New Music Round-Up: Post Malone, Zara Larsson, Dua Lipa, Khalid & More!

Q4 has delivered three back-to-back slammers of New Music Fridays, meaning the post-summer roll-out of new music is still the go-to for the majority of our faves.

This week brings the return of Zara Larsson (we missed ya!), massive new singles from Post Malone and The 1975, and epic collaborations including the transatlantic bop 'Kiss and Make Up' by Dua Lipa and K-Pop queens BLACKPINK.

On the albums front, Khalid drops a lush - and surprising - new EP dedicated to his hometown and MØ graces us with her second album Forever Neverland, which will soundtrack the winter party season starting this weekend.

Now let's dive in!

Singles

Post Malone & Swae Lee - 'Sunflower'

Swae Lee and Post Malone team up to create the anthemic soundtrack single for the upcoming Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse movie that could be one of the biggest singles of the year. Judging by Post Malone's 2018, that's a pretty big statement, also.

Zara Larsson - 'Ruin My Life'

At last! Zara Larsson makes a very welcome return with 'Ruin My Life', a strangely romantic pop anthem that wishes for her lover to destroy her lush life (soz) because it sounds pretty damn boring without them. Obsessed.

Dua Lipa x BLACKPINK - 'Kiss and Make Up'

And the award for Most Varied, Surprising, Accomplished and Successful Collaborations Of 2018 goes to the one and only Dua Lipa. The superstar teams up with K-Pop queens BLACKPINK for 'Kiss and Make Up', a full-throttle pop smash about those moments you hate everything the person is saying but still fancy the pants off them. Legends only.

The 1975 - 'It's Not Living (If It's Not With You)'

If you told us this was a song from the opening credits of a '90s Drew Barrymore rom-com, we'd believe you. The 1975's latest is an utterly gorgeous ballad built on familiar tower blocks of romance, guitars and sickly-sweet synths, and it's a complete winner.

Troye Sivan x Jónsi - 'Revelation'

Coming for the Oscars! Troye Sivan and Jónsi's 'Revelation' is a swooping, heartbreaking ballad of love liberating one from fear, inspired by the story of conversion therapy in Troye's upcoming film Boy Erased.

Zayn - 'Fingers'

Thirteen months on from 'Dusk Till Dawn', Zayn drops the sixth song from his mysterious second solo album. 'Fingers' deals with heartbreak in the Instagram age, where we have to navigate drunken texts that we regret and seeing our exes on our timelines.

Tove Styrke - 'Vibe'

Tove Styrke is truly the gift that keeps giving. The Swedish pop darling lifts the 'Vibe' with this surprise single; a typically unpredictable bop that takes left-turns at every opportunity and is all the better for it.

Major Lazer - 'Blow That Smoke (feat. Tove Lo)'

Major Lazer come through with some sunshine for the winter months with 'Blow That Smoke'. The Tove Lo-assisted track celebrates the blissful oblivion weed brings to the singer, a lit anthem for the lit, i

Dermot Kennedy - 'Power Over Me'

Irish singer-songwriter Demor Kennedy's meteoric rise continues with the massive 'Power Over Me', a hypnotic track that leans into gospel territory as it reaches a dizzying peak.

Zak Abel - 'You Come First (feat. Saweetie)'

Surprise! Zak Abel teams up with Saweetie for 'You Come First', the second song to be released since his return earlier this year, and it's an absolute banger.

Mariah Carey - 'The Distance (feat. Ty Dolla $ign)

The Queen of R&B paved the way for pop-hip-hop collaborations so it's no surprise that she worked with Skrillex and Ty Dolla $ign for 'The Distance', a stunning low-key bop about the maths of love.

Friendly Fires - 'Heaven Let Me In'

Disco alert! Disco alert! Friendly Fires relight the groove with their transcedental new banger 'Heaven Let Me In' that your hips won't be able to resist.

Lil Yachty - 'Who Want The Smoke? (feat. Cardi B & Offset)'

Cardi B and Offset make a joint appearance on Lil Yachty's drousy tune 'Who Want The Smoke?', taken from his third album (out today) Nuthin' 2 Prove.

Cher Lloyd - 'None Of My Business'

https://open.spotify.com/track/2SPEg45ZaUFJCg9GwNmRvw

Well if it isn't Cher Lloyd by Cher Lloyd. Well, the pop titan's new single is actually called 'None Of My Business' and it's really bloody good, proving that Cher Lloyd is vastly underrated in pop. Let's hope this changes things - welcome back!

Albums

Khalid - Suncity

Dedicated to his hometown of El Paso, Texas, Khalid follows up his critically acclaimed debut album with the Suncity EP. The 7-track set showcases his incredibly versatile talent in a short space of time as, with no two songs the same, he moves from acoustic reflection to a flirtatious back-and-forth with Empress Of on the reggaeton, Spanglish title track. In just 21 minutes, Khalid refuses to be boxed into niche subgenres and flashes his potential, while letting us know we haven't even heard half of it yet.

MØ - Forever Neverland

The shadow of 'Lean On' could make MØ take a hard left yet the Danish singer's second is blissfully, unapologetically pop in every way. Whether it's carefree like 'Sun In Our Eyes' or more broken as on the Charli XCX collaboration 'If It's Over', her unmatched knack for pop melodies and unforgettable lyrics weaves it all together to be one of the strongest albums of the year - and not just in pop. 'Nostalgia' might be one of the best songs of the decade, and yet in the context of the album it has competition. Insane.

Queen - Bohemian Rhapsody (The Original Soundtrack)

The soundtrack for Bohemian Rhapsody, the Queen biopic starring Rami Malek, arrives this week prior to the film's release. Featuring 22 songs, including the five tracks performed at Live Aid in 1985 on audio for the first time ever, the surprising track list hints at the film's narrative. Epic.