Keeping up with 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 Dominic Fike with a truncated version of his viral Euphoria tune and Justin Bieber continuing to get his footing in the afrobeats world. Yeah, it was a great week for new music. Check out the highlights below.
For more music recommendations, check out our Listen To This section, as well as our Indie Mixtape and Pop Life newsletters.
Dominic Fike — “Elliot’s Song” Feat. Zendaya
Euphoria, being one of the biggest shows on TV right now, seems to go viral every week it airs. The same was true during the show’s final week and it was Fike who brought it to life thanks to the five minutes (an eternity in TV time) he spent performing a song on the show. Fike took the resulting memes in stride: “The internet remains undefeated,” he said. After that, he went ahead, pared the song down some, and shared a studio version of it.
Omah Lay and Justin Bieber — “Attention”
Justin Bieber has been more into making afrobeats music in recent times, and he did so last week by hopping on a new one from Omah Lay, “Attention.” Bieber’s pop-R&B sensibilities are nicely applied here as both artists find their times to shine on the rhythmic track.
Khalid — “Last Call”
Last week marked the fifth anniversary of Khalid’s star-making debut album, American Teen. Aside from sharing a retrospective virtual experience, he marked the occasion by releasing a new song, “Last Call,” which he said represents “the first few steps of another chapter for myself.”
Camila Cabello — “Bam Bam” Feat. Ed Sheeran
Camila Cabello packed a lot into her birthday last week: She confirmed the release date of her upcoming album Familia, stopped by The Late Late Show, and linked up with Ed Sheeran on “Bam Bam.” She told James Corden of the song, ““It’s something that my mom has always said to me. […] The song is about the cycles of falling in love, falling out of love; life has its ups and downs. You gotta roll with the punches, you gotta keep dancing.”
Charli XCX — “Baby”
After her recent planned appearance on Saturday Night Live was canceled due to COVID (save for playing a rock and roll bird in a sketch), Charli XCX actually got to perform on the show this past weekend. She had a new song in tow, too, as she had dropped “Baby” — a bright, funky, and catchy pop tune — earlier in the week.
Kurt Vile — “Hey Like A Child”
A couple weeks ago, Kurt Vile announced a new album, Watch My Moves, and dropped the lead single from the project, “Like Exploding Stones.” He returned with another advance look at the LP last week with “Hey Like A Child,” a languid rocker that’s right in Vile’s wheelhouse.
Machine Gun Kelly and Lil Wayne — “Ay”
Expert headline-maker Machine Gun Kelly debuted a very pink new look last week, which also made an appearance in the video for “Ay,” his collaboration with Lil Wayne. Kelly is obviously pursuing a more pop-punk-influenced direction these days, but “Ay” serves as a bit of a bridge between his current aesthetic and the hip-hop that made him famous.
Kevin Morby — “This Is A Photograph”
After delighting with his late-2020 album Sundowner, Kevin Morby is already gearing up for more. This Is A Photograph is set for May, and when he announced the LP last week, he also shared the title track, a progressively swelling tune that patiently unfolds. Uproxx’s Adrian Spinelli notes of the tune, “The lead title track single is a portrait of heartland nostalgia, featuring backing vocal harmonies by members of Memphis’ Stax Academy Of Music. The interplay of guitar and banjo speaks to Americana and highway rock and roll.”
Nilüfer Yanya — “The Dealer”
Nilüfer Yanya fans have eaten well over the past few years: After her beloved 2019 album Miss Universe, she dropped a couple 2020 EPs — Feeling Lucky? and Inside Out — and returned with a new album, Painless, last week. Before dropping that, she shared her final pre-album single, “The Dealer,” another rhythmic rocker that slots nicely into her oeuvre.
Nigo and Pusha T — “Hear Me Clearly”
DJ/fashion designer Nigo has an album, I Know Nigo, on the way, and he’s got some talented friends on board the project, as it’s set to feature Tyler The Creator, Lil Uzi Vert, ASAP Rocky, Kid Cudi, and others. That “others” also includes Pusha T, as he features on “Hear Me Clearly.” Uproxx’s Wongo Okon notes of the tune, “The track is driven by cut-throat raps from Pusha T, who uses the song’s haunting production to deliver a scathing lyrical attack.”
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.