Summer Fridays mean new music, and this week is no different. All the bops are dropping today! In addition to Normani and Cardi B’s “Wild Side,” we’re heading into the weekend with a few more new contenders for the coveted “Song of the Summer” title. Here’s what we’re adding to our play list this weekend:
Pop Smoke’s highly anticipated second posthumous album Faith arrives today and it is jam packed with collaborations. Kanye West, Future, Kid Cudi, Pharrell Williams and so many more. But the standout, the one everybody’s talking about, has to be “Demeanor,” the late rapper’s bouncy, funky single featuring Dua Lipa. Vulture is already calling it the “ultimate summer hit.”
Here’s your chill-out throwback track. We’ll have to wait a few more weeks to see Jennifer Hudson’s star turn as Aretha Franklin in next month’s biopic Respect, but today we’re getting a preview of the singer’s powerhouse performance as the Queen of Soul. On this version of “(You Make Me Feel Like A) Natural Woman” from the film’s soundtrack, JHud effortlessly manages to pay homage to Franklin’s original while making the song entirely her own.
Summer love is in the air thanks to The Internet frontwoman Syd’s latest solo single. “Fast Car”—which is not a cover of the iconic Tracey Chapman song, but, ooh, can you imagine…—pairs the singer’s airy, joyful vocals with a beat that’s reminiscent of 1999-era Prince. You know that feeling you get when you’ve just kissed your summer crush for the first time? That’s this song! We dare you to listen to it and try not to smile.
After the concentrated musical summer sunset of “Fast Car,” it’s time for a late-night vibe, courtesy of Shakira. The singer’s new single “Don’t Wait Up” has us desperate to get to the club, STAT! Feel those ’90s house beats? Yeah, you do! Wait up? We’re staying up!
