New Music Round-Up: Little Mix, Calvin Harris, Clean Bandit, Katy Perry & More!

October might've been the best New Music Month of 2018 so November has a lot to live up to.

Things are off to a great start though, as its first New Music Friday brings us new goodies from Little Mix, Carly Rae Jepsen, Skepta and Hailee Steinfeld. It's also managed to get Calvin Harris singing again, Clean Bandit to release their first single in six months, Katy Perry to come out of hiding, and Takeoff to come out from the Migos shadow with his debut solo album.

Whew. We've got a lot to get through. Let's get to it...

Singles

Little Mix - 'Joan of 'Arc'

Imagine a world where Destiny's Child remixed 'Read U Wrote U' and you'd be on planet Little Mix. Our queens (who are officially performing at the 2018 MTV EMAs this Sunday) surprise-dropped 'Joan of Arc' with their LM5 pre-order today, and it's a stomping club anthem of independence and stank face. Obsessed.

Clean Bandit - 'Baby (feat. Marina & Luis Fonsi)'

As Emma Bunton once sang, what took you so long, Clean Bandit? UK's most reliable hit-makers cook up a breezy, salsa-ready bop with their latest collaboration. 'Baby' sees them team up with Marina (no longer with The Diamonds) and Luis Fonsi, and it's oh-so-right.

Benny Blanco & Calvin Harris - 'I Found You'

Benny Blanco's turn from super-producer to superstar is quite something. He follows up his debut Number 1 single with 'I Found You', a massive tune that features the vocals of Calvin Harris. How he managed to get the world's biggest DJ as the featured singer is a trip.

Panic! At The Disco - 'The Greatest Show'

If there's anyone fit to stand in for The Greatest Showman, it's Brendon Urie. Panic! At The Disco take on 'The Greatest Show' for the musical's Reimagined album, and it's spectacular.

Skepta - 'Neighbourhood Watch (feat. LD)'

This is expensive talk. Skepta teams up with LD to flex on us hard and let everyone know his chains don't mean he won't come for you, if need be. Huuuuuge tune.

Katy Perry - 'Waving Through A Window'

She's back! OMG, Ka- wait. Kinda. Katy Perry surprises fans with a brand new song today, a gorgeous cover of 'Waving Through A Window' for a special release of the musical Dear Evan Hansen's soundtrack. Ah, it's good to hear her voice again.

Hailee Steinfeld - 'Back to Life'

Well, well, well. Would you look at that? Our brilliant 2018 MTV EMAs host Hailee Steinfeld drops yet another effortless dose of euphoric pop greatness this week with 'Back to Life'. Truly brilliant.

Mariah Carey - 'A No No'

This. Is. Everything. Mariah Carey samples Lil' Kim's iconic 'Crush On You' for the ridiculously quotable, gospel-ending kiss-off anthem 'A No No'.

Carly Rae Jepsen - 'Party For One'

Praise the Pop Gods. Our saviour Carly Rae Jepsen is picking up the pieces and finding joy again with 'Party For One', a celebratory self-love them that can join the canon of Hailee's 'Love Myself' and Britney's 'Touch of my Hand' no problem.

LSD - 'Mountains'

Four for four. Labrinth, Sia and Diplo knock it out the park with their fourth release, the utterly sublime 'Mountains', which contests 'Audio' as our favourite of the trio's work yet.

Anne-Marie - 'Perfect to Me'

Anne-Marie reworks 'Perfect' to make the self-love anthem a funky little sing-along bop with a groove. Into it.

Professor Green - 'Photographs (feat. Rag'n'Bone Man)'

Photographs (with Rag'n'Bone Man)

Professor Green teams up with Rag'n'Bone Man to mourn nostalgia on his moving new single 'Photographs'.

Galantis - 'Emoji'

To put simply, Galantis are in a league of their own. The electro-pop duo take a right turn to the disco on 'Emoji', a subtly unforgettable banger that'll be stuck in your head after one listen.

King Princess - 'Pussy Is God'

Whew, King Princess is such a bad-ass. 'Pussy Is God' is only the singer's third single yet it's more confident and fully realised than we could ever dream of being.

Trey Songz - 'Shootin Shots (feat. Ty Dolla $ign & Tory Lanez)'

Trey Songz makes a grand return with 'Shootin Shots', a song that - in the nicest possible way - sounds like it'd play between Usher and Alicia's 'My Boo' and Ciara and Bow Wow's 'Like You' on the radio.

Busted - 'Nineties'

Busted return with an aching ode to their childhood decade, filled with Smashing Pumpkins and a whole lot of na-na-nas.

Kasai - 'Habit'

Kasai, the multi-talented West London musician, emancipates herself from a dead-end relationship to find herself on her latest track 'Habit'. Her vocals are crisp and harmonies blissful over a slow-burning groove, and the magical combo of it all is completely irresistible.

Albums

Takeoff - The Last Rocket

Takeoff steps out from the shadows of his Migos co-stars Quavo and Offset to release his debut solo set and, boy, are we glad. Proving he's just as responsible for the trio's irresistible anthems, The Last Rocket takes us to the rapper's personal space with no interruption (other than one brief appearance from Quavo on 'She Gon Wink') and he travels across genres, sounding right at home on trap-hop and groovey '80s pop ('Infatuation') alike. Welcome to the club, Takeoff.

Metro Boomin - NOT ALL HEROES WEAR CAPES

Surprise! Metro Boomin stunned the world when he announced his new album would arrive within a few days. The A-list set features collaborations with Travis Scott, Swae Lee, Offset and J Balvin to name just a few, surprising listeners by expanding his stellar production beyond its usual limits. Most notably, the salsa-trap hybrid of 'Only You' is absolute genius.

H.E.R - I Used To Know Her: Part 2 - EP

The mystery of H.E.R continues to unfold with the singer's latest EP, I Used To Know Her: Part 2, which sees her switch up her style completely. Trading in the hazy, trap-infused R&B of her previous releases for acoustic instruments (all played by herself, for the record), she gets more intimate than ever before in the latest instalment of her unraveling. Despite the change of pace, her voice and lyricism stays fresh and original.

Louis The Child - Kids At Play - EP

Yaaaaaaas. Louis The Child, the Chicago-born DJ duo, drop their third EP this week. Kids At Play is a super-fun representation of their eclectic range, and features some major collaborations with RAYE ('Breaking News') and MAX ('Dear Sense'). The opener 'Interstellar' is absolutely nuts, too, so it's hard not to get roped in immediately.