Friday is here once again! For this April 16, 2021 edition of New Music Friday, the following artists have made my list of picks this week! There’s new music from Grammy-nominated pop star Bebe Rexha, multi Grammy-nominated artist Julia Michaels, hit Norwegian DJ Kygo ft. Scottish musician James Gillespie, Canadian artist Ruth B. & indie pop band Walk Off The Earth.
“Sabotage” by Bebe Rexha
2x Grammy-nominated pop star, Bebe Rexha shared her latest single, “Sabotage” off her forthcoming second studio album, Better Mistakes out May 7th! It’s the third single following the fun and catchy Doja Cat collaboration, “Baby, I’m Jealous” and the dance club bop, “Sacrifice” released last month. In “Sabotage,” I felt the raw emotions she showcased in the music video seen above. Also, everything from the exploding flowers and picture frames to a flooded living room and a fiery burning house was used to depict the blame, pain, and suffering one might self-inflict and experience from heartbreak.
If you see yourself perpetually beating yourself up over lost love, then this song was made for you! This is a heart-wrenching song in my opinion. Hopefully, hearing Rexha’s latest aural masterpiece, you will feel seen by the lyrics and use that for some deep reflection as you move on from a bad breakup. As the saying goes, “time heals all wounds.”
Don’t beat yourself up too much! Mistakes happen all the time in life. There will come a day where someone will connect and be on your same wavelength. Hopefully, you can take this cathartic sad song and grow stronger with each passing day you move on from the sorrows of your past relationship(s.)
Better Mistakes will have a total of 13 tracks which includes collaborations with Rick Ross, Travis Barker, Ty Dolla $ign, Trevor Daniel, Lil Uzi Vert, Pink Sweat$ & Lunay. Which ones are you looking forward to?
Shop the official Bebe Rexha merch store, right here!
“Love Is Weird” by Julia Michaels
3x Grammy-nominated pop singer-songwriter, Julia Michaels gave her fans another sampling off her upcoming debut album, Not In Chronological Order yesterday in “Love Is Weird.” It follows the spicy sassy/vindictive anthem, “All Your Exes” released last month.
This song talks about her fixation over some past exes she once dated and how love really is a complicated thing. You can fall head over heels for someone in one moment, and then the next, they’ve been reduced to just a letter stowed in a drawer.
Fans who’ve had past tough relationships will resonate with this song the most I feel because of Michaels’ lyrics like: “Love is weird/It shows up and disappears/Love is strange for some/It ranges from making love to tears.”
This ballad doesn’t disappoint from a musical arrangement perspective and from a songwriting standpoint. The “Issues” musician knows very well how to craft a song that will extract the emotions out of people and it shows once again here. It definitely complements “All Your Exes” despite being lighter and softer in sound.
I can’t wait to hear how the rest of the new record will sound real soon. How about you?
Not In Chronological Order drops April 30th!
Stay connected with all the latest updates by visiting her official site and purchase your official merch, here.
“Gone Are The Days” by Kygo feat. James Gillespie
This marks the first time Norwegian DJ/record producer Kygo has worked with Scottish singer-songwriter, James Gillespie. It’s a very emotional/melancholic track about losing a lover and remembering the memories you shared together. Breakups are rough for many and just like in my previous two song picks, this too continues the theme of heartbreak and ways people react, cope and process events that took place.
I thoroughly enjoyed Gillespie’s soulful vocal performance on this track. With Kygo’s award winning production values, this makes for an epic collaboration that you simply cannot miss out on! He never writes and produces a bad song in my opinion! Am I right? Thoughts?
See the cool visualizer that accompanies this latest single. I thought it captured the essence of the scary unknown one has to go through post-breakup.
Be sure to check out a very lovely piano version of the song too. You can hear that one, right here!
Can’t wait to hear more piano versions and acoustic tracks on his next project/album!
Check out Kygo’s official site for all the latest news/updates and more!!
“Situation” by Ruth B.
Love can get really complicated. Are you a true couple? If you’re feeling like your relationship is currently on the fence at the moment or you’ve been getting mixed messages from the person you’re dating, then you need to hear this song from Canadian singer-songwriter Ruth B.
Some notable lyrics that struck me when I heard this song:
“I’ve been wondering what’s been going on
/What’s our situation?” AND in the bridge section, “If you love me let me know or let me go/Let me go or let me know.”
Don’t leave a girl hanging is what’s she’s trying to say. Either you love her or not. If you cannot commit, please let her know so she doesn’t have to waste any more time.
Vocally speaking, she has a really nice soothing tone to her voice and if you’re a fan of soft melodic songs that will put you at ease, feel free to add this one to your playlists this week.
This is the first single to be dropped in 2021 for the Edmonton, Alberta native. She plans on releasing her second studio album called Moments In Between on June 11th!
“Anthem” by Walk Off The Earth
Capping off this week’s picks is the latest tune from quintet group, Walk Off The Earth. It’s their first song release for 2021. While the lyrics to “Anthem” sound sad and depressing, the vocal delivery on the other hand is anything but! I love the performance video seen above. The hand clapper toy that Gianni Nicassio uses on top of the keyboard was pretty nifty to see. One of my favorite moments to watch starts at 1:55. Like if you agree?
The band posted on Twitter citing music as their savior and asked their listeners what anthem has helped you though some tough times? Feel free to share your songs below.
So if you need a serious pick me up this week, definitely check them out today!
Take a look at their merch store, here. Stay connected through their official website, here.
That does it for this week’s post!! Thank you all for reading this 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. I truly appreciate your time reading my posts!
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As always, stay safe, happy listening and I’ll see you again next week!
Philip's Music Corner 