Billboard’s Friday Music Guide serves as a handy guide to New Music Friday’s most essential releases each week — the key music that everyone will be talking about today, and that will be dominating playlists this weekend and beyond.
Last week, we featured Troye Sivan, Remi Wolf, Slayyyter and Pitbull.
This week, Olivia Rodrigo taps pal Chappell Roan for their “Expectations” remix; Tate McRae launches her next chapter with single “Housewife”; Zach Bryan returns with a new EP titled Young Manhood & Other Donatable Organs; and Belgian artist Angèle releases her anticipated third album… plus much more.
Check out all of this week’s picks below:
Olivia Rodrigo, “Expectations (feat. Chappell Roan)”
“Ooh, Olivia does remixes now,” says Chappell with a touch of cheeky sarcasm at the start of O Rod’s reimagined “expectations” single. And while listeners have to wait a while to see or hear from Chappell again, boy is it worth it. The second half of this remix is supercharged, packing an even bigger punch than it’s original thanks to Roan’s very own verse and her continued presence throughout the rest of the track as she takes over on a chorus and seamlessly melds her own powerhouse vocals with Rodrigo’s. The two match each other well in presence and prowess, making for an exceptionally fun remix that will surely be a standout moment if and when it gets a live debut. — LYNDSEY HAVENS
Tate McRae, “Housewife”
With new single “Housewife,” Tate McRae fantasizes a life well lived — full of yachts, “loads of cash” and “prеcious cars,” all of which she sings of and shows off in the song’s video. “I just wanna make a lot of money/ be my own housewife/ You could be the one I’m calling honey/ Be my sex on the side,” the pop star sings on the chorus over midtempo production. The cover art should have been indication enough — on it, Tate is pushing a baby carriage full of money — that her focus is on herself and her bag. She doesn’t need anyone else to provide, and for now, isn’t looking to provide for anyone else. — L.H.
Zach Bryan, Young Manhood & Other Donatable Organs
Zach Bryan, who in his relatively short career has paired with such artists as Bruce Springsteen, The War and Treaty and Kacey Musgraves (on the 2023 Billboard Hot 100 chart-topping duet, “I Remember Everything”), continues his collaborative ways on Young Manhood and Other Donatable Organs, an eight-song EP on which he partners beautifully with Lana Del Rey on the bittersweet “Lies” and Turnpike Troubadours on “Plainsman.” The set comes less than a year after With Heaven on Top, his 25-track opus, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 in January — but he has plenty to say. Even though this set clocks in at around just 28 minutes, Bryan tackles a wide range of topics, including technology on “Robot Killed the Working Man,” as well as stretching musically on such tracks as the thumping “Dog Days.” The set brims with a verve and freshness, no doubt inspired by Bryan’s exhilarating live show. — MELINDA NEWMAN
Angèle, Instinct
In February, Belgian pop star Angèle declared that she was making a claim for world domination with the release of her tough, sexy Justice collab “What You Want.” Already a huge star in her home country (in 2018 Angèle broke Stromae’s record for number of weeks at No. 1 of the Belgian singles charts with her single “Tout oublier”), she’s lesser known outside the country, save for a few moments like her 2020 Dua Lipa collab “Fever.” Instinct, then, is a convincing play for wider recognition, with Angèle not only singing many of its the song in English, but gathering a group of high-caliber collaborators including SebastiAn and Caroline Polacheck (who worked on the album’s excellent single “Love Triangle”) for music that blends pop with electronic in a way that’s not only convincing but, crucially in this era of fast-moving music, memorable. Magnifique! — KATIE BAIN
Ashe, The Girl Of Your Dreams
Following the viral success of single “Stop the Wedding!” — which has climbed to a No. 48 peak on the Hot 100 — singer-songwriter Ashe is sharing her fourth album, The Girl Of Your Dreams. Since breaking out in 2019 with “Moral of the Story,” Ashe more recently teamed with friend and longtime collaborator FINNEAS in 2025 to form a duo called The Favors. While “Wedding” featured downtempo, swaying pop piano production and second single “Funeral” slowed it down even more, isolating Ashe’s vocals with just keys for its first half, new focus track “Lasso the Moon” sounds like a glittering, bouncy fusion of a Sienna Spiro and RAYE song that’s right on time. — L.H.
Fontaines D.C., Dopamine Chamber
There’s a poppy heart within “Mimesis”, a bright, disarmingly catchy hook that sounds like one you’ve always known and cherished. Its radiant sound feels indicative of how, since the anthemic “Jackie Down the Line” stormed out of the gates at the start of the band’s 2022 Skinty Fia campaign, the Fontaines D.C. aesthetic has continued to embody some intriguing contradictions: balancing melodic immediacy with downplayed vocals and weighty, dark, atmospheric fuzz. Expect this one to go off at the band’s first-ever stadium dates next summer. – SOPHIE WILLIAMS
Justice (feat. Tame Impala, SZA, King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard), “Flower in a Hurricane”
As fans continue to anxiously await Grand Theft Auto VI, Rockstar Games has just revealed Justice as the game’s composers, tasked with crafting an “original dynamic score,” according to a release. The electronic duo is sharing a first taste with new single “Flower in a Hurricane,” which boasts an impressive lineup of collaborators including Tame Impala (Kevin Parker opened for Justice on a three-date tour of Australia last year), SZA and King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard. The atmospheric opening quickly expands into a melodic fury of grungy guitars, driving drums and sparkling synths, all of which are united by Kevin Parker and SZA’s surprisingly harmonious vocals. — L.H.
Rachel Chinouriri, I Think I Spoke Too Soon
Brit Award-nominated alt-pop singer-songwriter Rachel Chinouriri has finally shared her highly anticipated sophomore studio album, I Think I Spoke Too Soon. Headlined by buzzy singles such as the disco-inflected “One Song Away from Crying,” her new 12-track set traces the years following her What a Devastating Turn of Events breakthrough — and the self-recalibration that came with the development of her frontal lobe. Featuring new collaborators like Lucy Dacus and Eli Teplin, Spoke Too Soon is nobody’s sophomore slump. — KYLE DENIS
Lucky Daye, ALOUD!
Grammy-winning R&B savant Lucky Daye is back with his fourth studio album, ALOUD! Featuring appearances by longtime collaborator Leon Thomas, R&B hitmaker Muni Long, rising Mississippi MC Akeem Ali, hip-hop giant Pusha T and new-school Atlanta punk-pop outfit The Paradox, ALOUD! radically expands Daye’s sonic profile while keeping his soulful vocals front and center. With its title taking its name from the homophonic relationship between the words “allowed” and “aloud,” Daye’s new 15-track set gleefully rejects the idea that an artist needs anyone’s permission to take risks and follow their muse. — K.D.
