Billboard’s Friday Music Guide serves as a handy guide to New Music Friday’s most essential releases each week — the key music that everyone will be talking about today, and that will be dominating playlists this weekend and beyond.
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
Last week, we featured Phoebe Bridgers, Katseye, Ayra Starr, Troye Sivan and more.
This week, Sam Smith shares their new album, Hazel Eyes; Stella Lefty releases her highly-anticipated debut set; and Weezer drops its 20th (!) full-length… plus much more. Check out all of this week’s picks below:
Sam Smith, Hazel Eyes
On “Constant Companion” — one of 12 tracks on Smith’s fifth album — the English singer-songwriter chooses to spotlight their impressive range, singing in their deeper, lower register to start and slowly softening into a more familiar tone that allows their voice to soar. Accompanied by gentle percussion and choral harmonies throughout, delicate keys and an acoustic guitar kick in later and help carry the song. But it’s in the last minute, after the addition of winding strings, that it reaches its peak as Smith bellows with renewed intention: “’cause you, you are my constant companion.” — LYNDSEY HAVENS
Stella Lefty, Long Way Home
After breaking out this year with her debut chart hit “Boston” (which interpolates Noah Kahan’s “Stick Season”), fast-rising country-pop artist Stella Lefty shares her first full-length, Long Way Home. Lefty, 24, co-wrote all 14 tracks on the album, which follows her May EP and is produced by Joe Reeves. As Melinda Newman writes in the album’s Tracks Ranked, “Reeves’ low-key production perfectly complements Lefty’s sweet, unadorned vocals, creating what feels like an uncomplicated, authentic effort and a solid introduction to a formidable, developing talent.” — L.H.
Weezer, Weezer (Gold Album)
What else could Weezer possibly name its 20th album except for Weezer? So they did just that — then added (Gold Album) for good measure. It’s a bold title for a fittingly bold album, full of power-pop-rock anthems led by Rivers Cuomo’s distinguishable vocals. Co-produced by Klas Ahlund and Kenneth Blume (formerly known as Kenny Beats), the latter set out to make “the most violent Weezer album ever,” according to a release. Turns out, they did just that. — LYNDSEY HAVENS
Jorja Smith, What Are The Odds
The third album from British singer-songwriter Jorja Smith is injected with energy and beats primed for the dance floor, as previewed by previously-released singles “What’s Done Is Done” and “I Lied, You Lied.” Meanwhile, single “Alive” with Wizkid showed that Smith can still it slow it down when she wants. And while the album mostly leans into those more booming tracks — some of which feel a world away from the more intimate R&B of her 2018 debut Lost & Found — songs like “Pretend” and album closer “When It Gets Like That” let Smith’s stellar vocals take the lead. — L.H.
Brandon Flowers, Thrasher
For his first solo effort in 11 years, The Killers frontman Brandon Flowers turned to his dad’s record collection for inspiration — and found himself creating an album full of country-western-inspired tunes. Across Thrasher, which is Flowers’ third solo project, he turns inward not only for the sonics but for the song’s lyrical content as well — and perhaps that’s where the album’s title and boxer-inspired artwork come from. Think less of a production punch, and more of a mental one — which can sometimes hit even harder. — L.H.
ENHYPEN, The Sin: Bliss
Marking the Korean boy band’s first release as a six-member group (following Heeseung’s departure this March), The Sin: Bliss, continues to explore the group’s vampire-inspired narrative with songs like the booming, uptempo “Bloody Paradise.” The Sin: Bliss is the group’s eighth mini-album. — L.H.
Brennan Wedl, Brennan Wedl
With signees including Waxahatchee and MJ Lenderman, ANTI- Records has emerged as the marquee destination for alt-country artists — and that roster now includes Brennan Wedl, who supported Waxahatchee and MJ Lenderman’s joint spring tour and captures rootsy magic on her self-titled label debut. With a voice that immediately conjures Lucinda Williams, Wedl lyrically channels both Lenderman’s hyperspecificity (“Let’s get on the Jumbotron at MSG / And shake it like an Etch A Sketch,” on “Let’s Be Models”) and Waxahatchee’s poetic concision (“I can be your low-grade fever / Keep you hot and bothered,” on “I Wanna Be Your TV”) across the set’s 13 gems, which blend punk, garage-rock and country for what Wedl calls “grungetry.” Produced by Waxahatchee’s Katie Crutchfield and her longtime producer Brad Cook, Brennan Wedl is another essential entry in the subgenre that has become indie-rock’s dominant style this decade. — ERIC RENNER BROWN
Destin Conrad, Roadrunner
How do you follow up a Grammy-nominated R&B debut album and an acclaimed alt-jazz EP? If you’re Destin Conrad, a sizzling reggae project is the natural next step. Featuring collaborations with kwn, Amanda Reifer and Stalk Ashley, Roadrunner synthesizes the rhythmic sonic roots of the Tampa-bred singer-songwriter’s Jamaican heritage, infusing that foundation with his singular, queer perspective and signature R&B melodicism. — KYLE DENIS
Rapsody, God Gotta Afro & Gold Hoops
For over a decade, Rapsody has been a stalwart of hip-hop and the culture’s history of speaking truth to power. That all comes to a head on her sprawling, gorgeous new album God Gotta Afro & Gold Hoops, which centers and honors the Pan-African and Afro-Futurist movements in the context of a world riddled with misinformation and artificial intelligence. Recorded across South Africa and Detroit, Rapsody’s new LP finds her joining forces with everyone from Malice to the Karabo Ya Morena choir, making for a project that strikes the perfect balance between universality and intimacy. — K.D.
D’Yani, Live Life & Prosper
Jamaican singer D’Yani is back with his new Live Life & Prosper album, delivering more of his trademark R&B-infused reggae. A mostly solo affair — reggae collective XTM.Nation makes the sole guest appearance — the 12-track set traces the experiences and adventures of man unafraid of surrendering to love, no matter what that special sensation may have in store. — K.D.
Treaty Oak Revival and Austin Meade, “Slim Pickins”
Treaty Oak Revival and Austin Meade team up for this rumination on small-town life. However, far from the genre’s tendency to paint small-town love in idyllic patterns, they sing from the perspective of a guy who knows there’s a dearth of quality potential lovers in their community. “This small county ain’t got no queens,” they sing, adding, “As soon as a good one comes, they’re gone.” Their rugged, country-rock fusion and weathered voices draw out the feel of stoic resignation that runs through the track, while shining a light on the sometimes uncomfortable truths of trying to find romance in rural towns. — JESSICA NICHOLSON
Dan + Shay Ft. Cody Johnson, “The Old Guys”
Over the past decade-plus, Dan + Shay have established themselves as masterful architects of polished love songs. But on their latest, they delve into the devastating emotional terrain that follows a lifetime of love: the grief of losing them. “God forbid you go before I do/ Because that’s the start of the hell that I’d go through,” they sing. On this standout from the duo’s new album Young, their silken pop sensibilities create a magical contrast with Cody Johnson’s resonant Texas twang, creating a powerhouse vocal collab that further lends intensity to the lyric’s palpable ache. — J.N.
Los Ángeles Azules & TINI, “Pa’ Él”
In a second collaborative effort this year — following “Vuelve,” where they both joined Ricky Martin — Los Ángeles Azules and TINI dropped “Pa’ Él” (for him). Powered by the Mexican group’s signature cumbia sonidera sound and the Argentine’s pop vocal delicacy, the song is dedicated to that person who played with your feelings and broke all the promises. “This one’s for him/ For the liar who didn’t know how to love me/ For the man who wasn’t man enough and lost that woman/ For being unfaithful/ This one’s for him/ For the one who supposedly would always love me/ For the one who will never be on my level,” TINI passionately sings in the chorus. — JESSICA ROIZ
Michelle Maciel & Jasiel Núñez, “con ella sí <3”
Two of Música Mexicana’s current sensations, Michelle Maciel and Jasiel Núñez have joined forces on “con ella sí <3.” The heartfelt corrido, backed by ‘90s piano ballads and soft regional Mexican requintos, finds Michelle and Jasiel combining their ethereal voices to sing about believing in love again, and finding that one person that’s pure, honest and unconditional. — J.R.
jigitz, 50 ballerinas
Until April of last year, jigitz was still working a music industry desk job. Now — after his music got discovered by colleagues who encouraged him to pursue it full time, sparked a label bidding war and led to major success in touring and streaming — he’s dropped his sparkling debut album, 50 Ballerinas. Featuring collaborators like Rose Gray, KUČKA and Tabi (whose vocals on the gorgeous title track elevate it to a hymn) the 13-track project falls into the stutter house realm without feeling derivative, with the music radiating with as much emotion as it does locked-in dancefloor energy. Jigitz takes off on the 12-date 50 Ballerinas Tour next month. — KATIE BAIN
TroyBoi, FT.
The British producer has long been a favorite for ultra-suave bass music. Now his latest project, the seven-track FT., extends the borders of his sound by bringing a load of vocalists: Shiwa, Daya, Zamaera, Morray, Drew Love, Rockie Fresh and Toxic Rob. In a press release about the project, TroyBoi’s first non-single release of the year, he says that “a lot of my previous releases have been instrumental-driven records, but this time I wanted to build something around featured artists and explore what happens when different voices meet my production… the focus isn’t on fitting into one genre, but on creating songs that feel authentic to both of us.” The artist is currently on a 16-date headlining North American tour that wraps on Dec. 19. — K.B.
