Billboard’s Friday Music Information serves as a useful information to this Friday’s most important releases — the important thing music that everybody will likely be speaking about as we speak, and that will likely be dominating playlists this weekend and past.
This week, *NSYNC sounds “Higher” collectively, Ed Sheeran bundles up for fall, and Dangerous Bunny drops a touch of what’s to return. Try all of this week’s picks beneath:
*NSYNC, “Higher Place”
“I’m already up, however you raise me larger,” Justin Timberlake sings within the opening seconds of “Higher Place,” the primary new tune from *NSYNC in over 20 years. The quintet is singing a few euphoric relationship, however that line would possibly as effectively be in regards to the long-awaited boy band reunion: “Higher Place,” which will likely be featured in Trolls Band Collectively, interprets Timberlake’s solo success together with his earlier single entries from the Trolls movies and raises the stakes, as *NSYNC shimmy by means of whistle hooks and “Yoo-hoo’s!” like they’ve been ready for this present day for some time (and so they’re not alone in that).
Ed Sheeran, Autumn Variations
Previous to releasing Autumn Variations, his second full-length of 2023, Ed Sheeran spent the yr unveiling – (Subtract), an intimate and infrequently devastating exploration of grief and worry, and acting at stadiums whereas usually alone onstage. As he wraps up that mega-selling tour and waves goodbye to his “Arithmetic” album collection, Sheeran spins that second of transition into Autumn Variations, a beautiful and understated assortment that places his songwriting entrance and middle; credit score Aaron Dessner, who helped information Sheeran’s earlier album, for locating new methods to move his voice into rustic, fall-friendly preparations.
Dangerous Bunny, “Un Preview”
After a record-breaking 2022, Dangerous Bunny’s studio output this yr has been comparatively restricted, with a handful of solo tracks and collaborations — however maybe new single “Un Preview” is precisely that of a probably big 2024? No matter its context inside Dangerous Bunny’s larger discography, “Un Preview” crackles, with the celebrity rapping with conviction over a reggaeton beat and deploying pinpoint melodies when vital; had this been launched in Could, the only could have dominated the summer season, however Dangerous Bunny has as a substitute given us an attractive glimpse at subsequent yr’s output.
Jung Kook feat. Jack Harlow, “3D”
“3D” will undoubtedly draw comparisons to Jung Kook’s “Seven” — contemplating that the earlier single reached the highest of the Scorching 100 chart, and in addition featured a hip-hop collaborator — however whereas the Latto team-up leaned into pop immediacy, “3D,” with Jack Harlow, presents itself as a rhythmic dance monitor that may have sounded at residence on Justin Timberlake’s Justified album. Jung Kook’s confidence as a solo star continues to develop, whereas Harlow rides the modern manufacturing with tossed-off allure: “I’m on my Jung Kook,” he crows, “take a chick off one look!”
The Rolling Stones feat. Girl Gaga & Stevie Marvel, “Candy Sounds of Heaven”
A seven-minute hymn from The Rolling Stones, that includes a soul-baring efficiency from Mick Jagger, powerhouse vocals from Girl Gaga and keys from Stevie Marvel? “Candy Sounds of Heaven” feels designed in a lab for some all-star awards present efficiency, however as a substitute, the monitor from the Stones’ upcoming Hackney Diamonds album leaps out of the audio system with studio vibrancy, as all A-listers concerned decide to climbing the mountain and don’t cease till the lighters-in-the-air finale; there’s a radio edit of “Candy Sounds of Heaven,” however actually, you gotta let the entire epic bowl you over.
PinkPantheress, “Mosquito”
“Mosquito” demonstrates why, lengthy earlier than “Boy’s a Liar Pt. 2” grew to become an out-of-nowhere smash for PinkPantheress earlier this yr, so many pop listeners had invested within the British 22-year-old: her newest single flaunts a pure reward for world-building and hook creation, engrossing the listener with rhetorical questions for a romantic accomplice earlier than dropping the bomb, “’Trigger I simply had a dream I used to be lifeless / And I solely cared ’trigger I used to be taken from you.” Though PinkPantheress usually works with songs that clock in at beneath two minutes, “Mosquito” is barely longer, extra well-rounded, and an absolute gem.
Editor’s Decide: U2, “Atomic Metropolis”
U2’s launch of the Sphere, a groundbreaking new venue in Las Vegas, is pretty much as good of an event as any for the band’s greatest single in years: “Atomic Metropolis,” an ode to the veteran superstars’ longtime supporters, possesses a quickness and stomp-clap jangle that hits a scrumptious groove about midway by means of, with the interaction between Bono’s warble and The Edge’s riffs sounding particularly refreshed. Whether or not loved inside an unlimited spherical construction or in your headphones, “Atomic Metropolis” marks a convincing return to kind.