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!
There's a new "Savage" in town.
In three days, K-pop girl group aespa has surpassed 55 million views on its kickass music video for "Savage," off its debut mini album of the same name. That's already half the number of views that Megan Thee Stallion has received on her official audio video for her "Savage" (the unrelated force of nature premiered a year and a half ago).
Clearly, aespa is ready to take the spotlight with the first album from KARINA, GISELLE, WINTER and NINGNING—less than a year after their debut single "Black Mamba."
The girl power continues with 10/10 debuts from Julia Wolf and Lauren Jauregui, along with a powerful new ballad by Arca and Sia.
What follows are our picks for the best of the best. Your playlist for the weekend of Oct. 8-10 has arrived. Enjoy!
aespa — "Savage"
The fierce four embrace both a futuristic, otherworldly style and '90s punk influences in their dynamic music video, which channels the same energy as MIA's "Bad Girls." The artists tease, "Oh my gosh / Don't you know I'm a savage?" while dressed in pink camo and dancing with metallic guns and pastel butterflies alike.
Julia Wolf — "Checkmate"
Wolf's debut EP, Girls in Purgatory, already has us hooked on the indie artist. She's feeling herself in the fresh, fun and fast "Checkmate." She sings, "Ponytail swinging, wait / Everything I do my way / 24/7 checkmate / You're played out / We are not the same." Wolf realizes her own power, saying she tried so hard to make it work with another person but decided "we're not alike."
So, how is Wolf celebrating her music's success? By binge-watching Twilight, of course. "THERES NO OTHER WAY TO CELEBRATE THE EP !!!" she wrote on Instagram, calling the movie "my whole world."
Lauren Jauregui — "Colors"
Harmonizers, it's time: Jauregui is the latest Fifth Harmony alum to go solo. From her upcoming PRELUDE project, she's sharing "Colors," a self-reflection about feeling not "good enough" and "f--king numb." She says her eyes are finally opening up to "this world I'm living in," as she realizes the need to "dismantle the mental that has us moving like / We weren't made with love."
She said in a statement to Billboard that she was relishing in a "deep gratitude to be able to finally birth the beginning of this project into the world," adding, "PRELUDE is a piece of my heart, and I can't wait for you all to hear what that sounds like."
Arca feat. Sia — "Born Yesterday"
Arca and Sia are mourning their broken hearts, telling a partner to "take your things" and get out now. Arca told fans on social media, "everyone get in we're getting emotional on this one." She thanked Sia for coming along for the ride: "you really went off and tore it on this one. thank you from the heart."
"i put my heart and soul into harnessing entropy for you mutantes; get ready to shred," the Venezuelan musician hinted of her album KICK ii, out Dec. 3.
Why Don't We — "Love Back"
If you aren't on this boy band train, what are you even doing? Much like One Direction's precious "What Makes You Beautiful" music video, the guys (Jack Avery, Corbyn Besson, Zach Herron, Jonah Marais and Daniel Seavey) frolic on the beach, and then proceed to naively ask their ex for their "love back." It's been nine months, y'all, and they're still "attached."
"Gave you my money and my time / You can keep all that, all that / Baby, I just want my love back," they croon in this sugar-coated confection, baked to the exact temperature for melting hearts.
Joyner Lucas and Ty Dolla $ign — "Late to the Party"
No weekend playlist would be complete without a hip hop hit. The rappers collab on this party number about "drinkin' all this pain" away, which sees them indulging in weed and Don Julio 1942 tequila before crashing their Porsche ("that's okay bitch, I had insurance.") Their motto: "I don't wanna go to sleep / Rather do that when I'm dead and gone."
Happy listening!