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In the four years since the release of her sophomore album Future Nostalgia, Dua Lipa has become an A-list celebrity — popping up in blockbuster films and at fashion shows, owning magazine covers and arena stages — and it’s all thanks to the smashes that came from that disco-revival opus, as well as the one-off singles (like “Cold Heart” and “Dance the Night”) that followed. Lipa’s hits are the engine of her increasing visibility, and Radical Optimism attempts to pile up more W’s while revealing more of the artist behind them: operating over candy-coated dance production and attacking each chorus with full-throated vigor, Lipa sings about desire and betrayal — although sometimes the quieter moments of the album, like on the understated guitar-pop of “Maria,” cut the deepest.
Kendrick Lamar, “6:16 in LA” and “Euphoria”
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Kendrick Lamar has had a productive week while staring at a photo of Drake on his bulletin board: as the rap-superstar feud continues, K. Dot has dropped a pair of snarling diss tracks aimed at questioning the very fiber of his opponent’s being. Earlier this week we received “Euphoria,” a six-minute-plus takedown of the way that Drake talks, walks and dresses, among other things; this morning, Lamar dropped “6:16 in LA,” which plays off Drizzle’s timestamp song series and goes for the jugular (“Fake bully, I hate bullies, you must be a terrible person / Everyone inside your team is whispering that you deserve it”).
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Gunna, “Whatsapp (Wassam)”
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One week before the release of new album One of Wun, Gunna is back with a delightfully chilled-out new single, as “Whatsapp (Wassam)” returns the rap star to the spacey heights of Wunna highlights like “Skybox” and “Wunna Flo.” Nobody in hip-hop is as adept at tossing out these type of relaxed, stream-of-consciousness flows as actual hits, and after “Fukumean” became the biggest solo hit of his career last year, Gunna has likely scored another rap-playlist staple.
Imagine Dragons feat. J Balvin, “Eyes Closed”
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Imagine Dragons have never been shy about mashing up their guitar-heavy pop-rock with hip-hop via guest rappers, from “Sucker for Pain” to “Enemy,” but a new version of “Eyes Closed” brings in J Balvin to drop bars in Spanish and provide the pummeling song with a new direction. Dan Reynolds capably hoists the hook above the head-snapping percussion and production wobble, but Balvin highlights the track, making “Eyes Closed” a showcase for his own skill set as he visits another artist’s universe.
Kane Brown & Marshmello, “Miles on It”
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Kane Brown and Marshmello have already mashed up their country-pop and dance stylings to great success thanks to the 2019 single “One Thing Right,” and with new collaboration “Miles on It,” the duo are both trying to recapture the magic as well as supply the world with a not-very-subtle song of the summer. “Just you and me in a truck bed wide like a California King / We could break it in, if you know what I mean,” Brown sings on the chorus before the tempo turns double-time, suggesting that “Miles on It” is not exactly referring to his Chevy’s odometer.
Editor’s Pick: WILLOW, Empathogen
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Following her preteen beginnings with “Whip My Hair,” WILLOW has spent more than a decade upending expectations of her recording career, swiveling from family-friendly pop to sumptuous R&B to riotous pop-punk. New album Empathogen adds jazz, art-pop and indie-rock flourishes into her expanding palette, but WILLOW’s personality drives the entire project, powering songs like “Run!” and “The Fear is Not Real” with jittery energy and resplendent charm; she’s a veteran at this point, but she’s still serving up the unpredictable.
Billboard’s Friday Music Guide serves as a handy guide to this Friday’s most essential releases — the key music that everyone will be talking about today, and that will be dominating playlists this weekend and beyond.
Explore
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
This week, Normani increases our Dopamine supply, PARTYNEXTDOOR elevates his game and Anitta provides Brazilian funk for summer. Check out all of this week’s picks below:
Normani feat. Gunna, “1:59”
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The reason why anticipation remains high for Normani’s debut solo project, in spite of years of false starts and setbacks, is because the music that the former Fifth Harmony star has released over the past half-decade has been enticingly singular, a collection of R&B singles with pop and personality. At long last, Normani’s first album is on the calendar — Dopamine is slated for a June release — and new single “1:59” serves as another reminder of the project’s promise, with the singer waxing poetic about a steamy encounter in between Gunna’s animated crooning.
PARTYNEXTDOOR, PARTYNEXTDOOR 4
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Evolving from one of Drake’s most trusted studio companions into an ever-reliable R&B solo artist, PARTYNEXTDOOR has spent the past decade accruing a dedicated following — and now wants more, if PARTYNEXTDOOR 4, his first project in four years, is any indication. The new album carries a cohesion and stylistic ambition that previously was not prominent in PND’s oeuvre, as the Canadian singer-songwriter elevates his late-night musings and warbled vocals to more emotionally affecting territory, particularly on the album’s back half.
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Anitta, Funk Generation
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The opening song on Anitta’s new album is titled “Lose Ya Breath,” and that’s precisely what the veteran star aims to accomplish on this kinetic new project: Funk Generation rarely lets the BPM lag, and Anitta never stops showcasing the ferocity that powers a lot of these Brazilian funk heaters. Previously released singles “Funk Rave” and “Joga Pra Lua” sound at home on the track list, Sam Smith stops by to provide some feathery vocals to “Ahi,” but the sub-two-minute headbangers like “Savage Funk” and “Grip” might steal the whole show.
Justice, Hyperdrama
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Miguel, Thundercat, The Flints, Tame Impala: these are just a handful of the guest stars on Justice’s long-awaited new album Hyperdrama, with guest vocalists a rarity in the French electronic duo’s discography. And while some of those collaborations result in exciting new compounds — Kevin Parker’s voice stretches out and shimmers on the opener “Neverender,” for instance — they’re also a little besides the point, as the veteran dance kings provide plenty of movement on their own; the multi-part “Incognito” may be one of the biggest triumphs of their entire catalog, every gear shift producing another unexpected thrill.
Myke Towers feat. Bad Bunny, “Adivino”
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Two years after Bad Bunny ignited the summer with the surprise May 2022 release of his album Un Verano Sin Ti, the A-lister has joined forces with another Puerto Rican superstar, Myke Towers, on a track that sounds primed for beach playlists and sweaty club nights. “Adivino” may document a breakup, but the thumping beat and rapid hooks dispel any chance to dwell on the sorrow; meanwhile, Towers and Bad Bunny crackle side by side, trading off lines and oscillating between singing and rapping with an easy chemistry.
Editor’s Pick: Tems, “Love Me JeJe”
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Tems has been impacting the U.S. mainstream for such a long time that it seems impossible that she has yet to release a proper debut album, but after several hit collaborations (“Wait For U” with Future and Drake, “Essence” with Wizkid) and 2021’s If Orange Was a Place EP, the Nigerian superstar will finally unveil Born in the Wild next month. Lead single “Love Me JeJe” distills what has made Tems such a captivating presence since arriving on the scene, as she expresses unbridled passion above warm, uncluttered production courtesy of Spax and Guiltybeatz; the song never overreaches, simply tossing out heartfelt thoughts and a summertime beat.