New Music for 2024

It's a new year, so here's some brand-new music for 2024! Since 2017 I've been writing posts sharing new music releases for the new year (it was called New Music Releases in 2017 and then a year later it was titled New Music for 2018). 

You can see 2023's at the links below: 

New Music for 2023- Bollywood/Asian  https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2023/01/new-music-for-2023-bollywoodasian.html

New Music for 2023- Various: https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2023/01/new-music-for-2023-various.html

 

And now here are some new releases, mainly in the Western pop/R'n'B genre. :)

 

Jennifer Lopez- Can't Get Enough

Jennifer Lopez (one of my favourite singers) has just released the new song Can't Get Enough. It's her first single in two years (following 2022's Marry Me with Columbian singer Maluma, from the film of the same name)  and will be the lead single from her upcoming album This Is Me...Now.

This Is Me...Now is J.Lo's 9th studio album, her first album (not counting the soundtrack of the film Marry Me) in almost 10 years (!!). Her previous one was A.K.A, released in June 2014. TIM...N is the follow-up to her 2002 album This Is Me...Then, which celebrated its 20th anniversary in November 2022.

This Is Me...Then was inspired by Jennifer's relationship with American actor Ben Affleck. After separating in 2004 and going on to marry and start families with other people, they got back together in 2021 and married in July 2022. See my 20th Anniversary of J.Lo's This Is Me...Then post for more on their relationship: https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2022/11/20th-anniversary-of-jlos-this-is-me.html

This Is Me...Now, which is due out on 16th February, will be about Jennifer's journey over the past 20 years, and her quest to heal and find love. There will also be an Amazon Prime musical film called This Is Me...Now: A Love Story.

Can't Get Enough is a pop song with lyrics about not being able to get enough of your lover. J.Lo previously performed it at her and Ben's wedding. The music video features her getting married 3 times (a fictional take on her multiple weddings in real life!). Two of the grooms are played by celebrities- dancer Derek Hough and actor and singer Trevor Jackson. Not sure who the third man is but will update if/when I find out his name. :)

The song samples the 1967 single I'm Still In Love by the late Jamaican singer Alton Ellis. I thought it sounded like Sean Paul and Sasha's I'm Still in Love With You (released in 2003) and I see that it was inspired by Alton's song. 

Can't Get Enough was released on 12th January. Please note that the song contains mild swearing (I mention it in case you don't like that kind of thing, are around kids etc.) :)

 

Visit this link for more on the video and to see the tracklist for TIM...N: https://pitchfork.com/news/jennifer-lopez-shares-video-for-new-song-cant-get-enough-watch/

 

Ariana Grande- yes, and?

American singer Ariana Grande  also released  her first single in a couple of years this month. It's called yes and? (written in  lower case) and is the lead single from her forthcoming 7th studio album Eternal Sunshine. The album is set for release on 8th March. 

yes, and? is Ariana's first solo single in around 3 years, (her most recent releases were  34 + 35 and POV in November 2020 and March 2021 respectively).  She has released music with other artists since then though, including Just Look Up, a joint song with American rapper Kid Cudi (from the 2021 film Don't Look Up ) and the remix for Die For You with Canadian singer The Weeknd. Her last album was 2020's Positions.

For the past year or so, Ariana has been concentrating on filming Wicked Part: One, the first movie in the upcoming film adaption of the stage musical Wicked. She plays Glinda. The first installment of Wicked is due out this November. Ariana has also been focusing on her cosmetics brand R.E.M. Beauty, which she launched in 2021.

yes and? is a house and pop song about living life on your own terms, regardless of what others think. The single release comes after Ariana has had a difficult time in her personal life. She split-up from her husband estate agent Dalton Gomez last year and then got together with American actor Ethan Slater, her co-star in Wicked. 

Their relationship caused controversy, due to the fact that Ethan had also been married (to his high school sweetheart Lilly Jay) with whom he has a son. However, sources claimed that both Ariana and Ethan had separated from their partners when they started dating.

The song addresses Ariana's critics, with lyrics including "Don't comment on my body, do not reply; Your business is yours and mine is mine, Why do you care so much whose d**k I ride?" The last line in particular has reportedly caused Ariana to lose a lot of Instagram followers, since it appears to be a reference to her relationship with Ethan. 

yes and? was released on 12th January. It's inspired by Madonna's hit 1990 single Vogue and also references ballroom, an underground LGBTQ+ subculture which originated in African American and Latino communities in New York. 

The single has several versions, including an extended mix, a sped-up version, an instrumental and a capella (without music). The music video takes inspiration from another video, Cold Hearted by Paula Abdul (released in 1988). 

Please note that the song is explicit :)  

 

 

Visit this link to listen to/download "yes and?" (and various versions): https://arianagrande.lnk.to/yesand

Gen Neo and Hyperlnk- Unless We Try

Singaporean singer Gen Neo has just released the new single Unless We Try, a collaboration with DJ and producer Hyperlnk. It's the latest of Gen's English language singles (he also sings in Chinese and Korean), which include Called it Love and Losing Game.

Unless We Try is described as a "sexy retro funk R'n'B" song and is about taking a leap of faith in romance. There's also an unplugged version. 

This is the audio.

 

Watch the video for the unplugged version here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zUX7i6urVtg

 

Plus, here is the audio for Same Mistakes (one of my current favourite songs), which came out in December: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tT0EMjEos8 

 

Mabel feat. Kojo Fund- Finders Keepers (Jaydon Lewis Remix)

Finally, British/Swedish singer Mabel just released a new remix of her hit song Finders Keepers. The original which features British singer and rapper Kojo Funds, was released in 2017 and is considered Mabel's breakthrough hit. It's been quite a while since she released anything (her most recent album is 2022's About Last Night... and her last single Crying on the Dance Floor came out in July 2022), so it's good to hear something new. :)

The remix is by South African DJ and producer  Jaydon Lewis. It was originally uploaded to Jaydon's YouTube channel in December but the audio premiered on Mabel's YouTube yesterday (19th January). 

This is the remix/visualiser.

 

Watch the music video for the original Finders Keepers here: https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2017/03/weekly-music-video_22.html

 

And find more remixes on Jaydon's official YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYXXqXKl4KUA7YSCyMLKk6Q  

Hope you enjoyed the post! :) I may do another one soon. What are your new favourite songs?