Billboard’s Friday Music Guide serves as a handy guide to New Music Friday’s most essential releases each week — the key music that everyone will be talking about today, and that will be dominating playlists this weekend and beyond.
Last week, we featured BTS, Niall Horan, Lizzo and more.
This week, Miley Cyrus shares “Younger You,” the sentimental closing song from the Hannah Montana 20th Anniversary Special that premiered this week; Raye releases her anticipated new album, This Music May Contain Hope.; and Charlie Puth drops his much-teased Whatever’s Clever!… plus much more. Check out all of this week’s picks below:
Miley Cyrus, “Younger You (From the “Hannah Montana 20th Anniversary Special)”
In 2017, Miley Cyrus released her Younger Now album. In 2023, she shared the introspective single “Used To Be Young.” And now, she has released perhaps her most emotional reflection yet with “Younger You” — a song that closes out her Hannah Montana 20th Anniversary Special and that during its Hollywood premiere this week caused the audience to tear up as it played for the first time. A perfect blend of Cyrus’ Tennessee roots with her pop sensibilities, “Younger You” is written as a letter not only to her fans but to herself, with lyrics like: “Somewhere along the way, we lost touch/ We used to be so happy just because” and “I know your story isn’t done, but do you love who you’ve become?” The song, though brief, is filled with gentle reminders, like to call mom and dad, but above all else, it’s a reminder to never forget the younger versions of ourselves — and to always try and do right by them. As Miley wrote in an Instagram caption announcing the single: “This song is yours as a thank you for the life we’ve grown through together.”
Raye, This Music May Contain Hope.
Following a release of singles that showcase Raye’s range — from the cheeky, uptempo “Where Is My Husband!” to the jazzy and vocally-stunning ballad “Nightingale Lane.” — the rising star has released her second album, This Music May Contain Hope. And as the title suggests, the project exposes inner aches and pains while simultaneously treating them with the sonic salve that is Raye’s voice; the six-plus minute opus “I Know You’re Hurting.” is perhaps the strongest example of exactly this balance. As Raye shared in a press release for the album: “Music is medicine, I’ve always said that…I wanted to create something that is a hug, bed or soft place for that person who needs it.”
Charlie Puth, Whatever’s Clever!
Charlie Puth’s fourth album takes a turn from pure pop into more soulful, even jazz-inspired territory — especially with features such as Kenny G (“Cry”), Coco Jones (“Sideways”), Michael McDonald with Kenny Loggins (“Love In Exile”) and Jeff Goldblum & The Mildred Snitzer Orchestra (“Until It Happens To You”). The lattermost track stands out, in part, for Goldblum’s characteristic contributions, opening with him offering some sage advice for Puth as a new husband and father: “And you know, until it happens to you/ Where you lose something, oh my golly/ That’s why you wanna be sweet to each other.” And later, he returns with a piece of wisdom he deems most important, “If I could tell you one thing/ Well, don’t miss a second of it.”
Conan Gray, “The Best”
Last August, Conan Gray released his fourth album Wishbone. And come April 24, he’ll treat fans to a deluxe edition of the album led by new single “The Best.” The pop ballad does what Gray is best known for, as he tiptoes between yearning and indifference while singing of a breakup he’d like to rewrite. As he shares, while perhaps looking through rose-colored glasses: “I swear if I saw you tonight/ We could make peace with it, not have to sleep with it…Finally wish you the best.”
Melanie Martinez, “Uncanny Valley”
Boundary-pushing pop artist Melanie Martinez returns with her fourth album HADES, which was previewed by singles including “Posession” and “Disney Princess.” The 18-track project clocks in at just over one hour, during which Martinez immerses listeners in the dystopian world of her mind. On standout “Uncanny Valley” she sings of “scrolling through a mess in my mind” — and thankfully for fans, she lets us in on it all. Because, as she later asserts, “Trends, they come and go/ But humans have their flaws/ Beauty comes in every form/ Baby, there ain’t no norm.”
