New music Fridays are a thrilling, yet daunting prospect for any music lover.
It's essentially a weekly holiday where fan-favorite artists and fresh faces alike drop their latest offerings for all the world to hear, flooding streaming services and digital retailers with an onslaught of aural goodies. But who has the time to sit there and listen to everything before updating their playlists? There's just too much good stuff! (And, if we're being honest, usually a few stinkers, too.)
As it turns out, we do. Welcome to The MixtapE!
No one starts the weekend off better than The Weeknd. The three-time Grammy winner once again shows there's beauty behind the madness with his latest single about temptation, in collaboration with NBC Sports and the Tokyo Olympics.
The rest of this upbeat playlist is packed with fiery collabs, including Sia's Spanish-language remix of "1+1" with Yandel, Sofia Reyes and Banx & Ranx and Yung Bae's funky metallic bop featuring Sam Fischer and Pink Sweat$.
Ingrid Andress and Sam Hunt are the country match made in heaven with "Wishful Drinking," while Jack Harlow and Pooh Shiesty make hip hop magic with "SUVs (Black on Black)." The young rising stars Nova Miller and Bankrol Hayden round out our picks with the pop playhouse "apricot skies," a veritable sunset explosion.
What follows are our picks for the best of the best. Your playlist for the weekend of Aug. 6-8 has arrived. Enjoy!
The Weeknd — "Take My Breath"
Abel Tesfaye takes our breath away with his single that captures the heat of the Tokyo Olympics. He infuses this song of lust and fantasy with his signature electropop beats and falsetto, crooning, "I know temptation is the devil in disguise / You risk it all to feel alive."
Sia feat. Yandel, Sofia Reyes and Banx & Ranx— "1+1"
The Australian singer (with nine Grammy nominations under her belt) continues to experiment with new projects and collaborators, after directing the Kate Hudson movie Music earlier this year. Now, Sia is offering a Latin remix of one of the film's songs, "1+1," with seamless Spanglish. "Siente el beat del corazón / One plus one," sings Reyes as she spices up the final chorus. Sia jumps in, "Every day's a holiday / Let the beat take you away."
Ingrid Andress with Sam Hunt — "Wishful Drinking"
If you're just starting to get into country music, Andress' latest track is the perfect segue from Kacey Musgraves to Maren Morris. The singer/songwriter, who has penned numbers for Charli XCX and Dove Cameron, says howdy to Hunt, who here is more pensive and less twangy than in "Body Like a Back Road" or "House Party."
"I get hopeful when I'm tipsy / Thinking you might actually miss me," Andress sings in this love song about longing for an ex. "It's 100 proof, nothing I won't do / For another round of me and you."
Jack Harlow and Pooh Shiesty — "SUVs (Black on Black)"
Harlow is clearly going places in this SUV. The "INDUSTRY BABY" rapper teamed with the "Back In Blood" artist for this not-so-humble hit, in which he declares, "All my brags turn to facts." He "turned the penthouse suite into my natural habitat" and made "all the women fall for me." You'll get the hype after pressing play, but be prepared for the catchy lyrics to get stuck in your head.
Nova Miller and Bankrol Hayden — "apricot skies"
They're our summer sun! Miller, 20, and Hayden, 19, transport us to the beach for this fun-filled music video about a summer love brought to you by "Icy coffee and your body." The Gen Z artists proclaim, "Coast to coastin / you're an ocean, ima dive right in." It's carefree sugary goodness in every bite, as Miller told her followers: "make memories blast it/ sing it/dance to it/ be in love to it/ drive to it/ vibe to it."
Yung Bae feat. Sam Fischer and Pink Sweat$ — "Silver and Gold"
"The 2021 summer jam came 2 months late but it was worth it," as one fan put it. This trio, who know how to blend R&B with a splash of future funk, prove they've "got that fire in my soul," and you're gonna wanna hear it for yourself.
For Pink Sweat$, it was an opportunity to sing alongside "my brother" Fischer, whom he tells E! News is an "incredible vocalist." The R&B singer adds that he's glad Yung Bae "brought us all together to give the people a song that everyone needs right now."
Perhaps you can dance to it in person when producer Yung Bae (originally from Portland, Ore.) heads out on tour this week, with stops in San Diego, Nashville, Las Vegas, Brooklyn, Los Angeles and Chicago.
Happy listening!
(E! News and NBC Sports are both part of the NBCUniversal family.)