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 hits new sweet spots, Zayn enters a fresh phase and A Boogie Wit da Hoodie keeps climbing. Check out all of this week’s picks below:
Billie Eilish, Hit Me Hard and Soft
Forget the standout tracks (although there are several of them) and the general atmosphere (which is richly developed and immediately engrossing); the miracle of Billie Eilish’s third studio album, Hit Me Hard and Soft, is the fact that one of the most celebrated young superstars in the history of popular music — who’s coming off of her second Oscar win, at the age of 22! — can continue to sound so freed from expectations, and unconstrained from modern pop trends. Eilish has always made unflinching choices in the face of ever-expanding fame, and from the crackling pop-rock of “Lunch” to the labyrinthine saga of “Bittersuite” to the heartfelt jangle of “Birds of a Feather,” she remains impossible to predict, and a master of her craft, on her latest full-length.
Zayn, Room Under the Stairs
Room Under the Stairs is Zayn’s first album since he entered his thirties last year — and while the rustic, country-rock sound denotes a change in approach, the songwriting and vocal performances also capture a maturation, as the former One Direction star sounds fully removed from the trappings of pop stardom and ready to tell his story his way. Lead single “What I Am” quickly sets the tone, but “Stardust” immerses the listener in the promise of Zayn’s new era, marrying his knack for melody with deep, hard-earned soulfulness.
A Boogie Wit da Hoodie, Better Off Alone
In a few weeks, Bronx rapper A Boogie Wit da Hoodie will perform a headlining show at Madison Square Garden, a full-circle moment for an MC who has always operated left-of-center when it comes to hip-hop’s elite but has steadily built a dedicated following and racked up hundreds of millions of streams. New album Better Off Alone includes guest spots from Future, Lil Durk and Young Thug, among others, but the percolating “Body,” featuring rising star Cash Cobain, best distills A Boogie’s new-school take on NYC hip-hop by way of Jersey club, and sounds like a surefire hit.
Luke Combs, “Ain’t No Love in Oklahoma”
Luke Combs’ burly new rocker comes from the soundtrack to the upcoming Twister sequel Twisters, which helps explain lines like “You’ll know when it’s coming for ya / Riding in on the wind and rain.” Removed from the context of the film, however, “Ain’t No Love in Oklahoma” allows Combs to playfully roar over meaty guitar riffs, showcasing a side of the superstar that might be unfamiliar to non-country fans who only know his delicate “Fast Car” cover.
Editor’s Pick: Saweetie, “NANi”
Saweetie climbed the charts and crossed over to mainstream listeners thanks in part to pop-rap confections like “My Type” and the Doja Cat collaboration “Best Friend,” and new summer single “NANi,” with its plinking keyboard riff and sing-song melody, has a great shot at following in the footsteps of those hits. As always, Saweetie’s rock-solid flow holds her sound together, as she concludes, “Another day, another f–kin’ bag,” with the braggadocio of a superstar.
