11 Songs You Need To Hear This Week: Nicki Minaj, Olivia Rodrigo, Jorja Smith And More

Written By Sam Murphy on 05/15/2021

The girls did all the heavy lifting this week.

11. Wallice - Off The Rails

LA Artist Wallice is making fuzzy, lo-fi alt-pop and Off The Rails is the first one that's really got us excited. It's a hypnotising song but it's got this exciting sense of momentum that explodes with the hook.

10. Millie Turner - Pull Me Under

Millie Turner's debut project Eye Of The Storm is full of promise. She has a pristine voice and a really strong pop pen and it's all on display in Pull Me Under. A crystalline pop song that reminds us of Rae Morris.

9. Priya Ragu - Forgot About

Priya Ragu has such a captivating voice she could sing over anything and that's exactly what she doing. Here, she's taking it slow over a luscious, sprawling R&B beat. Give it time, it's worth the investment.

8. Eilish Gilligan - Up All Night

Australia's Eilish Gilligan just gets more and more ambitious with her writing and production. Up All Night shines brighter than anything she's done before adopting a pulsating beat and crystal clear, soaring vocals.

7. St. Vincent - My Baby Wants A Baby

St. Vincent's new album Daddy's Home is so sonically cohesive it feels criminal to cherry-pick but if we have to...My Baby Wants A Baby just smolders. It's a slinky, soulful cut that just continues to reveal itself through a gutsy vocal performance and a stirring choir.

6. Laura Mvula - Got Me

Laura Mvula is making a stunning comeback, tapping into the '80s for charismatic dance tunes. Got Me is the most bombastic yet. It flares and saunters in all the right places, spilling over with a synth-heavy chorus.

5. Daya - The Difference

Daya's new project The Difference is the best things she's made yet. Songs like the title track exemplify exactly why. It's just A-Grade pop writing - sharp and punchy but full of emotion.

4. Miiesha - Damaged

Australia's most exciting songwriter Miiesha launches another faultless song. Damaged is about the "broken relationship" she has with her Mother and it just oozes passion. A captivating vocalist who just holds nothing back with her songwriting. Potent.

3. Jorja Smith - Burn

Jorja Smith's new project Be Right Back is full of slow-burners but none cut through quite as much as Burn. It doesn't burn so much as simmer, tapping away at the heart with some unbelievably melancholic melodies.

2. Olivia Rodrigo - Good 4 U

She's got diversity, range and popstar chops. It's 3 for 3 from Olivia Rodrigo who is officially the moment. Good 4 U is an angsty pop/punk anthem that has us feeling like the days of Miley Cyrus, Kelly Clarkson and Katy Perry rocking out could be making a comeback.

1. Nicki Minaj - Fractions

Nicki Minaj re-emerges. "I did the mother thing, I did the wife thing," she raps at the beginning of Fractions before making it very clear that she's back. If she can maintain the focus and fight that she offers up on Fractions we're in for an unstoppable era.

All of our favourites get popped into our Top Tunes playlist and it's really a perfect playlist:

And for the ravers among us, turn up the tempo with our dance version: