Music

18 Mar 2024

Elon Musk & Rupert Murdoch No Longer Receiving Ruth Bader Ginsburg Award After Criticism From Barbra Streisand

Mere hours after a damning Instagram statement from Barbra Streisand amid piling criticism from a number of figures, including the Ginsburg family, the ceremony that would have honored Elon Musk and Rupert Murdoch in the late justice’s name has been canceled.

“The last thing we intended was to offend the family and friends of RBG,” said Julie Opperman, chair of the Opperman Foundation, in a statement on Monday (March 18).

Announced via a press release last week (March 13), this year’s honorees for the foundation’s 2024 Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Leadership Award included Elon Musk, Rupert Murdoch, Martha Stewart, Sylvester Stallone and Michael Milken.

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Swift backlash ensued, with members of the Ginsburg family — including the late justice’s Grammy-winning son James Ginsburg — and former RBG clerk Trevor Morrison calling on the Opperman Foundation to remove her name from the award. “When you think of trying to create a more just society, which of course was Mom’s ultimate goal, those are probably about the last names that would come to mind,” Ginsburg told CNN.

Late Monday afternoon, EGOT winner Barbra Streisand took to her official Instagram page to share a message condemning the choice of this year’s honorees. In a statement reflecting on receiving the honor from Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor last year, the Grammy winner wrote, “Justices Ginsburg and Sotomayor stand as two of the most respected women role models, and their commitment to democratic values, especially women’s rights, is unequaled.”

She continued, “That’s why I join the Ginsburg family in condemning the choice of honorees this year. I had the privilege of meeting Justice Ginsburg on several occasions, and I strongly doubt she would approve of these awardees.”

Formerly called the Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Woman of Leadership Award, the honor — which has previously been bestowed upon Queen Elizabeth II and Diane von Furstenberg — expanded to include men as recipients this year. Musk and Murdoch’s names courted the most controversy due to their values starkly contrasting with RBG’s legacy. As the first Jewish woman to serve on the Supreme Court and an ardent protector of women’s rights, Justice Ginsburg symbolizes values that don’t often align with Murdoch’s conservative media empire or Musk’s frequent brushes with anti-Semitism. Ginsburg passed in 2020 at age 87.

In their statement, the foundation said, “Our purpose was only to remember her and to honor her leadership. And, while we believe each of the honorees is worthy of our respect for their leadership and their notable contributions, the Foundation has decided that the planned ceremony in April 2024 will be canceled.”

The ceremony was originally slated to take place at the Library of Congress — which stressed that they were simply a “venue” and otherwise unaffiliated with the award — on April 13.

The RBG Award rollercoaster is just the latest stop on a busy awards season for Streisand. Last month (Feb. 24), she received the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award from the organization’s 30th annual awards ceremony. Streisand, of course, is also one of the most successful musicians of all time, earning 11 No. 1 albums across six decades on the Billboard 200.

James Ginsburg won the 2021 Grammy Award for best chamber music/small ensemble performance for Contemporary Voices. He boasts three career nominations.

Read Barbra Streisand’s statement below:

18 Mar 2024

Dua Lipa Tells Trixie Mattel About the Time She Got Rejected From Her School Choir

Dua Lipa and Trixie Mattel are both excellent music artists — but visual art isn’t quite their thing.

The duo teamed up for a collaboration on the RuPaul’s Drag Race alum’s YouTube channel on Monday (March 18), where they challenged each other to paint the album art for Lipa’s upcoming album, Radical Optimism. “I can’t draw. I can do my eyeliner because I mastered it on my own face,” the pop star admitted. “I don’t really like doing things I’m not good at, and this is something I’m not good at.”

However, Mattel and Lipa were soon painting, doing their best at recreating the beachy album cover that features the 28-year-old singer floating in an ocean facing a shark fin. At one point in their wide-ranging conversation, Mattel asked Lipa if it’s true that she had once gotten rejected from her school choir. “I was in primary school and the teacher was like, ‘Alright, who wants to sing and try out for the choir?’ So I decided to stand up for the whole school and he started playing on the piano, and it was in this crazy high note and nothing came out just air and the whole schools started laughing. And he was like, you know what? Better luck next time. That was it. Later on, I was part of the choir but I was in the lower range,” Lipa recalled.

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She then added that she “went to singing lessons in a theater school every Saturday in London and it was the teacher there that helped me build up my confidence.”

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Elsewhere in the interview, Lipa explained the inspiration behind her Radical Optimism album title. “It was actually a term that was introduced to me through a friend of mine,” she said. I was doing an interview with him and he was like, I heard this term radical optimism, and I think that’s something you really need. It stuck with me. He put that term in my psyche and everything in my life started connecting to that about remaining calm in the chaos and being OK when things don’t go the way you intended them to.”

When the time came to reveal their paintings to each other, both Mattel and Lipa were unsatisfied with their work. “Check out Radical Optimism, people, you’re gonna need it,” Mattel joked.

The 11-track project — Lipa’s first proper LP since 2020’s Future Nostalgia — arrives May 3. Watch the full interview below.

18 Mar 2024

Hot 100 First-Timers: Dasha Arrives With Breakthrough Viral Hit ‘Austin’

One week after her arrival on Billboard’s charts, Dasha becomes a Billboard Hot 100-charting artist, thanks to her breakthrough viral single “Austin.”

The song, released in November via Version III, debuts at No. 74 on the March 23-dated Hot 100 with 6.7 million official streams (up 65%), 84,000 in radio airplay audience (up 173%) and 2,000 downloads sold (up 116%) in the U.S. March 8-14, according to Luminate.

The track also jumps 31-17 on Hot Country Songs, which uses the same multi-metric methodology as the Hot 100.

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Dasha is based in Nashville, via San Luis Obispo, Calif. Gains for “Austin” have been sparked by TikTok, where she boasts over 400,000 followers. Seemingly boosted by the rising wave behind Beyoncé’s “Texas Hold ‘Em” – which tops Hot Country Songs for a fifth week – “Austin” soundtracks a line-dance trend started by Dasha. The song has been featured in over 300,000 videos on the platform. Billboard reported that in the tracking week ending Feb. 15, in which Beyoncé released “Texas Hold ‘Em” midway through, “Austin” vaulted from 82,000 official on-demand streams the week before to over 830,000 – up 916%. The next week (ending Feb. 22), the song grew 182% to 2.3 million.

Airplay-wise, SiriusXM is championing the song on TikTok Radio and its country-formatted The Highway. Terrestrially, Country Airplay chart reporter KBAY San Francisco leads in early exposure for the track.

“Austin” is on Dasha’s new eight-track LP What Happens Now?, released Feb. 16. Before that, she released the collection Dirty Blonde in January 2023, via Quadio Records, and her six-track EP $hiny Things in 2021.

Dasha, who co-wrote “Austin,” also surges from No. 29 to No. 11 on Billboard’s Emerging Artists chart.

18 Mar 2024

Megan Thee Stallion Strikes a Pose to Ariana Grande’s ‘The Boy Is Mine’: Watch

Megan Thee Stallion has officially claimed Ariana Grande‘s “The Boy Is Mine” as a hot girl anthem.

In a TikTok posted Sunday, the “Cobra” rapper shows off her form-fitting, olive green dress from a number of different angles and parts of her house while vibing to the pop star’s ’90s-inspired new track. As Meg tosses her long hair over one shoulder and stares down the camera, Grande’s voice can be heard singing, “The boy is mine/ Watch me take my time/ I can’t believe my mind/ The boy is divine.”

The “Positions” singer — who was joined by Meg on the “34+35” remix in 2021, alongside Doja Cat — both reposted the video on TikTok and shared it to Instagram Stories.

Ms. Stallion is just the latest star to voice her support for “The Boy Is Mine,” which is quickly becoming a favorite among listeners. The track appears on Grande’s March 8 LP Eternal Sunshine and, at press time, ranks No. 3 on Billboard‘s fan-voted poll for best song on the album (after the Billboard Hot 100-topping “We Can’t Be Friends” and “Supernatural”).

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Christina Aguilera and Olivia Rodrigo have also shared videos using “The Boy Is Mine” in the past few days, both of which Grande shared to her Instagram Story. “love you,” she wrote in response to Xtina, alongside four teary-eyed emojis.

Eternal Sunshine recently debuted atop the Billboard 200, with “We Can’t Be Friends” entering at No. 1 on the Hot 100. They become Grande’s sixth album and ninth single to do so.

Megan has also scored a No. 1 song this year, with “Hiss” becoming her third track to top the Hot 100 in February. Last week, she announced plans to embark on her Hot Girl Summer Tour, kicking off in May.

Watch Meg’s TikTok below.

18 Mar 2024

J. Cole Previews Unreleased Song in ‘Might Delete Later, Vol. 2’ Tour Vlog: Watch

J. Cole is still on the road as part of Drake’s It’s All A Blur – Big as the What? Tour, and he’s teasing more music leading into his anticipated The Fall-Off album.

The Dreamville boss unleashed the second edition of his Might Delete Later, Vol. 2 vlog recapping his travels on Monday (March 18), which includes an unreleased track featuring Cole rapping as if his rent was overdue.

Just shy of the five-minute mark, the scene switches to Cole riding his bike and getting some rhymes off over the thumping production. “Going to sleep at night praying to God release the stress/ Now I’m on G4 jets across the seas to decompress/ My recent texts, how much you think? Hmm, decent guess/ They go, ‘Cole, who you gon’ kill on the feature next?’” he raps.

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Another part of the Smack DVD-inspired content finds J. Cole reflecting on his early days of signing to Roc Nation circa ’09, when he wanted to just create a classic body of work no matter the commercial success.

However, Jay-Z had other ideas. “When I first signed to Jay, all I wanted to do was drop a classic. That sh– could’ve sold 3,000,” Cole reminisced. “But it’s gotta be an Illmatic. Once I signed to Jay and this n—a was like, ‘Nah, you not putting the album out until you got some f—ing hits.’

“I had to trial-and-error for a year and a half, two years. ‘Workout,’ I squeezed that sh– out last-minute. That was an unnatural space for me. Even if you listen to it, I can’t even hear that sh– back.”

Cole went on to release a pair of mixtapes (The Warm Up and Friday Night Lights) before delivering his Cole World: The Sideline Story debut album in 2011. The LP debuted atop the Billboard 200 with 218,000 album units sold in the first week.

Might Delete Later, Vol. 2 features cameos from plenty of Jermaine’s rap peers, including Central Cee, Drake, Benny the Butcher, Lil Yachty and meeting Sexyy Red for the first time.

There’s additional footage of Cole in the studio where he reveals there’s been “six iterations of this album” in regards to The Fall-Off, which fans can expect at some point later this year.

Watch Might Delete Later, Vol. 2 below.

18 Mar 2024

Ariana Grande Reacts to Having the No. 1 Song & Album: ‘Impossible to Put Into Words’

The sun is definitely shining down on Ariana Grande, who this week has both the No. 1 song and album in the United States with “We Can’t Be Friends (Wait for Your Love)” debuting atop the Billboard Hot 100 and Eternal Sunshine starting atop the Billboard 200.

In a heartfelt Instagram post Monday (March 18), the 30-year-old pop star shared the warmth with her fans while expressing gratitude for the simultaneous feats. “i know i have been posting so much (i feel self conscious about that / also would like to keep going / thanking / celebrating !),” the singer began, captioning a compilation video of moments from Eternal Sunshine‘s release week. “but i just wanted to thank you from the bottom of my heart.”

Featuring footage from her “We Can’t Be Friends” music video shoot as well as a shot of her performing on Saturday Night Live earlier this month, Grande’s clip notes that the single debuted at No. 1 on the Hot 100 — something that was announced just a few hours prior to her post. It also mentions Eternal Sunshine‘s position on the Billboard 200, where the album now reigns in the top spot in its first week on the chart.

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“We Can’t Be Friends” is also the No. 1 song in the world this week, premiering at the top of the Billboard Global 200.

“it’s impossible to put into words what i’ve been feeling this week,” the vocalist continued. “this album is most special to me for many reasons and just holds so much. sharing it has re-opened a lot of little and big feelings alike and it has been an emotional week in many ways !… but your overwhelmingly loving response to it all has made me feel such joyful, human connection and comfort.”

“just wanted to say i love and appreciate you all more than one can say and thank you again,” she added. “it is, as it always has been, my greatest honor to grow with you … let us promise to keep going !”

With “We Can’t Be Friends,” Grande earns her seventh No. 1 debut — surpassing Taylor Swift for the most among women — and her ninth Hot 100-topping single total. Eternal Sunshine also marks her sixth No. 1 album on the Billboard 200, opening with 227,000 equivalent album units in the U.S. in the week ending March 14, according to Luminate.

The Grammy winner isn’t the only person in her family making chart history this week: Her grandmother, who’s credited as Nonna on Eternal Sunshine‘s “Ordinary Things,” just became the oldest living person to chart on the Hot 100 at 98 years old, with the album closer debuting at No. 55 on the ranking.

See Grande’s post below.

18 Mar 2024

Best Photos From 2024 Rolling Loud California, From Ye x Ty Dolla $ign, Nicki Minaj, North West, Post Malone & More

A first Thursday night (March 14) show spotlighting a special Vultures performance by ¥$ (Ye + Ty Dolla $ign), plus North West making her debut festival performance, were among the highlights and surprises for fans attending 2024 Rolling Loud California. Holding court for an unprecedented four nights (March 14-17) at Inglewood, Calif.’s Hollywood Park, the annual festival’s stacked deck of headliners also included Nicki Minaj, Post Malone and Future x Metro Boomin.

Just as buzzworthy, however, were the additional acts rounding out Rolling Loud’s three full days of programming. Among them: Bryson Tiller, Sexyy Red, Summer Walker, Flo Milli, PartyNextDoor, Don Toliver and Big Sean, as well as Los Angeles rap legends YG and Tyga in a joint performance.

The first Rolling Loud event of 2024 also presented a wide-ranging collection of merchandise inspired by L.A. sports teams, street art, racing culture, anime, skateboarding and more. Curated by Rolling Loud’s director of merchandise Ray Guilbauilt and primarily designed by Prism Works Group, the merch offerings also included collaborations with YG, marking the rapper’s 10th anniversary of his classic album My Krazy Life; Chief Keef’s Glo Gang; a Rolling Loud co-branded belt by BB Simon; and the fest’s continued partnership with Forever 21 for the popular merch activation Bunny’s Bae Bar.

Those unable to attend in person could tune in each day to Rolling Loud’s livestream on its YouTube channel. Presented by Sprite, the fest’s official livestream was hosted by Jazzy of Jazzy’s World (with whom 10-year-old North West, aka Miss Westie, did her first on-camera interview about her forthcoming debut album Elementary School Dropout), Tallie Spencer, Speedy Morman, Bootleg Kev and Hakeem Rowe, among other personalities.

Approaching its 10th anniversary in 2025, Rolling Loud — co-founded by Matt Zingler and Tariq Cherif — is heading next to Europe this summer (July 5-7, 2024, near Vienna, Austria), coming back Stateside for Rolling Loud Miami (July 19-21) and then returning to Asia with Rolling Loud Thailand (Nov. 22-24).

Below, check out the photo gallery of memorable moments from Rolling Loud California.

18 Mar 2024

Ariana Grande’s ‘We Can’t Be Friends’ Soars In at No. 1 on Billboard Global Charts

Ariana Grande’s “We Can’t Be Friends (Wait for Your Love)” debuts at No. 1 on both the Billboard Global 200 and Billboard Global Excl. U.S. charts. Grande achieves her fourth leader on the former and her third on the latter.

The song is the second single from Grande’s seventh studio album, Eternal Sunshine, which premieres at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart. “Yes, And?,” the lead single from the set, released on Republic Records, debuted atop both global surveys in January.

The Billboard Global 200 and Billboard Global Excl. U.S. charts, which began in September 2020, rank songs based on streaming and sales activity culled from more than 200 territories around the world, as compiled by Luminate. The Global 200 is inclusive of worldwide data and the Global Excl. U.S. chart comprises data from territories excluding the United States.

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Chart ranks are based on a weighted formula incorporating official-only streams on both subscription and ad-supported tiers of audio and video music services, as well as download sales, the latter of which reflect purchases from full-service digital music retailers from around the world, with sales from direct-to-consumer (D2C) sites excluded from the charts’ calculations.

‘Friends’ First on Global 200

Released March 8 on Eternal Sunshine, followed by the premiere of its official video the same day, Ariana Grande’s “We Can’t Be Friends (Wait for Your Love)” begins atop the Billboard Global 200 with 97.5 million streams and 14,000 sold worldwide through March 14. (It bests the streaming start of “Yes, And?,” which drew 94.4 million globally in its first frame.)

Grande earns her fourth Global 200 No. 1, after “Yes, And?” led for its first two weeks; “Save Your Tears,” with The Weeknd, reigned for a week in May 2021; and “Positions” bowed atop the chart and ruled for two weeks in November 2020. She ties Bad Bunny and Taylor Swift for the most leaders among soloists; only BTS boasts more (seven) overall.

Benson Boone’s “Beautiful Things” drops to No. 2 on the Global 200 after four weeks at No. 1 beginning in February; Ye (the artist formerly known as Kanye West) and Ty Dolla $ign’s “Carnival,” featuring Rich the Kid and Playboi Carti, falls to No. 3 from its No. 2 high; Teddy Swims’ “Lose Control” holds at its No. 4 best; and Djo’s first entry on the chart, “End of Beginning,” enters the top five (6-5).

Grande Also No. 1 on Global Excl. U.S.

Ariana Grande’s “We Can’t Be Friends (Wait for Your Love)” concurrently launches atop the Billboard Global Excl. U.S. chart, with 65.5 million streams and 5,000 sold outside the U.S. March 8-14.

Grande tops Global Excl. U.S. with a third title, after “Yes, And?” led in its first two weeks and “Positions” spent its debut week at No. 1 in November 2020. As on the Global 200, she ties for the most leaders among soloists, matching Bad Bunny and Jung Kook’s totals. BLACKPINK has also scored three No. 1s; among all acts, only BTS has more (seven).

Benson Boone’s “Beautiful Things” retreats to No. 2 after four weeks at No. 1 on Global Excl. U.S. beginning last month.

Creepy Nuts’ “Bling-Bang-Bang-Born” rebounds 6-3 on Global Excl. U.S., after hitting No. 2. As on Global Excl. U.S., the song becomes the Japanese duo’s first top 10 on the Global 200 (13-8), with 53.9 million steams (up 72%) and 19,000 sold (up 48%) worldwide in the tracking week.

Plus, Djo’s first Global Excl. U.S. hit, “End of Beginning,” reaches the top five (7-4) and Teddy Swims’ “Lose Control” slips to No. 5 from at its No. 3 high.

The Billboard Global 200 and Billboard Global Excl. U.S. charts (dated March 23, 2024) will update on Billboard.com tomorrow, March 19. For both charts, the top 100 titles are available to all readers on Billboard.com, while the complete 200-title rankings are visible on Billboard Pro, Billboard’s subscription-based service. For all chart news, you can follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both X, formerly known as Twitter, and Instagram.

Luminate, the independent data provider to the Billboard charts, completes a thorough review of all data submissions used in compiling the weekly chart rankings. Luminate reviews and authenticates data. In partnership with Billboard, data deemed suspicious or unverifiable is removed, using established criteria, before final chart calculations are made and published.

18 Mar 2024

Ben Platt Announces Broadway Residency to Support New Album ‘Honeymind’

Between Renée Rapp (Mean Girls), Halle Bailey (The Color Purple) and Ariana Grande (Wicked), the lines between Broadway, film and pop music aren’t really lines at all — and Ben Platt is ready to ride that wave with his forthcoming new album, Honeymind.

Announced via his official Instagram page last Tuesday (March 12), Honeymind marks the third studio effort from Emmy, Grammy and Tony winner. Both of his prior LPs — 2019’s Sing to Me Instead (No. 18) and 2021’s Reverie (No. 84) — reached the top half of the Billboard 200.

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“I’ve been working on this record for the last two years alongside my executive producer Dave Cobb and some brilliant co-writers and musicians across Nashville, Savannah, Los Angeles and New York,” he wrote in the Instagram announcement. “I began writing it during a period of major personal growth and transition. I wrote about all the ways that I’ve started to shed other people’s notions and perceptions of who I am, and really settle into myself from the root, earnestness and all. I wrote about growing out of the naiveté and aimlessness of childhood without resigning to the jaded and wonder-less feeling of adulthood… Most importantly, I wrote about finding real love… and all of the work we have to do as individuals to find security in who we are so that we’re ready for that real love when it comes along.”

That same day, Platt debuted “Andrew,” the set’s self-reflective lead single, while a plot-driven music video followed a few days later (March 15). The emotional video was crafted under the direction of Sam Wrench, known for his directorial work on Taylor Swift‘s Eras Tour film and Billie Eilish‘s Live at the O2 concert film.

In support of his record, Platt will also launch an 18-show concert residency at Broadway’s newly renovated Palace Theatre. Michael Arden — the Tony-winning director with whom Platt previously collaborated on the 2023 Tony-winning revival of Parade — will direct the residency, which will last from May 28 through June 15. During his stay at The Palace, Platt will perform selections from all three of his studio albums, as well as a few surprises and fan favorites.

“It is far beyond my wildest imagination to play a residency of my own music in a house as storied as the Palace,” gushed the Dear Evan Hansen star in a press release. “I feel blessed to be part of the theater community, and to have the opportunity to perform as myself and from my own perspective on a Broadway stage is one of the greatest honors of my life. I can’t wait to introduce my new record on the beautifully revived stage. My hope is to bridge my musical theater roots that I hold so dear with the world of classic Americana songwriting that I’ve fallen so deeply in love with.”

Watch the “Andrew” music video above and click here to purchase tickets for Ben Platt’s upcoming Palace residency.

18 Mar 2024

Kenya Grace’s Haunting ‘It’s Not Fair’ and 5 More Cool New Pop Songs This Week

Looking for some motivation to help power you through the start of another work week? We feel you, and with some stellar new pop tunes, we’ve got you covered.

These tracks from artists including Lizzy McAlpine, jxdn, Lava La Rue and more will get you energized to take on the week. Pop any of these gems into your personal playlists — or scroll to the end of the post for a custom playlist.

Coolest Pop Song of the Week: Kenya Grace, “It’s Not Fair”



Kenya Grace stumbled into a crackerjack formula with her breakthrough hit “Strangers” last fall, harnessing a thriving U.K. dance scene, dabbling in drum’n’bass and steeping its TikTok-friendly pop hook in the ethereal dejection natural to the South African-born British polymath’s gentle, forgiving voice. “Strangers” made chart history after going viral — when it reached No. 1 on the Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart, the single became the first track solely written, produced and sung by a woman to reach the top of the chart. Yet Grace hasn’t rested on her laurels while her breakout song continued in the chart’s top 10 for months, as she’s released single after single ahead of a new project, The After Taste, due out this Friday (Mar. 22).

“It’s Not Fair,” released one week ahead of that project, is the strongest of those new tracks. Like she does on “Strangers,” Grace operates over shuffling beats and ruminates on romantic mistrials (this time focusing on a breakup that even her mom and friends take as hard as she does), but the drum-n-bass influence lilts at the spots it effervesced on “Strangers,” as woodblock percussion and syncopated strings accentuate the sadness in Grace’s voice. The soft contours still define Grace’s vocal approach, but on “It’s Not Fair,” her storytelling rises above the whisper: “So tell me, truly, do you think about me? Are you happy with some other girl?” she asks on the bridge, the instrumentation dropping away so that her confrontation can fully resonate.

At nine tracks long, The After Taste gives “Strangers” a project to call home while also expanding Grace’s pop repertoire: “Someone Else” snaps onto a propulsive beat while spinning a tale of club betrayal, while “Hey, Hi, How Are You” spins forward with the dizziness of a late night call. Grace’s hit single may highlight the project, but a track like “It’s Not Fair” shows that she knows how to iterate on its sound in compelling new ways.

Here are some new pop songs worth checking out this week…