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.
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Last week, we featured FKA twigs with Lil Yachty, Myles Smith, Kashus Culpepper and more.
This week: sombr returns with a new single and rising-star-studded video for it; Phoebe Bridgers shares the lead single for her upcoming third album, Lost Weekend; and Steve Lacy continues teasing his third album, Oh yeah?, with a SZA collab…plus much more. Check out all of this week’s picks below:
sombr, “My Body Isn’t Ready”
Sombr has done it again; with his latest single, he continues to give voice to the complicated feelings that come with moving on, or in this case, not being ready to (the New Yorker continues to be the sole writer of his music as well). By now, he’s proven that he can deliver a pop-rock banger just as easily a contemplative slow-burn, the latter of which best describes “My Body Isn’t Ready.” For fans who are subscribing to “sad summer,” as Noah Kahan is calling it, this song fits right in. — LYNDSEY HAVENS
Phoebe Bridgers, “Lost Boys”
Opening with glitchy, distorted lyrics, “Lost Boys” quickly snaps into focus as a folky, fairly polished pop song — one that sounds right at home for Bridgers while also hinting at an expanded sonic universe for her upcoming third album, Lost Weekend, out in August. Fittingly, Jack Antonoff co-produced alongside Tony Berg (a frequent sombr collaborator) and Ethan Gruska — with vocal support from Bridgers’ Boygenius bandmates Lucy Dacus and Julien Baker. For its first three-and-a-half minutes, “Lost Boys” functions as a warmly welcomed lead single — perhaps hinting at a theme of feeling lost in it all — but then, Phoebe hits us with a classic Bridgers scream, showing there’s still some angst under this smoother sonic surface. — L.H.
Steve Lacy feat. SZA, “is it cool?”
After launching his next album era with the airy indie-rap lead single “the feeling,” Steve Lacy’s second release “is it cool?” is a quicker hit (it’s nearly half the runtime as its predecessor). As a result, it tells a tighter story in conversation with SZA who drops in for just two verses (plus some harmonies) about the role trust plays in a partnership. “You ain’t gotta trust me to love me, baby/ ‘Cause I don’t even trust myself,” sings Lacy. Though somewhere along the way, it’s as if he realizes in realtime how uncool that really is, concluding: “Maybe I should trust myself.” — L.H.
Gracie Abrams, “Look at My Life”
The second single from Gracie’s upcoming album, Daughter From Hell, continues the narrative arc of its first: that everything’s not really as great as it may seem. And while lead single “Hit the Wall” lays it out quite simply, “Look at My Life” pulls at that thread with a bit of maniacal denial, disguising harsh truths under driving pop production “Do I look high-functioning or/ Is my façade crumbling?” Abrams asks, before singing on the chorus, “Bet you can’t tell, but it’s kind of a bad time/ A new spiral every night/ Bawling my eyes out/ No, but I’m so fine.” Perhaps her third single will be the judge of that. — L.H.
Katy Perry, “Watch It Burn”
With “Watch It Burn,” Katy comes full force with a new perspective (essentially, f–k it) and new crew of collaborators including Justin Tranter (the two teamed on previous single “bandaids”), Jason Gill, Kiddo and more. While the song clocks in under three minutes, there’s an defiant clarity to it — essentially proving the point that there’s nothing more for her to work out in her head or the studio. As she says herself: “I’m gonna get what I deserve…Finally I put myself first.” And what a great place to be, judging by the sound of it. — L.H.
Ryan Beatty, Sweet Fortunte
At the top of June, indie singer-songwriter Ryan Beatty dropped the stunning and serene “Secret Language.” The track introduced his then-upcoming fourth album, which is out today. Sweet Fortune builds on the world of 2023 album Calico, with expectedly profound songwriting shared across intimate yet lush production. Beatty co-produced the album with Ethan Gruska (a longtime Phoebe Bridgers collaborator) and also tapped buddy Clairo to provide backing vocals on several tracks. — L.H.
kwn, And All Pride Aside
What better way to follow up a breakthrough EP than with B-sides that present an entirely different side of its primary artist? East London R&B singer-songwriter kwn continues her ascent with And All Pride Aside, a terrific EP that blends her sensual, tongue-in-cheek side with the progress she’s made in terms of processing grief amid her rising fame. From tender tributes to her late grandfather (“Heaven’s In Your Hands”) to slick flips of ’00s hip-hop staples like Nelly’s “Hot In Herre” (“Risk It All”), kwn, once again, delivers a project for all moods — while also pushing herself into new lyrical territory that plays as an authentic reflection of her personal and artistic evolution. — KYLE DENIS
TEEKS, “My Boy”
Perfectly timed for Pride Month, soulful New Zealand singer-songwriter TEEKS has unleashed “My Boy,” a tender, unabashed tribute to the innate beauty of queerness and sexuality, particularly within the framework of men of color. “My boy, pretty like a sunrise/ So strong, gentle like a butterfly/ Big shot, all the girls go crazy,” he croons at the onset over somber guitars and warbling bass. With his voice occasionally creeping into a slightly hoarse upper register, TEEKS perfectly captures the tension and apprehension that comes with exploring and pursuing a new, burgeoning — and sometimes forbidden — love. — K.D.
Axwell ft. Bonn, “Whatever Turns You On”
The last time we spoke with Axwell, he said he had a bunch of music that was 80% finished, conceding that he’s “the slowest person on earth” in regard to production. As of today, he’s officially gotten new music across the finish line with the release of “Whatever Turns You On,” collaboration with vocalist Bonn. The song contains the signature size associated with the Axwell oeuvre, as established through his solo work, his work as part of Swedish House Mafia and his work with Axwell /\ Ingrosso, with this new song evoking that latter project’s hit “More Than You Know” in terms of scale and undeniable melody. On “Whatever Turns You On,” Axwell builds up bright, pitchy synths, crisp percussion and a belter chorus (his signature) into a next-gen mainstage house anthem. Worth the wait, we say. — KATIE BAIN
Cobrah & Grimes, “Sign From God”
Swedish industrial electronic vixen Cobrah and electronic chameleon Grimes seem so well-matched in terms of aesthetic and sonic terrain that it’s surprising it’s taken this long for them to work together. The single “Sign From God” was first debuted during Cobrah’s Coachella set this past April, with the song’s gothic bass creating a formidable foundation for vocals that weave through the track and give way to a lush, large, hypnotic chorus. The single follows Cobrah’s album Torn, released in March. — K.B.
Turnpike Troubadours and Sierra Hull, “Feelin’ Good Again”
Turnpike Troubadours team up with Sierra Hull for a superb cover of Robert Earl Keen’s “Feelin’ Good Again.” Hull and Turnpike lead singer Evan Felker bring a soothing, silk-and-sandpaper quality to their lead vocals, as they unfurl Keen’s tale of a life-worn bar with an atmosphere and cast of characters that feels like home. Flashes of fiddle, tender guitar and reserved rhythms heighten the warm patina of the song’s lyrics of walking into a familiar place that is a constant source of relaxation in a world always on the move. – JESSICA NICHOLSON
Alan Jackson, “Still The One”
As Country Music Hall of Famer Alan Jackson prepares for his final concert on Saturday (June 27) at Nashville’s Nissan Stadium, he pays homage to his enduring love story with his wife Denise by releasing his version of pop-rock group Orleans’ 1976 classic, “Still The One.” Jackson’s mature, burnished vocal is steady in its conversational, laid-back quality, while the guitar-laced production feels like it would sit squarely alongside many of Jackson’s own ‘90s country classics. – J.N.
