Tame Impala and Steve Lacy both enjoy chart splashes in Australia this week, thanks to everyone’s favorite webslinger, Spider-Man.
Kevin Parker’s Tame Impala bags a new peak on the ARIA Singles Chart with “Loser” (via Columbia/Sony), re-entering at No. 11, well up on its No. 95 best from 2025.
“Loser,” the first song lifted from Tame Impala’s fifth album, Deadbeat, gets a superheroic lift from its appearance in Spider-Man: Brand New Day. Meanwhile, Deadbeat track “Dracula” dips 16-18 on the latest chart, published Friday, Aug. 14.
Thanks to the latest adventures of Peter Parker, Steve Lacy’s third album, Oh Yeah? (Sony Music) rises 34-17, and its title track opens at No. 25 on the ARIA Singles Chart, for the top new release. “Oh Yeah” is also synced to the new Spidey film, which this week becomes the fastest to hit $700 million at the U.S. box office. Internationally, Spider-Man: Brand New Day adds $1.108 billion to leapfrog Spider-Man: No Way Home ($1.106 billion) as Sony Pictures’ biggest film ever overseas, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
At the summit of the latest ARIA Singles Chart is Ella Langley’s “Choosin’ Texas” (Sony), which enters a 10th week at No 1. Another U.S. country artist is making her presence felt on the singles frame, Stella Lefty, whose “Boston” (Atlantic/Warner) enters the top 10 for the very first time, rallying 11-8.
Over on the ARIA Albums Chart, Olivia Rodrigo’s You Seem Pretty Sad For A Girl So In Love (Geffen/Universal) reclaims top spot for a fifth non-consecutive week.
The top debutant is Stray Kids with their EP This & That (Republic/Inertia), new at No. 3. The K-pop act, which features Australian duo Felix and Bangchan, now boast nine appearances in the top 20, including three No. 2s with 5-Star (in 2023), Rock-Star (2023) and Ate (2024).
California artist Role Model (real name: Tucker Pillsbury) bags a career best appearance on the ARIA Chart with Chuck Timely & The Hourglass (Interscope/Universal), his third release. It’s new at No. 4.
Close behind, homegrown country artist Casey Barnes achieves his own career-best and first top 10 spot with MADE FOR THIS (CMI). It’s new at No. 6 on the all-genres chart.
Also impacting the tally for the first time are releases from German electronic-rock band Electric Callboy (Tanzneid at No. 11 via Century Media/Sony), Melbourne duo Bachelor Girl (No. 34 with a reimagined version Waiting For The Day via Xelon), Cold Chisel songwriter Don Walker (Love Songs at No. 41 via MGM), and Western Australia-born indie singer Rowena Wise (Bad Things Feel Good at No. 44 via Remote Control).
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 Karol G, Role Model, FLO, Stray Kids and more.
This week, three is the magic number: indie-rocker Phoebe Bridgers releases her highly-anticipated third album, Lost Weekend; KATSEYE drops its third EP; and Ayra Starr shares her third album as well… plus much more. Check out all of this week’s picks below:
Phoebe Bridgers, Lost Weekend
After Phoebe Bridgers performed a semi-impromptu, highly in-demand, phone-free show at New York’s Madison Square Garden in early June, it was clear something was coming. And just a few weeks later, that hunch was confirmed when the indie-rockstar announced her first solo album in six years, Lost Weekend. Across its 16 tracks, “the album fluctuates between grief and elation, agitation and contentment, as Bridgers sings like someone who has loved and lost — and still has something to lose,” writes Billboard‘s Christine Werthman for the album’s tracks ranked. Surely, it’s the perfect album to get lost in this weekend. — LYNDSEY HAVENS
KATSEYE, WILD
Despite this girl group’s ongoing lineup changes (with Manon and Sophia both on mental health breaks), one thing is certain: KATSEYE brings the energy. Its third EP, WILD (out on HYBE x Geffen Records) is packed with high-impact, hard-hitting tracks like single “Pinky Up” and focus track “Hootie Frutti.” Meanwhile, sassier songs like single “Animal” and “That Way” slow it down — but just a bit. As a release for the EP states, “the project captures the feeling of a wild ride fueled by growth and transformation” and marks the start of a new “electrifying new era” for the now foursome. — L.H.
Troye Sivan, “She’s the Best”
Troye Sivan is back — and not only with a new single. The pop singer’s low-toned “She’s the Best” — about all the qualities, expected and less so, of a particular person that wows him — serves as the lead single and title track of his fourth album, out Oct. 9 on Interscope. “She’s the Best is a painting that captures my life in all of its moods and colours,” Sivan said in a statement. “It explores the high-octane highs of the last few years, and the solitude and longing that sat underneath. It’s chaotic, layered, organic, troubled and alive. It feels like the truest and most creative version of myself I’ve ever shared. At some point along the way I realised: the only constant in my life keeping me somewhat sane has not been the work, or the men, but the feminine. Thank god for them.” — L.H.
Ayra Starr, STARRGIRL
Nigerian Afropop sensation Ayra Starr is back with STARRGIRL, her third studio album and first full-length effort since 2024’s The Year I Turned 21. The new 16-track set — which includes the Grammy-nominated, Wizkid-assisted “Gimme Dat” — expands the 24-year-old’s sonic foundation with more pronounced notes of dance and R&B. Effortlessly fostering synergy with Leon Thomas, kwn and ZAYN (as well as Danny Ocean on a Latin remix of fan-favorite “Hot Body”), Ayra Starr spends her latest LP proving she can dominate in any lane her heart desires. — KYLE DENIS
Jorja Smith, “I Lied, You Lied”
Ahead of her third album releasing next week, English singer-songwriter Jorja Smith is sharing one more single to preview the set. “I Lied, You Lied,” is a heart-racing track in both its uneven production and the story she tells that essentially details a race to see whose lie will come to the surface first. Yet, only a voice as smooth and serene as Jorja’s can manage to sound totally unbothered through it all. — L.H.
Johnny Young, the ARIA Hall of Fame-inducted singer, songwriter and bandleader who ushered in generations of Australian artists through his long-running TV series, Young Talent Time, has died following a brief battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 79.
Born Johnny de Jong in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, Young migrated with his family when he was a youngster, setting up home in Perth, Western Australia. He began his career in music as a disc jockey, then struck gold as a teen idol, and as a bandleader with The Strangers. Young had a national smash with the double A-sided single featuring “Step Back” and “Cara Lyn.”
He was a natural in front of the cameras, and it was through the medium of TV that Young would become a household name, initially as host of the Go Show, and later with his own primetime show Young Talent Time.
A year-long stint in London during the swinging ‘60s didn’t pan out for Young. On his return to Australia, he pivoted into songwriting, penning “The Real Thing” for Russell Morris, and contributing works for The Seekers, Herman’s Hermits and others.
At the turn of a new decade, Young launched a weekly TV format that would reach into the lives of millions of Australians – and change the lives of many youngsters.
Young Talent Time first aired April 24, 1971, and would become one of the country’s longest running TV programs, airing for 18 seasons until 1988, with a reboot in 2012. A total of 819 episodes beamed out. A reunion show was taped in 2023 to celebrate its 52nd anniversary.
“The whole feel of Young Talent Time was based on the love that I had for the Mickey Mouse Club,” he said of the beloved show that he created, hosted and produced.
With its joyful mix of music, dance, fun and friendship, the show gave a platform to a young Tina Arena, Dannii Minogue, Debra Byrne, Jamie Redfern, Jane Scali, Sally Boyden, Karen Knowles, Philip Gould and many others.
Arena was on hand to induct Young into the ARIA Hall of Fame in 2011, a class that included John Williamson, Models, The Loved Ones and The Church.
“I cast my mind back to when I was a little girl, and you were there for me,” she said of Young, who was visibly holding back tears from his table, “teaching, nurturing, supporting, protecting, mentoring and always smiling.” She added, “You supported me like a father would his daughter, and you took me through some of the greatest moments of my childhood. Even when the road wasn’t easy for you.”
In his now-legendary speech, the Church frontman Steve Kilbey gave a shout out to Young from the stage, and reenacted to the room the music man’s enthusiastic straight-armed clap whilst singing “Cara Lyn.”
Even veteran rockers liked Johnny Young.
Prime minister Anthony Albanese said Young gave “the gift of joy” to Australia. “A wonderful singer in his own right, he established himself in our homes and our hearts as the genial and generous host of Young Talent Time, the launchpad for an incredible new generation of entertainers,” he writes. “How lucky we were to have him. May he rest in peace.”
Minogue considers Young a man who “holds a place in so many hearts,” she writes, “and today my heart is broken.”
The pop artist’s social post continues, “He has so many achievements from his music and TV career, pop writing and releases, and family entertainment on our televisions. For me, this is where my career started, and generations of Aussies hold Young Talent Time and the song ‘All My Loving’ so fondly in their memories. His show brought 17 years of colour, choreography, sequins, music and smiles to our Saturday nights.
“My heart goes out to his family and to his YTT family. From cast, crew and every Johnny Young Talent School member, this is a very sad ‘Goodnight Australia.’”
The Young Talent Time collection is preserved as an artifact of Australian history and pop culture as part of the National Film and Sound Archive.
Phoebe Bridgers‘ last album, Punisher, arrived in June 2020, in the early, uncertain days of COVID-19. Though it was written prior to the pandemic, the album became a perfect lockdown summer soundtrack: Sardonic, reflective and restless, it unintentionally captured the mood of the time, particularly with a scream into the void on closer “I Know the End.”
Bridgers couldn’t tour Punisher upon its release, so instead she hosted a handful of livestreams from her apartment for what she dubbed her World Tour in 2020. As restrictions lifted in 2021, she more than made up for lost time with the Reunion Tour, which kicked off in September 2021 and ended in April 2023, just in time to start up a tour with boygenius — her supergroup with Julien Baker and Lucy Dacus — that went into 2024 and, on her own, join Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour for a dozen dates.
This May — after a nearly two-year break during which she largely stayed out of the public eye — Bridgers reappeared for her first solo show in three years at a 400-capacity venue in Roswell, New Mexico. She spent the rest of the month playing smaller, phone-free pop-up shows, where her set lists mostly comprised already-released songs but included a few new ones. The stretch culminated in one much-bigger concert: a Tidal-sponsored Madison Square Garden performance on June 4. Bridgers announced a proper fall tour the next day; then on June 24, she finally let fans know that a new album was coming.
The spacious and experimental Lost Weekend, out today (Aug. 14) on Dead Oceans, was written over a period of both loss and love. A lot has happened for the Los Angeles singer-songwriter since 2020, from launching her own Saddest Factory Records (which has since merged with Dead Oceans) to getting back on the road and releasing the debut boygenius album to a high-profile breakup with actor Paul Mescal, the death of her father and the start of a new relationship with partner (and now credited collaborator) Bo Burnham.
With these events swirling in the background, Bridgers takes on an edgier tone on Lost Weekend. The album fluctuates between grief and elation, agitation and contentment, as Bridgers sings like someone who has loved and lost — and still has something to lose.
Lost Weekend’s extensive production credits include Bridgers, Tony Berg and Ethan Gruska, who both worked on Punisher and Bridgers’ debut studio album, Stranger in the Alps; and Jack Antonoff, with additional production from Alex G. Some songs function as interstitial, ambient-leaning transitions, while others are meant to stand on their own. Over an ambitious 16 tracks, Bridgers has room to wander, which she does with some country flair and new electronic touches. But while the album may turn some new heads, OG Phoebe fans need not worry: The intricate, scene-setting lyrics, the delicate yet powerful voice and the gallows humor all remain.
Here is Billboard’s ranking of every song on Phoebe Bridgers’s Lost Weekend.
It’s been a wild ride for KATSEYE. Just two years into their journey, the international girl group has crashed the Billboard charts, played Coachella, covered Vanity Fair, and appeared on late-night network TV. A sold-out arena tour awaits.
Today, Aug. 14, the pop act drops a third EP, WILD (via HYBE x Geffen Records), led by the Billboard Hot 100 hits “PINKY UP” and “Animal,” co-written by Ed Sheeran.
WILD is the followup to 2025’s BEAUTIFUL CHAOS, an EP that debuted in the top five of the Billboard 200 (at No. 4), and earned Grammy Award nominations for best new artist and best pop duo/group performance, for “Gabriela”. That song is one of the act’s six appearances on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
KATSEYE will hit the road for THE WILDWORLD TOUR, which gets underway Sept. 1 at Dublin’s 3Arena, an expansive arena jaunt that takes the K-poppers into arenas in North America, the United Kingdom and Europe. The itinerary includes two-night stands at The O2 in London, UBS Arena in Belmont Park, NY, Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles and Palacio de los Deportes in Mexico City.
For EYEKONS who can’t wait, the concert film KATSEYE: WILD HEARTS is currently playing at 1,700 cinemas across over 60 countries, reps say. Directed by Nadia Hallgren, the film captures never-before-seen footage, fan videos, and intimate interviews with the singers.
Physical releases (CD and vinyl) of WILD feature the individual band members and are available at Target and exclusively include the bonus track “Unloveu,” which KATSEYE’s member Lara Raj wrote and produced with Amy Allen (Harry Styles, Justin Bieber) and Ross Golan (Ariana Grande, Selena Gomez).
To celebrate the new release, KATSEYE will perform at the Citi Concert Series on NBC’s TODAY, just hours after returning to The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon for an interview and a performance of “Animal.”
WILD represents a new era of “maturity, growing up,” Lara told Fallon.
Stream WILD below.
For years, Benny Blanco has been one of pop’s most influential figures without always occupying the spotlight himself. As a songwriter and producer, he has helped shape some of the biggest hits of the past two decades, from Britney Spears’ album Circus (2008) and Katy Perry’s album Teenage Dream (2010), to Justin Bieber’s “Love Yourself” (2015) and “Lonely” (2020) and Ed Sheeran’s “Castle on the Hill” (2017). Now, Blanco is stepping fully into his own frame — and doing so in Spanish.
On Friday (Aug. 14), the hitmaker releases Hermoso — a title that translates to “beautiful” or “handsome” — his first Spanish-language album and his fourth studio project overall. The eight-track LP arrives with a cover that embraces maximalism: Blanco’s facial features instantly catch the eye with comically exaggerated detail in a striking mask. It’s an arresting image for an album that marks a deliberate expansion of his musical world.
Blanco has long spoken about his love for Latin music, and Hermoso reflects that interest through a wide-ranging lineup of collaborators. The album includes the cumbia jam “Te Olvido (La La),” featuring his wife Selena Gomez and Becky G, as well as appearances from Bb trickz, The Marías, Mora, Myke Towers, Ovy on the Drums and Netón Vega. His move into the genre also builds on recent collaborations with Vega (“/Perro Fiel”, 2025) and Grupo Frontera (“Quédate Bebé, 2024).
The project follows Blanco’s two Friends Keep Secrets albums — released in 2018 and 2021 — as well as I Said I Love You First, his 2025 collaborative album with Gomez. But Hermoso represents a distinct new chapter: a Spanish-language set shaped by Blanco’s pop instincts and a cast of artists from Mexico, Spain, Puerto Rico, the U.S. and Colombia.
Below, see how Billboard Español ranks every song on Hermoso, in descending order:
Becky G dropped her fifth studio album, Baraja Bendita, via RCA Records Friday (Aug. 14).
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In 17 tracks — including the previously released “EPA,” “Marathon” and “Patrona” — the Mexican-American singer bridges Becky G (the artist) and Rebbeca (her real name) as a musical symbol of duality, ownership and the freedom to exist fully without contradiction.
“It’s about trusting myself enough to stop choosing between different parts of who I am,” she said in a statement. “For so long, people wanted to define me by one thing: one language, one sound, one version of myself. This album isn’t about becoming someone new. It’s about fully owning every part of who I’ve always been.”
In contrast to her música mexicana-leaning projects Esquinas (2023) and Encuentros (2024), Becky proudly flaunts her 200% identity (100% American and 100% Mexican) powered by evolution and “baddie” energy.
She seamlessly navigates from a kizomba and R&B fusion in “Chula,” to bachata in “Te va a doler,” merengue in “Mal Tiempo” and reggae in “Bandera Blanca.” She also delivers her signature reggaetón sound, as well as many club-ready bangers rooted in house and deep bass music.
Written by Becky herself and not featuring any collaborations, the tracks on BB all find the artist allowing vulnerability and confidence, instinct and intention, to exist side by side.
Baraja Bendita, which can loosely be translated as a “blessed deck of cards,” marks Becky’s fifth LP following Mala Santa (2019), Esquemas (2022), Esquinas (2023) and Encuentros (2024). Her last album went top 10 on Billboard‘s Top Regional Mexican Albums chart.
Stream Baraja Bendita below:
Influence Media Partners made a strategic investment in IPNation, described in a press release as “the first investment platform dedicated exclusively to Arabic music catalogs and entertainment intellectual property.”
IPNation, which has a target investment size of $100 million, will focus on acquiring music and entertainment intellectual property in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, including music masters and publishing rights, artist brands, and name, image and likeness (NIL) rights. The company will develop the IP it acquires “into multi-format entertainment franchises spanning immersive experiences, live shows, film, documentaries, merchandise, gaming, licensing, AI-powered derivatives, and next-generation fan engagement,” states the release.
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IPNation was founded by Anghami co-founder Eddy Maroun and Jose Maria Dot, former chief investment officer of Multiply Group (now 2PointZero) and managing director of FTI Capital Advisors. Influence Media Partners, led by founder and co-managing partner Lylette Pizarro McLean, specializes in the acquisition and management of music and entertainment intellectual property. Supported by strategic partnerships with funds and accounts managed by BlackRock, its portfolio includes works by artists including DJ Khaled, Enrique Iglesias and Future.
“This partnership marks an important step in the evolution of Influence Media,” said Ram Kolluri, head of investments and strategic partnerships at Influence Media Partners, in a statement. “We’ve long believed that premium music IP is a global asset class, and the Middle East represents one of the most exciting opportunities for long-term growth. IPNation combines deep regional expertise with a compelling vision for the future of Arabic music and entertainment IP. Together, we believe we can create lasting value for creators, rights holders, and audiences across the region and beyond.”
“Arabic music and entertainment IP represent one of the most undervalued cultural asset classes globally today,” said Dot, IPNation’s CEO. “IPNation was created to institutionalize investment into iconic and predictable income-generating IP while generating upside through our IPNation Value Creation Playbook, bringing our music to larger audiences efficiently. We believe the Middle East is entering a new era where culture itself becomes a scalable financial asset.”
Eddy Maroun, chairman and chief innovation officer of IPNation, added: “For decades, Arabic music created massive cultural impact but very little long-term ownership value for the region itself. IPNation changes that. We are not only acquiring catalogs; we are building a platform that transforms Arabic IP into global entertainment franchises across music, live experiences, storytelling, gaming, AI, and beyond.”
Read about more recent industry deals below.
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