State Champ Radio new music friday
We’re nearly halfway through the month of June, and stars like j-hope & GloRilla, Lil Tecca and Gunna marked Friday (June 13) by dropping new collabs, albums and singles galore. The BTS member and the Memphis MC teamed up for “Killin’ It Girl,” a tinkling hip-hop groove that captures the seductive magnetism of lust at […]
From The Weeknd releasing the lead single to his next album to Charli XCX and Troye Sivan initiating Brat autumn with a fresh remix, this week is full of artists stepping into new eras. Starting with the Canadian superstar, new song “Dancing in the Flames” marks the lead single off his upcoming album Hurry Up […]
Miranda Lambert’s much-anticipated ninth album, Postcards From Texas, is officially out today (Sept. 13). The 14-song project marks the Grammy-award-winning artist’s first release since signing with Republic Records earlier this year and was recorded at Austin’s Arlyn Recording Studios. Lambert teamed up with producer Jon Randall to craft the album, which offers a glimpse into […]
After a six-year wait, Snow Patrol is back with The Forest Is the Path, their first studio album since 2018’s Wildness.
Released today (Sept. 13), the 12-track project marks a new chapter for the Northern Irish band, showcasing their signature mix of introspective lyrics and sweeping melodies.
Produced by Fraser T Smith (Adele, Stormzy) and the band, The Forest Is the Path was written by Snow Patrol’s core trio: frontman Gary Lightbody, guitarist Johnny McDaid, and guitarist Nathan Connolly. The album’s lead single, “The Beginning,” offers a taste of the band’s evolution, with its melodic thrum and poignant lyrics: “There is only you and me in this life / And I don’t want to f— it up now.”
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In a previous statement, Lightbody shared how the album reflects on love and memory, saying, “The album is rooted in reflection, introspection, and interrogation, with a key building block being the idea of looking at love from the distance of time passed.”
The Forest Is the Path also celebrates Snow Patrol’s 30-year career. “This album took us on many uncharted routes,” the band wrote on Instagram upon announcing the album.
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“We honor the past, deeply… but while we honor the past, we also want to cherish the present and look to the future.”
The band will support the LP with a tour in 2025, which includes dates in the U.K., Europe, and the U.S.
Snow Patrol has made a lasting impact on the Billboard 200, with two albums landing in the top 10. Fallen Empires (2012) peaked at No. 5, while A Hundred Million Suns (2008) reached No. 9. Their 2006 album Eyes Open spent 66 weeks on the chart, driven by the global smash hit “Chasing Cars,” which became the most-played song of the 21st century on British radio, according to licensing body PPL. The track reached No. 6 on the Official U.K. Singles Chart, and No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100, powered by a sync in Grey’s Anatomy.
Stream Snow Patrol’s The Forest Is the Path below.
The first week of July has been lit up with firework displays and, as usual, a shimmering batch of new music releases from several different artists. Leading the charge is Zach Bryan, whose highly anticipated new album The Great American Bar Scene dropped Thursday (July 4), fittingly timed for the United States’ most patriotic day […]
A slew of new music releases hit streaming services right on schedule Friday (May 17), from fresh pop albums to standout rap and country singles. Arguably the most highly anticipated project to arrive this week, however, is Billie Eilish’s third studio album Hit Me Hard and Soft, a 10-track follow-up to 2021’s Happier Than Ever […]
Nothing stops New Music Friday — not even Grammy nominations.
Although 2023 MVPs like Ice Spice, 21 Savage, Drake and Nicki Minaj racked up the rap field nominations for the upcoming 66th annual Grammy Awards, last Friday (Nov. 10) offered a litany of music beyond those four 2023 Billboard Music Awards finalists. Last week saw new albums from the likes of Brandy, YoungBoy Never Broke Again and Kodak Black, but those weren’t the only notable releases to update your weekly playlists with.
With Fresh Picks, Billboard aims to highlight some of the best and most interesting new sounds across R&B and hip-hop — from BADBADNOTGOOD’s gorgeous rework of an Elmiene standout to BJ the Chicago Kid and Chloe Bailey’s sultry, synthy link-up.
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Be sure to check out this week’s Fresh Picks in our Spotify playlist below.
Freshest Find: Sinkane feat. Tru Osborne, “Everything is Everything”
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For his first new song since 2019’s Dépaysé album, Sudanese-American singer Sinkane chose to ground his lyrics in the harsh realities of the Black living experience. Written and composed by bandleader Ahmed Gallab with vocal contributions from Harlem-bred artist Tru Osborne, “Everything Is Everything” is an amalgam of free jazz, Sudanese pop, gospel, funk and rock. A hearty choir provides a strong anchor for the arrangement, while Sinkane and Tru’s harmonies add splotches of color throughout the track. “The tides of change / Serve great purpose in our every day / My people, we will find our way,” Sinkane sings, with a hopefulness that consistently permeates the darker truths that the song explores.
Elmiene, “Marking My Time (BABDBADNOTGOOD Edit)”
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Elmiene dropped off his debut major label EP, Marking My Time, last month, and to continue his promotion of the project, he’s released a reworked version of the title track, helmed by Canadian experimental jazz collective BADBADNOTGOOD. Here, the group reimagines Elmiene’s original with heavy splashes of R&B and psychedelic, specifically of the ’70s persuasion. Elmiene’s vocal is predicated on allegiance to subtle dynamism, and it’s that steady build that grounds the winning remix.
Rick Ross, Meek Mill & Cool & Dre feat. BEAM, “Go To Hell”
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Hip-hop heavyweights Rick Ross and Meek Mill unleashed their highly anticipated Too Good To Be True joint album last week (Nov. 10), and this collaboration with BEAM and Cool & Dre is an immediate standout. Heavily nodding to Tears for Fear’s “Shout,” “Go To Hell” finds the two rappers deep in their braggadocio as they trade bars about their wealth, their escapes from the feds, and how much status and clout they have in whatever room they choose to walk into. “Bitch boys run to social media / Rich n—a, name in Wikipedia / If I f–k her once, she wanna f–k me twice / All the real n—as clique up, let’s get rich tonight,” Rozay raps.
Kevin Gates feat. B.G. & Sexyy Red, “Yonce Freestyle”
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In a way, Kevin Gates and Sexyy Red are perfect foils: two devil-may-care rappers who are unafraid to embody and celebrate the grimiest parts of sex and sexuality, with a healthy dash of humor to add some levity to the whole affair. On “Yonce Freestyle,” the pair’s new collaboration which also features NOLA rapper B.G., the two maximize their similarities — even if the end result is a bit tamer than what some may expect. “Yonce Freestyle” is a well-crafted club banger, with a murky Southern hip-hop beat courtesy of ProdByJM, EJ Grimes and Juko, and a perfect laid-back ratchet tone from Sexyy.
BJ the Chicago Kid feat. Chlöe, “Honey”
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BJ the Chicago Kid also released an album last week (Gravy), and that project featured loads of collaborations for R&B lovers. Among those impressive duets is the Chloe Bailey-assisted “Honey.” Landing squarely in the disco-tinged pop that has dominated mainstream top 40 for most of the young decade, BJ and Chlöe deliver a sexy, synth-laden collaboration that balances come-hither euphemisms with some outstanding harmonic choices. Between a surprisingly smooth vocal blend and a bright, clean mix, this just might be Chlöe’s best release of the year.
Ben Hughes, “What Was It For?”
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For the opening track of his forthcoming Manha EP, UK musician Ben Hughes opts for a breezy guitar and drum-forward groove. “What Was It For” fits nicely in the landscape of contemporary British R&B, and Hughes’ careful vocal approach works alongside the instrumentation instead of towering over it. It’s a very soft and lush number — an air that offers a smart counterbalance to the melodrama of the lyrics. “Bring me peace / And heal my wounds / I’m bleeding out / Just for you,” he croons.
The first new music Friday of November sees a K-pop star stepping firmly into the spotlight, one of the biggest rock bands of all time using tech to make something old new again, and a recent Billboard chart-topper lending her chops to a blockbuster movie series, with new releases from Jung Kook, The Beatles and […]
This week’s new music Friday features high-profile releases across rap, K-pop and country, with Drake, NewJeans and a collaboration between Noah Kahan and Kacey Musgraves among the drops. Drake newest album effort, For All the Dogs, shows a return to form for the rapper, who enlists a series of star-studded collaborations to get the fans […]
Rap, soul and pop are all at the forefront of this week’s new music Friday, which features long-awaited releases from Quavo, Hozier, Doechii, Addison Rae and more. The remaining Migos members continue to feel the grief over the passing of Takeoff. The weight of the loss is ever present on Quavo’s new album, Rocket Power […]
