It’s Friday yet again, which means it’s time to take a look back at the week and gush over the incredible music gifted to us—and what a week it was.

From exciting new singles to surprise album drops, award-worthy music videos—and even the birth of an adorable baby girl, it was anything but a quiet week in the world of music. Whether you love hip-hop, punk-pop, country or something in between, we guarantee there’s something new this week that’ll catch your ear.

Keep reading to discover 10 of the biggest things that happened in music this week.

1. 16-Year-Old Deacon Drops Debut ‘Long Run’ Music Video

Deacon may be young, but he has serious skills as a producer, and they show in the track “Long Run,” featuring the honey-voiced Scottish singer-songwriter Nina Nesbitt. This is his first-ever music video, but you’d never know it, and we love the way it artfully cuts between its two stars.

2. Vin Diesel Releases His First-Ever Musical Single

If you would have asked us last week which artists we were most excited to hear from, we would have never said Vin Diesel—and yet here we are! His debut song, “Feel Like I Do” was produced by Kygo and is surprisingly sweet, with a romantic and dreamy sound, and a beat that’s guaranteed to get stuck in your head. Honestly, we’re looking forward to seeing what he does next.

3. Danielle Bradbery Opens Her Heart With ‘Girls in My Hometown’

If you’ve been in the mood for a soulful country ballad to round out your week, look no further than Danielle Bradbery’s latest release, “Girls in My Hometown.” With its slow, moody and nostalgic sound, the track is about thinking about home when you can’t be there, and reflecting on how they might be doing—and whether they’re thinking about you.

4. Travis Scott Collabs With Young Thug and M.I.A. for ‘Franchise’

We have to admit we haven’t yet made it to McDonald’s to try Travis Scott’s Cactus Jack meal, but we can say that his new track “Franchise,” featuring the likes of Young Thug and M.I.A., showcases what all three wonderful artists can do. This rap track hits hard and is packed with almost too much talent. Prepare to be obsessed.

5. Machine Gun Kelly Goes Pop-Punk With Tickets to My Downfall

In a move we weren’t expecting at all, Machine Gun Kelly has taken a sharp turn from his usually moody and serious rap roots and released an album that goes fully pop-punk. The album features 15 tracks, but perhaps the most highly anticipated is his collaboration with ex Halsey, “Forget Me Too.” The song feels like a throwback to the early 2000s, and yet both MGK and Halsey feel right at home. It’s surprising how well it works, and we can’t stop listening.

6. T-Pain Releases an Animal Crossing Single—Complete With the Perfect Music Video

We’ve known T-Pain is a gamer for a while, but what we absolutely weren’t expecting was for him to release an Animal Crossing-themed rap called “Nooks Bells” in which he takes on the role of Tom Nook, everyone’s favorite greedy raccoon landlord. Also featuring Cardboard Cowboy and Jayteehazard, the song describes Nook’s lust for money, complete with a fully animated music video starring all of the game’s best characters.

7. Melanie Martinez Fights for Justice With ‘The Bakery’

Not only is Melanie Martinez’s hypnotically rhythmic new track “The Bakery” one of our favorites, but we simply can’t peel our eyes away from its almost psychedelic music video. The lyrics tell a song of love and longing, while the bizarre video shows us the process of its demented bakery from preparation to consumption, with some dancing—and subliminal empowering messages all the while.

8. WizKid Releases ‘Smile’ Music Video

WizKid’s “Smile,” featuring H.E.R., is exactly the uplifting track you need if you’ve had a tough week. Directed by Meji Alabi, the music video was filmed around the world, highlighting all kinds of people doing what they love best, and capturing their natural smiles and joy. The reggae-inspired beat has a summery feel and a positive message that’s sure to get you smiling, too.

9. Joji Drops His Sophomore Album, Nectar

Lo-fi R&B artist Joji made a lot of fans happy when he dropped his second album, Nectar today, on top of a music video for a track called “Your Man.” We’re slightly obsessed with the question-raising music video, which seems to feature a being from space who crash lands on earth. The song itself is atmospheric with wonderfully danceable electronic sounds and soft, smooth vocals, and it’s everything we’ve been waiting for.

10. Zayn Malik Has His Biggest Week Ever

What can we even say about Zayn’s week? To begin with, on Wednesday, Sep. 23, his music video for “Pillowtalk” (featuring maybe-fiancée Gigi Hadid) hit one billion views on YouTube—and on the very same day, Zayn posted a picture on Instagram announcing that his beautiful daughter with Gigi had also been born.

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A post shared by Zayn Malik (@zayn) on Sep 23, 2020 at 8:17pm PDT

And because that wasn’t enough of a week for him, Zayn went ahead and also dropped a hot new track called “Better.” Appropriately, the song is almost like a lullaby with a soft instrumental and delicate, dreamy vocal. This romantic R&B track is about to be playing everywhere.

Missed our top music moments last week? Click HERE to check them out.

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danielle bradbery

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