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.
This week, Billie Eilish questions her dolled-up mortality, Post Malone turns orchestral and Jung Kook links with Latto for a throwback jam. Check out all of this week’s picks below:
Billie Eilish, “What Was I Made For?”
There’s your standard soundtrack song — a track either written with a loose tie-in to a film or TV show, or a previously released single newly glommed on to a project — and then there’s Billie Eilish’s “What Was I Made For?,” in which the superstar highlights the Barbie soundtrack by embodying the titular character and proceeding to undergo an existential crisis. “Taking a drive, I was an ideal / Looked so alive, turns out I’m not real,” Eilish sings, a career of upending pop-star norms leading to this self-examining character study; the best part of “What Was I Made For?” is that the song, like all great soundtrack singles, can be thematically tied to its host project but also stands on its own, another triumphant ballad in a career that has already had plenty of them.
Post Malone, “Overdrive”
By the time the whistle bridge arrives on Post Malone’s “Overdrive,” the latest offering from his upcoming album Austin, it’s been made abundantly clear how far Posty has roamed from his hip-hop-leaning beginnings: like previous singles “Chemical” and “Mourning,” his latest track features more warbling than rapping, but “Overdrive” thrives thanks to a 14-piece string orchestra, which accentuates the drama of his loneliness and longing to revive a relationship. Throughout his career, Post Malone has defined himself by a refusal to rest on laurels, and “Overdrive” admirably pushes his story forward.
Jung Kook feat. Latto, “Seven”
The “seven” that Jung Kook sings about on his delightful new track refers to the days of the week he’ll be committed to “loving” his significant other (at least in the clean version of the track), while Latto slides in with some cheeky flirtations based around the calendar (“You make Mondays feel like weekends / I make him never think about cheating”). “Seven” contains a winning retro vibe, harkening back to a mainstream era in which singers and rappers joined forces for a piece of rhythmic pop — and Jung Kook capably plays the vocal star, showcasing his full range on this radio-ready jam.
Lil Tjay, 222
Although Lil Tjay’s new album features guest stars like Polo G, Summer Walker, YoungBoy Never Broke Again and The Kid LAROI, the most riveting moment on 222 comes as the rising NYC rapper is staunchly on his own, vividly recalling the paranoid moments and second-guessed movements before his 2022 shooting on “June 22nd.” Thankfully Tjay survived that harrowing incident, and has turned it into creative inspiration: on 222, he tells his story with more captivating detail than ever, examining his past and looking ahead to what promises to be a bright future.
Karol G, “S91”
In a few weeks, Karol G will embark on what will likely be the biggest performances of her career to date when she headlines football stadiums across the U.S.; the live run will continue a year that has been record-shattering for the superstar, and new single “S91” would have succeeded had it simply been a pre-tour victory lap. Fortunately, the track builds upon the high standard she set with Mañana Será Bonito, featuring a delicious beat switch and an understated yet effective vocal performance before arriving at a spoken-word breakdown in the final minute.
Coco Jones feat. Justin Timberlake, “ICU (Remix)”
“ICU” has done wonders for Coco Jones’ recording career: released last October, the former Disney Channel star’s sensual love song has slowly found an online following, helped ensure a best new artist win at the BET Awards and has Jones primed for some Grammy consideration. A new remix of “ICU” featuring Justin Timberlake should boost her prospects, as the superstar glides over the R&B production (“You’ve got a hold on this thing in my chest, babe,” he declares) in a manner that both recalls The 20/20 Experience and complements Jones’ skillful delivery.
Editor’s Pick: Troye Sivan, “Rush”
Ever since he bowed with 2015’s Blue Neighborhood, one of the most underrated pop albums of the decade, Troye Sivan has demonstrated a singular prowess for creating earworms without actively scoring U.S. hits; he’s had plenty of worthy singles in the years since, but has yet to reach the top 20 of the Hot 100. Hopefully that changes with “Rush,” a house music heater that juxtaposes Sivan’s oscillating register with ecstatic group chanting and never stops percolating — his first album in five years arrives in October, but “Rush” is too scorching to have been delivered in any season but the summertime.
