In October, Lady Gaga will release her first single from her forthcoming seventh solo album. But Gaga went ahead and dropped Harlequin, her companion album to Joker: Folie À Deux, which hits theaters this week.
Similarly, The Weeknd amplified anticipation ahead of Hurry Up Tomorrow, and Jon Bellion returned to making his own music. Not to mention, Christina Aguilera celebrated a classic by teaming with the modern-day pop darling, Sabrina Carpenter.
Check that out and more in Uproxx’s Best New Pop Music roundup below.
Lady Gaga — “Happy Mistake”
We’ve been down the “Lady Gaga Releases Companion Music For A Blockbuster Film” before. It delivered during her A Star Is Born coronation, and it’s even better with Harlequin. The acoustic ballad “Happy Mistake,” co-written by BloodPop and Gaga, showcases Gaga’s powerhouse vocals. If you’d told me it was on LG7 instead, I’d believe you. “It was all in the image of the character, but also kind of at the very core of her soul, which is really just me,” Gaga told Apple Music’s Zane Lowe. “Every character I play, it just has me as the gravity. I am wrestling, on that record, with a lot of feelings about so much that I’ve been through as an artist, everything I went through growing up in the public eye, and the industry since I was a teenager.”
The Weeknd & Playboi Carti — “Timeless”
Hurry Up Tomorrow, The Weeknd’s forthcoming LP, will serve as the final installment of his After Hours/Dawn FM trilogy. The Weeknd has spoken in the past about his plan “to kill The Weeknd” at some point, and if that’s still the plan, he can rest soundly because, as he sings in the second single from Hurry Up Tomorrow, “It don’t matter what they say, I’m timeless.”
Christina Aguilera Feat. Sabrina Carpenter — “What A Girl Wants”
Sabrina Carpenter was three months old when Christina Aguilera released her self-titled debut studio album in August 1999. Aguilera celebrated the LP’s 25th birthday by asking a fully grown and actively blossoming Carpenter to sing “What A Girl Wants” with her. Now, a full-blown Aguilera-Carpenter collaborative album should be mandated in the pop bylaws.
Rosalía Feat. Ralphie Choo — “Omega”
Speaking of celebration, Rosalía commemorated her 32nd birthday by gifting everyone else “Omega” featuring Ralphie Choo. The ballad’s accompanying video was directed by Stillz and captures Rosalía and Choo literally releasing their inhibitions on a rollercoaster. However, the song’s sentiment is more about the sensation found once getting off of life’s metaphorical rollercoaster. “Omega is the end,” Rosalía said in a statement, as per Rolling Stone. “It’s the celebration of having found what you wanted and the security with which one decides to stay. Omega is firmness with the one you love that makes you not want to be anywhere else but there.”
Jon Bellion — “Kid Again”
Jon Bellion’s fingerprints never left pop music. He’s served as the primary producer or songwriter on some of the biggest songs of the past few years, but he hasn’t released solo music since his November 2018 album, Glory Sound Prep. That just changed with “Kid Again,” a triumphant reclamation of his distinct voice now that he’s freed from a restrictive contract. “I am a kid again,” he sings. “I can do anything.” History shows that Bellion can do things other creatives can’t dream of. His next album figures to remind music lovers from whom all of their favorite lyrics and unique beats came.
Kylie Minogue — “Lights Camera Action”
In April, Time named Kylie Minogue among its “100 Most Influential People” of 2024. The Australian pop icon is bolstering her case with Tension II, her upcoming album due out on October 18. “Lights Camera Action” is the latest single, which Minogue said has a “similar kind of hypnotic quality” as “Padam Padam” while speaking with NME. She’s not wrong.
Rauw Alejandro & Mr. NaisGai — “Pasaporte”
Rauw Alejandro’s music videos usually elicit the Martin Scorsese “Absolute Cinema” meme. He tapped Adrien Brody to co-star in “Déjame Entrar,” and “Pasaporte” featuring Mr. NaisGai finds Alejandro bailing on playing a video game to globetrot in luxury. “We just have to enjoy today,” he sings. The Puerto Rican star indulges his every whim throughout the five-minute visual, but perhaps the most exciting frame is saved for the end when he writes “COSA NUESTRA NOV. 15” on a poster. Yes, Cosa Nuestra, his fifth LP, is due out on November 15.
Will Swinton — “Flames”
Fittingly and perhaps not-so-coincidentally, Will Swinton’s “Flames” is meant to be blasted at a bonfire. Swinton’s gravelly, warm voice underscores the acoustic-based song’s heart-wrenching sentiments like “Held you in the darkest nights / You held me together in the cold / But the morning brings a different light / Shows you things you never really know.” The hook is a particularly cruel twist to the heart: “And when you left / I kept the pain / Now I only feel alive inside the flame.” The New Zealand breakout will support BabyJake on his Beautiful Blue Collar Boy Tour across North America, beginning on October 14.
Alex Sampson — “Beautiful (In A Dream)”
Alex Sampson came in clutch for cuffing season. “We could be beautiful / Like autumn and the leaves,” the Canadian pop singer-songwriter sings in “Beautiful (In A Dream)” from his freshly released Hopeless Romantic EP. The lilting, gradually upbeat song embodies the project’s title and showcases Sampson’s potential to invade timelines everywhere.
JADE — “Midnight Cowboy”
Little Mix’s Jade Thirlwall ensures you know she’s just JADE in her solo career with “Midnight Cowboy,” as she confidently croons, “I’m a real wild b*tch, yeah, I’m mental / I’m the ride of your life, not a rental / I’m the editor, call me Mr Enninful.” The sultry single was co-written by RAYE, and Ncuti Gatwa (Doctor Who, Sex Education) voices the intro. “Midnight Cowboy” follows “Angel Of My Dreams,” her debut solo single from July. JADE’s impressive stretch will continue with “Fantasy” on October 18.
