Smell that? Its the sweet sweet smell of another New Music Friday. Get the cuts from BLACKPINK, Kali Uchis, Ella Mai, and more.
The K-pop Queens of BLACKPINK are back with a slick eight track debut simply titled The Album. Up until now their work has come in the form of EPs and shorter single albums but this latest release is their formal debut into the world of mainstream pop music. Mostly recorded in Korea during quarantine, BLACKPINK put their full energy into this album. The real bummer is it will be consumed and enjoyed at a much smaller scale compared to their breakout performance at Coachella 2019. The album kicks off with “How You Like That,” the rowdy, genre-defying first single, which broke the record for most-viewed clip on YouTube within 24 hours of its release and held as the soundtrack for millions of TikTok videos shortly after. CardiPink AKA "Bet You Wanna (feat. Cardi B)" had two brilliant worlds collide right smack in the middle of the album. Overall this sprint of a compilation leaves the listeners out of breath and wanting more.
Kali Uchis will make you swoon on her latest single "La Luz (feat. Jhay Cortez)." The Spanish/English bop was written and co-produced by Tainy in Miami alonside Kali Uchis.
“‘La Luz’ is about the inevitable—that moment when you set your sights on someone and can’t wait to do everything freaky imaginable with them,” Kali Uchis said in a statement. “I was so excited to make my version of a Latin pop song because there’s no other song like it on my upcoming album. I love Jhay and Tainy’s music so I was honored to get in the studio with them.” The latest string of releases is set to appear on her upcoming album which will follow her 2018 masterpiece Isolation as well as her EP To Feel Alive, which dropped earlier this year.
Ohhh just in time for the Savage X Fenty Show Vol. 2 is Ella Mai is back. It has been two years too long since the artists released new music but she is back with "Not Another Love Song." The smacking silky ballad was written by Mai and Varren Wade, was produced by Bo1-1da, The Rascals, and Jahaan Sweet. Despite the song title, Mai says the song is in fact about love, revealing that "it's about falling in love but not wanting to admit it, so it's quite vulnerable." The single marks Mai's first solo offering since releasing her eponymous debut album back in 2018, which featured the sleeper viral hit "Boo'd Up."
Listen to the latest single by Ella Mai here.
Last highlight. Omar Apollo has been giving the gift of new music very regularly recently and for that we are very very grateful. This weeks single is a beautiful Corrido that serves as an homage to his hometown in Indiana. The track is titled "Dos Uno Nueve" which translates to "Two One Nine" and serves as his hometown area code. This style of music has never been publicly released by the artist so to have him put something out that is representative and close to home for him is really special. Check out "Dos Uno Nueve" below.
