Billboard’s Friday Music Guide serves as a handy guide to New Music Friday’s most essential releases each week — the key music that everyone will be talking about today, and that will be dominating playlists this weekend and beyond.
Last week, we featured Gracie Abrams, Drake and Maluma.
This week: Ariana Grande releases the lead single from her anticipated upcoming album petal; aespa drops LEMONADE – The 2nd Album; and Labrinth delivers a cosmically-timed new project… plus much more. Check out all of this week’s picks below:
Ariana Grande, “hate that i made you love me”
Ariana loves a good bit — and she does them well. For longtime fans, her ongoing “maybe I will, maybe I won’t” approach to making more music has kept us on our toes; but thankfully, it never lasts too long, and petal is the latest proof. Despite Grande previously describing the album as “a little feral” in a video she shared on Instagram, lead single “hate that i made you love me” doesn’t sound that way at all. With plinking production that evokes a video game bubbling under water, the savagery is in the songwriting. “I’ve held your projections when you’ve felt so insecure/ Tell me why is it this way/ Why you so hate to see women endure/ Is it really my fault?” questions Ari, showing off her range with quiet confidence. And sure, one could argue “made you love me” is about a romantic partner — but dig deeper and it becomes about anyone who has ever loved (or hated) Ari enough to a point of detriment. And too often, it’s hers. — LYNDSEY HAVENS
aespa, LEMONADE – The 2nd Album
Just one month ago, K-pop four piece aespa announced its second studio album, LEMONADE — the group’s first full-length in two years — that arrives today. With features such as G-DRAGON, Ty Dolla $ign and Becky G (who guests on the hyperpop title track), LEMONADE takes aespa to the next level — and right on time. As aespa prepares for its world tour, which extends through 2027, its clear that their high-powered production isn’t the only thing moving full steam ahead. — L.H.
Jungle, “The Wave”
Like clockwork, at the first whiff of warm summer air and first sight of a delayed sunset, Jungle are right back at it. With a new album fittingly titled SUNSHINE on its way (out Aug. 14), the alternative dance act has shared the first taste with “The Wave.” The groovy, feel-good track delivers on all of Jungle’s best qualities, and sets the bar for more — and much-needed — good vibes ahead. — L.H.
Labrinth, “THE LIVING”
As Euphoria’s current third season nears its finale on Sunday (May 31) — a season that has notably aired without composer Labrinth’s music after he pulled it from the series citing alleged mistreatment — the artist is filling that void with the release his Cosmic Opera Act II. Standout track “THE LIVING” opens with a bluesy guitar riff that become the song’s backbone as Labrinth tinkers around across intricate layers of sound, as he does. The result is a captivating, full-bodied track that, to no one’s surprise, would sound right at home soundtracking a show or film. — L.H.
Violet Grohl, Be Sweet To Me
Sure, the last name may be familiar but the sound is entirely her own. With Violet Grohl’s debut album, the budding rocker makes a name for herself as a skilled vocalist, songwriter and producer. And the result is a knockout album that doesn’t let up across its 11 endearing tracks. On Be Sweet To Me Violet not only shows off what she’s capable of, but quickly cements her status as a torchbearer for rock’s current class. — L.H.
Latto, Big Mama
Big Mama, one kid! Grammy-nominated rapper Latto is back with her new studio album, Big Mama, which marks her first project since becoming a mother to her first child with fellow ATL MC 21 Savage. Across the 18-track LP, Latto offers up her strongest, most personal bars yet, balancing family-centric raps with club-ready collaborations with the likes of Doja Cat, Wizkid and Sexyy Red. Easily her most mature album yet, Big Mama marks the beginning of a promising new chapter for the “Business & Personal” rapper. — KYLE DENIS
K CAMP, Giant
K CAMP and Zaytoven have a heater on their hands. Their new collaborative album, GIANT, delivers 10 tracks of K CAMP’s signature R&B-indebted, melodic trap sound expertly backed by Zaytoven’s Southern hip-hop-shaping production. Clocking in at just 24 minutes, Giant is a succinct listen that tears through an impressive range of moods — from luxurious braggadocio (“Paris for the Month”) to introspective vulnerability (“Lost N Broken”) to bottle-popping flirtation (“Attractive”). Now that Giant is here, summer playlist building can begin in earnest. — K.D.
Los Enanitos Verdes, EV+
A star-studded lineup has come together on EV+ — an album released by Los Enanitos Verdes following the deaths of its frontman, Marciano Cantero, in 2022 and lead guitarist, Felipe Staiti, this April. Honoring the iconic Argentine rock band, the 15-song set released under Sony Music México includes revamped versions of Enanitos classics such as “Lamento Boliviano,” “Amores Lejanos,” “Luz de Día,” “Guitarras Blancas” and “Eterna Soledad.” Forming part of the celebratory album are Marcos Antonio Solís, Carlos Vives, Eden Muñoz, Los Ángeles Azules, Ha*Ash, Beto Cuevas and Ximena Sariñana, to name a few. Los Enanitos Verdes ranked No. 15 on Billboard’s 50 Best Latin Rock Bands of All Time list. — JESSICA ROIZ
Jay Wheeler, La Voz Favorita
On his new studio album, Jay Wheeler pays homage to his nickname. Home to 24 songs, La Voz Favorita starts with “Grax,” featuring a sweet voice note from his mom expressing how proud she is of him. The song sets the tone for a project that’s retrospective and reflective of Wheeler’s career, but also a celebration of his present. With collaborators such as Mora, Luar La L, Marcelo Rubio and Abraham Mateo, Wheeler navigates from innovative R&B to trapsoul to reggaetón to salsa fusions. La Voz Favorita is also home to “De Lejitos,” which reached No. 12 on the Hot Latin Songs chart in April. — J.R.
What So Not & Alina Pash, “Everest”
A wiping of the Instagram account always gives “big things coming” vibes, and so it goes with What So Not. who scrubbed his IG earlier this month and launched a new era with a long post about where he’s been, where he’s going and how they’re kind of the same place. “For a long time I found myself running from a sound I helped create,” the Australian artist wrote in the post, which also includes back-in-the-day photos of him and some of the artists he came up alongside in the mid-2010s. He ultimately notes that “I feel like I’m finally writing the music everybody wants from me, but on my own terms.”
Whatever machinations got him here have been worth the wait, with the stunning “Everest” being the first song from this new chapter. Vocals from Ukrainian singer/rapper Alina Pash give the track an epic, haunting quality and the production itself is huge like the mountain it references and also big in its evocation of the golden age of trap that What So Not was an architect of. Fitting then that the song, which he himself calls “a cinematic hymn to the universe, sung from the mountain tops, connecting Earth and sky” and “the first evolution of the 2016 revival” is part of a project and tour he’s calling I Saw a Trap DJ & It Changed My Bio Chemistry. — KATIE BAIN
Skrillex, Randomer, Blawan & MC Dricka, “Thistle”
After kicking around his sets for the last few years, Skrillex’s “Thistle” gets an official release today, just ahead of his Contra event debuting in Berlin this weekend. A collab with UK producers Randomer and Blawan along with Brazilian singer/songwriter MC Dricka — whose vocals inject the glitchy, cerebral track with human soul and swagger — “Thistle” follows recent Skrill collabs with ISOxo and Young Miko. Meanwhile, Contra will feature performances from more than 70 artists including Knock2, Ahadadream, Bladee, Blawan, Nai Barghouti and Skrillex himself. This week the producer was also announced as part of the lineup for Portola 2026, where he’ll play alongside Boys Noize as Dog Blood. — K.B.
Little Big Town, “Over and Over”
Little Big Town delivers a top-shelf post-breakup anthem, layering their signature harmonies and moody production over lyrics that center on longing that lingers far beyond the heartache. “We burned this house down so many times/ Those buried embers still ignite,” they sing. Written by Little Big Town’s Karen Fairchild, alongside co-writers Jonnie Simpson, Ashley Ray and Madi Yanofsky, the track offers a preview of the group’s upcoming album, It’s a Dying Art, arriving Aug. 28. — Jessica Nicholson
Kaitlin Butts, “Never Really Mine”
Known for her viral hit “You Ain’t Gotta Die (To Be Dead to Me),” Kaitlin Butts is no stranger to crafting songs that command listeners’ attention from the first note. Her latest, a stone-cold country ballad with shimmering guitars and heavy pedal steel, does the same as she instantly etches a scene of finding her lover is distracted by another woman. “I’ve got your hand/ But she caught your eye,” Butts sings, while also depicting a hard-earned resolve that concludes he’s not worth fighting for if he can be swayed so easily. The song’s dynamic melody serves as a superb vessel for Butts’ strong country vocal, and this track is destined to become an instant anthem and fan favorite. — J.N.
