Every week, Spotify updates their "New Music Friday" playlist, featuring 50 of the freshest new tracks hitting the service that week.
On the heels of Billboard's partnership with the streaming giant, we'll be tapping Spotify's editors to sift through the soon-to-be-hits and highlight the best of the bunch.
Check out the picks and listen to the entire "New Music Friday" playlist below.
Maggie Rogers - "On + Off"
Currently amid her first tour ever, singer-songwriter Maggie Rogers is wasting no time this year, recently sharing a personal journal entry where she excitedly states, "2017, I've been waiting for you all my life." To put it simply, while Rogers is humbly self-describing this past year as "wild and wonderful," she knows 2016 is a year she'll always cherish and never forget. Over the summer, Rogers career was unforeseeably catapulted to new heights after Pharrell found himself at a loss for words when first listening to her now-breakout single "Alaska." Today, the 22-year-old returns with a strong follow-up to the very track that kickstarted her career and propelled her to viral fame, proving she has a lot of music (and magic) left inside of her to whimsically sculpt, polish and share. Her new single, "On + Off," frames her cleverly dynamic voice, with melodic keys, electronic seasoning and subtle handclaps enabling her to co-exist harmoniously and enchantingly between folk, pop and dance with grace. As further exemplified by "On + Off," Rogers continues to navigate territory uniquely her own, leaving room for experimentation without losing sight of who she is, and wants to be, as an artist. Her music encompasses an innate power to transport listeners to a realm full of possibility and wonder, while also simultaneously reminding us soul-warming adventure is just around the corner of where we already are.
Nicky Jam - "Without You"
Back in late December, Vin Diesel took to social media to bless Reggaeton singer-songwriter Nicky Jam's new single, "Without You," referring to the track as "another No. 1 hit right here." While the two have become close friends working together on the feature film, xXx: Return of Xander Cage, Diesel's kind words do hold some objective merit: Nicky Jam's new heartwarming acoustic ballad is a strong offering beautifully highlighting his talents as a musician not to be slept on. After breaking out as a teenage sensation, the now 35-year-old today (Jan. 20) releases his first studio album in a decade, Fénix, an ambitious 26-track collection featuring guests such as Sean Paul and Daddy Yankee, as well as includes his chart-topping and record-breaking collaboration with Enrique Iglesias. Whether he is singing in Spanish or English, the album is full of his undeniably catchy trademark hooks, with the singer's true star power shining through along with his lifelong condition of being a hopeless romantic. Months after winning Song of the Year, Favorite Collaboration and Favorite Streaming Song at the Latin AMAs for his and Iglesias' smash single "El Perdón," Nicky Jam is beyond ready to claim what's rightfully his again, today celebrating both his Hollywood debut as an actor and his noble comeback as a resilient recording artist further proving he's Latin America's true Renaissance man.
Wale - "Running Back" featuring Lil Wayne
For Wale and Lil Wayne, finding inspiration in both football and money is as second nature as stepping into the booth has become for each longtime rapper. While their latest collaboration is not their first together, the track "Running Back" does mark a new chapter for Wale, with the single doubling as a first taste off of his forthcoming fifth studio album, Shine. The two sports fanatics recently made an appearance on ESPN's First Take, a show whose theme song is also a Wale original, and during the show, they previewed "Running Back" for the first time. True to the theme, the bouncy track is full of football metaphors, also weaving in women, money and the problems that are commonly associated with each. Weezy has some fun with his verse, talking about putting his woman "on time out and everything," when his spoiling her doesn’t feel like it’s enough or appreciated. The track features breezy production, accented by radiant flutes and deliberately scattered percussion, giving the song an airy nature that allows listeners to hang onto every word from both artists, with Weezy's guest verse particularly a spotlight-stealer. "Running Back" is definitely an earworm track worth literally running back, a perfect tease to what Wale has awaiting us with Shine, due out later this year.
Lady Antebellum - "You Look Good"
Although Lady Antebellum made their debut a decade ago, the country trio is still finding exciting ways to shake up their sound. Their latest offering, "You Look Good," is a perfect example of this, incorporating horns into their music for the first time, an experimentation that refreshingly works in their favor. The upbeat, funky single marks the group's return, after taking a brief hiatus in order to work on solo projects this past year, and also doubles as the first track off of their forthcoming sixth studio album, Heart Break. With a contagious chorus and each member trading turns on the mic, the song has a feel-good energy that frontwoman Hillary Scott promises will be perfect for their live show. Along with the new single, Lady A also announced a 43-date North American tour, which is slated to kick off on May 26th. While the song does sway from what fans have come to expect from the decorated Nashville-based musicians over the years, the group details that their upcoming album is "all about those personal growths everyone goes through," showcasing in what we've heard so far that growth is both welcome and worth celebrating now more than ever.
From First To Last - "Make War"
In celebration of his 29th birthday this week, Skrillex decided to do something special for his fans, but not in a way anyone could see coming. In fact, after lightheartedly tweeting that he was actually "getting younger," the famed EDM producer chose to throw things all the way back to his teenage years -- a time where he was still commonly referred to by his government name Sonny Moore and was busy surprising the music industry as an eager 16-year-old wildcard artist first discovered on MySpace -- epically reuniting with the original members of his first endeavor, post-hardcore/emo outfit From First to Last. The recording of "Make War" signifies the group's first formal reunion since the former frontman left to pursue his solo career in 2007. Much to the delight of day one supporters, FFTL's new track picks up right where the group last left off before parting ways with Moore, who at the time expressed concerns regarding permanently damaging his vocal cords, with "Make War" reminiscent of the signature sound they established back in the mid-2000s. According to a statement discussing the song's conception and creation, Moore lent his creative expertise as a producer, co-writer and vocalist, proving that the multidimensional musician still has what it takes to create a solid alternative rock song, even dusting off his veteran ability to stylistically scream in between belting choruses. While it currently remains unclear if the track will exist as a one-off for old time's sake or if it will signify the beginning of the band's next chapter together, "Make War" certainly pleases the palate in the meantime, showing that Moore's talents as a career musician are aging like fine wine.