Just ahead of a long holiday weekend, it's a great Friday for new music today. Of course, atop the list is the reunion of Timbaland with Justin Timberlake and Nelly Furtado. They've just shared their new song "Keep Going Up."
We've also got the new single from Nicki Minaj, which is showcasing the rapper's singing skills in a new way, while Tulsa trio Wilderado has released their own new single ahead of a sophomore album, and CHVRCHES frontwoman Lauren Mayberry is kicking off her solo era with the first single away from her band.
We've selected some of our favorite new music out today (and this week) to add to your relaxing (or busy) weekend.
Check them out below.
Timbaland, Nelly Furtado & Justin Timberlake — "Keep Going Up"
The trio of Timbaland, Nelly Furtado and Justin Timberlake first teased a possible studio reunion earlier this summer, but on Friday, it became real.
Today, they shared their new song "Keep Going Up," which is technically Timbaland's first "solo" song in eight years, as Furtado and Timberlake are billed as "featured" guests. The trio first joined forces way back in 2007 with their hit single "Give It To Me."
Check out the visualizer for the new track now above.
The young singer returned this week with the mesmerizing new track "Wormhole," and it's a keeper. The rising artist (aka Laeticia Acra) wrote the encouraging track when she was just 15 years old, a nod to her fears of rejection.
"I grew up with a hesitation to socialize, and I felt like whenever I did manage to keep a friend around, the fear of them leaving was always apparent, it was like a bomb waiting to go off," she says.
She continues: "The way you can jump through a wormhole, figuratively, to alter your personality to survive socially is exhausting, but sometimes so necessary to get by. I’d stay in horrible, isolating social situations, just to feel surrounded. I could've been surrounded by statues, and I would have been satisfied. Personal growth takes so much time. It took me years to get over this, but when I did, I actually felt like there was substance in my friendships, and relationships."
A new EP is coming later this year, but for now, "Wormhole" is here!
Quick-rising Tulsa artist KAWN is following up his fiery July single "Figure It Out" with a more somber track called "Loose Ends," which is a more confessional offering.
"This one is bittersweet," said KAWN in a note on Instagram coinciding with the song's release. "A lot has changed recently. So many people have come and gone. 'Do they really love me like they say they do?' Some do, some didn’t, and I’m thankful to God for both. I could say so much more but I think what we said on the track should suffice. Hopefully y’all can feel us."
Hear the new song now.
Nicki Minaj — "Last Time I Saw You"
Nicki Minaj returned on Friday with a lush, beautiful new single called "Last Time I Saw You."
And while we've come to know the rap goddess for her blistering rap chops, this new track is showing off Minaj's singing vocals. It's apparently a new preview of her upcoming Pink Friday sequel.
“Beggin me to stay and then you walk away / There’s something that you wanted to say / I was in a rush and you say you were crushed / But I said I’d be back, it’s OK,” Minaj sings on the newly released track. Last month ahead of the release, she tweeted: "The eargasms that y’all are about to have. Ooohhhh chiiiii huntyyyyy don’t make dat serveeeee.”
Check it out now.
Tulsa trio Wilderado returned this week with new music, their brand new single "In Between," which they had recently been teasing. It's their first studio release of the year after putting out their Wilderado Live album earlier this year.
"‘In Between’ is one of those songs that fell out while struggling to write several other tunes," says Max Rainer of Wilderado. "We paused in a moment of frustration while at the studio and found a riff Justin (drummer) had written several years back. The song appeared as a reprise in the space caused by exhaustion, writer’s block and imposter syndrome. There’s an easy nature to it that seemed to form itself. The lyrics came in with the melodies and all we really did was sit around and enjoy it. Then we had to go back to working on the others.”
The new track is out now via Bright Antenna Records and it was recorded in Norman, Oklahoma, produced by Chad Copelin (Sufjan Stevens, Andrew Belle) and James McAlister (Gracie Abrams, The National). It precedes their upcoming fall tour and their sophomore album, which is expected soon.
Hear "In Between" now.
Lauren Mayberry — "Are You Awake?"
CHVRCHES frontwoman Lauren Mayberry on Friday officially opened up her new chapter with the release of her first solo single "Are You Awake?," which was co-written with Tobias Jesso Jr. and Matthew Koma, who also produced it.
“'Are You Awake?' is a song that started on a rainy day last December with Tobias Jesso Jr. I was thinking a lot about loneliness and homesickness, and as soon as Tobias started playing the chords, the lyrics and melody came to me really quickly," says Mayberry. "I finished the song with my friend Matthew Koma, who really understood what I was trying to say."
Earlier this year, Mayberry confirmed she would soon be releasing solo music, while also assuring fans she wasn't leaving the band and they will certainly be releasing music together in the future.
"For a long time, I couldn't imagine doing anything outside of CHVRCHES but I think some things that I needed to write had to be done from purely my own point of view," the singer says. "I never really thought I'd write a piano ballad, or a solo album full stop, so life really is full of surprises. I am really looking forward to this chapter and can't wait for people to hear more of the music.”
Hear it now.
