Happy Friday!! We’ve made it through another week! I’ve selected five new candidates for your playlists this weekend! Hope you enjoy them. We’ve got the latest from Grammy-nominated artist, Demi Lovato fresh off her world premiere performance at the BBMAs earlier this week, pop singers-songwriters Lauv & Conan Gray with a catchy new anthem, EDM group Louis The Child and their collaboration with alternative rock group COIN, & last but not least DJ/singer/entrepreneur Paris Hilton with her amazing new collab with DJ Lodato.
“Commander In Chief” by Demi Lovato
Demi Lovato follows her strong and emotional post breakup single, “Still Have Me” two weeks ago with another equally strong and emotional song called “Commander In Chief.” She co-wrote this track with none other than FINNEAS, brother to Grammy-winning artist, Billie Eilish and fellow pop singer herself, Julia Michaels.
This time she’s taking a stand against the current administration and POTUS himself. She enlisted several individuals of varying ages, races, and ethnicities to lip sync her evocative message to the President so the whole world can hear. We see everyone from a young Black girl to an older white male with a hat that reads “Make America United Again” to an adult female in a wheelchair mouthing the words: “Commander in Chief, honestly/If I did the things you do/I couldn’t sleep, seriously/Do you even know the truth?/We’re in a state of crisis, people are dyin’/While you line your pockets deep/Commander in Chief, how does it feel to still/Be able to breathe?” Powerful imagery to watch!
The strong chorus references the racial injustices seen earlier this summer and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic which has tragically killed over 210,000 Americans to this date. Lovato asks how can the President behave like this, so ignorant and heartless, hiding from the protesters, lining his pockets from these tragic events and she wonders, does he really know the truth?!?
She hopes this song will elicit a response from this administration while also enabling a public discussion. With less than three weeks left until Election Day, she’s using this song as a platform to stress the importance of voting.
ICYMI: Demi performed this song for the first time at the 2020 Billboard Music Awards two nights ago. Check it out here:
“Fake” by Lauv & Conan Gray
Singer-songwriter Lauv follows his five-track EP, Without You with a new collaborative effort with fellow pop singer Conan Gray. Gray, in case you didn’t know, is best known for his hit song “Heather” which currently has over 22 million views on YouTube and “Maniac” which has been certified Gold by the RIAA. This is the first time the two artists have worked together on a song.
The two twenty-somethings explore the world of fakeness in this fun new song. Know someone who acts one way to others but totally different towards you? If you have a fake friend or relationship either currently or in the past, then you should definitely check their single out!
They sing in the rather catchy and anthemic chorus, “Man, you’re so f—ing fake (ahh ah)/You don’t mean a single thing you say (ahh ah)/If we’ve got a problem, say it to my face (ahh ah)/And you’re just like all the people that you hate/You’re so fake/When the real you’s back, I’ll pick up my phone.” Through a series of different mini sets they travel from one to another with set production extras providing the props and necessary components for some cool effects alongside including a confetti blaster! It’s such a COVID style music video yet it’s simplicities make for quite an enjoyable video to watch unfold. So kudos to everyone on their respective teams who worked on this production safely during this ongoing pandemic.
“SCAR” by Ashton Irwin
5SOS member, Ashton Irwin is back with another tasting/preview off his upcoming solo album, Superbloom. In “Scar,” Irwin wears his emotions on his sleeves as he sings about mental health in this song. He’s advocating to us that life is filled with so much joy, so many possibilities and just because life hands you lemons, you simply mustn’t give up. The scars we get in life provide lessons for the future not a helpless pit of doom and gloom.
I love the arrangement of this rock song. Love the inclusion of the harps which made the song so unique. The guitar chords have a soothing tone and the drums provided the punch for that maximum effect. The chorus and post-chorus leaves an indelible mark! The bridge leading to the outro was out of this world good! Please turn it up! It’s truly an aural experience.
In a recent tweet the 26-year-old singer-songwriter calls it his “favorite song” off the record. He also describes it as “powerful and raw” adding that it’s “a message to my family, a message for anyone that listens, about perseverance though periods of intense struggle.” His emotional openness is truly commendable!
Like I said the last time I mentioned Ashton Irwin for my picks, I’m excited to hear the rest of his album and him sharing his story/journey for listeners all around the world!
“Self Care” by Louis The Child & COIN
EDM group Louis The Child has teamed up with alternative rock group COIN for the first time. In this upbeat dance track, the two groups are preaching the importance of self care.
“I do it for myself/I’m dancin’ for no one else/I do it for myself, baby/Ah-ah, ah-ah-ah, ah, ah.” The chorus really strikes a chord because if you’re feeling like you’re energies have been exhausted as of late or been absorbed by others and not yourself, then you need to listen to these lines and the song as a whole. It will definitely give you a wake up call to say, ‘hey, listen, I’m important too. I deserve the rest. I deserve a break. I deserve to be happy too. I deserve to be appreciated for the things I do in life!’ The list goes on!!
See the accompanying music video above for some feel good vibes as the two groups and some interpretive dancers just let loose and have fun in a desert!
“I Blame You” by Paris Hilton
Call it a comeback single, but really, has Paris Hilton really left? Hilton dropped this surprise new dance track and it’s all about love despite the song title, “I Blame You.”
“I feel good, I feel good. I blame you, I blame you.” Those simple lines get repeated in such a way that you can’t help but say, ‘wow, this really makes me feel happy and positive in life.’
So if you’re feeling like you met your better half or just have a really close friend and or family member, then this song is for you! They bring the joy and sunshine to your life and you can credit them for changing your perspective on life especially if you’ve had a troubled past, or a rough patch in a previous relationship, or even something as trivial as receiving a bad grade in school. It doesn’t define you forever.
DJ Lodato really sets the mood for this track and I want to say he mixed it excellently with the entertainer/entrepreneur’s dreamy vocals.
Paris shared in a recent Instagram post that proceeds from this song will go to Breaking Code Silence, a “movement organized by a network of survivors and advocates to raise awareness of the abuses in the troubled teen industry.”
Hilton recently released her eye-opening YouTube documentary which dives deeper into her life story from her childhood to present day. In this doc, she details for the first time publicly, the verbal, psychological and physical abuse she endured when she was sent to Provo Canyon School when she was a teenager. Watch her YouTube Original documentary, This Is Paris, here. You can’t help after watching this, to support Paris Hilton. Virtual hugs all around!
Now she’s standing up and raising awareness for the survivors in support of closing down that institution. Feel free to sign her Change.org petition.
That wraps up this week’s post! Thank you all for reading another edition of New Music Friday here at Philip’s Music Corner. If you liked what you read, kindly click on the follow button down below. Also if you like, please support my work by donating to my Paypal. Feel free to share your thoughts and feelings about any of these picks in the comments box down below! You can also give the songs featured this week a thumbs up or a thumbs down using the buttons under each pick. As always, stay safe and happy listening!
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