Billboard’s Friday Music Guide serves as a handy guide to this Friday’s most essential releases — the key music that everyone will be talking about today, and that will be dominating playlists this weekend and beyond.
This week, … Check out all of this week’s picks below:
Noah Kahan, “The Great Divide”
“The Great Divide” marks Noah Kahan‘s greatly anticipated return to music following his 2022 breakthrough album Stick Season. “The Great Divide” is both lead single and title track of his forthcoming album (out April 24 on Mercury Records) and picks up where the celebrated singer-songwriter left off. Built upon a driving rock riff (that peaks with a sonic burst near the five-minute mark) the single embraces Kahan’s alternative-folk tendencies that pair perfectly with his narrative-driven songwriting. “I hope you settle down, I hope you marry rich/ I hope you’re scared of all the ordinary shit,” he sings — and while it’s unclear who his hopes are intended for, by the song’s end he offers some clarity. “I hope that you’re not losing sleep about what’s next,” he sings, perhaps sharing the one hope he’s holding onto most for himself.
Labrinth, “Debris”
British artist Labrinth is known for pushing boundaries when it comes to how his music can sound — often resulting in experimental production that defies genre. With his latest album, Cosmic Opera ACT I, he fuses orchestral elements with his more expected futuristic production, resulting in what has been coined as a “modern opera,” according to a release. “Expansive in sound and intimate in spirit,” illustrated by the haunting and swelling single “Debris.”
Cannons, “Starlight”
Earlier this week, Los Angeles pop band Cannons announced its upcoming fifth album, Everything Glows, out March 27 on Columbia. Single “Starlight” sounds much like its title implies: airy, cosmic and equal parts intimate and expansive. As a press release for the project promises: “The 11 songs of Everything Glows navigate heartbreak and codependence, brokenness and, ultimately, liberation, spotlighting a group that found new ways to move forward and absolute excitement in both the process and its results.”
Melanie Martinez, “POSSESSION”
Alternative pop artist Melanie Martinez returns with “POSSESSION,” a softer shift away from the edgier tones of 2023 album PORTALS. On the track, Martinez sings in a near whisper — but still with gusto — of what it means to feel like someone’s “possession” as she details being a “good housewife” with an audible eye roll. As a press release states, “The song…spotlights Melanie’s trademark blend of charm, mischief and bite.”
Bruce Springsteen, “Streets Of Minneapolis“
As tensions in Minneapolis — and around the country — continue to rise, Bruce Springsteen put his anti-ICE views into his latest protest song, aptly titled “Streets Of Minneapolis.” The legendary artist wrote the song over the weekend and released it this week on Tuesday (Jan. 27). The mostly stripped down track emphasizes Springsteen’s carefully chosen and potent words, including a mid-song chant: “ICE out now.”