Friday Music Guide: New Music From Lady Gaga, JENNIE, Doechii & More
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, Lady Gaga creates glorious chaos, JENNIE steps into the spotlight and Doechii revisits an old hit for a new single. Check out all of this week’s picks below:
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Lady Gaga, Mayhem
“I’ve seen Little Monsters be so amazing for almost 20 years. I haven’t seen us like this in a long time,” Lady Gaga told Billboard regarding recent fan enthusiasm online. Their excitement is understandable: Mayhem, Gaga’s long-awaited new album, centers big, brash hooks with the same propulsion of her Fame Monster days, while also mixing in industrial music, disco-funk and synth-rock to her pop approach. If you’ve been a longtime fan or simply want a handful of new bangers to add to your playlists, you’re going to put your paws up to Mayhem.
JENNIE, RUBY
The extended rollout of BLACKPINK solo projects ends with a bang: RUBY, the debut album from JENNIE, is a pop tour de force, with the K-pop star pulling in an eclectic mix of guest artists and producers — Dua Lipa and Doechii for front-half anthems “Handlebars” and “ExtraL,” for instance, while Mike WiLL Made-It helms four crackling songs on the second half — and convincingly playing the role of the magnetic, effortlessly cool global star.
Doechii, “Anxiety”
The societal anxieties of 2012 might feel quaint compared to those of today, but Doechii has reworked one of that year’s biggest hits, Gotye’s “Somebody That I Used to Know,” into “Anxiety,” which translates the nervous energy of its foundation into a perusal of the rap star’s claustrophobic thoughts (“Can’t shake it off of me / Somebody’s watching me, and my anxiety”).
J-Hope feat. Miguel, “Sweet Dreams”
Speaking of 2012, anyone who fondly remembers Miguel’s Kaleidoscope Dream era will latch onto “Sweet Dreams,” in which BTS star J-Hope brings in the R&B veteran to concoct something rhythmic, romantic and instantly likable, the gentle synths and dueling vocal tones creating a pillowy bedrock for the potential hit.
GELO feat. GloRilla, “Can You Please”
GELO’s “Tweaker” was the sort of viral sensation that results in multiple remixes and a lucrative label deal; “Can You Please,” then, is the high-stakes follow-up, which relies on an always-great guest star, GloRilla, to help stick the landing and prolong momentum. Fortunately, “Can You Please” is as audacious as its predecessor, with GELO’s rumbling flow halting to elongate melodies and emphasize the best one-liners.
TobyMac, Heaven on My Mind
The snappy title track to Heaven on My Mind, which kicks off TobyMac’s ninth studio album, immediately establishes that the project will be a sunnier affair than the singer-songwriter’s last release, 2022’s Life After Death, which followed the tragic passing of his son; indeed, Heaven on My Mind finds the Christian Airplay mainstay uplifting over quicker tempos, while still taking space to process complex emotions.
Tiago PZK, Gotti B
The fact that Teddy Swims is featured on “Sometimes,” the waltzing focus track of Tiago PZK’s new EP, may help the Argentine superstar bring in some new fans from North America, but as a whole, Gotti B extends Tiago’s appeal, with his elastic delivery guiding the 7-song project through dance tempos and slower movements.
Editor’s Pick: SASAMI, Blood on the Silver Screen
After 2022’s Squeeze established SASAMI as an exciting indie-pop singer and producer, Blood on the Silver Screen turns up the volume on every aspect of her persona, and features the strongest songwriting of her career. “I’ll Be Gone,” “Slugger” and the Clairo team-up “In Love With a Memory” are early highlights, but SASAMI’s latest is a widescreen thrill, and deserves to be experienced in full.
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