Rolling Stone Future of Music Recap: Meet the Artists Shaping The Music Scene Today
Breaking news: it's Friday. So that means we have a whole week's worth of new music. After Billie Eilish basically broke the internet by announcing a new album this week, everyone's wondering who else is gearing up to release some future Grammy nominees. My guess? Harry Styles. (Or is that just a wish?)
Either way, we have to focus on the present. While I'm overly ecstatic for it to be the weekend, I'm also equally excited to be listening to all these songs on Spotify. Plus, Coachella starts today, and I know a lot of you are going to need to add some songs to your pregame playlists.
As always, I've combed through every New Music Friday playlist, I've read all the press releases, and I've done my own research. Here are some of the best new songs to listen to that were released today. Let's get listening!
Sabrina Carpenter- "Espresso"
Sabrina Carpenter is having herself a year. Ahead of her first Coachella performance this weekend, she releases "Espresso", a fun-loving hit single that makes you want to lose all your worries and just move. Carpenter is having fun with her life, and it reflects her music. Written in Paris, she was in her traveler mindset just appreciating what the world had to offer. One of my favorite releases today, "Espresso" is a certified banger.
Sabrina told Zane Lowe,
"I don't think I've ever gone into writing an upbeat, confident record being like, "I really want to write an upbeat, confident record." I have to be in that headspace and I have to be in that mood. And this was one of those times in my life where it was just like, I just thought I was the shit in the moment."
Perrie- "Forget About Us"
Perrie Edwards may not be a familiar name by any means...formerly a leading member of Little Mix, Edwards' vocal power set her apart from the crowd early on. "Forget About Us" is Perrie's debut single as a solo artist, a pivotal song that's both upbeat in melody and melancholic in lyricism.
Written alongside Ed Sheeran, she reminds us in the same track that although relationships don't always last, they're still dynamic moments in our lives that shape who we are. Edwards says,
“I look back on past relationships and do think happily about those times. Do I want to be there now? No. It didn’t work out that way and if it was supposed to be it would have happened. Relationships have been a huge part of my life and they've made me who I am now. I think it’s a nice sentiment to be honest about and it’s super relatable.”
Peter McPoland- "Speed of the Sound (of you)"
Peter McPoland is a one-of-a-kind talent in the music industry. A special force who can write, produce, and record a record by himself and have it sound flawless, McPoland has an ear for a hit track. As his prowess grows, the songs get better...which is exactly the case with "Speed of the Sound (of you)."
McPoland's first song of 2024 doesn't disappoint by any means. It's a bop that's worthy of playing over and over. Unique in its own way, Peter McPoland delivers yet another earworm-y song.
Dua Lipa- "Illusion"
I'm getting a bit upset with Dua Lipa for not releasing any sort of ballad and declaring that her album would sound different than the rest...however, I can't deny that her disco-pop style is great for partying. Although she hasn't strayed far from her usual style, Lipa shows us she knows what it takes for a chart-topping record...and she's sticking with what works.
"Illusion" is every bit the 80's workout sound you know and love.
Future, Metro Boomin- "We Still Don't Trust You"
Metro Boomin is the Jack Antonoff of rap, if that makes sense. A highly regarded producer and creator who can work with the best-of-the best and create a Grammy-nominated album every single time. Every time you hear that iconic "Metro Boomin want some more" intro, you know you're getting a banger.
"We Still Don't Trust You" is an absolute vibe. A song I could see myself driving on the highway to at midnight, it's more beat-heavy than about lyricism. Plus, a few melodies from The Weeknd make this even more of a brooding, moody tune that just works.
Maggie Rogers- "The Kill"
Maggie Rogers has gone for the kill with her new album, Don't Forget Me. A songwriter to her core, Maggie Rogers is highly regarded as one of the best indie alt stars of our generation. This album deserves its own separate article, but "The Kill" is one of her best submissions.
About a relationship that has gone sour, Maggie Rogers reflects on how things used to be good...but now they're just going for the kill.
Chlöe- "Boy Bye"
Chlöe delivers an electric breakup anthem with "Boy Bye." I immediately added this to my playlist because the song encapsulates being so done with a partner, needing to leave them because they don't treat you right. She bids her boy bye with this upbeat R&B track, telling him to go back to his mother because she won't even cry.
It makes me even more excited for her debut album, In Pieces. The world is in desperate need of an R&B diva who isn't afraid to tell it like it is...and I think we've found her.
Suki Waterhouse- "Fun"
New mother, Suki Waterhouse, is wasting no time getting back to her music. In "My Fun", she yearns for a partner who loves her like she loves having her fun. A folksy rock track that is reminiscent of classic greats like The Beatles, "My Fun" is the perfect ending to this playlist.
Fun loving, scream worthy, "My Fun" is an easy listen. Suki Waterhouse makes no mistakes with her music.
Listen To Our Full Playlist Here:
Although his previous album focused on Latin pop songs like "Livin' La Vida Loca," his new album, out April 19, returns to traditional melodies. CLASSIC II is full of favorite compositions like Rachmaninoff's Symphony No. 2 and Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 23.
Soon, HAUSER will embark on a summer North American tour with stops at iconic venues like Carnegie Hall, Nashville's Ryman Auditorium, and the Orpheum Theater in Los Angeles. Focusing on the classics, the concerts will give audiences across the country one of the most unique experiences in music.
Watch HAUSER talk to Jordan Edwards and Demi Ramos about his ascension as a solo artist, epic live performances, and favorite compositions.
HAUSER North American Tour Dates
Fri, May 31, 2024 - Hollywood, FL - Hard Rock Live
Sat, June 1, 2024 - Clearwater, FL - Ruth Eckerd Hall
Sun, June 2, 2024 - Orlando, FL - Walt Disney Theater
Tues, June 4, 2024 - Virginia Beach, VA - Sandler Center
Wed, June 5, 2024 - Washington, DC - Warner Theatre
Thurs, June 6, 2024 - New York, NY - Carnegie Hall
Sat, June 8, 2024 -Toronto, ON - Massey Hall
Sun, June 9, 2024 - Detroit, MI - Fisher Theatre
Tues, June 11, 2024 - Indianapolis, IN - Murat Theatre
Thurs, June 13, 2024 - Minneapolis, MN - State Theatre
Fri, June 14, 2024 - Chicago, IL - Ravinia Festival
Sat, June 15, 2024 - Nashville, TN - Ryman Auditorium
Mon, June 17, 2024 - Dallas, TX - AT&T Performing Arts Center
Tues, June 18, 2024 - Austin, TX - Bass Concert Hall
Thurs, June 20, 2024 - Denver, CO - Paramount Theatre
Fri, June 21, 2024 - Salt Lake City, UT - Eccles Theater
Sat, June 22, 2024 - Las Vegas, NV - Wynn Las Vegas – Encore Theater
Sun, June 23, 2024 - Costa Mesa, CA - Segerstrom Center for the Arts
Tues, June 25, 2024 - Phoenix, AZ - Mesa Arts Center
Thurs, June 27, 2024 - Los Angeles, CA - Orpheum Theatre
Fri, June 28, 2024 - Saratoga, CA - The Mountain Winery
Sat, June 29, 2024 - Oakland, CA - Fox Theater
Sun, June 30, 2024 - Temecula, CA - Pechanga Theater
HAUSER - Song to the MoonHAUSER performing Song to the Moon from Rusalka by Antonín Dvořák with the London Symphony Orchestra From my new ...
Interview and Photos by Jordan Edwards
It's been more than a decade since Jack & Jack began building their fanbase on Vine. Childhood best friends from Omaha, they shifted from comedy to music when their covers started getting attention from major artists.
"Rise," their 2018 collaboration with Jonas Blue, solidified them as a musical force. The track is up to more than 800 million Spotify streams and 500 million YouTube views. They followed that up with the album A Good Friend is Nice, which included many of their most popular songs.
Now in their late 20s, Jack Gilinsky and Jack Johnson are eager to show fans their full potential. Home, which came out March 1, is a move forward. Nostalgic, reflective, and sophisticated, it feels like a natural progression of the sunny dance-pop they're known for.
We met up with Jack & Jack before their spring tour to talk about the album, their creative partnership, and living life on social media.
It's been almost five years since your debut album. why has it taken so long?
Jack Gilinsky: We've felt so bad over the years for how long it's taken to not only get new music out, but even just communicate with our fans what was was holding us back from releasing something.
Jack Johnson: For those who don't know, we were with a major label, Island Records. Shortly after releasing our debut project and going on tour in 2019, our manager and A&R at the time thought it would be a good idea to make separate solo projects, put the Jack & Jack thing on a quick pause, and then come back together for project number two. But there didn't seem to be any intention of us coming back together, and they got us signed into separate deals. You hear these horror stories in the industry.
P: They Wu Tang Clanned you.
JJ. Totally. They’re like “You guys are going to flourish more on your own.” Even though the position we were in was because of our friendship and our connection in Jack & Jack. Our goal was to keep putting out Jack & Jack music and have solo stuff funnel and feed the beast, but they wanted us to go fully ghost on our socials and only post on our individual accounts. Which felt very weird, but we trusted these people at the time. And they got us signed into separate contracts where we couldn't put out music together for two or three years. And it was a big headache to get over that. But it never fucked with our relationship though. We were always close as ever.
JG: So we were completely radio silent on Jack & Jack. Couldn't even tell our fans for at least 18 months.
JJ: We felt like we were leaving our fans in the dark. It was just a bad feeling. It felt like somebody else was controlling our destiny.
JG: Something that we created in our hometown.
JJ: it felt like it was getting out of our hands, the more hands got involved.
The music industry cliché stuff.
JG: We didn't think it was real. But it was exactly how you always hear about it.
JJ: People will pry their claws into you and try to make you something you're not. But I'm also grateful for that era because it made us realize what we don't want next time around. I feel like we still have time on our side, and this time we're going to do it the correct way.
The songs on this album feel more organic, less electronic.
JJ: Yes. We really want this project to translate the best possible way live. Like "September’s Gone." I guess, "Stuttering" and "What Happened" are a little bit more pop-synthetic sounding. The album starts off with this energy, and then kind of breaks down into this acoustic section in the middle where everything is more raw and instrument-based. And then the energy comes back up. But yeah, we think this project will be the best translating project to date in terms of the live set. A lot more of the songs were conceived at a piano.
JG: I wouldn't say there's dance records, but there is more pop-leaning stuff as well. I just think it's a great mix.
To date, your biggest streaming song is "Rise" with Jonas Blue. You haven't done a lot of collaboration since then. Is there another one coming?
JJ: We're never opposed to collaboration. But if we are going to do a collaboration, we want it to be fully natural. The only two features on this project, our hometown friends, Sammy Wilk and SK8.
JG: We're not opposed to an industry collaboration at some point if we're introduced to someone and we hit it off. But we love the collaboration with Jonas Blue and "Rise." To this day, we still do shows with him. We are grateful for that collaboration, and we'd love to do more of that stuff too. We love going to festivals and listening to dance music.
JJ: That was a set-up thing, but we ended up becoming good buddies with him too. If it's set up and it's a win-win for both parties. Maybe we should make another one with Jonas, honestly.
A sequel.
JJ: Yeah a sequel, because we do like making things that's outside of what you’d typically hear from us.
Do you guys miss Vine at all?
JJ: I kind of miss the energy of just watching numbers grow initially. That I kind of miss in a sense. But I think because of the way we adapted and rolled with the punches, I don't really miss that era. I think we were a little less confident musically and as humans. We were what, 18? 17? You're still learning a lot about yourself when you're a teenager.
JG: Definitely learned a lot about the industry as well. I wouldn't trade anything to go back, because we've learned so many life lessons and industry lessons. But I miss the energy. It was a lot of fun.
Did the transition to becoming a band come gradually, or did you make a conscious decision that you needed to concentrate on music?
JJ: If you go to the early days of our Vine, you'll see that it's about 90 percent comedy and 10 percent music. It was mostly comedy with a music cover in the mix. Me beatboxing, and him singing.
JG: We couldn't ignore when those ones did great.
JJ: We did a cover of "Dive In" by Trey Songz. Trey reposted it and reached out to us, and was like “I love this.” In Nebraska, there were like no collaborators at the time. Luckily, some local producers reached out who went to the high school down the street. Big shout out to Travis and Turner Eakins, the first guys to reach out. They were just some high school kids, and they put out our first few singles through DistroKid, or TuneCore I think it was. They really helped us get over the hump. We always used to make parodies of top 40 songs back in middle school.
JG: But we never thought we could become a worldwide selling and touring musical act, because we were from Omaha, Nebraska.
JJ: But luckily, the Internet and our ability to be seen outside of our hometown helped kind of mitigate that and the belief of the people outside of our hometown is what really gave us the belief that we could do this for real.
What's the best part about being famous and the worst part about being famous?
JJ: The F word, yeah. Fame is very fickle. There of been periods in the past or we couldn't go to the mall on a Sunday at the peak of our Vine because we would get absolutely ambushed. That can get a bit annoying at times.
JG: After a four-hour flight, I don't really want to hang around and take pictures. I don't know what I look like. I just want to go home and take a shower. Something the people waiting for us don't think about.
JJ: But we always put on the poker face and met everyone we could. Even if we were having a bad day. This could be their only time to meet us. We made sure it was a positive interaction for everyone who wanted to meet us.
JG: People weren't used to Internet celebrities popping off. We were one of the first of that kind.
JJ: But now our fans are more grown-up and respectful. Now, we see people out and about and it's less of an issue. It's less of a craze now. The people who rock with us rock with us. Our goal right now is just to get the music out. We feel like the world doesn't really know Jack & Jack. We're trying to get to that level of fame or notoriety where are music touches as many people as possible.
JG: I think we try not to think about the fame part of it because that's not why we started. It was all about making quality content, and making people laugh and to entertain people.
JJ: Getting out of being hyper-fixated on numbers and bringing it back to why we started in the first place is the most important thing.
JG: That's always going to benefit everyone more than thinking about how I can become famous.
JJ: When somebody sees us in public and says that they love our music, and say that we've touched them in some way. You can't trade that feeling for anything. I'd never take it for granted. The best part of fame is hearing the stories about how you've impacted people.
For more from Jack & Jack following them on Instagram and TikTok.