Brent Faiyaz- Upset (R&B)- Voted #1 from last session (2 weeks ago)- so carried over to this playlist. Faiyaz, the slow jam hipster shows increasing maturity on his 4th album, “Larger than Life”, which features Upset.
PinkPantheress- Nice to Meet You (Pop/Alternative)- The Pantheress’s much-anticipated 2nd album just dropped late last night. This follow-up single to the global #2, “Boy’s a Liar” features British rapper Central Cee along with The Pantheress’s standard bedroom pop with Drum & Bass breakbeats.
Dua Lipa- Houdini (Pop/Dance)- Looks like another potential smash from the Songs of the Week favorite, Dua. This is the follow up to the global hit, “Dance the Night”, which ended up being the most popular song off the loaded Barbie soundtrack. What’s most remarkable is that in the song video, Lipa even looks like she even cares about dancing.
(Cue Lipa’s famous “pencil sharpener meme” dance https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T0gzCC6YyZE )
Peggy Gou & Lenny Kravitz- I Believe in Love Again (Electronic/Dance)- Surprisingly, this collaboration between these strange bedfellows works. Kravitz, who could be Gou’s dad, adds a soulful vocal to the Korean Gou’s slinky beats. This is Gou’s follow up to the surprise global dance smash “(It Goes Like) Nanana” which reached #1 in parts of Europe.
Jack Harlow- Lovin’ on Me (R&B/Rap)- The co-star of the 2023 remake of “White Men Can’t Jump” returns to rapping with “Lovin’ on Me”. Pretty certain that this will be a hit. Caution- on repeated listening, this can become an earworm.
The Kid Laroi- Sorry (R&B/Rap)- One of the week’s big album releases was the Australian, Laroi’s 2nd album, “THE FIRST TIME”. This follow up to 2021’s #1 single, “Stay”, falls again into the genre of modern hip-hop/EMO- which is hugely popular with Gen Z- but not respected by those older. However, the odds are pretty good that it will be a hit.
Chris Stapleton- What Am I Gonna Do? (Country)- In this week of blockbuster releases, Stapleton’s “Higher” is near the top. For you non-country fans, Stapleton likely has more CMA awards than anyone else in the past 5 years. Very hard to choose just one song off this release, but the album’s opening song, “What Am I Gonna Do?”, was co-written with Miranda Lambert and the chorus chord progression recalls classic 1960’s/70’s country (think Conway Twitty).
Omah Lay- Holy Ghost (AfroBeats)- This is the Nigerian superstar’s first release in a year. It features simmering beats, a modern R&B sensibility and traditional African folk singing. Recommended to play at volume.
Sofi Tukker- Veneno (featuring Mari Merenda & Sophia Ardessore) (Latin)- The NY electronic duo has been leaning into their Brazilian roots recently- and on Veneno, they are fully immersed. The chorus shows some real Portuguese diction dexterity. I dare you to try to sing the chorus…..
David Guetta & Kim Petras- When We Were Young (Dance)- If you had any previous doubts that David Guetta has jumped the shark, this song should put those doubts to rest. In the finest EuroTrash tradition, of co-opting vaguely recognizable old songs, “When We Were Young” unabashedly pairs a Chipmunk-like autotune vocal of Supertramp’s “The Logical Song” with a trance soundtrack. Vocals are courtesy of Kim Petras, the German trans popstar.
Maneskin- Honey (Are U Coming?)(Rock)- The 2021 Eurovision winners are back with the release of their 2nd album this week. The lack of subtlety in this lyric should come as no surprise given that these Italian post-spandex rockers cite Motley Crue as one of their major influences. Long live Glam!!!
JungKook- Standing Next to You (K-Pop)- If you’re not a K-Popper, you may not be familiar with JungKook. However, he’s had 3 songs that have hit #1 globally in the past 3 years- in addition to many guest appearances on US artist hits. This slickly produced, catchy song belies Kook’s carefully crafted bad boy image, facial piercings, and all.
Arlo Parks- Jasmine (Alternative/R&B?)- This is the new song from Parks updated release of her critically acclaimed “My Soft Machine” LP, which originally reach the top 10 in the UK. She won 2021’s Brit Award for Best New Artist- and looks like she has staying power.
