{"id":583466,"date":"2026-08-28T23:20:09","date_gmt":"2026-08-28T23:20:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/583466\/"},"modified":"2026-08-28T23:20:09","modified_gmt":"2026-08-28T23:20:09","slug":"olivia-rodrigo-alex-warren-lead-best-new-music-friday-music-guide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/583466\/","title":{"rendered":"Olivia Rodrigo & Alex Warren Lead Best New Music: Friday Music Guide"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tBillboard\u2019s Friday Music Guide<\/a> serves as a handy guide to New Music Friday\u2019s most essential releases each week \u2014 the key music that everyone will be talking about today, and that will be dominating playlists this weekend and beyond.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tExplore\t\t<\/p>\n

See latest videos, charts and news<\/p>\n

\n\tLast week<\/a>, we featured Sam Smith, Stella Lefty, Weezer and more.<\/p>\n

\n\tThis week, Olivia Rodrigo shares a previously-released-CD-exclusive song digitally; Alex Warren releases his second album; JENNIE\u2019s three-track EP arrives; and Rod Wave drops his mega 24-track seventh album, Don\u2019t Look Down\u2026 plus much more. Check out all of this week\u2019s picks below:<\/p>\n

\n\tOlivia Rodrigo, \u201cSerena Joy\u201d <\/p>\n

\n\tDays before headlining her very own inaugural Daisy Chain Fields festival in Irvine, Calif., superstar Olivia Rodrigo dropped a new song (which was originally cut from her third album, this June\u2019s You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love) that will surely make its way into her setlist. \u201cSerena Joy\u201d \u2014 named after the antagonist from Margaret Atwood\u2019s The Handmaid\u2019s Tale novel \u2014 is expectedly inspired by the character\u2019s complexities. And while the dystopian-sounding song ends with Rodrigo repeating \u201ceverything is just fine,\u201d it\u2019s unclear if she means it \u2014 or just wants to believe it. \u2014 LYNDSEY HAVENS<\/p>\n

\n\tAlex Warren, WILDCHILD<\/p>\n

\n\tAlex Warren\u2019s second album swiftly follows last year\u2019s You\u2019ll Be Alright, Kid that included his breakout hit and Hot 100 No. 1 \u201cOrdinary.\u201d And while WILDCHILD does include some downtempo pop ballads (\u201cFine Place To Die,\u201d \u201cI Miss You More\u201d), his signature soaring vocals are best highlighted on the album\u2019s more punchy uptempo songs (\u201cFever Dream,\u201d \u201cEmerald Eyes\u201d). As the project\u2019s title implies, Warren is living it up a bit more this time around \u2014 or should I say, getting a bit wild by his standards \u2014 and as a result, sneaks in a final few summer smashes. \u2014 L.H.<\/p>\n

\n\tJENNIE, Fallen Angel<\/p>\n

\n\tImagine the bite of \u201clike JENNIE\u201d only stripped down and ethereal \u2014 that\u2019s \u201cHeaven.\u201d JENNIE sounds entirely self-assured on the song, even if she\u2019s singing of a toxic relationship: \u201cIf not crazy, then what fun would it be?\u201d The song accompanies the acoustic-led title track and previously-released single \u201cLess than a Lover.\u201d Fallen Angel is JENNIE\u2019s first solo project since the release of her solo debut with last year\u2019s full-length Ruby. \u2014 L.H.<\/p>\n

\n\tRod Wave, Don\u2019t Look Down<\/p>\n

\n\tThe prolific rapper-singer-songwriter puts all three to their best use across his new album, tapping R&B singer-songwriter Summer Joy, R&B artist Luv Von, Irish singer-songwriter Aimee Carty and Australian indie-folk artist Hazlett as the project\u2019s only features. Don\u2019t Look Down is Rod Wave\u2019s seventh album, having only released his debut full-length (Ghetto Gospel) in 2019. \u2014\u00a0L.H.<\/p>\n

\n\tflowerovlove feat. Willow, \u201cgirls will be girls\u201d <\/p>\n

\n\tRising indie-pop singer floweroflove shares her debut album, Mini Skirt Warrior, led by focus track \u201cgirls will be girls\u201d with the project\u2019s sole feature Willow. While the uptempo song is the album\u2019s 12th and final, it\u2019s also one of its standouts alongside previously-released singles like \u201cAmerican Wedding\u201d and \u201cI\u2019m your first.\u201d \u2014 L.H.<\/p>\n

\n\tAlabama Shakes, I Must Be Dreaming<\/p>\n

\n\tGrammy-winning bluesy rock band Alabama Shakes is back \u2014 and with its first album in over a decade. I Must Be Dreaming is the act\u2019s first full-length since its breakout second album Sound & Color, which debuted atop the Billboard 200 upon its 2015 release. Previously-released single \u201cAnother Life\u201d remains a standout for vocalist Brittany Howard\u2019s urgent vocals, as does \u201cWaist Deep.\u201d The band is currently on tour through the end of September, with a date at Radio City Music Hall Sept. 2. \u2014 L.H.<\/p>\n

\n\tNatanael Cano, Natanael Cano, Vol. 1<\/p>\n

\n\tNearly a decade after helping bring corridos tumbados from the sierra to the global stage, Natanael Cano returns to the sound at the center of his story with Natanael Cano, Vol. 1. The 15-track set finds the Sonoran trailblazer sharpening his roots with live requinto, tuba-driven arrangements and the raw, intimate storytelling that first made his music feel so revolutionary. But it is also a record of emotional range: on the heart-wrenching \u201cMar Azul,\u201d Cano turns a relationship gone awry into a gorgeous confession, his steely guitar solo tracing every ounce of regret and longing in the lyrics. Elsewhere, he respectfully redraws the outlines of two Spanish-language pop classics \u2014 Jeanette\u2019s \u201cFrente a Frente\u201d and Cristian Castro\u2019s \u201cPor Amarte As\u00ed\u201d \u2014 as stripped-back corridos tumbados, making room for their ache within his own musical language. Collaborations with Gabito Ballesteros, Adriel Favela, Crecer Germ\u00e1n and more round out the project, but after dabbling with trap and reggaet\u00f3n, Vol. 1 is ultimately Cano\u2019s homecoming: a return to the sound he helped invent, now delivered with greater control, vulnerability and conviction. \u2014 ISABELA RAYGOZA<\/p>\n

\n\tLadrones, Arriba La L<\/p>\n

\n\tLadrones\u2019 third album, Arriba La L, puts the Guadalajara band\u2019s self-proclaimed \u201cflow pesado\u201d into full force: a combustible collision of nu metal, hip-hop and m\u00fasica mexicana that refuses to settle into any one lane. Across 15 tracks, Zxmyr, Cirujano Resendez, Jos\u00e9 Macario and Diego Zornoza sharpen the sound they began carving out on Flow Pesado (2024) and Mexican Pesado (2025), balancing crushing guitars, rapid-fire verses and the emotional pull of regional Mexican experimentation. The result is heavier and more fully formed, but still rooted in the chemistry of four friends who built their sound from instinct rather than formula. The title track pairs trap and drill-leaning beats with pummeling, drop-tuned guitar distortion, \u201cAy Ay Ay\u201d cuts through with piercing electric-guitar flourishes and driving drum patterns and \u201cPa Mis Carnales\u201d distills their rap-metal force into a muscular salute to the inner circle. As Ladrones enter a new chapter with Rise Records and BMG, Arriba La L feels like a declaration of identity from a band increasingly confident in its place: proudly Mexican, emotionally charged and impossible to box in. \u2014 I.R.<\/p>\n

\n\tErykah Badu & The Alchemist,\u00a0Before\u00a0The\u00a0World Blows<\/p>\n

\n\t11 years after her last project (2015\u2019s acclaimed\u00a0But You\u00a0Caint\u00a0Use My Phone) and 16 years after her last official studio album (2010\u2019s \u201cWindow Seat\u201d-housing\u00a0New\u00a0Amerykah\u00a0Part Two),\u00a0Erykah Badu has returned with a new collection of ethereal tunes:\u00a0Before the World Blows. Released via Control FREAQ Records and Young Recordings,\u00a0Before the World Blows\u00a0(subtitled\u00a0The Abi and Alan Experiment) was co-produced by Badu and Grammy-nominated production maestro The Alchemist.\u00a0The gorgeous 16-track set explores grief, passion, hope,\u00a0lust\u00a0and reflection across four movements, featuring a bevy of special guests, including Thundercat, Steve Lacy, DRAM, Westside Gunn, Kamasi Washington, Earl Sweatshirt and more. \u2014\u00a0KYLE DENIS<\/p>\n

\n\tKy-Mani Marley,\u00a0Love and Energy<\/p>\n

\n\tWhere\u00a0there\u2019s\u00a0a Marley, there\u2019s music \u2014 and Ky-Mani just dropped a banging new collection of it.\u00a0Love and Energy\u00a0marks\u00a0the Grammy-nominated son of Bob Marley\u2019s first album in 10 years, and he celebrated by recruiting featured artists like Sizzla,\u00a0Gyptian, Bugle,\u00a0Lutan\u00a0Fyah and Anthony B.\u00a0The 16-track LP, which includes two spoken-word reflections, traces Ky-Mani\u2019s evolution over the past decade while\u00a0remaining\u00a0rooted in the reggae foundation that has come to define his artistic profile.\u00a0\u2014\u00a0K.D.<\/p>\n

\n\tAng\u00e8le, \u201cUne seule vie\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tIn February, Belgian artist Ang\u00e8le released one of the best electronic songs of 2026 when she dropped her throttling Justice<\/a> collab \u201cWhat You Want,\u201d (along with subsequent remixes of the song by SG Lewis and Fcukers.) Now, she\u2019s opening up the world of Instinct, her new album coming Oct. 16 via Ang\u00e8le VL Records\/Sony Music. The project will include \u201cWhat You Want\u201d along with yet-to-be-released music with dance world A-listers including Caroline Polachek, Sebastian and Soulwax. These guests indicate the album\u2019s electronic foundations, with the project also aiming to center Ang\u00e8le in the pop realm. With the chic thump and silky vocals of her latest, \u201cUne seule vie,\u201d (which translates to \u201cone life\u201d) we\u2019d say she\u2019s well on her way. \u2014 KATIE BAIN\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tChase & Status ft. Debbie, \u201cGone Too Far\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tFor the first 45 seconds of Chase & Status<\/a>\u2018 latest, you might forget that you\u2019re listening to music by one of history\u2019s great D&B acts. \u201cGone Too Far\u201d starts gently, nearly acoustic, but then \u2014 then! \u2014 breaks into soaring electronica with serious emotional punch courtesy of vocals from British singer Debbie. This new song comes in tandem with the announcement of a new Chase & Status album, Generic Everything, the duo\u2019s first long player since the 2023 mixtape 2 RUFF, Vol. 1. Coming Oct. 9, the album will feature collaborations with Skrillex, Little Simz, Giggs, D Double E, Blanco, Col3trane, Saam Sultan and more. \u2014 K.B.<\/p>\n

\n\tCarly Pearce, Honest Woman\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tOn her fifth studio album, Carly Pearce dives more deeply into introspective songs that reveal her perspectives on faith and acceptance (\u201cChurch Girl\u201d), the plans sacrificed for career ambitions (\u201cDream Come True\u201d) and where her true affections lie (\u201cHe Don\u2019t Like My Dogs\u201d), while also paying homage to her bluegrass roots on songs such as the gorgeous Dan Tyminski and Molly Tuttle collab \u201cWhat If I Loved You.\u201d Throughout, Pearce\u2019s unvarnished, warm twang gives the album an intimate, lived-in quality, while its overall feel is unmistakably anchored in country traditions. \u2014 JESSICA NICHOLSON<\/p>\n

\n\tBilly Strings, So Much For Goodbyes<\/p>\n

\n\tBluegrass luminary Billy Strings co-produced his new 16-track album with T Bone Burnett (O Brother, Where Art Thou?, Raising Sand), on which he pours out a personal time of grief into song following the passing of Strings\u2019 mother in 2025. The album\u2019s stellar collection of songs, such as the fiddle-laced \u201cRemember To Cry,\u201d the lonely \u201c10,000 Miles From A Friend\u201d and the melancholy, pain-filled \u201cStill I Crash,\u201d navigate themes of grief, loss and isolation while also putting his thoughtful, dexterous musicianship on full display. Read Billboard\u2018s tracks ranked here<\/a>. \u2014 J.N.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Billboard\u2019s Friday Music Guide serves as a handy guide to New Music Friday\u2019s most essential releases each week…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":583467,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[156,144905,2525,29204,2526,22062,3295,34116,157,111,139,69],"class_list":["post-583466","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-music","tag-entertainment","tag-friday-music-guide","tag-genre-country","tag-genre-dance","tag-genre-hiphop","tag-genre-latin","tag-genre-pop","tag-genre-rb","tag-music","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/583466","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=583466"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/583466\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/583467"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=583466"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=583466"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=583466"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}