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In London, New York and Los Angeles this past spring and summer, Jamie xx played 20 shows in a club of his own making, The Floor. Happening in warehouse spaces in each city, the nights featured a rotating cast of friends and fellow producers playing on lineups that each also included the U.K. producer, altogether bringing to life the nightclub of his dreams he’d long envisioned. The shows went late, with Jamie typically playing well after midnight, even in the middle of the week. Every show sold out.
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After it was all wrapped, the producer then traveled to the woods Norway, where he posted up on a mountain four hours from the closest city. He had no phone signal, and every night for dinner, he ate the fish he’d caught earlier that day.
It’s the type of urban/rural balance the London-born artist has carved out over the last nine years, since the release of his last album, In Colour. Jamie’s second studio album, the project reached No. 21 on the Billboard 200, becoming an essential of the era. Making it after a period of heavy touring with his band, The xx, when he was longing for home, he calls the project “sort of my fantasy version of U.K. dance music history.”
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Nine years later, the producer, now 35, is more focused on the present. Now living between his homes in London and Los Angeles, he’s today (Sept. 20) released In Colour‘s long-awaited followup, In Waves. Out on his own label, Young, he calls the project “a lot more current and about now,” with the 12-track project toggling between dreamy, cerebral IDM and equally smart but also joyful, extremely danceable tracks like the previously released singles “Baddy on the Floor” and “Life,” which features vocals from Robyn. The album also features his bandmates from The xx, Romy Madley Croft and Oliver Sim, with whom Jamie has recently been in the studio with.
Speaking to Billboard from London the week before the release of In Waves, the artist, born James Thomas Smith, is days away from going on tour behind the album, with the run including standalone shows in Europe, the U.S., Brazil and beyond, along with festival sets at San Francisco’s Portola, Las Vegas’ A Big Beautiful Block Party, FORM Arcosanti in Arizona and Miami’s III Points.
However, release day will be the last time he’ll listen to the album he’s spent the last nine years making in its album form. Here, he explains why.
In Colour is obviously considered a masterpiece of the era. Did you feel pressure in making its follow up?
Yes, there was a period of time after I finished touring for I See You, the third xx album, there was a period of time where I was so sure that I was going to come home off tour, and I had this whole plan of what I was going to do to make my second solo record. I did exactly what I thought I should do, then the music just didn’t turn out to be — I think basically I had too much of a plan, and it was rigid. It seems to take me just having fun and not really thinking about the end game to be able to make music.
Did you ultimately use any of the music you were making in that more rigid plan?
No. I mean, it exists, but I don’t think it’s worth hearing. When I really started getting into the album, the pressure of In Colour seemed to disappear, and I was just enjoying making it. The only thing I was aware of was trying to be as un-nostalgic as I could be. I mean, I’m quite nostalgic in nature, but I wanted this album to feel a lot more current and about now, or maybe about the future, rather than looking to the past.
Going from In Colour to In Waves, it sounds like you’re in the same narrative. Does that feel fair? And if so, where are you now that you weren’t in 2015 and how has the story progressed?
Well, when I was making Colour, I was on tour, and had been for seven or eight years nonstop. I was really homesick, and I was dreaming up ideas about the U.K. and music in the U.K. and the dance scene there and everything that has happened since the ’80s in dance music in the U.K., which is a lot. It was sort of my fantasy version of U.K. dance music history. Because I was missing home, it made me feel more like I was at home, I guess.
This time, I bought a place in L.A., I live between London and L.A., and I’ve really grown into being transient, and I enjoy being all over the place. I feel very lucky that I get to do that and explore the different scenes. I don’t really miss home so much anymore. So this one is more about just enjoying where I’m at currently.
How have you made being transient more palatable and sustainable for you?
I think it’s more of a change in mindset than anything else. I also feel like maybe London has changed, that the scene was so vibrant when I was a teenager to like 25 [years old] in London and dance music was kind of London/U.K. centric, so it was all coming from where I grew up. I didn’t want to miss out on any of that. Whereas now, scenes that pop up are so global instantly because of how music is shared and how everybody is everywhere at once on social media and the internet, that it doesn’t feel like I need to be in one particular place.
That said, are there cities that feel particularly exciting or fresh to you right now?
It’s a good question. There are places that are always amazing and always have been like Berlin. L.A. played a big part in making me a happier, calmer person in my brain. I spent some of the pandemic there when we were allowed to fly. But L.A. was still in lockdown, so nothing was open, and I was just going surfing every day, then coming back to the house and making music. It’s some of the best memories in my life. I still try to get back to that headspace, then I eventually bought a house in L.A. because of how much I enjoyed it. It’s a very different way of life to London, and it’s been very helpful.
L.A. can be so hectic and so dense, but it sounds like you found a certain amount of serenity here.
Yeah, definitely. It can definitely be hectic, but I love that you can just escape up into the hills or to the beach, and suddenly you’re in wild nature.
It sounds like having fun and enjoying yourself was a driving force in the creation process of this album, which is very fun and danceable and celebratory, and also thematically deep. I’m thinking about tracks like “Breather” and like some of Robyn’s lyrics. On that side of it, what experiences and ideas were you drawing from?
I’ve been very reflective since I turned 30, which I think happens, has happened, to a lot of our generation. With that comes a lot more peace of mind, but also it gets really exhausting and boring, and you also want to be able to have fun in a more sustainable way. It was about finding balance between all those things. I guess with some of the spoken word and the themes on the album, it was both poking fun at that and also wanting it to be meaningful, depending on your mindset when you’re listening to it.
Where is it poking fun?
For example, the vocal on “Breather” was taken from me doing a YouTube yoga tutorial every day during lockdown. The woman who spoke on my yoga video is the person I ended up sampling like that, to either refer to your state of mind, and or taking drugs on a dance floor.
Obviously you’ve been very active in the nine years since In Colour, and also the dance world moves so quickly. I wonder if you ever felt like things were passing you by and thought about how you were going to reinsert yourself when it was time. Was there any doubt in that way?
Yeah. I mean, I still feel like that now. But at least I remind myself that I can get to places where I don’t feel like that. I just went to Norway on holiday for a week, like four hours out of a city, up a mountain to this lake where there was no roads and no phone signal. I had the best time ever. I had to fish for my dinner every night. It was a very unique experience. I kind of got back to that mindset that I’ve been so searching for over these years, of just calmness, really. Just knowing that that’s there is super helpful.
It sounds like nature is a big piece of it for you, in re-centering yourself.
Yeah, it has become that. I never expected that because I grew up in the city, and I always said that I would never want to live in a countryside. I was never really bothered by it, but I think things have changed.
It’s an interesting contrast to a crowded dance floor, which is typically a very metropolitan concept. Coming out of The Floor in London, New York and Los Angeles, did those runs turn out how you envisioned? And what did you take from the experiences?
It all turned out way better than I envisioned. But, I mean, I was quite naive going into The Floor nights, because for so long I dreamed of being able to build my own club, that I never even thought about what it would be like to have to play at my own club every night, which was amazing, but it was exhausting.
But every time I got back into the room, it was so invigorating and just filled me with energy, and then I was ready to go every night. I got to hear people I loved playing, people who I’d never heard playing. Every night was different and inspiring. It was a beautiful thing. I just need to pace myself, because I’m not that young anymore.
When I saw the set times, I wondered how you were sustaining it. It sounds like it was maybe not that sustainable, but you got the adrenaline rush of being there.
Yeah, exactly. I miss it, already. And I probably miss that adrenaline rush too, but I hope that I’ll do some more.
Do you have to prepare differently playing The Floor versus a large venue or big festival?
Yeah, definitely. The joy of playing one of the small ones is that you have to improvise as much as possible, because you’re so connected with the audience — it’s a back and forth between the people that you’re staring into the faces of. At festivals, there’s a certain element of improvisation for me, and I enjoy that, but I have to play my songs, and enough of them that people don’t get pissed off.
Tell me about like, one peak bliss moment for you in that run of The Floor.
François K in New York. I mean, I don’t like to use the word life-changing, but it was up there. I’ve met him a few times and played with him in New York at his club nights, and he’s always been great and very insightful. This time, I got to hang out with him for an hour before he played and talk about the history of dance in New York and how he’s seen the different waves of dance music over the many years he’s been playing. That was great. Then he went and played one of the best sets I’ve ever seen in my life, and it unified everybody in the room in a way that only happens very occasionally, even though I go to a lot of shows.
Did you learn anything about In Waves in terms of what parts of it really worked, while you were playing it out at The Floor?
I got to play it in full to all my friends in the London club before one of the club nights started. That was a really lovely thing. It felt like a momentous occasion, at the end of making the album. Then during the all The Floors, all the songs that hadn’t come out yet, people seemed to recognize it was me, which was really nice considering this album is quite different to the last one.
What do you think are your signatures? What are people recognizing that they know is you?
I have no idea, but I guess I would assume that people know my music better than me, because after I’ve finished it, I really don’t listen to it unless I have to.
So you haven’t been listening to In Waves outside of playing it out?
No. I haven’t listened to it since the day I approved the master, but I will listen to it the day it comes out.
Why do you think that is?
I find it kind of excruciating.
Oh, why?
Well, I’ve listened to it a million times in every detail, but also it feels like reading a diary or something from the past, even if it’s not that long ago, like this album. I just find it quite difficult — and that’s why, when I’m playing my songs from In Colour, I try and rework them, to keep it interesting for me and give them new life.
When is the last time you listened to In Colour in full?
I think six or seven years ago, when I was really struggling with what to do about not being able to make another album. I went with my mate to somewhere in Italy, and we did a road trip and listened to every album I’ve ever made, which sounds like torture to me. It kind of was, and I’m very grateful to my friend for sitting through all of that. It was really helpful, and that’s the last time I listened to it.
Can you share any details about that experience, of what was going through your mind when you were driving around Italy listening to your album and not necessarily enjoying the experience?
I remember being really surprised by a lot of decisions I had made as a younger person, and remembering who the hell I was when I made those decisions.
Who were you?
I don’t know. I guess I was drunk quite a lot of the time [laughs], having a lot of fun in my mid-20s. It’s very painstaking, all these decisions you feel are so important. Then listening to them 10 years later or five years later, you can’t believe you made any of the decisions. And you think they’re wrong, or I would have made completely different decisions now, but I guess that’s a part of it.
I guess nothing is ever done. There just comes a time when you have to turn it in.
That is true.
Was there a sense of relief when you turned in In Waves?
Yeah, massive relief. The album was actually meant to come out in June this year, and I had the test pressing made, then it just didn’t sound good enough. That’s why it’s coming out in September. But because of that, it meant that I got to finish the song with Robyn, and I think it made the album better. So there have been several moments where it was almost finished, but it’s been a slow burn.
If it had come out in June, it would have been eligible for a Grammy this year. Was there a thought of getting it out in time to be nominated, or was that not a thing?
No, that was not a thing.
With the album complete, what else, if anything, are you working on? Or is it more about preparing for the live shows?
I’ve been in the studio with the band a little bit. We’ve mostly been talking, not making music. Those [sessions] have been really nice. I’m actually focusing on spending the last two days in my house before I leave it for a year and a half and enjoying London for the last little bit, then really getting stuck into all the live shows.
So you’re going to be on the road for a year and a half, more or less?
If things go well, yes.
How do you mean if things go well?
I mean, I hope I get to tour this a lot, because it’s kind of the only way I connect with the album after it’s done. I’m not looking at reviews, and I’m not on socials or anything like that.
Well, maybe you just answered it — but tell me, what does success for the album look like to you?
Basically, I get a few nice texts from people whose option I appreciate, and I get to keep doing all of this.
Naomi Sharon is looking for the nearest Sephora in New York City. She also needs to find a nail tech before she takes the Radio City Music Hall stage for a show the following day.
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Sharon, who signed to Drake’s OVO Sound label in early 2023, is on the road as part of Tems’ Born in the Wild Tour, and trekked directly from Philadelphia to the Midtown Manhattan Billboard offices earlier in September.
The 29-year-old Dutch singer stuns in a black floor-length bodycon dress matching her carefully curated midnight aesthetic. Sharon steals the attention of any room — and that’s even before hearing her ethereal vocals.
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Combining the worlds of dreamy R&B and ambient house, Sharon impressed with her dreamy Obsidian debut album, which earned her a spot on Billboard‘s 2024 Hip-Hop & R&B Artists to Watch list. The romantic tug of war found her opening up about the trials and tribulations of love throughout the stirring and vulnerable 13-track LP.
Now she’s turning the page to her sophomore album — and Sharon is excited about what’s to come musically before 2024 expires.
“I don’t want to say too much, but there is a lot of beautiful stuff coming this year. I’m very excited about it,” she teases to Billboard. “When I listen to Obsidian and the songs I have now, there’s some more maturity in it. It’s a nice shift. Hell yeah, the Obsidian project is here and we need to [elevate] now.”
Check out the rest of our chat with Naomi Sharon below, which finds her delving into her conversations with Drake, new music, touring with Tems and much more about her travels on the road.
How has the tour been?
Very exciting. It’s very nice to meet a new audience. It’s good to perform for a larger audience as well. I love it. The bigger the better. It’s a different energy. When I did my tour, people were familiar with me. Now some people are and some people are not. Which is also nice because sometimes you see them react to you. It’s fun to be on the road. I have a very nice team I do it with and we’re all Dutch.
How has it been winning over audiences? It can be a different experience as an opener.
It truly is. As an artist, you have an ego. I do have an ego as well. But I still want to challenge myself so I see it more as something testing me to be a better artist. I’m really focused when I’m [performing] for a new audience because I gotta draw you in without forcing it. I received a lot of messages from people. I think it’s important to build a relationship with your audience. By reposting their [Instagram Stories] you’re kinda showing them a thank you. I’m not sure I can do that forever.
We do meet-and-greets after and some people come with stories. One time it made me cry. I was surprised by it. Some girl came to the show and her father was the one who put her on my music, but he passed away in the months leading up to the show. I felt very grateful but at the same time I was like, “That’s what music does to people.” That’s how I listen to music as well.
Where did you built your whole aesthetic from? I’m assuming this is very intentionally done.
It is very much intentionally done. I think it started at a very young age. I had a moment in time I wanted to be a designer. I was very much into fashion. I’m pursuing that. It’s important to dress however you want to dress, but as an artist I want to be visible. I think it’s fun to dress. As an artist, you kinda have an excuse to be extra. The latex kinda represents obsidian. The black, maybe I’m a little gothic.
How did you connect with DJ Snake turning “Myrrh” into his own rendition of “Goodbyes?”
I know DJ Snake but I’ve never been in contact with him. I think it kinda came through the label. He liked it and said, “Let me do something to it.” When I heard it, it’s funny to distance yourself from the original song. I liked it and it grew on me. I was like, “Yeah, let’s do this for sure.”
What’s inspiring you creatively? Who are you listening to?
Life situations in general. That’s the most beautiful part about writing lyrics for me. Sometimes I’m like, “What’s next?” But there’s always something. That’s what I’m writing about. Sometimes a place can inspire me. For instance, I love Bali. It’s a place that sparks something because I’m at peace.
I listen to Sting. That’s something that never changes. I listen to a lot of old school music. New school, I love Yebba. I think she deserves her flowers. Feels stupid to say this, but I also listen to Drake.
Do you have a favorite Drake record?
One of my favorite albums is Honestly, Nevermind. I think that’s the European in me. I don’t think other people understood the assignment when it came out in the U.S. A lot of people aren’t used to that type of music. People were [comparing] it to Love Island. That’s our stuff in Europe. I love that album. I think it’s beautifully done. One song not from the album is “Passionfruit.” I think that’s one of his best songs.
I love seeing other artists show you love in your comments, like SZA or Snoh Aalegra.
I’m pretty good with both. One I see and speak to and the other one is supporting. I just love that in general with women in the industry supporting each other. Some are not as keen as others to do that. I think it’s so good. You don’t have to be afraid. Everyone has her own lane and I believe nobody can steal your path.
What did you see as success for your debut album? Would you have done anything differently?
Being proud about my own project that’s a big accomplishment. As soon as you go on and move on from it, and you grow into a bigger artist, you listen to your fans a little bit more. Then maybe you start to make music for your audience a little bit. I always try to stay a little bit true to myself. I’m the one that needs to perform it. I’m the one who needs to deliver it.
You put your entire life into your debut album. Is it like, “Where do I go from here?”
It’s a taste thing as well. People would say that about me as well with the new songs. But it’s an ever-evolving thing, right? In years, I’ll look back at Obsidian — I have already with other songs — like, my voice is even different. Not that I’m not sounding like myself, but you know you can hear that someone’s going through something. It’s a little lower, a little higher. When I listen to Obsidian and the songs I have now, there’s some more maturity in it. It’s a nice shift. Hell yeah, the Obsidian project is here and we need to [elevate] now.
Creatively, what’s next for you?
I don’t want to say too much, but there is a lot of beautiful stuff coming this year. I’m very excited about it.
How about potentially working with Tems since you guys are on tour?
I would love that. I think you don’t need to force anything. I think that will happen naturally. Of course, I’m on tour with her now, but I don’t feel the need to knock on her dressing room and be like, “Hey Tems, do you want to make a song right now?” That’s not gonna happen, but I do manifest it when I feel the timing is right. But I would love to.
How painful was your back tattoo? What was the inspiration behind it?
This was seven hours. Putting a tattoo on your body was kind of a thrill. This one was special because the artist is from Berlin and he’s doing this intuitively. So I was sitting in front of him and he goes with his pen first and he’s just drawing it on my back. After a few hours, I can look at it. I think it’s so beautiful. We had a conversation first and he takes a day per person to really sit with you and get to know you. He made this — seven hours, one break. It was painful. I think I have a pretty high pain tolerance. He showed me his work and was like, “What is your favorite?” Everything is very much his style and I had a few people coming up to me asking if it’s this artist. I love that. I want to have more from him. It’s a special person.
What’s the most surprising thing you’ve seen about American culture since you’ve been traveling to all these cities on tour?
Now you’re touching the nerve. I’m always joking about this. I think in general American culture is very different from Dutch culture. One thing is so funny is you say, “Hi, how are you?” In one sentence and it actually means, “Hi.” It’s not a genuine question… That’s one thing I find funny. It refers to you guys being very open and happy to greet everyone. It has something beautiful as well. Dutch people in general are very down to earth. Too much sometimes. Whenever you go to a restaurant you kinda get ignored.
In comparison with Americans, it’s different. It’s not like, “Hi, how are you? I’m Steve and I’m gonna take care of your table today.” In Holland it’s like, “Hi. You have a table for two? It’s over there and I’ll walk you to it.” There’s no introductions. Dutch people are actually pretty straightforward and genuine. It depends where you go. I also know that native people from L.A. are different from transplants. People are straightforward in Holland and I think we come across as rude.
Have you picked up any hobbies on tour?
A couple went through my head. One hobby is going to Sweetgreen’s. I wanted to do horse riding in Texas and it didn’t happen. We wanted to go to the shooting range — didn’t happen. I do not support guns by the way, but it’s kinda nice to do it where you can do it. Those were the fantasy hobbies. The real hobbies are going to the gym three times a week and Sephora. I was just looking up where Sephora is. My phone said, “Visited yesterday.”
I feel like you’re always by some body of water. We see you surfing too. How about that?
How about that. I’ve been to Bali three times. The second time I was there for a month to do it properly. With surfing, you have to do it everyday. If not, twice a day. Last time I was there, I was like, “I’m gonna try it again. Not on a foam board, but a real board.” Then it happened and I was pretty good on it. I went to a spot where they take photos as well. They took it and was like, “This look good.”
Water is my element. I’m a pisces. I love water and think someone asked me that on my page about blue having a particular meaning. It’s just a color that calms me down. Sometimes I can be annoying about it because everything needs to be in the color range.
It was funny when you asked people to Photoshop the horizon clear out of your picture on Twitter.
I knew what I was doing. When that happened, it was funny and became a thing on Twitter. That went viral.
Are you aware when things go viral on Twitter and stuff? I see fan pages or music news accounts reposting.
Sometimes I’m like, “Oh, my followers are going up.” Then I’m like, “What’s going on?” And it kinda freaks me out.
Do you ever consider your brand and things outside of music overshadowing your [art]? Do you look at it as funneling more people toward your music?
That’s just who I am. That’s what I look like. I think almost every artist is doing that. It’s like a business card almost. That’s how I look at my Instagram. That’s why aesthetically it needs to be in place to welcome people in my world. That’s what you’re gonna get. Every photo that I post, I’m not someone that just posts photos.
You’re not gonna hit us with the Dua Lipa 20-slide vacation photo dump?
I can do that, but I’ll take my time. I think she does that as well. I don’t think she’s like, “Oh, I’m just gonna put this up.” You have your phone and you kinda select it. That’s just me and I think it’s fun with Instagram and TikTok and you can play back yourself instead of your label pushing certain photos or publishing things.
I was doing some searching Naomi Sharon on Twitter and a 2016 photo of you with The Lion King NL came up? I was like, “What is this?”
That’s not weird, dude. That’s my f–king job. That’s what I did in the past. I was a musical star. I was broadway — joking. I had a past life before this where I did musicals. I did Lion King then I did Tina Turner The Musical. Then I was like, “I’m gonna do this for myself.” During Lion King, I actually worked on my first song ever and I put it out. It kinda went uphill from that moment. When Tina Turner was going on, Drake hit me up. He was like, “I have a label. Would you [want to sign]?” I was like, “This is a clear sign for me to move on and to take the risk.”
Do you ever send Drake music?
Yeah, for sure.
How does that feedback work?
He’s one of the people that I send music to have an honest review on what it is. He has a funny brain that can pick things up well and make them popular. He’s a really good one for that. I send him stuff — and of course the man is busy, but whenever he replies to it I’m very grateful. I’m like, “This is something I can feel good about or something I need to work on a little bit more.” Of course, I have my own critique. It’s not that I take his critique and be like, “This is the answer.” But I take it very seriously. He’s just being honest and of course it’s nice when he says, “This is f–king great.”
Is there anything specific he gave a critique on that he was right about?
For sure — he gave me very good advice in the beginning, before the album. It was one of our first meetings ever. He was like… when he found me, he was intrigued by my music and the way that I did it. But he was like, “I can see you in different worlds that you can make your own. Why don’t you challenge yourself to go upbeat?” I made neo-soul the first few songs. He was like, “You can do that with your sound and with your world and cross over.” I actually was inspired by that, and that’s why Obsidian has some uptempo things.
You shied away from that typically?
Yeah — but when he said it, I was like, “I think he has a point.” Whenever a person like Drake says it, who’s been in the business for such a long time, you kinda maybe need to do something with it.
Eventually, are we gonna get the Naomi Sharon x Drake record?
Same thing with Tems, I don’t force things. We spoke about it, but it’s also whenever we feel it makes sense. I don’t think it’s gonna be a conversation. We’re both very sensitive people when it comes to hearing music. Whenever he hears something that will be great, then [we’ll do it]. That would be amazing.
What are your goals for the rest of the year?
I like scripting. I like to write things down as if they already happened. Funny enough, I did one a few days ago for 10 years. I think it’s good and I also have a list and it’s funny to go back and it’s funny I forget I have one. I’ll go back like, “Oh, I did this already.” A few years ago I had [Billboard] on the list. Things like this, when you start as an artist you kind of gravitate to, “This would be a good moment if I have an interview with this or that.” You see other artists doing it. I would love to win an award or even be nominated for it. Do a world tour. They’re kind of obvious. I dream big and I believe in that. Everything I’ve accomplished right now is because I did that.
Who else do you want to collaborate with?
We’ve talked about Tems, we talked about Drake. I would love to work with Snoh [Aalegra] as well. That’s because she has such a major voice and sound. Yebba as well. I love to work with female artists. [I] would love to work with Frank Ocean.
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Katy Perry is having fun again. “I was frozen, I was hopeless/ Now there’s poetry in every moment,” she sings in the mid-album reflection track, “All the Love.”
Perry’s been open about her struggles with mental health over the past few years, especially after the tepid critical and commercial reaction to her 2017 LP, Witness. “After being on a rocket ship and just going straight up, it was just a small change in the trajectory, but it felt seismic,” the pop star explained back in 2020, noting that thanks to medication and therapy, she was able to fuel her creative side once more.
She also has a lot more love in her life these days. Her husband Orlando Bloom remains her biggest fan and supporter, and the couple welcomed daughter Daisy Dove together in August 2020. That family unit inspired 2020’s Smile, which featured songs like “Daisies,” “Never Really Over” and “Harleys in Hawaii,” as well as a much smilier Perry.
After years of inner work, Perry unveiled her sixth studio album, 143, on Friday (Sept. 20). “I set out to create a bold, exuberant, celebratory dance-pop album with the symbolic 143 numerical expression of love as a throughline message,” Perry previously shared in a statement about 143, which is text message code for “I love you.”
The album is characteristically Katy Perry, something her beloved fans, the KatyKats, are sure to enjoy. The entire project is boosted with serotonin, as Perry belts about being in love with her partner, her family, herself and her life all over breezy, synth-driven beats. She’s healing and she’s not taking life too seriously, and after a wild few years, it’s great to see the pop star be herself again.
While all of 143 is worth listening to, there are some clear early standouts. Here is a ranking of all 11 tracks on Katy Perry’s latest album.
“All the Love”
How do you take one of classic rock‘s most ominous tunes and make it somehow even more foreboding? Just ask Ice-T to give it a spin. The veteran rapper’s hard-rock side project, Body Count, released a radically made-over version of Pink Floyd‘s iconic tale of isolation and medically induced paralysis, “Comfortably Numb,” on Friday (Sept. 20), with new spoken word lyrics from Ice and backing vocals from Floyd singer/guitarist David Gilmour.
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“Body Count’s version of ‘Comfortably Numb’ is quite radical, but the words really struck me,” said Gilmour, 78, in a statement of the new take on one of the emotional centerpiece songs from Pink Floyd’s iconic concept album The Wall. “It astonishes me that a tune I wrote almost 50 years ago is back with this great new approach. They’ve made it relevant again. The initial contact from Ice-T was for permission to use the song, but I thought I might offer to play on it as well. I like the new lyrics, they’re talking about the world we’re living in now, which is quite scary. Ice-T and Body Count played in London recently, sadly I couldn’t make it, but if another opportunity came up to play with them, I’d jump at it.”
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Ice-T makes the song his own with a radical reworking in which the only remaining lyrical bits are the “Hello… is anybody out there?/ Can anybody hear me?” refrain sung by Gilmour. Instead, the MC talk-sings a new narrative about fearing for humanity’s future as well as chronicling the dual ravages of perpetual war and strife and time’s inexorable march toward death.
“We’re in perpetual war, and that’s the only law/ Can I change it? I doubt it/ So I write songs about it/ I was young once but now I’ve grown old/ Right in front of your еyes you’ve seen my life unfold,” Ice-T narrates in an ominous tone over screaming guitars and a funereal beat. “I had no choicе as I became the underdog’s voice/ A young black kid… look what the f–k I did!/ When I’m gone there’ll be someone to carry on/ We can give in, give up, or we can stay strong/ How accepting of the bullshit we’ve all become/ This whole world is… comfortably numb.”
The original song featured music by Gilmour and haunting lyrics by the guitarist’s estranged former bandmate, bassist/singer Roger Waters.
In a statement, Ice-T said, “For me ‘Comfortably Numb’ is an introspective song — it’s me acknowledging that I’m older now. I’m telling the younger generation, you’ve got two choices: you can keep the fire burning or you can give up. It’s me trying to make sense of what’s happening, but also pointing out that we’re all in a place where we don’t have to face reality. We’ve got flat-screen TVs and popcorn, and we can just sit back and watch the chaos of the world like it’s a TV show. It doesn’t feel real until it shows up at your door. I’m a little numb, too—we all are.”
The song will appear on Body Count’s upcoming studio album, Merciless, due out on Century Media Records on Nov. 22; the collection is the follow-up to the hardcore group’s Grammy-winning 2020 LP Carnivore.
Listen to Body Count and David Gilmour’s “Comfortably Numb” below.
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, Future continues his victory lap, Katy Perry dives deep into her pop bag and Bad Bunny salutes his home. Check out all of this week’s picks below:
Future, Mixtape Pluto
It’s been eight years since Future, once an absolute titan of the mixtape game, dropped an unofficial solo project, and Mixtape Pluto harkens back to the glory days of Monster and Beast Mode — 17 feature-less tracks of the superstar croon-rapping, sharpening his sword after a pair of collaborative albums with Metro Boomin kept him on top earlier this year.
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Katy Perry, 143
Katy Perry’s recent singles have invited plenty of chatter regarding their studio collaborators and chart prospects, but at its core, new album 143 isn’t concerned with critique or commercial expectation — this is a celebratory pop album, Perry’s first since becoming a mother, and guests like Kim Petras, 21 Savage and Doechii help the singer return to her candy-coated sound.
Bad Bunny, “Una Velita”
The devastation of Hurricane María, which made landfall on Puerto Rico in 2017, is not forgotten by Bad Bunny, as the superstar uses new single “Una Velita” to process his feelings, celebrate his home country, criticize those that did not do enough and reflect on the future as the bass steadily bumps beneath him.
Jamie xx, In Waves
Robyn, The Avalanches, Panda Bear, his own The xx compatriots — the guest list for Jamie xx’s sprawling new album In Waves resembles a round-up of Pitchfork-approved artists from the 2000s, but the full-length bursts with the same dance vibrancy as In Colour, with the producer simply providing more grooves for a new decade.
Keith Urban, High
A country veteran like Keith Urban is always going to try and locate a balance between providing more anthems for his live audiences and mining more personal anecdotes to reveal new parts of himself; High does an admirable job of walking that tightrope, with songs that stretch outward and others that share new details of a life in the spotlight.
Bon Iver, “S P E Y S I D E”
As fall officially kicks off this weekend, Bon Iver is back to provide some mournful falsetto and gentle guitar strums for the brisk weather: “S P E Y S I D E,” the first of three new songs Justin Vernon is releasing as a new EP next month, combines the sparse intimacy of For Emma, Forever Ago with the clarity of his more recent productions, and lands an affecting, autumn-ready blow.
4batz feat. Lil Baby, “Roll Da Dice”
After receiving a Drake co-sign with his breakout hit “Act ii: Date @ 8,” 4batz has corralled Lil Baby into his R&B-trap fusion on “Roll Da Dice,” which seamlessly blends both artists’ respective styles into a hazy single about pursuing love and the passion that sparks when it’s discovered.
Editor’s Pick: Gwen Stefani, “Somebody Else’s”
The cowboy hat that Gwen Stefani sports on the cover of upcoming solo album Bouquet suggested a pivot towards Nashville, but new single “Somebody Else’s” actually nods back to No Doubt’s brand of new wave and radio-ready pop, with Stefani leaning into the rollicking guitar as she sings about lost romance with spunk and spirit (“Now that you’re dead to me / I feel so alive!”).
The first time Chappell Roan played in London was at the capital’s Garage to 600 people. That was just over a year ago in June 2023 her introduction to the U.K. She’s since been booked and busy.
Roan had a mammoth run opening on Olivia Rodrigo’s Guts tour in the US, cementing her place as an artist with serious breakout potential. In spring, she had a scene-stealing appearance at Coachella and debuted her new song “Good Luck Babe”, which would go on to land at No.6 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No.2 on the U.K. Singles Charts.
Further live appearances at New York City’s Governors Ball and Chicago’s Lollapalooza saw the crowds swell, and a win at the recent MTV VMAs last week took things even further. A day before the opening night at London’s O2 Academy Brixton (Sep 19) – the first of three sold-out shows – it was announced she’d perform on SNL in November. It’s all happening, all at once.
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A ticket for a gig like this was gold dust, a chance to see an artist in what will soon be considered intimate settings. And the crowd at Brixton knew it: they were giddy with excitement pre-show as local drag queens bossed it on stage and the crowd adhered to the night’s dress theme: black, red and love hearts in line with “My Kink Is Karma”, a crowd-favourite from debut 2023 album The Rise and Fall Of a Midwest Princess.
The show arrived amidst a sold-out run throughout the rest of the U.K. and Europe and despite the 5,000-strong crowd, already felt like a huge underplay. These were the very best moments from the night.
Chappell Roan performs during her ‘Midwest Princess Tour’ at the Brixton Academy on Sept. 19, 2024 in London, England.
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Horns up
Each night at the tour has come with a theme for attendees inspired by the campness of her songs, ranging from Pink Pony Club (fuchsia cowboy hats) to Midwest Princess (plaid patters). Last night My Kink Is Karma called for leather, face-paint and devil horns: even the security were spotted getting in on the action with a glittering scarlet headband.
The U.K. love
Crowd flattery never hurts, but when Roan spoke directly to the Brixton crowd about their connection, it felt very real. “The U.K. has always been the most welcoming to me,” she said, reflecting on the journey she’s been on. From levelling up from the Garage to iconic gay club Heaven last December to now a trio of nights at the historic O2 Academy Brixton – to the tune of 15,000 tickets – the U.K.’s enthusiasm for getting out and supporting live emerging acts cannot be understated.
Knowing the moves
You have to admire Roan for attempting to explain to the crowd the moves to “Hot To Go!”, her viral hit and signature moves: not a single person needed any instructions to pull off the YMCA-aping moves spelling out the song’s title. A sea of arms flew up on every chorus to nail the collective dance that’s been all over your TikTok feed for the past few months at festival season.
Chappell Roan performs during her ‘Midwest Princess Tour’ at the Brixton Academy on Sept. 19, 2024 in London, England.
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Nailing the notes
With just one album under her belt, Roan knows how to keep things fresh. “Subway”, which got its debut at Gov Ball in her Lady Liberty get-up, was already something of a crowd-pleaser, the wistful longing for an ex that still hangs around as she bounces around the city. When Roan belted out the closing refrain of “she’s got away”, her voice sounded sublime and powerful, as did the crowd’s.
A streamlined production
The expectation and scrutiny for stars to be arena-ready from the off feels more intense than ever with eager fans in the room and at home looking for faults and bones to pick. There’s no questioning Roan’s performance – her red cowboy boots barely hit the ground with all the high-kicks – but the streamlined setup played to her strengths. Her tight band, made up of Andrea Ferrero (guitar), Lucy Ritter (drums) and Allee Futterer (bass), kept things moving and the vibrant light show proved that visuals are not mandatory when the performer is as engaging as this.
Love for the queer community
Roan has been candid about the new attention that’s come her way and how toxic ‘fans’ occasionally overstep the line. But judging by last night’s crowd, that’s hopefully an anomaly, not the trend. She recognises as such about how this fanbase is crucial for the queer community and the need for allies. “I’m so thankful I have the queer community. I needed this when I was 15. You belong here. I don’t care where you are on your journey, I want you here – you are cherished and I want you to feel that. Thank God gay people exist. Thank God straight people support them.”
A dazzling deepcut
Before “Kaleidoscope”, Roan told the crowd that she’d shied away from playing this song on the U.K. leg and was considering dropping it all together. But when she spoke of the pressure to speak to her fans from the stage she explained “how much easier I find it just to sing” and let those words say it all. So for “Kaleidoscope”, she played it straight: no band members, just her and the piano. It goes to show just how strong a songwriter Roan, particularly once all the sequins have stopped shimmering and you tune into her hushed reverence.
Chappell Roan performed:
“Femininomenon”“Naked in Manhattan”“Super Graphic Ultra Modern Girl”“Love Me Anyway”“Picture You”“HOT TO GO!”“After Midnight”“Coffee”“Kaleidoscope”“Casual”“The Subway”“Red Wine Supernova”“Good Luck, Babe!”“My Kink Is Karma”“California”“Pink Pony Club”
It’s been six years since Illinois native Mason Ramsey, then 11 years old, caught the world’s attention after a video of Ramsey yodeling the Hank Williams Sr.’s classic “Lovesick Blues” went viral. In the years following, he’s proven adept at adding more musical milestones — from his song “Famous,” which reached No. 4 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart in 2018, to joining Lil Nas X on a remix of “Old Town Road” the following year.
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Now 17, Ramsey is keen to show the world that his appreciation of classic music extends far beyond country’s pioneering greats such as Williams. Sure, he still includes “Lovesick Blues” in his concert sets, but on his debut full-length album I’ll See You In My Dreams (out on Atlantic Records) he delves headlong into the sonically varied, vintage sounds of the 1950s through the 1970s.
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Ramsey, who splits his time between Nashville and his home in Illinois, describes his sound as “American Country Soul,” adding, “I do Americana and classic gentlemen’s country with soul, and I blend those sounds together to create the sound I love.”
The 14-song platter of music easily conveys the inspirations of artists including Elvis Presley, Roy Orbison and Ricky Nelson. Ramsey’s voice has matured into an immensely versatile instrument, with a warm patina that makes classic crooner material a natural musical vessel. As his sound has changed, so has his aesthetic, swapping the jeans and starched shirts for ’70s-inspired, sometimes-embroidered suits, wide-collared shirts, flared pants and the occasional scarf.
Ramsey was raised in Illinois by his grandparents, who didn’t have access to the internet for many years. Shortly after experiencing that sudden rush of fame, he began searching out the music of Elvis, Johnny Cash and Orbison online.
“We didn’t stream music, but we did buy CDs,” he recalls. “I started getting into ’50s and ’60s music. Then, once we had internet access, I found songs from artists like Elvis and [Presley’s song] ‘That’s Alright,’ and everything went from that point.”
Earlier this year, Ramsey began working with writer-producer Dan Fernandez, known for his work with artists including Maren Morris and Lee Brice, with his songs having been recorded by Nate Smith, Boy Named Banjo and others. Ramsey and Fernandez co-wrote all 14 songs together, and recorded much of the project in Fernandez’s home studio. When they first began collaborating, Ramsey had previously released a few EPs, but says, “I felt like I was still missing my sound, as if I was still searching for what moved me, sound-wise.”
In January, they talked via phone, discussing Ramsey’s influences. The following day they went into the studio and began writing songs that evoked that timeless style of the songs of Nelson and Presley.
“It made me so happy for someone to understand my sound and just overall helped me feel more connected with my music,” Ramsey says. “I had actually ended up writing with him a few years before, so it was awesome to see him again. He helped me find the music part of what I wanted and I just put the lyrics to the music.”
The project is filled with the mellow, piano-based countrypolitan of “Come Pick Me Up,” and the smooth ’50s vibe of “Blue Over You,” while “All the Way to Memphis” sizzles with a soulful swagger that feels pulled from the heart on Sun Studio.
“I had been spending some time with this girl,” he says of the inspiration for “All the Way to Memphis.” “She lived pretty close to Memphis and I got to know her pretty well. Like I said, we were hanging out quite a bit, and I just really wanted to tell her what I would do to see her in the song. And it talks about that I would swim to Mississippi and I would run all the way to Memphis just for her. And so that song is pretty much just about doing whatever I can to go see her.”
Meanwhile, “The Woman From Havana” is flush with a sultry, old-school dinner club vibe and accented with a Latin flair.
“My producer has family from Cuba. He was playing a few licks on a Spanish traditional guitar, and I thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be cool to have a song with like a little spaghetti guitar sound mixed with a bit of a Spanish flavor?’ We just started playing around with the music and the lyrics just kind of painted themselves. We made up this song about this guy that is in love with this girl and she’s from Havana. He just wants to dance with her and wants her to fall in love with him.”
It’s not only Ramsey’s fans who have taken notice of his new, retro-tilted sound. Lana Del Rey brought Ramsey onstage at her Fenway Park concert to perform Ramsey’s “Blue Over You” in June.
“I had put out ‘Blue Over You’ and posted a video of the song on my socials, and she commented and said, ‘We need to collab,’” Ramsey recalls. “A couple of months later, she invited me to Fenway, and we sang ‘Blue Over You’ together. It was such a magical moment for me and a fun time. She is very — if you were to talk to her, it is almost as if you’ve known her forever. She’s just a down to earth, very sweet person.”
However, though Del Rey has previously said she is set to release the country album Lasso, Ramsey says a collab between the two is not in the works at the moment.
“That has not been part of the conversation yet, but hopefully in the future,” he says. “I would love that very much — if she put out a country album and I could have a feature on it, I’d be so honored.”
As he was creating his new album, Ramsey and his producer did receive a request from Atlantic Records about writing and recording a song for the Twisters soundtrack, resulting in his foot-stomping rocker “Shake, Shake (All Night Long).”
“That was a huge deal,” Ramsey says. “We took a break from our album — which is great because we kind of needed it — but we wrote the song and it only took us about, 45 minutes to an hour to write, and then we immediately pitched it to the label. It just really had groove and it just had a good pocket, a high-energy type of song.”
Notably, Ramsey’s love of all things vintage extends beyond music and clothing. “I love trucks, specially older vehicles,” says Ramsey, who has a blue and white 1968 Chevrolet K10 that he’s fixed up. “I love that truck and I drive it all over town.”
With tour dates on the books for his Falls Into Place Tour Pt 2 trek, and a batch of music he closely connects with, he says, “I’m just super-excited to finally accomplish my first album. All of these songs came together simply and easy, because we don’t overthink on the writing — we just write what is on our hearts and minds, and put it on paper.”
Mr. 305 will bring his Miami swagger to Las Vegas again for a new musical residency, Billboard Español can exclusively announce on Friday (Sept. 20). Pitbull: Vegas After Dark the Residency will debut on Nov. 8 at the Fontainebleau Las Vegas, where the Cuban-American superstar will take the stage at the BleauLive Theater for a series of eight weekend concerts between the end of this year and the beginning of the next.
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The dates are Nov. 8-9, Jan. 24-25, and March 7, 8, 14 and 15. Tickets go on presale on Tuesday (Sept. 24) and to the general public the next day at 9 a.m. PT/12 p.m. ET on the Fontainebleau website.
“Fontainebleau’s legacy of top-tier entertainment stems from its Miami Beach roots,” said Fontainebleau Las Vegas Senior Vice President of Entertainment, Fedor Banuchi, in a press release. “We are honored to have Mr. 305 himself bring his Miami flair to BleauLive Theater for this iconic limited engagement.”
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Pitbull is in the midst of his Party After Dark Tour, a 26-city trek that began on Aug. 21 in Virginia and ends on Oct. 5 in Albuquerque, N.M. His new show in Las Vegas will include “state-of-the-art visuals, pyrotechnics,” and a repertoire of hits such as “Give Me Everything,” “Timber,” “Time of Our Lives,” “International Love,” “Feel This Moment,” “Fireball” and “Hey Baby (Drop It to the Floor).”
“Backed by his incredible band, The Agents, and his dynamic dancers, The Most Bad Ones, the fusion of music, lights and special effects will create a sophisticated, high-energy party for everyone in attendance,” according to the press release.
Pitbull, who frequently performs in Las Vegas, opened a SLAM charter school in Nevada in 2016, expanding his commitment to education that began with the first SLAM school in Miami. According to the release, the schools — whose name is an acronym for Science, Leadership, Arts and Management — now serve nearly 10,000 students in various states.
The artist’s last residency in Sin City was Time of Our Lives, which opened at The AXIS on Sept. 23, 2015, and closed on May 25, 2019.