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 Olivia Rodrigo, Alex Warren, JENNIE and more.
This week, Miley begins her new era as a mononym with the lead single of her forthcoming album; Beyoncé celebrates the 20th anniversary of B’Day with an expanded 27-track edition (plus B-sides and Spanish-language versions of her songs); and ADÉLA shares her debut album PRIMA… plus much more. Check out all of this week’s picks below:
Miley, “Bass Persuades”
Days after announcing her 10th studio album (and first on new label home Atlantic), Miley — yes, just Miley now — dropped its title track and lead single, “Bass Persuades.” The synthy bass-bumping track is a hypnotic dance-pop song about how “the kids don’t wanna dance” while simultaneously showing them how it’s done. Here, Miley is not only sharing wisdom like the icon she is (“Glued your eyes to the telephone screen…Just look out the window and what do you see?”) but she’s also subtly nodding to that icon status by referencing, well, herself with the line “chaos is king, but you know that you can’t stop, won’t stop.” If a song this catchy (paired with a video that is arguably inspired by Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” dance sequence) doesn’t make the kids wanna dance… well, then that’s on them. — LYNDSEY HAVENS
Beyoncé, “CAN I WATCH YOU (feat. Pharrell)”
To celebrate the 20th anniversary of her knockout second album, B’Day, Beyoncé treated fans to an expanded edition that includes previously-unreleased bonus tracks, and also tacks on “Morning Dew (Donk)” that she surprise dropped on July 4. Of the new material, there’s only two features: Jay-Z on “Welcome to Hollywood” and Pharrell on “Can I Watch You.” The latter is a sultry, R&B-infused indie-rock song on which the question posed in its title is repeatedly answered with a whispered “yes.” — L.H.
ADÉLA, PRIMA
Fast-rising pop artist ADÉLA drops her debut album PRIMA, led by focus single “Nicole Kidman.” The downtempo song opens with a beat that resembles “Bound 2” by Ye, and it lingers in the background until the outro gives it some shine back. Previously-released singles include “KGB,” “Red Bottoms” and “Ain’t In LA,” which earned the Slovakia-born artist her first Billboard Hot 100 entry in August. Read Billboard‘s tracks ranked here, in which Kyle Denis calls PRIMA “one of the most concise, clear-eyed debut pop albums in recent memory.” — L.H.
Medium Build, “It’s Not Easy (Falling In Love)”
On his new album, King Of Having Fun, Medium Build digs deep for what is his sharpest album to date; He really had no choice, after hitting rock bottom following the release of his 2024 album Country. Now in a much better headspace, the artist tells Billboard his latest full-length was made “after getting all the dreams, realizing they don’t satisfy, and then burning out, taking a break, getting sober, getting on meds, changing my life, deciding I do want to live, and I don’t care if music is my life.” Turns out, caring less sounds really great. — L.H.
Ellie Goulding, “For You Entertainment”
“For Your Entertainment” is perhaps the song that best proves the title of Ellie Goulding’s sixth album, I Know Too Much, to be true. Having released her debut single 17 years ago, Goulding has surely learned a lot over the years — and “Entertainment” is her own version of a song like Taylor Swift’s “Mirrorball.” While differently sonically, the two songs tread similar lyrical ground, pulling inspiration from the toll of performing. As Goulding sings with stark honesty: “I’ll be posing all and smiling/ My eyes are like a waterfall, whеn you look away/ Can you see how hard I’m trying just to give it all?” — L.H.
Mau P, “Just A Little Bit More”
Mau P’s second track of 2026 is the slinky “Just A Little Bit More.” A staple of his sets over the last few months, the house production is essentially the Mau P take on ’90s R&B, with the soulful vocals — crisply recorded and deployed — giving the song a throwback feel while the rest of the production keeps it fresh and festive. (The whistles!) “Just A Little Bit More” is out on Interscope Records and drops just ahead of the Dutch producer’s set at ARC Music Festival in Chicago this weekend. — KATIE BAIN
Amelie Lens, Aura
A decade after her first official release, Amelie Lens releases her debut album, Aura. The 13-track project contains the same kind of sharp, throttling and often quite cerebral techno that’s made Lens one of the genre’s leading names, with highlights including the previously release Angèle collab “run” and the relentless “the energy is us.” Lens calls Aura “a moment I’ve been waiting for my whole career,” with the project landing before a set in her native Belgium this weekend and shows in Washington D.C., Denver and Los Angeles later this month. These shows precede another major project from Lens, with the artist due to give birth to her second child this winter. — K.B.
Malie Donn, The Golden Child
Malie Donn’s debut studio album is finally here. Billboard’s Caribbean Up-And-Comer of the Month for August first broke through with 2023’s “V6,” and now he’s dropped a sprawling 20-track set featuring contributions from fellow dancehall stars Byron Messia, Javo Donn, DJ Frass and Squash. From the inspirational, autobiographical title track to the sultry, aptly titled “Rated R,” The Golden Child spans the gamut of all the different sounds and themes Malie Donn does best. — KYLE DENIS
Johnny Venus, “Nightmares”
Johnny Venus, one-half of Grammy-nominated rap duo EARTHGANG, has shared the latest preview of his forthcoming debut solo studio album. Co-produced by Courtlin Jabrae and Poplord, “Nightmares” finds Venus delivering his signature disarming songwriting, zeroing in on the specific anxiety of dreading the loss of a cherished love. The 11th Hour can’t come soon enough! — K.D.
A one-off concert celebrating the remarkable career of John Farnham will get the big screen treatment.
As previously reported, Melbourne’s Rod Laver Arena will host The Songs Of John Farnham: A Living Legend The Celebration on Sunday, Sept. 20, featuring 120 artists and musicians, and raising funds for Head and Neck Cancer Australia.
The show was a rapid sell-out, organizers say. Now, show producers Cochrane Entertainment and TEG Dainty have struck a deal to broadcast the concert live into HOYTS’ national network of cinemas.
“This is an extraordinary event for Australian music, and the opportunity to take it beyond Rod Laver Arena and into cinemas across the country is unprecedented and incredibly exciting,” comments Paul Dainty, the legendary concert promoter who leads TEG Dainty.
Performers on the night will include Keith Urban, Tina Arena, Jimmy Barnes, Kate Ceberano, Ross Wilson, Human Nature, Richard Marx, Jessica Mauboy and Jon Stevens, with Farnham’s longtime musical director Chong Lim handling musical direction and arrangements. Celine Dion and Hugh Jackman will join in via a satellite feed.
Farnham personally invited each artist appearing at the show, and he has a record-breaking connection with the 15,000-capacity Rod Laver Arena. The veteran singer has performed at the Olympic Park venue on 94 occasions, doing so to more than 1 million total fans.
“The extraordinary response to this concert has shown just how deeply John Farnham’s music continues to resonate with Australians,” adds Cochrane Entertainment founder Tony Cochrane. “We wanted this celebration to be something truly special, and now, through HOYTS, we have the opportunity to share that experience with John’s fans right across Australia.”
With 1986’s Whispering Jack, Farnham engineered one of the all-time great comebacks, Released through Sony Music, the album spent 25 weeks at No. 1, en route to shifting more than one million copies, becoming the first domestic LP to do so. It remains the highest-selling album ever in Australia by a local talent.
Whispering Jack houses Farnham’s signature song, “You’re The Voice,” a top 10 hit in the United Kingdom, and, four decades on, the beloved unofficial anthem of Australia.
The legendary, ARIA Hall of Fame-inducted artist faced his toughest challenge yet in August 2022, when he underwent major surgery to remove a cancerous growth from his mouth. Since then, he has made only a handful of rare public appearances, and in 2024 October was heard for the first time in more than two years by way of an audiobook excerpt for his memoir.
Whispering Jack this year enjoys its 40th anniversary with an expanded edition pairing the original LP with the live recording, Whispering Jack Live In Concert, along with new, numbered vinyl and range of merchandise to mark the special occasion.
ADÉLA’s debut album, PRIMA, has officially arrived — and it’s one of the sleekest pop albums of the year.
Born and raised in Bratislava, the capital (and largest) city of Slovakia, ADÉLA entered the pop scene’s radar in 2023 when she participated in Dream Academy, HYBE and Geffen Records’ joint “global girl group” reality competition show. Though she moved to the United States the year prior, bringing along laser-focused pop ambition and dance training from both the Vienna State Ballet and the English National Ballet School, ADÉLA was one of the first contestants eliminated from what would eventually become KATSEYE.
In 2024, less than a month after the Billboard 200-topping group’s docuseries debuted on Netflix, ADÉLA made her debut with “Homewrecked,” a fiery dance-pop single that presented a gripping affair narrative and laid the foundation for her singular, outsider-breaking-in approach to pop self-mythology. “Superscar,” another early fan-favorite, followed soon after, with the announcement of her signing to Capitol Records and the release of her The Provocateur debut EP landing in 2025.
This year, ADÉLA has released a steady stream of conversation-building singles, while honing her bombastic, dance-driven stage show on the festival circuit and as a support act for Demi Lovato’s arena-filling It’s Not That Deep Tour. During her support set on Lovato’s trek, ADÉLA performed several songs that would eventually end up on PRIMA, including “Ain’t in LA,” the song that made her the first Slovak artist to reach the Billboard Hot 100 (No. 61). ADÉLA co-wrote each of PRIMA’s 11 tracks — alongside contributions from songwriters like Julia Michaels and Theron Thomas, and producers such as Blake Slatkin, Dylan Brady and The Dare — resulting in one of the most concise, clear-eyed debut pop albums in recent memory.
From the second “KGB” raucously kicks off the LP, ADÉLA announces herself as a hungry, at times headstrong and hedonistic pop star who revels in both cynicism and her innate underdog status. She’s a 22-year-old Slovak girl trying to make her American dream — global pop superstardom — a reality while holding on to the idiosyncrasies of her own culture in the face of one of the most domineering and pervasive aesthetics in the world. When she sings of “working the night shift to learn English” on “KGB,” she’s cultivating a touchpoint that connects virtually all immigrants (and their children), leaning into an approach to pop music that invites the listener to participate in her tireless grind, as opposed to forcing them to gawk from the very bottom of the ladder.
That style of pop songwriting is precisely why “Ain’t In LA” has become her ADÉLA’s breakthrough hit — and why the sparse, confessional, early Billie Eilish-esque “Therapy” is the LP’s most arresting track. As her Auto-Tune-drenched voice whisper-sings. “I wanna move my mom out her, but I don’t have that kinda money, so I/ Have to talk to the people that I have to talk to/ They are old white men, and they’re so annoying/ But they hold the keys to my future,” across a despondent piano line, ADÉLA taps into a level of frankness about navigating the music industry that only someone whose journey unfolded on a reality show can. Prima is a brisk listen that leaves quite a bit on the table — it is a debut effort, after all — but it breezes through a slew of vignettes that find her navigating the bitter, lonely end of romantic relationship (“Hitachi”), the fallout of her father’s extramarital affair (“Red Bottoms”) and maintaing control as a young woman in a business dominated by sleazy older men (“I’m the Man”).
Prima certainly houses songs that fail to elevate intriguing individual compositional elements into a complete, memorable record (“Fantasize”) and tracks that offer stale perspective on tried-and-true topics (“Boys”), but those relatively low points barely cast a shadow over the LP. In an era rife with pop singers who don’t really know exactly what they want to say or why they want to make music, ADÉLA has put the entire scene on notice with PRIMA. Vision is everything, and she has one of the most consistent, unique and enthralling ones in the game right now.
Here’s how Billboard ranks every track on PRIMA, ADÉLA’s debut studio album, from worst to best.
Generative AI music platform Suno has pulled a controversial ad starring Mary J. Blige after learning that the legendary singer hadn’t actually approved it.
In a statement shared with Billboard on Thursday (Sept. 3), a spokesperson for Suno said, “We entered into a business deal with someone who presented themselves as Ms. Blige’s official representative.
“As soon as we learned this was not the case, and that Ms. Blige was uncomfortable, we terminated the advertising campaign,” it continued.
The spokesperson also said that Blige is “an icon who we all deeply admire” who “hasn’t stopped innovating.” “That’s why we wanted to work with her,” they added.
Billboard has reached out to Blige’s reps for comment.
The development comes after the nine-time Grammy winner appeared in a video posted by Suno that showed her listening as someone who appears to be a producer demonstrates the AI system’s capabilities. “I just process, because I don’t know what the hell y’all talking about,” she says in the clip posted at the end of August. “So I like to learn what you talking about. Now, it’s like, ‘Ah, OK, this is pretty dope,’ if we could play with it more and learn more of everything else going on. It’s pretty dope.”
Her apparent participation in the ad led to immediate backlash from fans and think pieces criticizing her choice to seemingly endorse Suno, one of the most polarizing companies in the music industry today. (See: Billboard‘s feature in March on the company titled “Is Suno the Music Industry’s Biggest Nightmare — or Greatest Hope?”)
In the past three days alone, Billboard has reported on three separate lawsuits against Suno concerning alleged infringement on artist rights. Jason Isbell filed a class action suit at the end of August accusing Suno of violating artists’ name, image and likeness rights, while independent Gerencia 360 Music claimed in a recent legal complaint that Suno had illegally trained its AI model using music owned by the label.
Suno, however, has always maintained that its training process is protected by copyright law’s fair use principle, which allows unlicensed works to be reused for transformative purposes.
Slayyyter might be actually kinda famous, but now she has something even better: a stamp of approval from Lady Gaga.
Mother Monster gave the pop singer a major shout-out in a new TikTok posted Thursday (Sept. 3), soundtracking a makeup tutorial with Slayyyter’s “I’M ACTUALLY KINDA FAMOUS.” In the video, Gaga shows off what she calls her “daily holy trinity” — concealer, contour and lip liner — while getting ready in under a minute.
But it was Gaga’s comments section that delivered the real crossover.
“I know Slayyyter is going to burst into flames when she sees her song was used,” one fan wrote underneath the video. Gaga then responded with possibly the only thing that could make the moment more exciting for Slayyyter: “I love Slayyyter,” followed by three black-heart emojis.
Slayyyter didn’t literally combust, but she did promptly freak out and respond. The rising pop star reposted Gaga’s comment to her Instagram Story, writing in all caps, “I LOVE GAGA.” But the crossover didn’t end there.
The singer later made her way into Gaga’s TikTok comments herself, writing, “OMG… OMG.” Gaga was quick to respond, and she couldn’t resist slipping in a reference to another Slayyyter song.
“You mean… Yes GODDD!!!! You’re the best,” Gaga wrote, alluding to Slayyyter’s WOR$T GIRL IN AMERICA track “YES GODDD.”
This public declaration from one of pop music’s most prominent figures is just one of many prizes Slayyyter has collected within the year. She recently earned her first entry on the Billboard Hot 100 when “brand new chanel$” charted at No. 98 during the week of Aug. 15. Her latest album, WOR$T GIRL IN AMERICA, debuted at No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Dance Albums chart.
So, yes, Gaga picked an especially appropriate soundtrack. “I’M ACTUALLY KINDA FAMOUS” is already one of the most deliciously self-aware titles in Slayyyter’s catalog. Now, one of pop’s biggest stars has given it a co-sign.
Take a look at the interaction below.
Ciara Miller might have found her perfect first dance song ahead of her Dancing With the Stars stint, thanks to Sabrina Carpenter fans.
In an interview with Entertainment Tonight posted Wednesday (Sept. 2), the reality star reacted to audience members requesting that she and pro partner Brandon Armstrong break it down to “Taste” for their first televised performance on the competition. “Oh my gosh!” Miller gasped. “That is so funny. That is amazing.”
“The audience is messy!” she said, meanwhile the gears appeared to be turning in her head as she considered the possibility. “I love it. Messy boots.”
For the uninitiated, Miller’s personal life was thrust into the center of pop culture discourse earlier this year after it came out that her Summer House castmates Amanda Batula and West Wilson had begun an intimate relationship without her knowledge. Given that Batula was Miller’s good friend and Wilson was Miller’s ex, Miller felt a lot of hurt and betrayal over the situation — which she unleashed during a memorable, heated season reunion in May.
And as fans have evidently pointed out, “Taste” is the perfect song for the situation. “Now I’m gone, but you’re still layin’/ Next to me, one degree of separation,” Carpenter sings on the Short n’ Sweet track, which hit No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2024. “I heard you’re back together, and if that’s true/ You’ll just have to taste me when he’s kissin’ you.”
For the record, Armstrong is here for it as well. “I’m just here for support and vibes,” he told ET. “I’m just down.”
“We’re gonna leave it all out on the dance floor,” Miller added. “It’s gonna be healing. We’re gonna cry, we’re gonna laugh. It’s gonna be a good time.”
The interview comes on the same day the full DWTS season 35 cast was announced. In addition to Miller, Taylor Hanson, Guillermo Rodriguez, Maura Higgins, Harry Shum Jr., Julia Stiles, Jenna Dewan, Tyler Cameron, Conner Leavitt and more will compete.
Watch Miller and Armstrong’s full conversation with ET below.
Even after dropping three albums in May, Drake isn’t satisfied.
He’s been teasing what appears to be a project titled Fear of Missing Out, and the 6 God officially set the rollout in motion on Thursday (Sept. 3) when he announced plans for a YouTube livestream slated for Sept. 15 at 9 p.m. ET.
Drizzy posted a Fear of Missing Out poster to Instagram and revealed the date of the livestream without any other details. The only other possible hints were an island and Ferris wheel emojis in the caption.
“You really said steak, lobster and shrimp, now we’re getting caviar. You’re making sure we’re well fed this year,” one fan wrote.
Other members of the OVO hive predicted that a single will arrive during the stream and an album will be in tow not too far down the line.
Drake made plenty of history in May when he released ICEMAN, HABIBTI and MAID OF HONOUR in May, becoming the first to ever occupy the top three slots of the Billboard 200 albums chart simultaneously.
“Janice STFU” became the 14th Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 hit of Drizzy’s career, which broke a tie with Michael Jackson to give the 6 God the most among male soloists, as he charted a record-high of 42 songs on the chart in a single week.
ICEMAN topped the Billboard 200 to notch Drake his 15th No. 1, which broke a tie with Jay-Z for the most among rappers. ICEMAN has had staying power, as the album is spending a 13th week atop the Top Rap Albums chart, which is a career best for Drake.
Drizzy performed a few songs from ICEMAN in an arena setting for the first time on Monday night (Aug. 31), when he made a guest appearance at Don Toliver’s OCTANE World Tour stop in Toronto at Scotiabank Arena.
Find Drake’s Fear of Missing Out announcement below.
There is one very good sign pointing to a possible Oasis reunion tour sequel next summer: the lack of a major football tourney. At least according to songwriter/guitarist and co-founder Noel Gallagher. In a call-in chat with his good friends at England’s talkSPORT’s Drive this week, when asked by co-host Andy Goldstein if he could respond to fans about the potential need to start saving up for Oasis tickets — specifically for a return to Knebworth, a persistent rumor — even in a cryptic way, Gallagher gave the most Gallagher answer possible.
After a brief pause, Noel did what Noel does and he put it on younger brother, singer Liam Gallagher. “It’s Liam, innit? He’s not into it,” Noel said of the band’s mercurial vocalist. “He’s not?” Goldstein responded with some measure of caution. “He’s not into Oasis anymore,” Noel assured him.
When Goldstein noted that Liam had seemingly quit social media recently, Noel seemed surprised at the news about the vocalist notorious for generously answering fans’ queries, theories and trash talk with pointed quips on X. “Did he?” Noel said with a hearty laugh. “Yeah, I think he said, ‘I’m done.’ You didn’t know that?” Goldstein wondered.
He wasn’t wrong, on Aug. 25, Liam issued an all caps missive that read, “IM OUT OF HERE LOOK AFTER YOURSELVES AND REMEMBER DONT TALK TO S–T C–TS.” That said, just a day before Liam sent a not-so-coded message to Noel via the tweet, “ffs RKID announce the tour we’re all losing our minds.”
“Oh, well, then there must be something happening,” Noel said about the surprise social media leave-taking. “There must be something happening,” Gallagher continued, noting, “Well, let’s put it this way: there’s no football tournament next year, so we’ve got to do something in the summer, right?”
It wasn’t exactly a no, but neither was it a yes. And, to be fair, Noel is half-right. While there is no men’s soccer tourney next summer, the FIFA Women’s World Cup is taking place in Brazil in June and July. Just saying.
Regardless, Oasis have not officially confirmed another round of reunion dates to follow their triumphant Oasis Live ’25 tour, which featured 41 sold-out, rapturously received gigs across Europe, North America, South America, Asia and Australia. Fans have been clamoring for a sequel amid a series of reports about a possible second run, including a potential return to the site of one of their greatest triumphs: a pair of 1996 gigs where they played to 250,000 over two nights at Knebworth in England.
At press time a spokesperson for the band had not returned Billboard‘s request for comment on possible 2027 dates.
Before seemingly bouncing off his socials, last month Liam threw ice cold water on the incessant round two chatter, writing on X, “It’s not HAPPENING so all you croc wearing flag waving s–t c–ts can calm the f–k down.” And while that seemingly definitive statement appeared to shut down any talk of a second go-round after the band’s unexpected get-back following a legendarily nasty 2009 split, it’s worth noting that it’s not the first, or twelfth time, Liam has made a seemingly contradictory or negative statement about more dates.
At the end of the first run, during the final show in London on Sept. 29, 2025, Liam thanked the crowd and said teasingly, “Most of all, I wanna thank you lot for keeping the faith and putting this band back on the map … See you next year!”
Though the band has been off the radar since the final show on Nov. 23 in São Paulo, Brazil, they will be back, on movie screens anyway, next week when the reunion tour doc Don’t Look Back in Anger hits IMAX screen on Sept. 11 before screening on Hulu and Disney+ later this year.
Colin Kaepernick has finally responded to Jay-Z bringing him up during a freestyle on the first night of his Yankee Stadium residency back in July.
During a sit-down on Dateline NBC’s Before & After With Lester Holt airing Sept. 7, the former NFL quarterback spoke on his initial reaction to being name-dropped by the legendary rapper. “First and foremost, what it speaks to is power of people,” Kaepernick told Holt. “The backlash that [Jay-Z] received for partnering with the NFL and going counter to people’s interests in 2019 was a major problem for him, so much so that he’s still bringing it up in 2026.”
He added, “People are now realizing, ‘Why are you so comfortable stepping into these positions that are counter to the positions that people on the ground actually want?’ And to me, I view that as speaking to a guilty conscience and trying to reposition or reframe the conversation.”
Jay used the freestyle in question to address critics of his exclusive Reasonable Doubt vinyl partnership with Target, as civil rights groups have been boycotting the store over lack of DEI initiatives.
“They run out of characters, had to bring back up Kap again,” the legendary rapper spit in regards to the backlash he’s received online. “Buddy took a check, I ain’t even mad at him, but along with that check you gotta sign a non-disparagement. I’m the one they can’t control, y’all better be glad it’s him. Half a billion back to the community, that’s just good math for him. I don’t listen to Twitter activists, they type and I laugh at them. It’s really no comparison, y’all check my stats again. I’m bringin’ folks back to they family, laws get passed ’cause him.”
NBC is also reporting that Kaepernick’s upcoming memoir The Perilous Fight will not be sold at Target stores.
Billboard has reached out to Jay-Z’s reps for comment.
Tim Curry‘s cause of death has been revealed in public health records obtained by People.
The publication reported Wednesday (Sept. 2) that the Rocky Horror Picture Show star died of coronary artery disease. The Los Angeles Department of Public Health document also apparently cited his stroke and a battle with kidney cancer as contributing factors to his death, though they were not the underlying cause.
According to Mayo Clinic, coronary artery disease impacts the “main blood vessels that supply blood to the heart,” leading to “reduced blood flow to the heart muscle.” It is usually caused by a “buildup of fats, cholesterol and other substances in and on the artery walls” that narrows the arteries.
The public had previously been aware of Curry’s stroke, which occurred in 2012 and resulted in the performer using a wheelchair for the rest of his life. He died on Aug. 25 at the age of 80 at his home in Toluca Lake, Los Angeles.
The actor’s passing was confirmed to Billboard by Grand Central Publishing, which published his 2025 book, Vagabond: A Memoir. Curry’s longtime manager and friend Marcia Hurwitz also shared in a statement at the time praising his “inimitable, flamboyant characters and colorful stage performances” as well as his “curious, expansive mind and generous, gentle heart, both of which remained open and filled with anticipation until his final breath.”
Curry’s talent and charisma live on in his body of work, which includes roles in Annie, It, Muppet Treasure Island, Home Alone 2: Lost in New York and more.

















