New Music Report - Week of November 13th

Happy Monday! Kickstart your week ahead by checking out all of the new music that has just been released in this roundup of new songs, new albums, and new artists that you need to be listening to. 

From new albums by Taylor Swift and Walk The Moon, to new songs from Keith Urban and Bastille, to new collaborations from Eminem & Beyoncé and Nick Jonas & Shania Twain, to our expert picks, take a look at this week's New Music Report.

NEW RELEASES

Taylor Swift - reputation

She did that. TAYLOR. SWIFT. DID. THAT. On November 10, 2017, Taylor Alison Swift finally gave the world her highly anticipated sixth studio album reputation. Swifties everywhere got a taste of the album with previously released songs like "Look What You Made Me Do," "...Ready For It?," "Gorgeous," and "Call It What You Want," but Queen Tay continues to blow us all away with the remaining 11 tracks, making for 15 songs of the most experimental she's ever been in terms of sound, and once again proving her undeniable abilities as a lyricist. From the vulnerable "Delicate," to her collaboration "End Game" with buddy Ed Sheeran and rapper Futureto the incredible "Getaway Car" and love-filled "King of My Heart," and of course, "This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things," every song on reputation is truly its own entity. reputation is arguably (or maybe not so arguably) Taylor's best work.

Taylor Swift - 'reputation'

Eminem featuring Beyoncé - "Walk On Water"

Eminem released the first single from his upcoming REVIVAL album entitled "Walk On Water" featuring Beyoncé. On the single, Eminem reminds us that he's about the real bars life by spitting like the Rap God he is. "Why, our expectations so high?/ Is it the bar I set?/ My arms, I stretch, but I can’t reach/ A far cry from it, or it's in my grasp, but as/ Soon as I grab, squeeze," Em raps. Queen Bey sings on the chorus, "I walk on water, but I ain't no Jesus/ I walk on water, but only when it freezes." 

Through his lyrics, he tells his fans that he's just a human being like everyone else. Em also questioned why people look up to him, as much as they do. He raps: "Kids look to me like as a god, this is retarded/ If only they knew, it’s a facade and it’s exhaustive/ And I try to not listen to nonsense/ But if you b**ches are trying to strip me of my confidence/ Mission accomplished/ I'm not god sent/ Pac, Kim, Big, James Todd Smith/ And I’m not Prince."

Walk The Moon - What If Nothing

One foot in front of the other ... has led to Walk The Moon's new album What If Nothing. The band's new record follows their 2014 album Talking Is Hard, which features their chart-topping, multi-platinum hit "Shut Up And Dance." What If Nothing -- which was produced by Mike Crossey, Mike Elizondo, and Captain Cuts -- features 13 new songs, including its lead single "One Foot," in addition to other previously released songs like "Headphones," "Surrender," and "Kamikaze." 

Walk The Moon - 'What If Nothing'

Jennifer Lopez featuring Wisin - "Amor Amor Amor"

Jennifer Lopez is back with her new Spanish-language song "Amor Amor Amor," and let's just say it's hard to not have "Amor Amor Amor" for it.  J.Lo's latest single features reggaeton recording artist Wisin, and follows her last single "Ni Tú Ni Yo," both expected to appear on her forthcoming new album Por Primera Vez, which will be her second full-length Spanish album. In a recent interview with HOLA! USA, Lopez explained why she loves to sing in Spanish, "I really love singing in Spanish. There’s just something about it that is more romantic and passionate to me, and that’s such a core part of who I am. I feel like I sing better in Spanish. We’re all interpreting songs as we go through life, right?"

Keith Urban - "Female"

Keith Urban released a powerfully stunning new single called "Female," the country star's first since his last Ripcord single "The Fighter." "Female" is a mellow track that touches on many issues and biases that women experience, and was inspired by the ongoing Harvey Weinstein scandal. In fact, in the second verse Keith sings, "When somebody laughs and implies that she asked for it just 'cause she was wearin' a skirt/Is that how that works?" Keith's wife Nicole Kidman, has appeared in several Weinstein films over the course of her career, and has publicly vocalized her support for all of those who are coming forward with claims against the film producer.

Bastille - "World Gone Mad"

Bastille is back with their first bit of new music since their 2016 full-length album Wild World, and similar in title, the track is called "World Gone Mad." The new song is from Bright: The Album, the official soundtrack to Netflix's original film Bright, which is directed by David Ayer and stars Will Smith. 

"World Gone Mad" is reflective of the world's current state, and in the chorus, Bastille's Dan Smith sings, "When it feels like the world's gone mad/And there's nothing you can do about it/No, there's nothing you can do about it." In a statement to Rolling Stone, Smith says, "I'm a massive film geek so getting to work on a film soundtrack has been so much fun." The singer adds, "It feels pretty timely. We hope that [the song] resonates beyond the film." 

Nick Jonas & Shania Twain - "Say All You Want For Christmas"

Let the Christmas music takeover continue with Nick Jonas and Shania Twain’s duet on a song called “Say All You Want For Christmas.” In a little more than three minutes, the pair let our their festive feelings with pleasant harmonies and, of course, romantic lyrics. "When we're all alone and you hold me close/ Say all you want for Christmas is me,” they sing during the hook. The collaborative effort is part of a Christmas compilation EP from Island Records.

Remy Ma featuring Lil Kim - "Wake Me Up"

Remy Ma's collab with Lil Kim is finally here! Called "Wake Me Up," the track has the Bronx MC joining forces with the original Barbie. And as you already know, it's fire. "If Peter Piper picked 'em, I bet you Remy ducked 'em/ I told you not to touch 'em, it's not up for discussion!" Remy opens up the song. "Queen b**ch I been, b**ch/ Body a guy for my guy make you a mean b**ch/ I'm his dream b**ch/ Mean b**ch, take one for the team b**ch!"

Kim adds: "Kimmy B don't trust 'em, I bet you Remy bust/ Got these n**gas on lock, but we never cuff!/ Kimmy B don't trust 'em, I bet you Remy bust/ Got these n**gas on lock, but we never cuff!" In the chorus, Queen Bee also spits: "Wake me up, mmm, when the mornin' come/ You b**ches ain't humble 'nough/ Mmm, when the mornin' come."

Jason Derulo featuring French Montana - "Tip Toe"

Jason Derulo’s forthcoming album, 777, doesn’t drop until early 2018, but the pop star has released another single called “Tip Toe” and this one features French Montana. It’s typical Derulo territory as he urges listeners to hit the dance floor, particularly the ladies, but it’s not entirely subtle either. “Tip Toe” follows the release of “If I’m Lucky” and his mega-collab, “Swalla,” featuring Nicki Minaj and Ty Dolla $ign.

Pitbull & Stereotypes featuring E-40 & Abraham Mateo - "Jungle"

Pitbull has spent enough years in the game that he’s collected a string of hits and “Jungle,” his brand-new collaboration with E-40 and Abraham Mateo, is off his forthcoming Greatest Hits compilation. Much like the rest of his catalog, “Jungle” is a breezy dance track, where the the rapper sing/talks about being the crème of the crop and invites listeners to the dance floor. Mr. 305’s compilation also includes hits like “I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho),” "Give Me Everything” featuring Ne-Yo, Afrojack and Nayer and “Timber” featuring Kesha, to name a few tracks. 

Wiz Khalifa - Laugh Now, Fly Later

Yes, we know. Millions of Wiz Khalifa fans are still waiting on his long-anticipated album Rolling Papers 2. The recording artist knows this. So, he’s released a mixtape entitled Laugh Now, Fly Later in order to give his die-hard supporters some new music in the meantime, until his LP drops. Laugh Now, Fly Later consists of 10 tracks, and the artist decided to keep things to a minimum and only have one featured artist: Casey Veggies. The heavy-hitter producers who worked on the mixtape include Sledgren, J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League, Cookin’ Soul and 808 Mafia. Wiz sure knows how to keep his fans happy.

Wiz Khalifa - 'Laugh Now, Fly Later'

Codeko featuring Austin Mahone - "Say Hi"

Austin Mahone is getting vulnerable with his emotions and, in the very least, he needs his girl to greet him with some love on his new collaboration with Codeko called “Say Hi.” Yep, you heard that right, Mahomies. He’s a man that appreciates the little things in life. "I love it when you call, I love it when you call/ Just to say hi, say hi/ Feeling low when you're away, holding on to what you say/ Just to stay high, stay high,” he sings on the chorus. "I've really enjoyed collaborating on different projects this past year and branching out into dance music,” Austin said in a statement. "Working with CODEKO was such an awesome experience. I’ve learned so much experimenting with new styles and incorporating that sound into my own music as well.” If you follow Austin's Instagram Stories, you already know that he's put in lots of work in the studio.

Ashanti featuring Ty Dolla $ign - "Say Less"

Ashanti recruited Ty Dolla $ign for her new single “Say Less.” She released her last album, Braveheart, in 2014. She was also featured on Lin Manuel-Miranda’s Hamilton mixtape on the song “Helpless” with her former Murder Inc. frequent collaborator Ja Rule. Now, Ashanti is jumping back in the game with her next smash. Throughout “Say Less,” Ashanti sings about being the top of the line woman she is. "This is your body/ Ain't no way I could hide it/ I wanna be your top supplier/ Cause I'll provide this all to you," she sings. Ty adds: “Young n**ga got the pool with me / Make it rain, got a budget on me.”

Ty Dolla $ign & Future featuring Kiiara - "Darkside"

Ty Dolla $ign, Future and Kiiara explore our gloomy times on their new single, which appears on the soundtrack to Bright. Kiiara takes the lead with a haunting chorus, but it's the two rappers that provide the real narrative about oppression and haters. “I am not afraid / Sick of the oppression and all the hate," Ty raps on the atmospheric almost-four-minute track. "Had to change my life for the better days / Had to boss up and overcome adversity.” "Darkside" is the first song to be released off Bright: The Album, which will include tracks from the likes of A$AP Rocky, Lil Uzi Vert, Logic, Meek Mill, Migos and more. 

T-Pain featuring Tiffany Evans - "Textin' My Ex"

T-Pain always gives us the feels with any music that he drops. This year, he’s released a number of different singles in support of his upcoming OBLiViON album, and his latest song is called “Textin’ My Ex” featuring Tiffany Evans. Do you remember her? Evans was in Tyler Perry’s Diary Of A Mad Black Woman. She also released a single called “Promise Ring” with Ciara back in the day, too. Now, Evans and Pain have joined forces for “Textin’ My Ex.” On the track, they both speak about contemplating reconnecting with their exes. Who can relate?

Jidenna – Boomerang

After teasing the project early last week, Jidenna has surprisingly released his Boomerang EP. This new body of work is a follow-up to the recording artist’s debut album that he dropped earlier this year, The Chief. The Boomerang EP consists of six tracks, which includes four new songs and two remixes of previously released singles. Some of the featured artists on the EP include Quavo, Wale and more. The EP’s “Boomerang” song was also produced by the one and only Diplo. Jidenna dropped the video for this song, too.

Jidenna

Chromeo - "Juice"

Chromeo surprised fans with the release of their brand-new track called “Juice” and its accompanying music video, which was directed by David Wilson. “Juice” is the Canadian funk brothers' first single in three years and finds the pair offering a synth-fueled track that feels perfect for those summertime car rides. The California-esque agenda feels all that much more appropriate when the hook hits. After all, it does go a little something like: "That you've got the juice, yeah, yeah/ That's why I keep pressin' ya, pressin’ ya/ Pressin' ya, pressin’ ya."

PNAU - Changa

PNAU has returned with their new album, Changa, and the fifth studio LP is everything you'd want from the Aussie three-piece. After releasing several cuts from the LP, including “Go Bang,” “Into The Sky” and more, the dance act unveil the effort of their last five years and it’s filled with influences from ‘60s disco to ‘90s rave. Bandmate Nick Littlemore described the 12-track collection as their "last hurrah to the dance floor” and you can entirely feel the mood once it kicks off with opening number, “Save Disco.” See: “Chameleon” and “Go Bang"

PNAU - 'Changa'

EMERGING ARTIST OF THE WEEK: Nick Hissom

Nick Hissom

Meet London-born singer/songwriter Nick Hissom. Over the last few years, the 25-year-old has been hard at work on his music career, and this year, he teamed up with legendary producer Steve Morales (Enrique Iglesias, Christina Aguilera, Lil Wayne) on his brand new single "He Ain't Better."

Nick tells iHeartRadio of his new single, "It is inspired by relationships, and I thought it was something sexy to tell a woman, to make her feel special. Something that came from me as well, like on a confidence side."

Speaking of confidence, Nick adds, "The song is about self confidence for me. It's also about girls, and relationships, and traveling, and just dealing with competition, and pushing yourself to be the best person and best artist that I could be."

More music is on the way from Nick. He says that he has an EP in store that contains some pretty exciting collaborations, and he'll be out on tour in early 2018.

So, what can fans expect from Nick Hissom's new music? He tells us, "They can just expect it to make them feel good [and] lift them up. If you're having a bad day or if you are going through something, I want you to be able to feel me through the music, like feel comforted. When I was growing up, I always listened to music and that got me through life, and I'm sure it does a lot of people. So, if I can be there and help someone, inspire them, that's why I do it. And I love it." He adds, "I try to give a piece of my heart to people through music, and to know that people like that and they're about it, it's really cool."

Check out Nick Hissom's "He Ain't Better" below.

EXPERT PICKS

Nicole's Picks:

Taylor Swift - "Delicate"

Before I get into this, hats off to Taylor Swift for this blessing of auditory heaven -- and if you're reading this Tay, reputation has blown me away and far exceeded any expectations I had. It's simply *Italian chef kiss*. OK, now that that's out of the way, it is extremely hard to pick a favorite song on this album. Each song is its own entity, it's own magnificent story packed with lyrics that will be burned into my brain for years to come, and the different sounds in the production that we hear on this album also make each track truly individual and unique from anything Taylor has ever done. But one song that stood out to me right away was "Delicate." This song is a turning point in the album, as she gets a bit more vulnerable than the previous first four songs. In the track, Taylor uses a vocoder, and immediately, it gave me Imogen Heap vibes. 

But beyond the sound, which shout out to Max Martin & Shellback you geniuses you, are the lyrics. The first few words grabbed me right away, "My reputation's never been worse, so/You must like me for me." True love lives, people! But this song really touches on more of the beginning of a relationship when you're still figuring each other out ... when it's a "delicate" situation, still. "We can't make/Any promises now, can we, babe?/But you can make me a drink." And in the chorus, Taylor sings, "Is it cool that I said all that?/Is it too soon to do this yet?/'Cause I know that it's delicate."

Taylor Swift

Fuse ODG featuring Ed Sheeran & Mugeez - "Boa Me"

Does Ed Sheeran sleep? I wanna know. Because he released his own full-length album this year, he's on a world tour, he appears on Taylor Swift's new album, and now, we have this breezy, summery collaboration with Fuse ODG and Mugeez. After Fuse, a London-based rapper/singer-songwriter of Ghanian descent, helped Ed write "Bibia Be Ye Ye" for his divide album (which is written in Twi, a Ghanaian dialect), Sheeran has returned the favor on "Boa Me," also singing the chorus in Twi. THE TALENT IS ENDLESS. Just when you think winter is coming, Ed brings back the summer with this tune (and yes, that was a Game of Thrones reference).

Follow Nicole on Twitter: @NicoleMastr0

James' Picks:

G-Eazy - "The Plan"

G-Eazy is gearing up for the release of his new album, The Beautiful & Damned, and that comes with a brand-new single called “The Plan.” Over some moody production, the Bay area rapper spits all the bars about his dirty and dark past. It’s part of a much bigger narrative for the 20-song double album, which was inspired by F. Scott Fitzgerald’s book. “It's about two people in love in the ’20s, when everybody was drinking too much, partying, and living this crazy lifestyle," he explained in a recent radio interview. "They have this fantasy of living this over-the-top life, but realizing how hard it is to sustain in this crazy world they lived in. The ’30s were about to hit, but they didn’t know, with the Great Depression, everything was gonna be gone."

Slenderbodies - "Lucid"

Slenderbodies' new single, “Lucid,” clocks in at exactly four minutes and 20 seconds and we know why that’s a fitting duration. With atmospheric strings, lush vocals and a gentle melody, the Los Angeles-based duo conjure up something quite poetic with the release. "'Lucid' explores the idea of bouncing between multiple states of yourself when you sleep," they said in a statement. "There can be other souls living within those surreal worlds along with you, though it becomes truly magical when you can acknowledge being amongst one another.. essentially painting a description of what it is like to communicate outside of the physical state." Expect more from Slenderbodies when the indie pop duo drop their new EP, Fabulist: Extended, in the coming months

Follow James on Twitter: @newyorkinstinct

Isha's Picks:

Wiz Khalifa – "Stay Focused"

Wiz Khalifa wanted to drop some words of encouragement and motivation to his fans on his new Laugh Now, Fly Later mixtape. The last song on the project is named “Stay Focused,” and the rapper spits about continuing with his ambitions in order to get where he wants to go in life. “Gave you solid s**t before now you hearing more,” he raps. “Seeing my n**gas on top that's what I stand for/ And only money conversations what I care for.” Throughout the entire mixtape, Wiz also dropped gems to its listeners in between and at the end of songs. Aww, he wants everyone to win, no matter what the haters say.

Chris Brown – "Frustrated"

Released on Halloween, Chris Brown’s Heartbreak On A Full Moon is jam-packed with a record 45 songs and we’re not lying when we say that every last one of them are smashes. One of the many songs that we love from the project is named “Frustrated.” It’s one of Brown’s signature songs where he has fun, catchy lyrics mixed with a high-tempo, body-moving beat that makes you want to replay it over and over again. “Frustrated” makes us happy.

Follow Isha on Twitter: @IshaThorpe

Photo: Rachel Kaplan


Sponsored Content

Sponsored Content