By Jason Lipshutz
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Jacob Webster
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Billboard’s Friday Music Guide serves as a handy guide to this Friday’s most essential releases — the key music that everyone will be talking about today, and that will be dominating playlists this weekend and beyond.
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This week, Doja Cat travels in time, Young Thug makes up for lost time and Mariah Carey remains timeless. Check out all of this week’s picks below:
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Doja Cat, Vie
If you loved the pop fantasia at the heart of Planet Her more than the hard-charging rhymes of Scarlet, Vie, Doja Cat’s fifth studio album, will sound like an exciting return to form: translating her aesthetic to a synth-heavy 1980s pastiche and tapping Jack Antonoff to help render her vision, Doja sounds in top form with these widescreen hooks, with “Cards,” “Gorgeous” and “AAAHH MEN!” all begging to be played at top volume.
Young Thug, UY SCUTI
The opening seconds of Young Thug’s long-awaited album UY SCUTI feature the voice of the prosecutor in his much-publicized RICO trial, describing the rapper as too dangerous to let out of federal custody; after addressing the elephant in the room, Thugger proceeds to spend 20 songs reasserting his place at the top of mainstream hip-hop after a prolonged absence, with Future, Cardi B, 21 Savage and Lil Baby among the many guest stars welcoming him home.
Tate McRae, “Tit for Tat”
Capping off a breakthrough year that’s included her first No. 1 album, an arena headlining tour and a soundtrack hit with “Just Keep Watching,” Tate McRae stays prolific on “Tit for Tat,” an indignant kiss-off to an ex that will certainly keep the rumor mill active following the pop star’s breakup with The Kid LAROI — but also stands on its own as another simmering rhythmic pop track.
Mariah Carey, Here For It All
With nothing left to prove decades into a legendary pop career, Mariah Carey remains too ambitious to rest on her laurels: Here For It All, her first new album since 2018’s Caution, is more urgent and entertaining than expected as a check-in with modern R&B, as Carey shines alongside guests like Anderson .Paak and Kehlani while also showcasing her continued power on solo cuts “Nothing is Impossible” and “My Love.”
Olivia Dean, The Art of Loving
London singer-songwriter Olivia Dean has recently streaked into the Hot 100’s top 40 with breakout hit “Man I Need,” which acts as a handy preview of the sumptuous soul-pop featured on her second album, The Art of Loving: Dean makes complex arrangements effortless with her delicate tone, and the breezy “So Easy (To Fall in Love)” — which was co-written by studio pros Amy Allen, John Ryan and Max Wolfgang — sounds like a natural next hit.
Rauw Alejandro, Cosa Nuestra: Capítulo 0
An official prequel to Rauw Alejandro’s Cosa Nuestra, which is currently nominated for album of the year at the Latin Grammys, Capítulo 0 continues the Puerto Rican superstar’s exploration of Caribbean music, often with a pulse-pounding tempo — this is an origin story that demands movement, and Alejandro sounds more comfortable than ever in the spotlight.
5 Seconds of Summer, “NOT OK”
What a treat to have 5 Seconds of Summer, one of the most consistently enjoyable pop-rock recording artists of the past decade, not only reunite with new music but still pushing their sound into new territory: “NOT OK,” a nervy and jangly alternative anthem, not only whets our appetite for more 5SOS material, but this one sounds primed to become a tambourine-shaking live staple.
Editor’s Pick: Geese, Getting Killed
Arriving with a mountain of hype (and following frontman Cameron Winter’s wonderfully weird solo debut Heavy Metal last year), Geese’s third album exceeds expectations: Getting Killed finds the Brooklyn band morphing its style to make room for explosive noise and idiosyncratic song structures, landing on a sound that’s akin to Radiohead’s jazzier impulses mashed with Tom Waits’ shambolic poetry. The result: say hello to your new indie cult heroes.
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