NEW MUSIC FRIDAY: Releases For The Week of June 23, 2017

Oh, baby, it’s a hit.

If you feel like screaming about the weekly New Music Friday update, here’s anotha one to get your vocal cords going. From a hot DJ and producer’s all-star urban collection, to four rockers on a mythical musical adventure, we’ve got ’em all right here, this week’s top releases:

DJ KHALED – Grateful (iTunes)
WE THE BEST RELEASE DATE! (ahem) Sorry, I don’t know what came over me. One could say that DJ and producer Khaled Khaled is capable of yelling any portion of the phone book, and people would probably throw their money at it. Well, you’ll have to wait on a spoken word set from him, but a number of singles from this release have charted across multiple radio formats, including “Shining” (featuring Beyoncé and Jay Z), “I’m The One” (featuring Justin Bieber, Quavo, Chance The Rapper and Lil Wayne) and its most recent airplay cut, “Wild Thoughts” (featuring Rihanna and Bryson Tiller). Streaming-equivalent units on this one could be giant, so stayed to see how high it goes!

IMAGINE DRAGONS – Evolve (iTunes)
If there’s any act releasing this week that has a whole lot of believers, it’s this Las Vegas quartet, who found that their song “Believer” was destined to become a huge Alternative crossover hit. Though some online reaction to other songs has been mixed (I’m looking at you, “Thunder”) thus far, the album should have a healthy sales week, debuting at the top or runner-up position.

More albums out this week: 311‘s Mosaic (iTunes), Bone Thugs-N-Harmony‘s New Waves (iTunes), James Fortune & FIYA‘s Dear Future Me (iTunes), Jaymes Young‘s Feel Something (iTunes), Joe Bonamassa‘s Live At Carnegie Hall – An Acoustic Evening (iTunes), Prince & The Revolution‘s Purple Rain (Deluxe Reissue) (iTunes),
Quavo‘s ATL (iTunes), Stokley‘s Introducing Stokley (iTunes), VÉRITÉ‘s Somewhere In Between (iTunes), Vince Staples‘s Big Fish Theory (iTunes), Baby Driver (Soundtrack) (iTunes), Despicable Me 3 (Soundtrack) (iTunes)

More EPs out this week: TBA

New digital-only singles that you can buy this week include:
“All I Think About Is You”, Ansel Elgort (iTunes)
“Babel”, Sam Tinnesz featuring Super Duper (iTunes)
“Bad 4 Us”, Superfruit (iTunes)
“Baby Love”, Samantha J. featuring R. City (iTunes)
“Better”, KAPTAN (iTunes)
“Boyfriend”, Lissie (iTunes)
“Break A Little (Madison Mars Remix)”, Kirstin (iTunes)
“Bridge Over Troubled Water”, Artists For Grenfell (iTunes)
“Brother”, Kodaline (iTunes)
“Champion”, Fall Out Boy (iTunes)
“Change”, Sir Sly (iTunes)
“Come Over”, Dylan Rockoff (iTunes)
“Edge Of The Night”, Sheppard (iTunes)
“Electric Touch (Grant Remix)”, A R I Z O N A (iTunes)
“Fool”, Fitz & The Tantrums (iTunes)
“Giants”, Lights (iTunes)
“Gimme Heartbreak”, David Cook (iTunes)
“Ghost”, Secret Weapons (iTunes)
“Golden Dandelions (Acoustic)”, Barns Courtney (iTunes)
“How You Gon’ Do That”, Flosstradamus featuring Cara Salimando (iTunes)
“Intrigued”, Nico & Vinz (iTunes)
“Keep Me Sane”, Kacy Hill (iTunes)
“Listen To What The Man Said” and “Waving Through A Window”, Owl City (iTunes)
“Little Of Your Love”, HAIM (iTunes)
“Malibu (Tiësto Remix)”, Miley Cyrus (iTunes)
“Moonlight”, Grace VanderWaal (iTunes)
“Naughty Ride”, WizKid featuring Major Lazer (iTunes)
“Nothing Scares Us”, Super Duper featuring Daniella Mason (iTunes)
“Somebody New”, Cedric Gervais featuring Liza Owen (iTunes)
“Someone To You (Acoustic)”, BANNERS (iTunes)
“Slow Hands (Basic Tape Remix)”, Niall Horan (iTunes)
“Waterfalls”, Luke Christopher (iTunes)
“Wearing Nothing (Acoustic)”, Dagny (iTunes)
“What If (Acoustic)”, Adam Friedman (iTunes)

We’ll see you next week for new albums from Calvin Harris, Jay-Z and more. Listen to the PGTC Friday Faves list on Spotify!

NEW MUSIC FRIDAY: Releases For The Week of June 16, 2017

Praise the Lorde.

Take a drive down the musical highway, hit the “Green Light” and speed off into a schedule full of great releases for this Friday. Here are the notable albums and singles you can check out now:

LORDE – Melodrama (iTunes)
My top pick for this week is the sophomore album by this New Zealand singer and songwriter, who is coming off a number of notable television and festival performances so far this year. The album’s first single, “Green Light”, climbed as high as #8 on the Alternative chart, as well as #19 at Top 40, while “Perfect Places” is just beginning its run at the former format. Though the era’s had its share of missteps, the album should have a good debut in the top five (or higher) next week.

2 CHAINZ – Pretty Girls Like Trap Music (iTunes)
This Georgia rapper has reached the top five on the Billboard 200 with 3 Albumz, but only his 2012 debut went all the way to the top of both that and the R&B survey. The set features former top ten Urban radio hit “Good Drank”, with Gucci Mane and Quavo, and current single “It’s A Vibe”, which features Ty Dolla $ign, Trey Songz and Jhené Aiko. It is a contender for the highest debut of the week, so stay tuned to see where it lands.

PORTUGAL. THE MAN – Woodstock (iTunes)
The new release from this Alaska band may not be as legendary as the 1969 musical festival, but it does have a lot of super music that you can experience. Of course, this album is led by “Feel It Still”, which is very close to reaching the #1 spot at the Alternative format. (It’s also beginning a cross to Hot AC.) You may recognize it from the new ad for Apple’s iPad Pro. It should have a nice debut.

ROYAL BLOOD – How Did We Get So Dark? (iTunes)
The English duo of Mike Kerr and Ben Thatcher made quite an impression on the rock world three years ago with a self-titled album. Now, they return with a highly-anticipated set, featuring the Active Rock hit “Lights Out”. Watch for Dark to see the light somewhere in the top ten.

More albums out this week: Beth Ditto‘s Fake Sugar (iTunes), Big Boi‘s BOOMIVERSE (iTunes), Cheap Trick‘s We’re All Alright! (iTunes), CKY‘s The Phoenix (iTunes), Crystal Bowersox‘s Alive (iTunes), Eli Young Band‘s Fingertips (iTunes), Fleet Foxes‘s Crack-Up (iTunes), Hey Violet‘s From The Outside (iTunes), Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit‘s The Nashville Sound (iTunes), Nickelback‘s Feed The Machine (iTunes)

More EPs out this week: Bassnectar‘s Reflective, Pt. 1 (iTunes), Shawn Hook‘s My Side Of Your Story (iTunes)

New digital-only singles that you can buy this week include:
“All Night”, Kirstin (iTunes)
“All Stars”, Martin Solveig featuring ALMA (iTunes)
“Baby It’s You”, Haley Reinhart (iTunes)
“Been Here Before”, Whissell (iTunes)
“Better Off”, Handsome Ghost (iTunes)
“Can’t Do”, Everything Everything (iTunes)
“Congratulations (Remix)”, Post Malone featuring Quavo and Future (iTunes)
“Creature Comfort”, Arcade Fire (iTunes)
“Despacito/I’m The One (Mashup)”, Alex Aiono (iTunes)
“Don’t Let Me Get Me”, James Gillespie (iTunes)
“Don’t Matter Now”, George Ezra (iTunes)
“Feelin’ You”, Daniel Skye featuring R. City (iTunes)
“Feels”, Calvin Harris featuring Pharrell Williams, Katy Perry and Big Sean (iTunes)
“Fine”, Tayler Buono (iTunes)
“Fuck With You”, Cardiknox (iTunes)
“Girls Girls”, Icona Pop (iTunes)
“Glorious”, Macklemore featuring Skylar Grey (iTunes)
“Glue”, Fickle Friends (iTunes)
“Harder”, Tiësto & KSHMR featuring Talay Riley (iTunes)
“Heartland”, Tom Walker (iTunes)
“Higher”, Eliza And The Bear (iTunes)
“Hometowns”, Jacob Jeffries (iTunes)
“Honeymoon”, Johnny Stimson (iTunes)
“Hope”, Elias (iTunes)
“I Know A Place (Miike Snow Remix)”, MUNA (iTunes)
“Instruction”, Jax Jones featuring Demi Lovato & Stefflon Don (iTunes)
“Into Yellow”, Martin Luke Brown (iTunes)
“Just For One Night”, Blonde featuring Astrid S (iTunes)
“Let Me Breathe”, Action Bronson (iTunes)
“Life’s About To Get Good”, Shania Twain (iTunes)
“Love Again”, Hedley (iTunes)
“Moan”, VALNTN featuring Trevor Dering (iTunes)
“Night Call”, Steve Aoki featuring Lil Yachty and Migos (iTunes)
“No Fear”, DeJ Loaf (iTunes)
“Nobody Else But You”, LCAW (iTunes)
“Oh Devil”, Electric Guest featuring Devin Di Dakta (iTunes)
“One I Want”, Majid Jordan featuring PARTYNEXTDOOR (iTunes)
“Reverse”, Sage The Gemini (iTunes)
“Save A Way”, Wylder (iTunes)
“Snooze”, Johnny Yukon (iTunes)
“Stay The Same”, Fancy Cars featuring Neil Ormandy (iTunes)
“Strip That Down (Acoustic)”, Liam Payne (iTunes)
“Summer Days”, Milow featuring Sebastian Yatra (iTunes)
“Sunny Days”, Armin Van Buuren featuring Josh Cumbee (iTunes)
“The Man”, The Killers (iTunes)
“The Way You Used To Do”, Queens Of The Stone Age (iTunes)
“There’s Something Special”, Pharrell Williams (iTunes)
“Turf”, Aminé (iTunes)
“Walking The Wire”, Imagine Dragons (iTunes)
“Wild Thoughts”, DJ Khaled featuring Rihanna and Bryson Tiller (iTunes)
“Your Song (Acoustic)”, Rita Ora (iTunes)

We’ll see you next week for new albums from DJ Khaled, Imagine Dragons and more. Listen to the PGTC Friday Faves list on Spotify!

NEW MUSIC FRIDAY: Releases For The Week of June 9, 2017

Witnessing another release week…

A Perry interesting week is ahead of us, as a number of large releases hit stores. Witness all the action below! (See what I did there?) Here are the notable albums and singles for this Friday:

KATY PERRY – Witness (iTunes)
What happens when your core radio format decides to start ignoring your records, causing your new album era to become a mess? A likely under-performance is in the works for Perry’s release, even if it does hit #1 next week. Of course, even though this contains the forgettable “Bon Appétit” (featuring Migos) and “Swish Swish” (featuring Nicki Minaj), it does include a recent #1 on my personal chart: “Chained To The Rhythm”, which features Skip Marley. No tea, no shade, kids, I’m just doing my job!

LADY ANTEBELLUM – Heart Break (iTunes)
As “You Look Good” struggles just below the top ten at Country radio, the trio’s first album in just under three years makes its debut today. With five top five albums to date, and an additional top ten entry with a seasonal album, they should have a solid result in the top tier of the chart once again, albeit with a smaller sales frame.

RISE AGAINST – Wolves (iTunes)
The Chicago rockers have reached the top three on the Billboard 200 with each of their last three studio albums. Their new set is led by “The Violence”, a recent top ten entry on the Active Rock chart that also appears in the top 20 on Alternative radio. It should have a nice debut in the top five.

More albums out this week: Christina Grimmie‘s All Is Vanity (iTunes), Chuck Berry‘s Berry (iTunes), Glen Campbell‘s Adiós (iTunes), Hillsong UNITED‘s Wonder (iTunes), Lindsey Buckingham & Christine McVie‘s Lindsey Buckingham/Christine McVie (iTunes), London Grammer‘s Truth Is A Beautiful Thing (iTunes), Phoenix‘s Ti Amo (iTunes), Rancid‘s Trouble Maker (iTunes), SZA‘s CTRL (iTunes), NOW That’s What I Call Country, Vol. 10 (iTunes)

More EPs out this week: Chris Janson‘s Fix A Drink (iTunes), Jessie James Decker‘s Blackbird Sessions (iTunes), Sam Bruno‘s I Am Sam, Pt. 1 (iTunes)

New digital-only singles that you can buy this week include:
“2U”, David Guetta featuring Justin Bieber (iTunes)
“African Bad Gyal”, WizKid featuring Chris Brown (iTunes)
“Came Here For Love”, Sigala featuring Ella Eyre (iTunes)
“Chicago Song”, Stu Larsen (iTunes)
“Don’t Give Up”, Ryan Star (iTunes)
“Feel It Still (Ofenbach Remix)”, Portugal. The Man (iTunes)
“Free Me”, Sia (iTunes)
“Friday Saturday Sunday”, Kyle Reynolds (iTunes)
“Give Love”, Andy Grammer featuring LunchMoney Lewis (iTunes)
“Goodbye Belongs To You”, Matt Hartke (iTunes)
“High On Humans”, Oh Wonder (iTunes)
“High Without Your Love (Nakid Remix)”, Loote (iTunes)
“I Only Lie When I Love You”, Royal Blood (iTunes)
“In The South”, Big Boi featuring Gucci Mane and Pimp C (iTunes)
“Lift Me Up (Michael Brun Remix)”, OneRepublic (iTunes)
“Look At Us Now”, Lost Kings featuring Ally Brooke and A$AP Ferg (iTunes)
“Make It Move”, Jonny Lang (iTunes)
“Million Bucks”, Smallpools (iTunes)
“Never Letting You Go”, Mikey Wax (iTunes)
“Nights With You (Cheat Codes Remix)”, MØ (iTunes)
“Not Enough”, Lido featuring THEY. (iTunes)
“Rain Come Down”, Vince Staples (iTunes)
“Rude Love (Live Acoustic)”, Becky Hill (iTunes)
“Safe Haven”, The Alternate Routes (iTunes)
“Sirens”, Kat Dahlia (iTunes)
“Sleep Is A Rose”, RHODES (iTunes)
“Sober”, Lorde (iTunes)
“Someone To You”, BANNERS (iTunes)
“Status Quo”, BROADHURST (iTunes)
“Stay (Acoustic)”, Zedd featuring Alessia Cara (iTunes)
“The Devil You Know”, X Ambassadors (iTunes)
“To The Max”, DJ Khaled featuring Drake (iTunes)
“Touch”, The Aces (iTunes)
“Touch Me”, Starley (iTunes)
“Unforgettable (Major Lazer Remix)”, French Montana featuring Swae Lee (iTunes)
“Unstable”, Janine (iTunes)
“Walls”, Wingtip featuring Delacey (iTunes)
“Welcome To My Life”, Chris Brown featuring Cal Scruby (iTunes)
“Yellow Light”, Pharrell Williams (iTunes)

We’ll see you next week for new albums from 2 Chainz, Lorde, Royal Blood and more. Listen to the PGTC Friday Faves list on Spotify!

NEW MUSIC FRIDAY: Releases For The Week of June 2, 2017

Hopelessly looking for #1.

The June tunes are in effect, blazing a path towards the top of the album list. This week, there’s a nice amount of pop and alternative music in the mix, with a hint of country to spice it up. Here are the notable releases for this Friday:

HALSEY – Hopeless Fountain Kingdom (iTunes)
Led by the top 15 pop radio hit “Now Or Never”, the sophomore album by this performer is starting to get some positive coverage. A rabid fanbase like hers will likely turn this into a front-loaded release, which shouldn’t be too surprising, but just how far will it go? I think this is the strongest candidate to debut at the top of the chart next week, barring some surprise release, so stay tuned!

BLEACHERS – Gone Now (iTunes)
“Don’t Take The Money” has topped my personal chart for the last four weeks, so I might be a little excited about the sophomore set from Jack Antonoff’s project. Of course, “Don’t” is also a top ten single on the Alternative airwaves. Three years ago, Strange Desire debuted and peaked at #11 on the Billboard 200, and I’m hoping his new set can crack the top ten.

LUKE COMBS – This One’s For You (iTunes)
Combs recently topped the Country chart with “Hurricane”, which was aided by iHeartMedia’s On The Verge program at the format. The 27-year-old singer will likely make a nice splash on the Country list next week, though it should have a solid entry overall.

More albums out this week: All Time Low‘s Last Young Renegade (iTunes), Alt-J‘s Relaxer (iTunes), Dan Auerbach‘s Waiting On A Song (iTunes), Dua Lipa‘s Dua Lipa (iTunes), Housefires‘s We Say Yes (iTunes), U2‘s The Joshua Tree (Deluxe Edition) (iTunes), Wheeler Walker Jr.‘s Ol’ Wheeler (iTunes), Wonder Woman (Soundtrack) (iTunes)

More EPs out this week: Major Lazer‘s Know No Better (iTunes), Qveen Herby‘s EP 1 (iTunes)

New digital-only singles that you can buy this week include:
“13”, LANY (iTunes)
“Another Love Song”, Ne-Yo (iTunes)
“Bad Drug”, Cosmos & Creature (iTunes)
“Boys In The Street (Seeb Remix)”, Greg Holden (iTunes)
“Bring Me Home”, Sam Martin (iTunes)
“Broken Clocks”, SZA (iTunes)
“Champagne, Secrets, And Chanel”, Giorgio Moroder & Phantoms featuring Prince Charlez (iTunes)
“Change It All”, Harrison Storm (iTunes)
“Down”, Fifth Harmony featuring Gucci Mane (iTunes)
“Endless Summer”, Absofacto (iTunes)
“Everything Now”, Arcade Fire (iTunes)
“Golden Dandelions”, Barns Courtney (iTunes)
“Good Kids”, Alex Mattson (iTunes)
“I Don’t Know”, Molly Kate Kestner (iTunes)
“Little White Lies”, Betsy (iTunes)
“Llama In My Living Room”, AronChupa featuring Little Sis Nora (iTunes)
“Maderas”, Saint Mesa (iTunes)
“Maybe It’s My First Time”, Meg Mac (iTunes)
“O.D.D.”, Hey Violet (iTunes)
“Perfect Places”, Lorde (iTunes)
“Persistence”, Albin Lee Meldau (iTunes)
“Places We Won’t Walk”, Bruno Major (iTunes)
“Reborn”, Rae Morris (iTunes)
“Right Now”, Snakehips featuring Elhae, D.R.A.M. & H.E.R. (iTunes)
“Run”, Foo Fighters (iTunes)
“Saint”, VÉRITÉ (iTunes)
“Shame”, Hearts & Colors (iTunes)
“Sign Of The Times”, Jasmine Thompson and Sabrina Carpenter (iTunes)
“Staring At The Sun”, Vanic featuring Clara Mae (iTunes)
“Stone”, Jaymes Young (iTunes)
“Summer Hangover”, Nause featuring OMVR (iTunes)
“The Only High”, The Veronicas (iTunes)
“The Only Reason”, JP Cooper (iTunes)
“The Other Side”, Ruelle (iTunes)
“Truth To Power”, OneRepublic (iTunes)
“Uh Huh”, Julia Michaels (iTunes)
“Unpredictable”, Olly Murs & Louisa Johnson (iTunes)
“Used To It”, Ashe (iTunes)
“Wall Of Glass”, Liam Gallagher (iTunes)
“We Could Run”, Beth Ditto (iTunes)
“You Can Count On Me”, Ansel Elgort featuring Logic (iTunes)
“Your Fan”, The Preatures (iTunes)

We’ll see you next week for new albums from Bleachers, Halsey and more. Listen to the PGTC Friday Faves list on Spotify!

NEW MUSIC FRIDAY: Releases For The Week of May 26, 2017

Cruisin’ into chart waters.

Have a very musical Memorial Day Weekend with these top releases, including a lot of great new singles, remixes and acoustic takes. Let’s serve up all the action from this week’s schedule:

LIL YACHTY – Teenage Emotions (iTunes)
Next week’s top debut should come from this 19-year-old Georgia rapper, who has a nice online following and big streaming stats. A single from this set, “Peak A Boo”, featuring labelmates Migos, is in the lower rungs of both the Rhythmic and Urban radio surveys. Stream and track-equivalent units will be notable for this one, but will they be enough to carry the album to #1? Stay tuned.

More albums out this week: Bryson Tiller‘s True To Self (iTunes), Gucci Mane‘s Droptopwop (iTunes), James Vincent McMorrow‘s True Care (iTunes), Josh Baldwin‘s The War Is Over (iTunes), Shakira‘s El Dorado (iTunes), The Beatles‘s Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (Deluxe Edition) (iTunes)

More EPs out this week: Axwell ^ Ingrosso‘s More Than You Know (iTunes), Kyle Lionhart‘s Eleven & Two (iTunes), Mabel‘s Bedroom (iTunes), River Matthews‘s Sunshine (iTunes), Serena Ryder‘s Electric Love (iTunes)

New digital-only singles that you can buy this week include:
“All I Can Do”, Bad Royale featuring Silver (iTunes)
“Another Week”, Eric Saade (iTunes)
“Break A Little (Hector Fonseca & Eduardo Lujan Remix)”, Kirstin (iTunes)
“Cali God”, Grace Mitchell (iTunes)
“Call Me”, NEIKED featuring MIMI (iTunes)
“Can I Be Him (Live Acoustic Version)”, James Arthur (iTunes)
“Cannonball”, ZZ Ward featuring Fantastic Negrito (iTunes)
“Cover My Own”, Old Sea Brigade (iTunes)
“Cringe (Stripped Version)”, Matt Maeson (iTunes)
“Cut To The Feeling”, Carly Rae Jepsen (iTunes)
“Dive”, Coast Modern (iTunes)
“Every Little Thing”, Deepend featuring Deb’s Daughter (iTunes)
“Feel It Still (Flatbush Zombies Remix)”, Portugal. The Man (iTunes)
“Fight For You”, Pluto featuring MAX (iTunes)
“Find Yourself”, Great Good Fine OK & Before You Exit (iTunes)
“FUNGSHWAY”, BIA (iTunes)
“Good Way”, Mark Elliott (iTunes)
“Gravity (White Sands Remix)”, Leo Stannard featuring Frances (iTunes)
“Heebiejeebies”, Aminé featuring Kehlani (iTunes)
“High Without Your Love (Acoustic)”, Loote (iTunes)
“Hit The Ceiling”, LION BABE (iTunes)
“I Know A Place (Brian Robert Jones Remix)”, MUNA (iTunes)
“I Miss Those Days”, Bleachers (iTunes)
“I Was Born”, Hanson (iTunes)
“I’m A Dreamer”, Violet Days (iTunes)
“I’m A Fan”, Pia Mia featuring Jeremih (iTunes)
“Liar”, Frans (iTunes)
“Lost In Your Love”, Colyer (iTunes)
“Loved By You”, Mali Music featuring Jazmine Sullivan (iTunes)
“Middle Fingers (Glades Remix)”, MISSIO (iTunes)
“Middle Of The Night (Felon Remix)”, The Vamps featuring Martin Jensen (iTunes)
“Need You”, Allie X featuring Valley Girl (iTunes)
“No Vacancy (French Version)”, OneRepublic featuring Amir (iTunes)
“Power”, Little Mix featuring Stormzy (iTunes)
“Remember I Told You”, Nick Jonas featuring Anne-Marie and Mike Posner (iTunes)
“Rooftops (Aber)”, Tobtok featuring Sorana (iTunes)
“Shame”, KNGDAVD (iTunes)
“Stay With You”, Cheat Codes featuring CADE (iTunes)
“Strangers”, Halsey featuring Lauren Jauregui (iTunes)
“Sure Thing”, Klyne (iTunes)
“Symphony (Cash Cash Remix)”, Clean Bandit featuring Zara Larsson (iTunes)
“The Youth”, George Taylor (iTunes)
“There For You”, Martin Garrix & Troye Sivan (iTunes)
“To Be Human”, Sia featuring Labrinth (iTunes)
“Treat Me”, Kiah Victoria (iTunes)
“Undercover (Coucheron Remix)”, Kehlani (iTunes)
“Ultra Love”, Marlon Roudette (iTunes)
“Wearing Nothing”, Dagny (iTunes)
“Woman”, Emmit Fenn (iTunes)
“Your Song”, Rita Ora (iTunes)

We’ll see you next week for new albums from Bleachers, Halsey and more. Listen to the PGTC Friday Faves list on Spotify!

NEW MUSIC FRIDAY: Releases For The Week of May 19, 2017

Parkin’ in the top lot.

Another awesome May weekend is upon us, and the weather, much like the music, is getting hotter and hotter. Take a dip inside this pool of pop, rock, country and more, as we serve up the action on this week’s notable releases:

LINKIN PARK – One More Light (iTunes)
This California band is out with their seventh studio album, and while it’s not the next Hybrid Theory, one could theorize that it is a strong contender for the top slot on next week’s Billboard 200 listing. It’s led by a polarizing first single, “Heavy”, featuring faceless favorite Kiiara. It tanked at the Alternative format, but it remains in the top 20 at both Hot AC and Top 40 radio. We shall see how the album performs soon.

RASCAL FLATTS – Back To Us (iTunes)
The 11th studio album from this enduring trio follows a seasonal album from last fall, which reached the top ten on the Country list. This set is also led by an interesting single, “Yours If You Want It”, which has struggled with a sluggish run (at least, for a lead single by the group) up the Country airplay chart. However, their fan base is strong enough to lead the band to another solid debut.

More albums out this week: A R I Z O N A‘s Gallery (iTunes), Fastball‘s Step Into The Light (iTunes), Missio‘s Loner (iTunes), MisterWives‘s Connect The Dots (iTunes), Papa Roach‘s Crooked Teeth (iTunes), Snoop Dogg‘s Neva Left (iTunes), Dirty Dancing (Soundtrack) (iTunes)

More EPs out this week: David Archuleta‘s Orion (iTunes), Jasmine Thompson‘s Wonderland (iTunes)

New digital-only singles that you can buy this week include:
“All Around The World”, Mura Masa featuring Desiigner (iTunes)
“Automatic”, Mondo Cozmo (iTunes)
“Baby Who”, The Aces (iTunes)
“Bad Liar”, Selena Gomez (iTunes)
“Bones”, Dotan (iTunes)
“California Numb”, Cloves (iTunes)
“Can’t Believe”, Kranium featuring Ty Dolla $ign & WizKid (iTunes)
“Castle On The Hill (Seeb Remix)”, Ed Sheeran (iTunes)
“Crying In The Club”, Camila Cabello (iTunes)
“Dead”, Madison Beer (iTunes)
“Death Wish”, Terror Jr (iTunes)
“Dig Down”, Muse (iTunes)
“Dime”, Rachel Crow (iTunes)
“Girlhood”, The Preatures (iTunes)
“Hands”, Mike Perry featuring The Vamps and Sabrina Carpenter (iTunes)
“Heavy”, Oh Wonder (iTunes)
“Higher”, Lemaitre featuring Maty Noyes (iTunes)
“Hold On (Deepend Remix)”, Chord Overstreet (iTunes)
“I Like Me Better”, Lauv (iTunes)
“I Need You”, Win And Woo x Bryce Fox (iTunes)
“Light Us Up”, Matrix & Futurebound featuring Calum Scott (iTunes)
“No Love For The Wild”, HAERTS (iTunes)
“No Vacancy”, OneRepublic featuring Sebastian Yatra (iTunes)
“OK”, Robin Schulz featuring James Blunt (iTunes)
“Party’s Over”, Astrid S (iTunes)
“Passport Home (Deepend Remix)”, JP Cooper (iTunes)
“Shape Of You”, EZA (iTunes)
“Stay Another Night”, Chris Ayer (iTunes)
“Strip That Down”, Liam Payne featuring Quavo (iTunes)
“Switch”, Iggy Azalea featuring Anitta (iTunes)
“The Line”, RAYE (iTunes)
“The Way I Are (Dance With Somebody)”, Bebe Rexha featuring Lil Wayne (iTunes)
“Tired”, Alan Walker featuring Gavin James (iTunes)

We’ll see you next week for new albums from Lil Yachty and more. Listen to the PGTC Friday Faves list on Spotify!

NEW MUSIC FRIDAY: Releases For The Week of May 12, 2017

A Stylish chart-topper.

Choose your musical direction, even a member of One Direction, and you shall be rewarded this week. With so many new albums and singles to choose from, there’s no way to go wrong. Here’s all the action from this week’s schedule:

HARRY STYLES – Harry Styles (iTunes)
Styles is the second member of One Direction (following ZAYN) to put out a solo album, and the highly-anticipated set could get a brisk sales week at the top of the chart. It’s led by the epic track “Sign Of The Times”, which is climbing towards the top ten at both Hot AC and Top 40 radio. With a residency on James Corden’s late night show coming next week, the latest in some larger looks for the performer on television, as well as plenty of digital and streaming promotion, the album’s progress will be interesting to watch.

PARAMORE – After Laughter (iTunes)
Released just under a month after the debut of single “Hard Times”, this trio’s fifth studio album marks the return of drummer Zac Farro, who left the band in 2010. (Feel free to insert your best “they’ve had more band members than hits” one-liner.) Recorded in Nashville, this release is looking to debut in the top five, which would be their third album in a row to hit the region.

MACHINE GUN KELLY – Bloom (iTunes)
After a chart-topping collaboration with Camila Cabello and a solid follow-up with Hailee Steinfeld, the Texas rapper is out to reach the top three on the Billboard 200, having previously peaked at #4 twice, with his third studio album. Expect him to continue to perform well at radio with this set through the end of the year.

ZAC BROWN BAND – Welcome Home (iTunes)
Going back to their roots on their latest studio release, this Georgia group is currently in the top 20 on the Country radio chart with the lead single from that effort, “My Old Man”. Brown and the boys likely won’t capture their fourth #1 on the Billboard 200, but at least the set will break the top ten.

More albums out this week: Dreamcar‘s Dreamcar (iTunes), LeToya Luckett‘s Back 2 Life (iTunes), Scott Helman‘s Hôtel de Ville (iTunes), Hello, Dolly! (Soundtrack) (iTunes)

More EPs out this week: Goo Goo Dolls‘s You Should Be Happy (iTunes), Ingrid Michaelson‘s Alter Egos (iTunes), New Kids On The Block‘s Thankful (iTunes), Seramic‘s I Got You (iTunes), Tom Walker‘s Blessings (iTunes), Wrabel‘s We Could Be Beautiful (iTunes)

New digital-only singles that you can buy this week include:
“A Friend Like You”, Andy Grammer (iTunes)
“Aye”, Fetty Wap (iTunes)
“Coloring Outside The Lines”, MisterWives (iTunes)
“Creatures Of The Night”, Hardwell featuring Austin Mahone (iTunes)
“Don’t You Know”, Jaymes Young (iTunes)
“Drama”, AJR (iTunes)
“Everybody Lost Somebody”, Bleachers (iTunes)
“Friday Night Majic”, Kat Dahlia (iTunes)
“Hard To Love”, Kacy Hill (iTunes)
“Heart Break”, Lady Antebellum (iTunes)
“Hot2Touch”, Felix Jaehn featuring Alex Aiono (iTunes)
“Hungry Eyes”, Greyson Chance (iTunes)
“I Know You Won’t”, Rascal Flatts (iTunes)
“Invisible”, Linkin Park (iTunes)
“Keep It From You”, Glades (iTunes)
“Laugh”, Mackenzie Sol (iTunes)
“Legs Crossed”, Whissell (iTunes)
“Malibu”, Miley Cyrus (iTunes)
“Mama Say (Scavenger Hunt Remix)”, Betty Who (iTunes)
“Never Change”, Picture This (iTunes)
“Oh Lord”, In This Moment (iTunes)
“Raincoat”, Timeflies featuring Shy Martin (iTunes)
“Renegade”, Axwell /\ Ingrosso (iTunes)
“Right Now”, HAIM (iTunes)
“Rollin”, Calvin Harris featuring Future & Khalid (iTunes)
“Symphony (R3hab Remix)”, Clean Bandit featuring Zara Larsson (iTunes)
“That Would Be Nice”, Floduxe featuring Kyle Reynolds (iTunes)
“The Long Way”, Brett Eldredge (iTunes)
“There’s Nothing Holdin’ Me Back (NOTD Remix)”, Shawn Mendes (iTunes)
“These Days”, Aaron Taos (iTunes)
“Want You Back”, Citizen Four (iTunes)
“Whatever It Takes”, Imagine Dragons (iTunes)
“Work Is A Four Letter Word”, THØSS (iTunes)

We’ll see you next week for new albums from Linkin Park, Rascal Flatts and more. Listen to the PGTC Friday Faves list on Spotify!