This round of New Music Friday is ruled by the girlies: PinkPantheress (with some celebrity cameos), IVE, aespa teaming up with RAYE, Flyana Boss, and a new full-length album from Becky G are filling our playlists recently. Below, check out this week's best new music.
PinkPantheress, “Mosquito”
PinkPantheress knows how to make a perfect girls day out — matcha, perfume, jewelry, collectible birds, and a close-knit friendship group played by actors Yara Shahidi (Grown-ish), Charithra Chandran (Bridgerton), and India Amarteifio (Queen Charlotte). As usual with PinkPantheress's music, the vibes are immaculate on “Mosquito,” a playful garage pop song with a more introspective underpinning about wealth and fame and what really matters in the end.
IVE, “Either Way”
K-pop stars IVE are more open and more themselves than ever on “Either Way,” a chill-pop anthem for owning all the various parts of yourselves; as teenagers and young twenty somethings in the public eye, IVE have already faced their share of fame difficulties, but as the song posits, they're finding a way through all the versions of themselves. “All the love and hate, I'll just take it all," they sing. “Either way, we're good.”
Flyana Boss, “Big One”
One hit wonder, two hit wonder? Viral duo Flyana Boss is proving they still have many talents up their sleeves with new track “Big One,” a hip-hop track full of witty wordplay and record scratches for days. They may have done a “big one” with their hit “You Wish,” but there's more to come: “I won't settle for less than a big one.”
aespa ft. RAYE, “Better Things”
aespa have tapped British phenom RAYE for a remix of their second all-English single ’“Better Things.” The brand-new remix features the same upbeat, snappy cadence and an extra verse by RAYE, which includes a subtle Taylor Swift reference, as well as great harmonizing from the five leading ladies towards the end. (Fun fact, RAYE, whose real name is Rachel Keen, actually co-wrote and co-produced the original track alongside New Zealand’s Leroy Clampitt.)
Becky G, ESQUINAS
In her strongest, most multifaceted body of work yet, Becky G is coming for album of the year glory with ESQUINAS. One of the best tracks upon early listen is “PATRAS,” a collaboration with Yahritza Y Su Esencia, but there's fun and emotional depth to be found in equal parts across the record, which also features artists Peso Pluma, Ángela Aguilar, DannyLux, and more.
