The MixtapE! Presents Billie Eilish, Anitta and More New Music Musts

Featuring new releases from Billie Eilish, Anitta, Hayley Kiyoko and more, your playlist for the first weekend in May has arrived.

By Billy Nilles Apr 30, 2021 7:42 PMTags
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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!

If you feel like you blinked and suddenly it was May, don't worry. You're not alone.

Thankfully, some of our favorite artists have seen fit to deliver these audio delights to help soften the blow of time's relentless pace. From the long-awaited returns of Billie Eilish and Hayley Kiyoko to Anitta's seriously sexy sounds coming to us from the southern hemisphere, there's plenty of good stuff to help you groove into a new month.

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Musicians Performing Live on Stage

Your playlist for the first weekend of May has arrived. Enjoy!

Getty Images/E! Illustration

Billie Eilish — "Your Power"

On the heels of announcing the July release of her highly anticipated sophomore album, Happier Than Ever, the Grammy-winning wunderkind also dropped this haunting track as our first taste of the LP. With lyrics aimed at a relationship with a massive power imbalance, the song is vulnerable, evocative and a surefire sign that Billie will be needing to make more room in her trophy case soon.

Anitta — "Girl From Rio"

The Brazilian superstar turns everyone's favorite elevator muzak—"The Girl from Ipanema"—into something effortlessly sexy with this sizzling update of the iconic melody. As a love letter to the women of her hometown, the track has us dreaming of international travel more than we already were a year into this pandemic. And that's really saying something.

Hayley Kiyoko — "Found My Friends"

Lesbian Jesus is back with more of the pristine pop that put her on the map. On this first release since 2020's I'M TOO SENSITIVE FOR THIS S**T, she delivers an anthem for all of us learning to love ourselves and be our own best friends. The whole thing slaps. Bring on the album!

Joy Oladokun — "sorry isn't good enough"

The Nashville-based rising star's music has made its way into episodes of Grey's Anatomy twice now, and after listening to this powerfully cinematic stunner, we'd say a third sync in Shondaland can't be fair behind. As the first taste of a forthcoming major label LP, the track fires on all cylinders. No apology necessary.

AB6IX — "CLOSE"

The K-Pop group may have gone from quintet to quartet when leader Lim Young-min left them behind last summer, but as this track off their latest EP proves, they're not just surviving in his absence. They're thriving. It's an absolute bop. And we'd like one of everything Jeon Woong, Kim Dong-hyun, Park Woo-jin and Lee Dae-hwi wear in the eye-popping video. Please and thank you.

The Marías — "Hush"

The L.A.-based indie band embrace pop's ongoing (and always welcome) disco trend on this sultry lead single from their long-awaited debut album, CINEMA. This one's seriously sexy.

Dawn Richard — "Nostalgia"

Serving as a celebration of the Black DJs and producers who gave birth to electronic music, Second Line, Dawn's sixth album, does not disappoint. From beginning to end, the former Danity Kane member takes listeners on a glistening ride that is well worth your time. This track, in particular, has us dreaming of a warehouse party where everyone's vaccinated and ready to get down.

Jessie Ware — "Please"

Jessie's not quite ready to say goodbye to her astounding 2020 album What's Your Pleasure? To wit, she's releasing an expanded version, subtitled The Platinum Pleasure Edition, this coming June. And to get us all in the mood for the eight new songs and remixes on the disco-kissed LP, she's dropped this track that has us primed and ready to turn wherever we are into a dance floor. 

Happy listening!