This was a nice, easy week for trying out new music. This week's selections are varied and all good, so check it out...
Barcelona - Max George
Former The Wanted member Max George has finally broken out on his own with his very first solo single and it is a winner! The Wanted was a boy band that did not last long enough and hearing George on vocals on this song hearkens back to the feel good Glad You Came. Check out Barcelona...
Soulmate - Justin Timberlake
Anytime Justin Timberlake puts out something new, it's always newsworthy, and this new summer jam is very easy breezy. Check out Soulmate...
Me, Myself & I - Blonde, Bryn Christopher
Now here's a hot new summer anthem by Blonde, with a little help from Bryn Christopher. Really nice! Check out Me, Myself & I...
Lava Lamps - Maty Noyes, Beekwilder
I've always loved everything singer Maty Noyes has done, and this one I think is my new favorite. This funky throwback has a vintage feel to it, yet very finger-snapping and well...funky! Check out Lava Lamps...
High Horse - Kacey Musgraves, Jeremy Larson
Country singer Kacey Musgraves opened up for Harry Styles at MSG a couple of weeks ago and although I am definitely not a country music fan, I enjoyed her set. Well, now that I see she's put out a new song, I checked it out and guess what? I liked it. Here's High Horse...
As usual, there are several other new tunes that are mention-worthy, and so here are this week's honorable mentions...
After somewhat dissing Justin Timberlake, I'd like to lighten up a bit and post one of the better new songs from his new Man of the Woods album. Say Something is a reunion between two singers from different worlds who performed a much celebrated mash-up of Tennessee Whiskey and Drink You Away a couple of years ago at the CMA's. The acoustic tune has got a serious tone and is a little reminiscent of some of the down-tempo tunes Timberlake does so well. Check out Say Something...
To commemorate the Super Bowl and its Halftime Show featuring Justin Timberlake yesterday, fans of Miss Janet Jackson held a #JanetAppreciationDay and we're following suit this morning. I watched Timberlake's performance last night and I can honestly say I was underwhelmed. Now I have no idea whether or not Justin reached out to Janet to join him, as he should have done, but her presence was not seen or heard and that's just wrong. Justin Timberlake received no consequences from Nipplegate and Janet's career took a nosedive as a result. I, and many other Janet fans, think she deserved an invitation. Ah well, enough griping! Here's Black Cat...
Ah, so many songs, so little time! I tell you, it's not an easy job sometimes, choosing five hot new tracks out of the many that are released each week. It takes several listens and sometimes the changing of minds on some of the week's selections. I think this week that we've got a little bit of variety thrown into the realm of new music, with selections from Justin Timberlake, Sting with Shaggy, Tiesto and more. Check it out...
Say Something - Justin Timberlake, feat. Chris Stapleton
Justin Timberlake seems to be prepping next week's Super Bowl performance by releasing his third new song in the last four weeks and so far, this one's my favorite. Featuring country music singer Chris Stapleton, this dramatic and serious tune is a quality track! Check out the song's accompanying video...
The Middle - Zedd, Maren Morris, Grey
German and Russian deejay/producer Zedd shared a new collaboration with singer Maren Morris and EDM duo Grey. The song will be a backdrop to Target's spring marketing campaign and is typical of Zedd's style, sort of easy breezy with a little bit of pop dance thrown in the mix. Check out The Middle...
Don't Make Me Wait - Sting, feat. Shaggy
It's been a long, long time since either Sting or Shaggy have put out anything noteworthy, and now they're doing it together. Debuting their new song, Don't Make e Wait, on last night's Grammy's, the duo gave us a taste of possibly what's to come on their forthcoming album entitled 44/876. The song is slow and steady, with island rhythms serving as a backdrop to their different, yet complimentary voices. Check it out...
Happy Hour (Eden Prince Mix) - Weezer
Several remixes of Weezer's Happy Hour have come out since its release in October, and this one by Eden Prince is just dreamily dancey. Check out Happy Hour...
BOOM - Tiesto, Gucci Mane, Sevenn
And speaking of remixes, here's a new version of Tiesto and Sevenn's BOOM with a little Gucci Mane thrown into the mix. This one's an instant club shaker. Check out BOOM...
So there you have it, five hot new music tracks for your listening pleasure. Stay tuned for more New Music Fridays next week and in the meantime, check out this week';s honorable mentions...
God's Plan - DrakeR3
Just the Same - Charlotte Lawrence
Lullaby - R3HAB, Mike Williams
Mix Up - Mr. Popular
Hope For Tomorrow - Autograf, Klingande, Dragonette
Well the first week of 2018 in new music has already been monumental, with new efforts by Justin Timberlake, Bruno Mars and more. Let's take a look...
Filthy - Justin Timberlake
Of course, the biggest news in new music this week is the always highly anticipated return of Justin Timberlake to the scene. The 36 year old singer released a new song and video for Filthy, a lead single to what will be his 4th studio album, Man of the Woods. Bottom line: the song's got a steady, mid-tempo vibe that's funky, as you might expect. It's not as catchy as Timberlake's previous effort, Can't Stop the Feeling, but it's definitely gonna grow on me. Though Entertainment Weekly's Eric Renner Brown hated it, I, for a change, think it's kind of exciting! Judge for yourself as you take a look and listen at the futuristic and fun accompanying video for Filthy...
All the Stars - Kendrick Lamar, SZA
The lead single to the soundtrack of Marvel's upcoming Black Panter film is a collaboration between rapper du jour Kendrick Lamar and R&B singer SZA. Now I don't often cover rap/hip-hop tunes, but Lamar is exceptional and this track is quality. Check out All the Stars...
Finesse - Bruno Mars, Cardi B
Anyone who was around back in the early 90's will immediately recognize the set for Bruno Mars and Cardi B's new video for Finesse, and the end of the video dedication gives proper testament to that great sketch comedy show, In Living Color. Of course, as with any Bruno Mars song, this one's funky and cool, but for me, and former fly girl Jennifer Lopez, the video is da bomb! Check out Finesse...
For You - Liam Payne, Rita Ora
Two of my favorite new singers have come together for a song from the upcoming Fifty Shades Freed movie. For You is a sweet duet that puts together two of music's brightest young voices. What a nice, dramatic tune! Check it out...
Heart's Ain't Gonna Lie - Arlissa, Jonas Blue
Jonas Blue is starting the new year off right with a reworking of British singer Arlissa's neew promotional single, Heart's Ain't Gonna Lie. There's no real good video or audio for this sweet pop tune, but trust me, it's good!
B.A.M. - Schilly
Here's another funky, funky tune that well worth a listen. It's really too bad that this one isn't around the Internet either! As always, though, you can check out the track on Spotify.
Here's a song that's been growing on me more and more with each listen. It's the Justin Timberlake-influenced (literally!) trio, The Shadowboxers, with their funky, easy on the ears and on the dance floor jam, Hot Damn. Check it out...
Whoah, what a week in new music! It's only been a little more than twenty four hours now, and I'm feeling a little overwhelmed digesting all of the great, noteworthy stuff that's new this week. Which ones to share? For what it's worth, here goes...
Good Old Days - Macklemore & Kesha
Indie turned mainstream rap artist Macklemore has dropped his own solo project without his partner in crime Ryan Lewis and the newest single off the set, Gemini, is a tender, sweet ballad featuring the newly respected, mature Kesha. The song is radio friendly and has already caught quite the buzz, featuring in all of the major music magazines. Check out the vintage-esque video set at a campground...
Sexy Dirty Love - Demi Lovato
Demi Lovato's got a brand new album coming out this week and she's dropped yet another sexy tune from the set that's also catching a lot of buzz. This one is a lot more dance-floor friendly than her previous Sorry, Not Sorry, but still with a lot of rhythm and blues. Great voice, sexy jam! Take a listen to the track on Rolling Stone.
Marvel's Cloak and Dagger actress Olivia Holt has turned singer with this new, irresistible, sexy finger snapper and toe tapper that I loved the very first time I heard it. Such a fun tune, and video! Check it out...
Hot Damn - The Shadowboxers
The Shadowboxers are Justin Timberlake's newest discovery just dropped their newest single and it is hot. The trio of Adam Hoffman, Matt Lipkins and Scott Tyler have been working with Timberlake all summer long and the results are amazing. Hot Damn is definitely within the realm of JT's sound, fast moving and dancey rhythm and blues that is very radio friendly. Take a listen to it on Just Jared, where the tune debuted on Thursday.
Deadly Valentine - Charlotte Gainsbourg
British and French actress and singer Charlotte Gainsbourg, whom I'd never heard of before today, has released a new tune from an upcoming album called Rest. The track is described by Spin's Anna Gaca as "dreamy [and] danceable," and I couldn't agree more with that assessment. The tune has a sort of strange, but funky bassline that's just immediately likable and the rest of it is, well, dreamy and danceable! Check out the "offbeat" video to Deadly Valentine...
Borrowed Time - Wyclef Jean
Two of my favorite songs of all time, Gone Till November and Perfect Gentleman, are from former Fugees frontman Wyclef Jean. Jean has been largely absent for the past several years, but that's about to change with his new Carnival III: The Fall and Rise of a Refugee, his latest album which just dropped on September 15th. I gave this song an extra listen because it is Wyclef, and I'm actually glad I did. The tune is a beautiful, socially conscious ballad that actually features sounds never heard before from the planet Jupiter, as recorded by NASA. Pretty cool, huh? It really is a beautiful song! Check it out...
Big Girls (Wiz Mix) - Salt n Pepa
Okay, so I can't find much on this freshly released track from Salt n Pepa, but I love it! It's sounds like it could have been an early recording, a little more rappish than pop, and I can't tell, but I think the recording samples Run DMC somewhere in there. Great tune! Take a listen...
A Different Way - DJ Snake, featuring Lauv
I've been a fan of DJ Snake for a couple of years now, and his latest, A Different Way, only adds to my admiration of his work. Ed Sheeran gets songwriting credits for the tune and smooth-voiced singer Lauv contributes the dramatic vocals. Of course, it is a DJ Snake track, so it's gotta be danceable, and ooh, the dance sequences in the song are actually what make it for me. Snake debuted the single in Paris atop the Arc de Triomphe...cool! Check out A Different Way...
Okay, okay, I need to stop here. You see, I told you there was a lot of great stuff this week, probably the most of any single week since I've been doing New Music Fridays. On top of these nine great songs, there are some really great honorable mentions that you should check out as well. Take a look...
Phases - ALMA, with French Montana Again - Noah Cyrus, XXXTENTACION Hillside Boys - Kim Petras Week Without You - Miley Cyrus Ain't Ready - Hoodie Allen Don't Look Back In Anger - Portugal. The Man. Lost in the Wild - Synead Move You - Kelly Clarkson Ready For It - Taylor Swift Anything - All Tvvns
There's even more, so stay tuned to John's Music World Song of the Day or Spotify's New Music Fridays to check em out.
Justin Timberlake returned in 2016 for just one song, from the Trolls movie, and it was an instant hit for its feel-good vibes. Check out Can't Stop the Feeling...
A couple of weeks ago, while at a club in Florida, I heard a few tracks off of Justin Timberlake's FutureSexyLoveSound and was jamming all along. Now that was a classic album full of great tunes by a great production team of Timbaland and Timberlake. Here's one of my favorites. Enjoy and Happy Friday!
Okay, so I couldn't post the Backstreet Boys without posting NSYNC, too. After all, when you think of boy bands in the 90's, these are the two most think of first. Here's their debut single from way back in 1996 that first put them on the radar. Look at how young they look, especially Justin Timberlake, lol. Here's I Want You Back...
Now here's what I call an Insta-hit! I mentioned here a couple of weeks ago that Justin Timberlake's new tune was a winner, and already, shades of Uptown Funk are popping up all over the place. A sure sign is all of the father/daughter, friend, supermarket customers/workers, etc. dance videos that have hit the Internet already. It's kind of sad actually, because I know, like the earlier song, we're all probably going to get sick of this one pretty quickly. Anyway, while it's still a little fresh, here's the fun video for Can't Stop the Feeling....
Justin, we have a winner! It's already hard to believe that three years have passed already since Justin Timberlake has given us anything new, and even the last time around this fan was somewhat disappointed. Overall I wasn't pleased with The 20/20 Experience. I thought it wasn't mainstream enough to resonate with the masses, and I believe in the end I was right. But when he unexpectedly dropped a new single on Friday, I was hopeful, hopeful that he'd return to the awesome days of FutureSexLoveSound. Well, yeah!
Justin Timberlake's new Can't Stop the Feeling, from the soundtrack of the upcoming movie Trolls, is a bona fide, feel-good hit. It's just one of those kinds of songs that makes you happy, bopping and singing along even during the first listen. So if you haven't heard it yet, check out Can't Stop the Feeling...
The last day of February is here and it's time for one more song celebrating Black History Month. Ciara's collaboration with Justin Timberlake on Love Sex Magic is one funky tune. The voices of these two blend perfectly in this sexually charged jam and it's so easy to dance to. Enjoy and Happy Saturday!
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