With the autumn season finally seeming like it’s here to stay and the school year starting to take a toll, there’s nothing better than curling up with your favorite warm drink and listening to the latest releases the music world has to offer. With first singles from soundtracks, long-awaited follow-ups and much more, it’s likely everyone can find something they’d enjoy this week. Here are some notable highlights from this week’s music releases:
The one that gives us a taste of something more:
Bradley Cooper’s directorial debut A Star Is Born has been set as an Oscars contender even though it hasn’t had its wide release. Featuring Lady Gaga and Cooper himself, the film follows a seasoned musician who mentors, and seemingly falls in love with, an up-and-coming singer who’s about to give up on her dreams.
To give a taste of the soundtrack, which releases October 5 (the same day as the film release), Gaga premiered the single “Shallow” on Apple Music’s Beats 1 radio.
The song was featured in the trailer for the film, and while Cooper’s vocals feature a raspy country twang, Gaga is the stand out of the song. Starting off acoustic and building to a powerhouse of a duo, Gaga shows off her pipes and exactly why she was the perfect fit to play a role previously held by Janet Gaynor (1937), Judy Garland (1954) and Barbra Streisand (1976).
The song emphasizes finding one’s place in the world, confiding in others and reaching stardom but fearing the possible fall from it. It’s metaphorically deep, vocally exquisite and co-written with music icon Mark Ronson, which can’t possibly hurt.
The ones for fans of hip-hop and rap music:
The week’s latest releases definitely cater to fans of hip-hop and rap. From Lil Wayne to Tyler, the Creator and everyone in between, it’s not hard for listeners to find something they’d enjoy.
Lil Wayne’s long-awaited Tha Carter V is a tour-de-force of featured artists. From Nicki Minaj and Kendrick Lamar to Travis Scott and Snoop Dogg, Wayne doesn’t hold back. The album is Wayne’s first since 2013’s I Am Not A Human Being II, and it’s the fifth edition of the rapper’s Carter series. It ultimately shows that the rapper still has it, despite this being his first record not released by Cash Money Records.
He spits rhymes just as he did in the 2000s, which is arguably the peak of his career. He also takes some risks with songs like “Hello.” The song features Shane Heyl and is backed by heavy, death-metal guitar. It’s a risk, but Wayne makes it work. He even goes to show that it’s all in the family with a feature from his daughter Reginae on “Famous.”
Other than Wayne’s release, the world has more music from Logic today. Though the rapper released Bobby Tarantino II just months ago in March, he quickly turned around with YS IV. Logic is another artist who is able to get big features on his songs. This album, he has credits from OneRepublic’s Ryan Tedder, Hailee Steinfeld and Jaden Smith, who also has his own single out today.
Other highlights in the rap world are Tyler, the Creator and A$AP Rocky’s “Potato Salad,” Kodak Black’s “If I’m Lyin, I’m Flyin” and Young Thug’s latest EP On the Rvn.
A queen covering icons:
Between Cher’s iconic tweets to her more iconic career, almost nothing she does is wrong. If anyone was going to create an entire album covering Swedish-pop group ABBA, and do it successfully, it would be Cher.
Her latest album, Dancing Queen, does just that, and Cher even adds in some twists. Ultimately, she stays true to the original songs but adds elements of electronic music. Entertainment Weekly explained how the album sends ABBA into “disco bliss.”
The release marks Cher’s 26th studio album in her career. Obviously inspired by her role in 2018’s Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, Cher definitely has some covers that stand out over others. More upbeat songs like “SOS” and “Waterloo” mesh well with the electronic additions, but slower songs such as “The Winner Takes It All” fair better with arrangements similar to the original or even Meryl Streep’s heartfelt version from Mamma Mia!
It would be crazy to say this deters the album from anything fabulous and amazing. It merely shows that experimentation with arrangement and sound doesn’t always work, which is a minor critique for an icon like Cher.
Dancing Queen takes the music of one generation and re-releases it for another generation. ABBA was a landmark pop group in the ’70s and Cher — along with both Mamma Mia! movies — is able to show the genius efforts and additions to music they made. And with ABBA reuniting to make their first new music in 35 years, it seems this generation will get even more dance-inducing pop music to listen to. The group even hinted that the music will be “timeless.”
