Hayley Kiyoko - ‘Chance’
Hayley Kiyoko rings in Pride month with the lovely ‘Chance,’ which has a rom-com of a music video costarring Alexandra Shipp as the one who keeps getting away. The pop bop unpacks Hayley’s past unwillingness to make a move, a time when she couldn’t quite find the confidence and so ended up with nothing. It’s a masterful anthem for pining: “Does she know I’m thinking ‘bout her plenty? If I found the confidence, yeah, would she let me?”
B.I - ‘illa illa’
Rapper B.I — formerly of iKon — released his debut solo album ’Waterfall’ this week, with lead single ‘illa illa’ kicking things off. The already record-breaking hit is an epic comeback, equal parts grief and victory, longing and healing, as he runs through the streets in the accompanying music video. “Longingness is what I do best. Depression is the most comfortable home for me,” he laments atop a mid-tempo hip-hop beat, per Genius translation. But there is hope in the bridge, a willingness to continue to be vulnerable despite bad experiences: “Though I know it will crumble/I’ll probably build a sandcastle again.”
Genesis Owusu - ‘Same Thing’
Ghanaian-Australian rising star Genesis Owuso already released the excellent debut album Smiling With No Teeth earlier this year, and his newest release just expands that exciting artistic vision. ‘Same Thing’ traffics in technicolour contradictions — the video, he said in a statement, is a “psychedelic barrage of both colourful and claustrophobic imagery.” He’s a poetic lyricist, with couplets that mount fear, distress, and ever-blurred lines: “Smile in the teeth but my trusting is skewed/PTSD from my soul black and blue/Dance on the line linking love and a bruise/And my heart terrified when I’m thinking of you.”
Tinashe ft. Buddy - ‘Pasadena’
Tinashe’s newest single ‘Pasadena’ captures an imminent summer vibe alongside its nostalgic ode to the California town. “After the past year we have all had, I felt a very strong calling to release music that feels like joy, excitement and freedom – to contribute positive energy to the universe,” Tinashe said of the track in a statement. The bouncy dance-pop beat certainly comes through with that positive energy on this song of the summer.