Friday Music Guide: New Music From The Weeknd, JENNIE, Morgan Wallen & 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, The Weeknd closes out a trilogy, JENNIE continues shining solo and Morgan Wallen declares that it’s him, hi, “I’m the Problem.” Check out all of this week’s picks below:
More from Billboard
The Weeknd, Hurry Up Tomorrow
Concluding the trilogy that began with the 2020 blockbuster After Hours and continued with the daring 2022 follow-up Dawn FM, The Weeknd splits the difference between commercial potency and devil-may-care pop experimentation on Hurry Up Tomorrow: an 84-minute opus that includes guests ranging from Lana Del Rey to Giorgio Moroder to Anitta to Travis Scott, the new album brushes off modern conventions, mixes soul-baring introspection with immaculate dance grooves, and goes for the gusto.
JENNIE feat. Dominic Fike, “Love Hangover”
Ahead of new album Ruby, which arrives on March 7, JENNIE showcases a fresh side of herself on “Love Hangover,” which nudges her pop aesthetic towards the breezy rhythms and blurted-out realizations of her collaborator on the track, Dominic Fike; the final product is fun, funky and the perfect excuse to drop the sure-to-go-viral line “I swear, I’ll never do it again! / Ah, s–t, I did it again.”
Morgan Wallen, “I’m the Problem”
As the title track of his upcoming fourth studio album, “I’m the Problem” functions as a platform for Morgan Wallen to examine his own flaws while accusing his partner of not being perfect, either: “You hate that when you look at me, you halfway see yourself,” the country superstar sings, the hurt in his voice betraying the song’s more confrontational lyrics.
Latto feat. Playboi Carti, “Blick Sum (Remix)”
Months after first surfacing online, the version of Latto’s “Blick Sum” featuring Playboi Carti has finally arrived on streaming services, with the Atlanta rappers now trading verses that mix firearms metaphors — “That .22′ ain’t gon’ do, that 90 get me out my thong,” Latto declares — while keeping up with the bleary beat.
Zach Bryan, “Blue Jean Baby”
So many Zach Bryan songs have lore attached to their creation and release, factoids that make every hit and deep cut all the more compelling — and with “Blue Jean Baby,” a rollicking demo that fans have been hoping would some day be finished, Bryan stays prolific as a storyteller while providing listeners with another page in the history books.
EST Gee, I Ain’t Feeling You
“I really got it all right now, one of the very few,” EST Gee drawls at the top of “Houstonatlantaville,” a team-up with Lil Baby and Travis Scott; indeed, the Louisville native sounds reinvigorated on I Ain’t Feeling You, honing his bruising delivery and understanding how to operate over booming percussion more effectively than ever.
L.S. Dunes, Violet
Rock supergroups typically harken back to their members’ primary collectives, but L.S. Dunes — which features members of My Chemical Romance, Thursday, Coheed and Cambria and Circa Survive — is creating something new on sophomore album Violet: helmed by Will Yip, the new full-length takes the coiled energy of 2022’s Past Lives and stretches it out, and the sprawl results in towering anthems like “I Can See It Now…” and “Forgiveness.”
Editor’s Pick: Jamie xx feat. Erykah Badu, “F.U.”
The genesis of Jamie xx’s scorching new house track involves a Primavera festival after-party with faulty equipment that forced Erykah Badu to ad-lib through a set with just a microphone, which Jamie recorded on his phone and later rearranged into a song, with Badu’s help; it’s a fascinating backstory that also isn’t necessary to feel enthralled by the communal excitement of “F.U.,” Badu’s voice beckoning an unseen crowd as the beat slingshots around.
Best of Billboard
Sign up for Billboard's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Solve the daily Crossword
