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.
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Last week, we featured Olivia Rodrigo feat. Chappell Roan, Tate McRae, Zach Bryan & Angèle.
This week, LISA drops her new EP; Miley features two new songs on the Nobody Wants This season three soundtrack; Kacey Musgraves shares a taste of her just-announced Middle of Nowhere Vol. 2: Tex Mex Tapes; and John Mayer is back with a new single and newly-launched label… plus much more.
Check out all of this week’s picks below:
LISA, Press Play
Led by the hard-hitting pop-rap single “SaWaDiKa,” released in September, LISA is now sharing her very first solo EP. Focus track “Tarantino” packs just as hard a punch, while “Cobra” is an attitude-packed dance-pop song and album closer “Sweat” is a sultry song that leaves its subject with a simple instruction — “don’t stress me out” — and its listener wanting more. Press Play follows the 2025 release of LISA’S debut solo full-length, Alter Ego, and arrives just in time for the Thai singer’s upcoming Vegas residency that kicks off in November. — LYNDSEY HAVENS
Miley, “Cold Blooded”
For longtime Miley fans, the release of “Cold Blooded” has been a long time coming. Written in the late 2010s ahead of her EP She Is Coming, the track never saw the light of day — until now. A demo version of the ballad, which showcases Miley’s undeniable vocal control and power over simple piano chords, is featured as a bonus track on the season three soundtrack for Nobody Wants This, out today. Its one of two Miley demos that made it on the album, as a stripped-down version of her Endless Summer Vacation track “You” also features on the soundtrack and in an episode. The soundtrack is out on Atlantic, while all 10 episodes of season three are now streaming on Netflix. — L.H.
Kacey Musgraves, “Weekend In Texas”
Kacey Musgraves is previewing her upcoming project Middle of Nowhere Vol. 2: Tex Mex Tapes (out Jan. 15 on Lost Highway Records) with the release of new music, including “Weekend In Texas.” “I’ve got the hat and the cattle to back it up / Everything will be great in my favorite state of mind,” she sings. Bright horns, an irresistible groove and Musgraves’ dulcet vocal tones blend luxuriously as she sings of longing for a soul-restoring few days of escape in the Lone Star State. This new release feels both classic and invigorating. — JESSICA NICHOLSON
John Mayer, “Tom and Jerry”
“I’m never gonna catch you,” sings Mayer over a soft rock opening riff that recalls Bruce Springsteen’s “I’m On Fire.” The lyric immediately sets the stage for his “Tom and Jerry” metaphor to unfold — likening the famous cat-and-mouse rivalry-fueled friendship to that of a relationship where those involved may just never get right. Mayer explained the song’s inspiration on Instagram, writing in a caption: “‘Tom and Jerry’ was the name I used when saving my first voice memo with this song idea. ‘And if you ever come through, which I doubt you’ll do, I’ll run away with you.’ From that moment on, the adventure began in bringing that feeling to life.” The single arrives on Mayer’s newly-launched Sob Rock Records label in partnership with Mercury. — L.H.
Dominic Fike, “Pangea”
As the wait for Fike’s third album, How To Quit Smoking, continues — ahead of its pushed release to Oct. 30 — he shares another taste of what’s to come. “Pangea” sounds like a modern-day recording of an Atmosphere track in the best ways, balancing his melodic rapping with sunny, uptempo production resulting in a breezy song that, at just under two-and-a-half minutes, begs for a repeat. — L.H.
Girl In Red, “Missing Person”
Norwegian indie-pop singer Girl In Red started teasing a new, pensive project earlier this month when she changed her Instagram handle to @girlinblue and updated her bio to read: “once red, now blue.” Now, just a few weeks later, she has dropped a four-song EP, aptly titled BLUE, exploring the heartbreak that accompanies a breakup. “There’s a hole in the door with your silhouette/ A void in my chest, the longer it’s been, the bigger it gets,” she sings at the start of “Missing Person.” The song quickly becomes an accountability anthem, with Girl In Red acknowledging, “In your absence, I’ve met with my actions…Have you seen this girl? ‘Cause I blew it with her.” Who knows if owning up will help, but at least it can offer some relief. — L.H.
Yung Miami, Watch Dis!
After overcoming underdog status to score of the biggest hip-hop hits of 2026 with her New York Knicks-approved “Spend Dat,” Yung Miami has finally unveiled her long-awaited debut solo studio album, Watch Dis. Featuring a wide range of collaborators, including Travis Scott, Summer Walker, Trina, Quavo and more, the 21-track set finds the City Girls alum grounding a revelatory autobiography in the history and culture of her hometown. — KYLE DENIS
John Legend, Muse
After linking up with Clipse and Pharrell Williams for the Let God Sort Em Out standout “The Birds Don’t Sing,” John Legend linked up with the Oscar-nominated production powerhouse for Muse, their first full album together after 20 years of friendship. Primarily written and recorded at Williams’ Louis Vuitton HQ studio in Paris, the two superstars spend the 16-track set blending luscious string arrangements with hard-hitting horns and 808s for what Legend calls a “Black James Bond aesthetic.” — K.D.
