New Music Friday this week opens with the return of Years & Years. Now an Olly Alexander solo project, Y&Y's third studio album Night Call is both a re-introduction to who Olly *is* as a pop star - having much more in common with the band's 2018 Palo Santo than 2014's indie-adjacent Communion - and an exciting new path for Years & Years to take, which a number of up-tempo bangers like Sweet Talker with Galantis and Sweet Talker imitating previous synth-pop greatness from Lady Gaga and Dua Lipa. See Years & Years' Top 20 most popular tracks in the UK here.
Christina Aguilera also flies back in this week with a new EP - La Fuerza is an entirely Spanish-language body of work from XTina, and was trailed by the release of buzz single Pa Mis Muchachas with Becky G, Nicky Nicole and Nathy Peluso. Other albums dropping this Friday include Aurora's Gods We Can Touch and Miles Kane's Change The Show - although we may have a collaboration album with none other than Lana Del Rey waiting in the wings.
Singles-wise this week, we have a stacked release schedule. Chief of which is Charlie Puth finally (finally!) releasing his buzzy viral single Light Switch, which was kind of already a hit before it was even released. Fun, silly and more than a little dumb, it's a true return to form for him.
We also have a link-up between two small-but-mighty pop stars; Griff and Sigrid's Head On Fire has a more experimental, indie-leaning vibe than you were probably thinking, with an interesting drop in the chorus right as things start to get going.
Lana Del Rey also tears herself away from painting her banisters blue to release her first new material of the year. Watercolor Eyes, taken from the soundtrack of HBO teen drama Euphoria, finds Lana back in the same space she always occupies musically, but no-one does morose, languid chamber-pop songs better.
Other singles released this week include Sigala's frantic banger Melody, Conan Gray's latest offering Jigsaw and Gayle's ur just horny, her streamlined follow-up to Number 1 single abcdefu.
