Keeping up with the best new music can be exhausting, even impossible. From the weekly album releases to standalone singles dropping on a daily basis, the amount of music is so vast it’s easy for something to slip through the cracks. Even following along with the Uproxx recommendations on a daily basis can be a lot to ask, so every Monday we’re offering up this rundown of the best new music this week.
This week saw The Weeknd share a non-After Hours endeavor and Dua Lipa appealingly re-think her latest album. Yeah, it was a great week for new music. Check out the highlights below.
The Weeknd and Calvin Harris — “Over Now”
Days after he gave one of the best performances of the VMAs, The Weeknd took a quick break from the After Hours era to unveil a new collaboration with Calvin Harris, “Over Now.” The track doesn’t have the same nighttime feel as a lot of his new album does, and proves that he’s a talented and diverse performer.
Disclosure — Energy
After an album-less five years, the brother duo that is Disclosure returned with a new effort, Energy, the title of which gives away the nature of the record. It’s a kinetic release, and they secured a fun roster of collaborators for it: Guests include Aminé, Slowthai, Kehlani, Common, and Syd.
Black Thought — “Good Morning” Feat. Pusha T and Killer Mike
Between duties on The Tonight Show, The Roots’ Black Thought has found time to tend to his solo career. His latest output on that front is “Good Morning,” which has a delightful lineup. Joining him on the Swizz Beatz-produced track are Pusha T and Killer Mike.
Jaden — CTV3
Jaden continues to blaze his own creative path, and the latest product of that effort is CTV3 EP. While it’s a step forward for the artist, it also contains a look back: He reconnects with his “Never Say Never” collaborator Justin Bieber for their first new song together in years, “Falling For You.”
Dua Lipa — Club Future Nostalgia
The disco vibes of original version of Future Nostalgia are already enough to get people dancing, but now Dua Lipa has upped the ante on that front. Teaming with The Blessed Madonna, she brought the album back with a new DJ mix, which substantially flips all the songs on the album, brings on some new guests, and breathes new life into music that still had plenty left.
Ty Dolla Sign — “Expensive” Feat. Nicki Minaj
Ty Dolla Sign has been working on a new album, Dream House, over the past few years. He has shared some new material between now and then, and he recruited somebody who has been having an exemplary 2020 — Nicki Minaj — to feature on his latest, “Expensive.” As the song suggests, the two communicate their rich tastes and rap among (CGI) piles of cash and diamonds.
Selena Gomez and Blackpink — “Ice Cream”
Blackpink are racking up collaborations with huge American pop stars. They hopped on Lady Gaga’s Chromatica album earlier this year, and now they got Selena Gomez to join them on their latest, “Ice Cream.” Gomez even celebrated the meet-up with her own flavor of the titular treat.
Kelly Lee Owens — Inner Song
Owens told Uproxx about her process of making her second album, saying, “I was with a guy called James Greenwood and he just encouraged me to let the ideas flow and have them be fully formed, saying, ‘Don’t do what you normally do, Kelly,’ which is trying to EQ the kick drums before you move on the synth melody. ‘Let’s maybe scope the sound, deal with nudges later, and just allow the ideas to be fully formed and honor the ideas in that way first.’”
Cordae — “Gifted” Feat. Roddy Ricch
The YBN collective is no more, so neither is YBN Cordae… in name, anyway. The rapper is now just Cordae, and now he has dropped his first single since the name change, recruiting chart topper Roddy Ricch for “Gifted.” The two have had prosperous come-ups in recent years, which they chronicle here.
Angel Olsen — Whole New Mess
2019’s All Mirrors arrived three years after its predecessor, which was the longest between-albums gap of her career. Now, less than a year later, she returned with Whole New Mess, of which she previously said, “I had gone through this breakup, but it was so much bigger than that — I’d lost friendships, too. When you get out of a relationship, you have to examine who you are or were in all the relationships. I wanted to record when I was still processing these feelings. These are the personal takes, encapsulated in a moment.”
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.