• Taylor Swift (feat. Post Malone), Fortnight (Pop)- “Fortnight” is presently the #1 most streamed song in the word- and its fictional lyric tells of the complex emotions of two married neighbors who have an affair over the course of a fortnight.  Post Malone bolsters his CV as the backing vocalist for superstars, with his appearance on “Fortnight” following up his late March duet with Beyonce on “Levii’s Jeans”.     

• Shaboozey, A Bar Song (Tipsy) (Country)- Shaboozey’s name is derived from mispronunciations of his family name, Chibueze while growing up in Virginia as a 2nd generation Nigerian immigrant.  Also a Beyonce collaborator on “Country Carter”, Shaboozey’s newly released “Tipsy” debuted last week (pre “Tortured Poets”) in the iTunes Top 10- and is shooting up the foreign charts.  While “Tipsy” borrows its chorus lyrics from J-Kwon’s 2004 hip-hop hit, they are completely reinvented by Shaboozey as a sing along barnstormer.  

• Sabrina Carpenter, Espresso (Pop)- The infectious “Espresso” is sure to be the 24-year-old former Disney Channel, Carpenter’s biggest hit, being one of the few non-Taylor Swift songs to survive near the top of the streaming charts.  “Espresso” is a Gen Z story of seduction, rhyming espresso with Nintendo…… or would that be a Millennial story since Nintendo’s heyday was in the 90’s and aught’s?

• ILLIT, Magnetic (K-Pop)- I received some fair feedback recently that K-Pop was underrepresented on Neuphoria.  Given that BTS members are currently in mandatory military service and BLACKPINK and New Jeans are between releases, there are a slew of brand new K-Pop acts filling that void, including BeLift Lab’s, ILLIT.  The catchy “Magnetic”, is presently the hottest Asia single at #1 in South Korea, #2 in Japan and #6 Globally.

• DJ Snake & Peso Pluma, Teka (Latin)- Fresh from his #2 billing on Coachella Day 1, Mr. Kabande Laija (Pluma’s real surname), teams with Grammy nominated French DJ/Producer, DJ Snake on “Teka”.  The two performers of Arabic descent collaborate for a banger with “Teka”, with Pluma taking on the songwriting and singing- and Snake delivering an electronic reggaeton trap gut punch.

• Kasablanca & Lane 8, Remission (Dance/Electronic)- Time to break out your glowsticks, diffraction glasses and iridescent sequin singlet, Neuphoria is going Trance!  The mysterious Eastern European electronic duo, Kasablanca join Lane 8 (Palo Alto native, Daniel Goldstein) on the progressive house anthem, “Remission”.  On a more serious note, I suspect that “Remission” is inspired by Mickey Kasablanca’s recent battle with cancer. 

• Dua Lipa, Illusion (Pop)- The queen of dance pop is back with another sure hit.  The sleek and economical “Illusion” features a punchy chorus that seems more sophisticated than the other recent singles from Ms. Lipa’s forthcoming “Radical Optimism” LP.  With this hit, maybe the Asian TikTok lady will stop calling her “Lipa Dupa”…..

• Jorja Smith, Greatest Gift (Reimagined) (Jazz/R&B)- On Friday, the classically trained 26-year-old British singer, released a “reimagined” version of “Greatest Gift” originally from her 2023 LP.  Jorja gives “Greatest Gift” a stripped-down, after-hours treatment that highlights her soulful vibrato vocal and a silky cool jazz piano solo.  Hopefully, this song will garner Smith another BRIT award.

• Nia Archives, F.A.M.I.L.Y (Alternative)- Like Jorja Smith, Archives is a mid-20’s (24 yo) 2nd generation Jamaican/English singer, but that is largely where the similarities end.  Archives is also an accomplished DJ/Producer, focused on integrating underground 90’s Jungle breakbeats with other genres- as in “F.A.M.I.L.Y”- and possibly my favorite song of 2022, “Baiana”.  Her newly released first album, “Silence is Loud” has debuted in the UK Top 20 and is likely to win some critics’ awards at year-end. 

• Bloody Civilian, Head Start (AfroBeats/Alternative)- Unlike other recent Nigerian global breakthrough artists, Bloody (real name is Emoseh Khamofu) is considered a maverick due to her dark industrial sound, adventurous beats and her confident, often feminist lyrics.  Although she has yet to release an LP, Bloody has already appeared on the “Black Panther” Soundtrack and a #1 African single and has been identified by both NME and TurnTable as an essential emerging artist.   

• LAUNDRY DAY, Why is everyone a DJ? (Alternative)- Even though Manhattan’s LAUNDRY DAY has already released 5 LP’s, they are still in their early 20’s, having formed in Beacon High School in Hell’s Kitchen. With a musical tightness belying their ages, the NY boys often have moments of lyric immaturity as in the catchy and clever, “Why is everyone a DJ?” which captures the current zeitgeist, given that even Goldman Sachs CEO, David Solomon is now a DJ….

• Fontaines D.C., Starburster (Rock)- Ireland’s Fontaines D.C. are committed to proving that rock is not dead.  And if “Starburster”, with its insistently sharp guitar riff and taut, almost britrap vocal is any indication, they are making progress.  For you 90’s britpop fans, the ballad-like break near the end may bring Blur or Oasis to mind.  

• Khruangbin, May Ninth (Alternative/World)- The winner from the April 8 playlist, “May Ninth”, seems the perfect way to end a playlist. The song's sound is from a different time and place, with its French whisper-style vocals (think Air, Claudine Longet or Jane Birkin) and Easy Listening atmospheric guitar....... but the unexpected is expected from the Houston-based trio who eclectically combine psychedelic rock with Middle and Far Eastern sounds.  Despite their unique sound, they’ve gathered more than a cult following with their 2020 LP “Mordechai” charting in the Top 5 in many countries.

Honorable mention to “someday i’ll get it” by Alek Olsen which has been the #1 TikTok song for the past 3 weeks.  It is a very short and simple, deeply personal song that Olsen recorded on his phone, but I thought would be too depressing to include.  

Other releases worth noting were by Pakistani Arooj Aftab, “New Country” artist ERNEST, Maggie Rogers, Nigerian Ruger, DJ Jamie xx and by Lucky Daye.  

 Happy Listening!