13 Best Songs of the Week: Billboard Editors' Picks -- April 8
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Billboard is sharing staffer's favorite tunes of the week. Spanning genres from dance to country, Latin to rap, R&B and more, here are Billboard.com editors' picks for best songs of the week.
Tyrese Feat. Tank, “Prior to You”
With fellow crooner Tank in tow, Tyrese follows up the chart-topping and Grammy-nominated success of “Shame.” The pair’s distinctive vocals blend perfectly on this midtempo romp as they proclaim to a special someone that you “came along and showed me how to love again."
Phife Dawg, “Nutshell”
Phife’s first posthumous release, “Nutshell,” is filled with the Five Footer’s signature wit, extensive vocabulary and a-ha puns. Over a head-nodding J Dilla beat, he offers gems for those on the come-up: “Insecure, nah, more like inhumane, it’s not a game/ Shut your mouth, use your inner voice, stay in your lane/ Inaugurate those with incentive to innovate/ Insistent that those who inspire we will initiate."
Maxwell, “Lake By the Ocean”
Seduction personified, Maxwell returns with this image-rich first single from blackSUMMERS’night, his long-awaited (seven years) new album. Introduced by an enchanting drum beat, Maxwell’s voice deftly navigates between shimmering falsetto and silky tenor, particularly on the hook: “Can we swim a lake by the ocean/ We’ll be one like drops in slow motion.”
Ingrid Feat. Sevyn, “Flex”
The resident female MC on Beyonce’s Parkwood roster, Ingrid stunts on her smoky single “Flex” featuring R&B songstress Sevyn. The Brooklyn transplant reports live from her original hometown, Houston’s Third Ward (where she was childhood neighbors with Beyonce), in “Feeling Myself” fashion, playing her own hype woman with lines like “I go harder than them n——s and them bitches too/I been did all the shit you did and what you didn’t do.
Dierks Bentley, "I'll Be the Moon"
After leading with a summer jam--or more to the point, getting the requisite youthful, radio-friendly escapism out of the way--Dierks Bentley is wading into emotionally complex territory with "I'll Be the Moon," a track from his upcoming album, Black. A billowy, pensive duet with pop-country head-turner Maren Morris, who meets his resignation with supple contrition, it's by far one of the knottiest narratives in his catalog to date.
Gallant, "Percogesic"
Gallant has a voice that's full-bodied yet still somehow vulnerable, but that’s not all he has to offer: His debut album Ology is an immersive sonic experience that rewards repeat listens. A nice introductory track is "Percogesic," where electronic squiggles waft in and out of his gorgeous world of layered vocals, synth percussion and organic drums. There's a lot more going on here than on your typical 2016 PBR&B track.
Keith Urban, “Wasted Time”
Throughout his recording career, Keith Urban has relied more on groove than most of his country peers, frequently fortifying his arrangements with sneaky syncopation. "Wasted Time," the nostalgic third single from Ripcord, takes his rhythmic sensibilities to a new level, propelling his toothsome hooks with a pulsating beat.
Reik, “Ya Me Enteré”
We can always count on the Mexican band Reik to make us fall in love all over again with its romantic ballads, and new single “Ya Me Enteré,” the second single for their upcoming untitled album, is no exception. Lead singer Jesús Navarro sings to the love of his life, begging and pleading for her to come back to him.
12 Best Songs of the Week: Billboard Editors' Picks -- April 1
KOLAJ, "The Touch"
After racking up hundreds of thousands of plays with covers of Adele’s “Hello” and The Weeknd’s “Can’t Feel My Face,” the LA duo deliver a sensual original number built on a steady bass groove and an instant earworm hook.
Pitbull Feat. Enrique Iglesias, “Messin’ Around”
Latin’s dynamic duo is back, as Pitbull drops “Messin’ Around" featuring favorite collaborator Enrique Iglesias. Unlike their previous hits “I Like It” and “I’m a Freak,” which had an aggressive club rhythm, this time the pair opted for a mellow beat paired with catchy lyrics: “I heard from a friend who heard it from a friend that you been messin’ around … I’m hoping that your friend told you about me too. Cause I’ma tell you straight up too, I been messin’ around.”
Margaret Glaspy, “Emotions and Math"
Stripped down with a hint of grunge, the title track of Glaspy’s upcoming album is a showcase of her excellent songwriting (“I’m a woman acting like a kid,” she says in frank self-assessment) as well as her asymmetrical, but carefully controlled vocal style. It’s offbeat enough to feel edgy, but the song keeps its pop core with an insistent, head-bop worthy backbeat.
Kali Uchis Feat. Vince Staples and The Internet’s Steve Lacy, “Only Girl”
The product of what amounts to a SoCal alt-rap/R&B supergroup (with an assist from the Soulection-beloved Kaytranada), “Only Girl” is pop music for a brighter future — it’s laid-back but catchy, all dreamy synths with club-ready basslines mellowed by intentionally underdeveloped drums. Like so much music out of Los Angeles, the song is a triumph of vibes — just with a little extra bubblegum.
DJ Tennis, "Divisions" (Roman Flügel Remix) [Life and Death]
Taking his label’s reins for his first L&D release since 2014 album Local, the eclectic Italian (born Manfredi Romano) receives a hypnotic reinvention from German veteran Roman Flügel that perfectly complements the vocals of singer/guitarist Jeppe Kjellberg and string work of Sophie Trudeau.