Every week there’s new music especially on Fridays, so much so that everyone knows it as “New Music Friday”. We picked our favorites of recently released music and broke them down. Find out details you may not have known about Justin Bieber’s new EP, Demi Lovato’s latest album, and more.
Doja Cat ft. SZA – Kiss Me More
This is like a dream come true! Doja Cat AND SZA on the same song? WHEW! And it doesn’t stop there. They released a music video along with the release of the song. The visual is pink and dreamy, it takes us to a fantasy land made of pink sand and pink and purple skies. It stars a dream man too, Grey’s Anatomy actor Alex Landi is an astronaut who we see in the opening scene come out of his space suit helmet with a crashed spaceship behind him. He has crash landed on what is very clearly a different planet. We then see him on a Kayak trying to find his way but he slows down in awe of an enormous pink Doja Cat. So, dreamy. Speaking of dreamy, SZA and Doja are on a pink silk bed and later with Alex joining them in a sensual scene. The ending is like an episode of Black Mirror, the astronaut eats a strange fruit that makes him wake up glitching. This reveals Doja and SZA playing a video game of the world we just saw and we see the astronaut and several other men in jars behind them.
Justin Bieber – Freedom EP
Justin Bieber just released an album entitled Justice March 19th and the “Triple Chucks Deluxe” version of the album released March 26th. Soon after on Easter Sunday, April 4th, Bieber surprised us with a gospel EP. The 6 track EP, Freedom, is a further look into Bieber’s faith, internal struggles, and the state of the world we live in. “…when I start to wonder where do I fit in? Then you remind me that your holding me tight, you say the past is behind me and that’ll i’ll be alright”, Bieber sings in “Where Do I Fit In” ft. Tori Kelly, Chandler Moore, and Judah Smith. Freedom is touching and beautiful, Justin Bieber’s voice is moving, it was made for music like this. There’s also details about the EP that you may or may not notice. 3:16 is in the top left corner of the cover as the time because it’s a screenshot of the iPhone notes but 3:16 isn’t just a time of day, it’s a well-known Bible verse from the book of John that says, “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who belives in him will not perish but have eternal life“. Another important detail to note is that Freedom is 22 mins and 22 secs long, that’s 2222 which is an angel number. Angel numbers are when you see certain numbers in a specific sequence like 222 that your angels are sending you reassuring messages about the path you are on. Seeing 2222 is a message that reminds you to keep your life in balance and that there’s power in expressing love and kindness, 222 represents faith and trust. What an inspiring and clever detail to add.
Miguel – Art Dealer Chic 4
The series of Miguel’s Art Dealer Chic EP’s are some of his most prominent work with songs like “Adorn”, “That I do-FTRMX Remix”, “Arch & Point”, and “Candles in the Sun”. Songs like those are what make these EPs works of art. Now, we get to hear the 4th installment of the Art Dealer Chic series 9 years later. Thankfully right before the release of Art Dealer Chic 4, the previous ADC’s were released to all streaming platforms, so new fans that are behind can get caught up. The 4 track EP is right on par with the sound of ADC, if Miguel added all of the EP’s together into one album the vibe would be seamless.
Demi Lovato – Dancing with the Devil…The Art of Starting Over
In Demi Lovato’s seventh studio album Dancing with the Devil…The Art of Starting Over, she sings passionately about her journey from her struggle with addiction to her sexuality. Lovato takes us on a ride through her life and all of its ups and downs, no holding back. You can hear the emotions in her voice, this is the most vulnerable we’ve seen Lovato. The second track on the album, “Dancing With The Devil” has a music video (which you can watch below), Lovato relives her 2018 overdose: “It’s just a little red wine i’ll be fine” becomes “it’s just a little white line, i’ll be fine but soon that little white line is a little glass pipe”. If you watch her Youtube docuseries about her overdose and the road to recovery and self discovery these lyrics will hit you even harder in the heartstrings because that’s exactly how it happened that day. In “The Kind Of Lover I Am” she proudly shares what kind of lover she is, “Doesn’t matter, you’re woman or man” and in the outro she laughingly says in an auto tuned voice: “I don’t care if you’ve got a dick, I don’t care if you’ve got a WAP, I just wanna love”. It’s not easy sharing your truth but it’s necessary for healing and Demi Lovato does just that.
Taylor Swift – Fearless (Taylor’s Version)
Taylor Swift’s sophomore release Fearless debuted way back in 2008, now in 2021 Swift has released rerecorded versions of every song on that album plus six previously unreleased tracks from The Vault and a bonus track. In 2019, Swift announced she’d be rerecording her first six studio albums in order to own her work. Swift still sounds like her 18 year old self which is the age she was when she originally recorded Fearless. It’s nice to sing along to the classic Taylor Swift songs like “Love Story” and “You Belong With Me”.
Queen Naija ft. Ari Lennox – Set Him Up
In “Set Him Up” Queen Naija and Ari Lennox find out they are dating the same guy and plan to well…set him up. This concept isn’t new in music, Naija and Lennox took a page out of Usher’s book with his classic love triangle “Same Girl” and you can even say they got some inspiration from Brandy and Monica’s “The Boy is Mine”. This new single comes as a teaser for the deluxe version of Queen Naija’s debut studio album that released in October 2020, Misundersood. The deluxe version Misunderstood…Still features seven new tracks and will release April 18th.
Tierra Whack – Link
Tierra Whack is in outer space in the visual for her new song “Link”. The colorful characters that help Whack build a cartoon like spaceship for her to takeoff on have a similar look to children’s shows like “Boobahs” or “The Doodlebops”. Tierra Whack has a fun, unique persona as an artist and the music video as well as the song are very fitting.
CJ – Lil Freak ft. Dream Doll
CJ is a newer artist, you may have heard his song “Whoopty” on the radio or you may even have it on your playlist. On Friday, CJ released the deluxe version of his debut EP Loyalty Over Royalty. The deluxe version has a standout track featuring Dream Doll, “Lil Freak” that came with a music video. The music video has the typical pretty girls twerking so, it’s not anything special but the song is undoubtedly a hit with Dream Doll showing fans some growth in her flow and lyricism.
