Check out the must-hear releases of the week.
The Weeknd canta con Metro Boomin en la carpa Sahara durante el Festival de Música y Arte del Valle de Coachella 2023, el 21 de abril de 2023 en Indio, California. Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images for Coachella
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.
This week, The Weeknd brings us back to the dance floor, Playboi Carti is still seeing red, and Charli xcx extends Brat Summer. Check out all of this week’s picks below:
The Weeknd, “Dancing in the Flames”
The Weeknd triumphantly returns with “Dancing in the Flames,” the first single from forthcoming album Hurry Up Tomorrow, that continues the synth-pop fantasia of Dawn FM but offers an even meatier chorus and more vocal fragility; it’s a big swing that would work well in an ‘80s radio block or any collection of modern streaming hits.
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Playboi Carti, “All Red”
The hip-hop world has been eagerly awaiting Playboi Carti’s next album, and the release of “All Red” not only suggests that the follow-up to Whole Lotta Red is right around the corner (and a thematic continuation, natch), but that the MC is as locked-in as ever, as he tosses out catchphrases and ad-libs over a combustible beat.
Charli xcx feat. Troye Sivan, “Talk Talk” remix
We may be past Labor Day and beyond the glories of Brat Summer, but Charli xcx is not done gifting us compelling remixes to her lauded full-length — this time, her pal and tour partner Troye Sivan offers perfect balance on a new version of “Talk Talk,” with his soulful tone complementing Charli’s elastic bounce amidst the song’s constant motion.
Tate McRae, “It’s ok I’m ok”
Continuing a breakthrough year in which she’s been able to show off pinpoint choreography and smashing hooks, Tate McRae positions new single “It’s ok I’m ok” as a collection of breathless melodies that work well for dance routines; we’re hearing a pop singer find her sound and style in real time.
Miranda Lambert, Postcards From Texas
For her first album with new label partners Republic and Big Loud — and since entering her forties — Miranda Lambert returns to her roots on Postcards From Texas, with one of country music’s smartest storytellers utilizing her home state as inspiration for stories of singular characters, post-betrayal revenge and women who are underestimated while being experts in their craft.
Katy Perry feat. Doechii, “I’m His, He’s Mine”
One week before unveiling new album 143 and a few days after her Video Vanguard showcase at the MTV VMAs, Katy Perry is lending some of her pop prowess to rising star Doechii on “I’m His, He’s Mine,” who in turn injects the track with ample amounts of confidence, as they play a pair of queens who can beguile any stray man.
Shawn Mendes, “Nobody Knows”
In his rustic return, Shawn Mendes has shrugged off pop bombast in favor of guitar strums and unguarded vocals — and “Nobody Knows,” a swaying new anthem that allows Mendes’ upper register to hoot, holler and fully bloom, sounds like the most naturally rendered track released so far from his upcoming album.
Editor’s Pick: FKA Twigs, “Eusexua”
Like most of FKA Twigs’ hypnotic tunes, “Eusexua,” the title track from her next album, juxtaposes the gentle contours of Twigs’ voice with jarring production elements — this time, skittering beats that grow and threaten to burst before congealing into a dance-floor throb, then unexpectedly evaporating. Breathtaking and accessible, “Eusexua” is a dazzling return from a one-of-a-kind creator.
