Several big-name stars served up some of the best new pop music this week. Justin Bieber teamed up with Benny Blanco for a reflective single, Lana Del Rey offered a preview of her next album, and Demi Lovato questioned the president’s actions in a politically-charged track.
Each week, Uproxx rounds up the best new pop music. Listen up.
Justin Bieber — “Lonely” Feat. Benny Blanco
From Chance The Rapper to Ariana Grande, Justin Bieber has been staying busy with collaborations following the release of his comeback record Changes. Now, Bieber is getting introspective about his life in the limelight on honest track “Lonely.” Throughout the single, Bieber details growing up in the media but still feeling like no one knows the real him.
Lana Del Rey — “Let Me Love You Like A Woman”
With “Let Me Love You Like A Woman,” Lana Del Rey offered her first solo single of the year. The lovelorn piano ballad previews the singer’s upcoming anticipated record Chemtrails Over The Country Club and follows the release of her poetry book Violet Bend Backward Over The Grass.
Demi Lovato — “Commander In Chief”
Demi Lovato used her voice to encourage her fans to vote with the moving single “Commander In Chief.” Speaking about the track in a statement, Lovato said: “It’s very important for me that I get to use my platform for something much bigger than just singing. There’s been so many times where I wanted to write the president a letter or sit down with him and ask him these questions. And then I thought, I don’t really actually want to do that, and I think one way that I could do that is writing a song and releasing it for the whole world to hear, and then he has to answer those questions to everybody and not just me.”
Conan Gray x Lauv — “Fake”
Two breakout pop stars, Conan Gray and Lauv, teamed up for the buoyant collaboration “Fake” this week. “We wrote ‘Fake’ the first time I met Conan and it’s one of my fav songs ever,” Lauv said. Gray added: “Lauv and I wrote ‘Fake’ while we were just hanging and ranting about those two faced people everybody knows. Those people who say one thing and do the other, people who constantly talk trash about their own friends. We wanted to make something fun you can scream in the car to, a song to flip a bird at those types of people.”
Major Lazer — “QueLoQue” Feat. Paloma Mami
This week, Major Lazer offered another taste for their upcoming record Music Is The Weapon with the hip-shaking tune “QueLoQue.” In a statement about the track, collaborator Paloma Mami expressed what made them love the track: “‘QueLoQue’ has been in the works for a while now and I’m so happy to finally be able to share it with you all! It has a fire energy to it with some elements of old school reggaeton and mixing it with that electronic touch from Major Lazer.”
Claud — “Gold”
Claud has gained a cult following through a handful of singles and EPs and now, the singer is the latest signee of Phoebe Bridgers’ newly-minted label Saddest Factory. Sharing a new single this week, Claud said: “‘Gold’ is about contradictions; an instructor attempting to teach a class of monsters proper manners so they can assimilate; a relationship getting so tired and so old that even gold starts to rust (which isn’t scientifically possible).”
James Blake — “Before”
This week, James Blake gave only one day’s notice before sharing his four-track EP, Before. The effort’s title track sets the stage for the remainder of the project, starting slow before deconstructing into a thumping beat.
Omar Apollo — “Hey Boy” Feat. Kali Uchis
Omar Apollo released his highly-anticipated record Apolonio this week and with it came the soothing Kali Uchis collaboration “Hey Boy.” The song is the shortest on the entire record, clocking in at just under two minutes, but it’s soothing tones make up for the abbreviated length as watery guitar tones simmer underneath Apollo and Uchis’ harmonies.
Dorian Electra — “My Agenda” Feat. Village People and Pussy Riot
Hyperpop producer Dorian Electra released their intoxicating record My Agenda this week and its title track boasted collaborations from renowned artists. Speaking to how the collaborators exist in heteronormative spaces, Electra said Village People “have infiltrated straight mainstream society with some of the gayest music in history. You’ve got people at football games, bar mitzvahs, hetero-ass weddings doing this ‘YMCA.’”
Tayla Parx — “Residue”
Tayla Parx is gearing up for the release of her album Coping Mechanisms in November and offered up another preview with the infectious single “Reside.” “It’s about one of those moments when you try to get somebody off your brain or heart,” Parx said in a statement. “You’re confessing, ‘I’m trying to get rid of you,’ which is another one of my unhealthy coping mechanisms. In certain cases, you’re being avoidant and acting like it was never there versus finding solutions to the problem head-on.”
Some of the artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.