Every week, Vulture highlights the best new music. If the song is worthy of your ears and attention, you will find it here. Read our picks below, share yours in the comments, and subscribe to the Vulture Playlist for a comprehensive guide to the year’s best music.
Lady Gaga, “Million Reasons”
For every glam-rock kiss-off there’s a lovelorn country ballad waiting in the wings. Say good-bye to that perfect illusion that Lady Gaga had lost her mojo because her latest, “Million Reasons,” is the return to form you’ve been begging for. The song was co-written with Nashville’s no longer secret weapon Hillary Lindsey (the woman who blessed us with “Girl Crush” and won a Grammy for it) and, fittingly, the two debuted it in Music City as part of Gaga’s pared-down dive-bar tour. There aren’t many somber songs in Gaga’s repertoire; “Million Reasons” is the one you’ll want playing at last call. It’s intimate, introspective, and vocally challenging in that it requires Gaga to scale back her vocals and let the words do their work. That, of course, doesn’t mean her voice doesn’t shine — she puts on a weirdly effective twang complemented by Lindsey’s background vocals — but, for once, the song itself is bigger than her. —Dee Lockett (@Dee_Lockett)
Deep Sea Arcade, “Learning to Fly”
It’s nice when the title of a song lets you know how it will feel to listen to it. “Learning to Fly” sounds like standing with your arms open and spinning too fast in a big open space, or cruising over a plush green landscape through the wispy clouds. Sure, it would be a little on the nose if you actually listened to a song called “Learning to Fly” while you were, you know, flying, but sometimes the obvious choice is the right choice. And this song, soaked in sonic bliss, feels like an obvious choice. —Jordan Crucchiola (@JorCru)
John Legend, “Love Me Now”
On first listen, John Legend’s new single doesn’t sound nearly as inevitably ubiquitous as “All of Me” — then 15 repeat listens and several sing-alongs later, and you’re like, damn he got me. So many of Legend’s best songs are slow burns (“P.D.A.” really crept up on me ten years ago), that’s just his MO: hook, line, and sinker. Legend doesn’t get enough credit for his midtempo ballads, but they’re the dark horse of his catalog. So of course, that’s the type of song he’s chosen as the lead single to his next album. You will try to resist its pull, but don’t even bother. —DL
Bishat, “Told Me”
Music doesn’t have to be hard. Sometimes you just need a soundtrack to move your body to, and this radio-ready pop thumper is here to pull you off the wall and onto the dance floor. As Bishat coos about being free, take it as a prompt to be bold and turn wherever you’re standing into your own personal disco. —JC
Amber Coffman, “All to Myself”
How great is it that just as Dave Longstreth has decided that now is the time to start “rapping” on Dirty Projectors songs, Amber Coffman’s going solo? You might even call it kismet. Technically, Coffman’s solo debut isn’t a one-woman effort (Longstreth apparently co-composed it), but it’s totally unique to her. Sure, it’s still oddball and charming as hell, but it’s also blue-eyed soul — just about the last thing I would’ve expected from Coffman. And yet, she’s a natural at it. More proof that Amber should’ve been doing her own thing this whole time. —DL
Daya, “Cool”
Important question everyone: Is Daya amazing? Is Daya a witch putting us all under a spell to make us think she’s amazing? Either way, her magic is working, and her debut album, Sit Still, Look Pretty, fulfills the incredibly catchy promise of its lead single of the same name and second teaser track, “Hide Away.” Daya feels like someone heard Alessia Cara and thought, “That’s a really good idea,” and then put her beats in a pop microwave and hit the “DANCE” preset. Or maybe like if Alessia and Little Mix decided to collaborate on an album together. Regardless, Daya’s voice and sound are so this minute, and she’s doing it undeniably right. —JC
