SONGS YOU NEED TO HEAR THIS WEEK
Updated: Apr 29, 2022
Every week, we highlight the cream of the crop in music through our best music of the week column. Here's our round-up of the best tracks and music videos across our desks. This week, we're bringing you the best new music that popular culture offers. Genres mean nothing to us, so be prepared to take a vision quest down many different avenues.
SKIP MARLEY | CHANGE
Chart-topping two-time Grammy-nominated Skip Marley releases a new track, “Change.” Produced and co-written by Oscar Holter (The Weeknd, Coldplay, Katy Perry, P!nk,) the feel-good, reggae-tinged track brings all of the positive vibes at a time where the world needs it most. “Change” follows Skip’s latest release, “Vibe,” featuring Jamaican MC Popcaan, which was produced by Rykeyz, who also produced Skip’s history-making RIAA gold #1 global hit “Slow Down” with two-time Grammy Award-winning artist H.E.R. In spring 2020, "Slow Down," with over 200 million global streams, became the quickest and biggest-streaming song in Marley family history, and elevated Skip to over 440 million total global artist streams. It was the first time a Jamaican-born artist reached the #1 spot on the Billboard Adult R&B chart. At the same time, Skip became the first Jamaican-born artist inside the Top 15 on Billboard’s R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart in nearly a decade and a half (since Sean Paul and Keyshia Cole in 2006 with “When You Gonna Give It Up to Me”). After completing a successful first leg of his first headline tour, the "Change Tour," Skip will continue the second leg this fall.
EAGLE-EYED CHERRY | RISING SUN
The Swedish-American singer Eagle Eye Cherry returns with a sixth album which will arrive in stores on October 7, 2022. A new opus which succeeds “Streets of You” was released in 2018. The artist is broadcasting their single "Rising Sun" and announcing an upcoming “Summertour” tour to keep his fans waiting. Eagle Eye Cherry returned to the studio for a sixth album which will hit stores on October 7, 2022. A recording was made just after the singer's world tour at the end of 2019. “Rising Sun” is a song about loss. The loss of love, friendship and the past. But it's also a celebration of life and memories. All the good times you had together helped you get through this. The artist loves this song because it captures both the grief one feels when a loved one has passed away and the celebration of life! Eagle-Eyed Cherry's 1997 single "Save Tonight" achieved commercial success in Ireland, the United States and the United Kingdom and was voted song of the year in New Zealand. Cherry is the son of American jazz artist Don Cherry and Swedish artist and designer Moki Cherry. His debut album "Desireless" was released in 1997. Since his debut, he has released several other albums, has co-written for other artists and films, and has guest-starred on reality television.
BOW ANDERSON | MAMA SAID
Scottish singer Bow Anderson has released her new single "Mama Said," which follows the viral hit " 20s ", which reached over 4 million streams on Spotify just six weeks after its release and established itself as her first song in the top 50 of the official German airplay charts. After touring with the likes of Mimi Webb, Ella Eyre and Tom Walker and her debut EP "New Wave," "20s "was Bow Anderson's kick-off for 2022. Bow Anderson released her debut track ‘Sweater’ at the start of lockdown in March – perhaps not the best time for a pop starlet to launch her career. On the contrary: four months from its debut, "Sweater" has now surpassed four million streams. Of course, turning adversity into strength has been a recurring theme in Bow Anderson’s career. As a teenager, Bow took part in competitive trampolining, training with people who went on to be part of Team GB before a freak accident put a halt to her competing at the National Championships. With her athletic dreams shattered, Anderson – who faced the prospect of never walking or dancing again – found salvation in music. Following intensive rehabilitation, Anderson upped sticks and moved to London to study music at the renowned BIMM Institute, making industry contacts and eventually securing a deal with Universal.
SARA KAYS | MATH
Math may have been everything but Sara Kays’ favourite subject in school, but when the pen and paper meet in front of her, you can be sure it’ll add up to a future hit being made.
Rising songstress Sara Kays returns with her new single, “Math,” an introspective single that taps into Sara’s perception of her image. “Math’ is about how I see and use numbers related to body image in my life,” she says. “I hated math in school, and I still hate it now.” Led by a warm guitar riff, “Math” evokes the satisfying feeling of an early-mid 2000s pop/rock track. A sense of nostalgia can be a plus in our lives, but Sara Kays has also created her own precious memories. After releasing her EP "Struck By Lightning" last year, Sara joined Alec Benjamin on his North American tour and will also be heading out on her own headlining tour, kicking off on May 31 in Philly. As of March 2021, Sara Kays has amassed 1.6 million followers on TikTok. In addition, her song "Remember That Night?" was released in November 2020. This specific TikTok post blew up, with almost three million views and 720 thousand likes in a few days. "Remember That Night?" is Kay’s most famous song on Spotify, with over 64 million streams.
RENE MILLER | STANDING IN HIS SHOES
René Miller has become a songwriter streamed billions of times through his work for Zoe Wees, Topic & A7S or Alok & Steve Aoki. Now has come for the native Swabian, who lives in Berlin and London, to step into the spotlight himself as he releases his debut single, “Standing In His Shoes.” It's a song that embodies all the characteristics that have made his previous songwriting efforts so immensely powerful to others - genuine emotions that are equally heartwarming and uplifting, powerful images that turn personal stories into universal metaphors, melodies which are catchy yet never interchangeable– now performed in his own voice. And it has it all: warm in tone, incredibly soulful, powerful even in the highest registers. Add the uplifting production, which manages to sound classic and timeless while still being modern and fresh. René processed a personal experience in the song: “I've been dating a woman for quite a while. We used to meet at a little coffee shop that we both loved. We dated a lot, but then it stopped overnight. I never really understood why - until I went back to our coffee shop and saw her there with a new guy. The moment you find out that the person you still have feelings for, for now, has someone else hits you without warning. And he blows you away."
LAUFEY | EVERYTHING I KNOW ABOUT LOVE
Icelandic-Chinese singer-songwriter Laufey has released her new single, "Everything I Know About Love" is a family affair. Her mom and sister play a Bach arrangement on violin alongside her own cello. Mixing pop with classical flourishes, Laufey captures everyday emotions, like falling in love, and elevates them with a degree of musicality and flair that is anything but ordinary. Transforming everyday feelings into something remote and inspired, her painterly touch marks the single. At just 22, she doesn't shy from her inexperience, instead of pouring it into this new song as she sings about the idea of a romantic kind of love and weighing it up against a reality that hasn't quite met expectations. The song comes with a video premiering, in which Laufey leans into this romantic yearning. In the video, we see her in an idyllic-looking park as two guys attempt, and ultimately fail, to woo her. Once again, the idea of love and flirtation gives way to a reality that feels more true to her as she chooses honesty over fantasy. Laufey said about the song, "This song is about all the magical things that I was told love was like, but I’ve never gotten to experience. I’ve tried many times but fail every time. Turns out, I don’t know anything about love! The intro composed by Bach is played by myself on cello, and my mother and sister on violin."
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