School may be back in session for many of us, but that doesn’t mean that the fun has to end.

Now that we’re busier during the week, we’re starting to truly appreciate the freedom of the weekends, and the epic new music releases our favorite artists drop every week are even more of a reason to celebrate. This week, everyone from Angels & Airwaves to Nessa Barrett, Monsta X, Sofía Reyes and Becky G shared new tunes with us, and we are forever thankful.

Eager to get listening to the best of the best? Just keep scrolling to check out our 10 favorite things that happened in music this week.

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1. Elle Baez Redefines Beauty With ‘Stereotype’

Elle Baez is a rising singer-songwriter with a powerful voice and a very important message to share with the world. We’re in love with her empowering new anthem, “Stereotype,” in which she asks us to imagine a world where we’re taught from a young age that women of all sizes can be beautiful, instead of having to learn to defy stereotypes and discover that later than life. “I was so tired of being told to change my body and my appearance by so many around me,” Elle explained in a press release. “All I could think about was if the little me had the confidence I had today, who knows how much more success could’ve come my way. It’s taken me so long to give myself that love and ‘Stereotype’ is the song I wrote for me to celebrate that. To celebrate all of the beauty everyone has regardless of what other people have to say about it.”

2. Caroline Romano Hits Us With Not One, But Two Instant Classics

We’ve been big fans of Caroline Romano’s music for years, but we think her recent songwriting has been her very best yet. Today, she’s wowed us with an impressive double release, and we honestly can’t figure out which song we love more. First, there’s “Oddities and Prodigies,” based on Caroline’s belief that unusual thoughts and genius often go hand in hand. The other is “Lonely Interlude,” an ode to the beauty of sadness. “‘Oddities and Prodigies’ is my life motto,” Caroline explained in a press release. “I’ve set out on a quest to spin something beautiful, even if it is often tragic, as I don’t think you can have one without the other. I am in love with oddities and the older I get the more I realize how many prodigies walk among us. And I’ve learned that these oddities and prodigies go hand in hand. The B-side to ‘Oddities and Prodigies’ is ‘Lonely Interlude,’ a song I find so much peace and sadness in. Melancholy can sometimes be the sweetest thing and that’s what I wanted to portray when writing this song.”

3. Cap Carter Evokes Hope With New Single ‘Guns’

Cap Carter’s unique, raspy voice and thoughtful lyricism have made us longtime fans, and his latest track, “Guns,” is an emotionally touching track about hope and learning to look to the future. “This is definitely turning a corner, where the perspective is not ‘woe is me,'” Cap explained in a press release. “No matter what you have gone through in the behaviors of the past, you can change your story and the direction of your life. It’s no longer an internal look. Now I’m looking past all the stuff that I’ve gone through, and I’m thinking about the people I’ve lost. I’m thinking about how to move forward through that.” Just listen and try not to fall in love.

4. John-Robert Finds Himself in ‘Good Company’ in His Slick New Track

Up-and-coming artist and producer John-Robert isn’t a household name just yet, but with all of the tracks he’s been releasing lately, we don’t think he’s going to stay that way for long. His latest song “Good Company” is a smooth and sultry love song, with a sound made even better by the raw vulnerability in the vocals. If he’s not one to watch, we don’t know who is.

5. Remi Wolf Teases Her Debut Album With Two New Fire Releases

We are literally counting down the days until Oct. 15 and the release of Remi Wolf’s debut album, Juno—and lucky for us, she’s been more than generous in giving us a taste of what’s to come. Today she dropped two new tracks in anticipation of Juno, and they’re both worth belting. The first is “Guerrilla,” a fun and unforgettable party track, while “Sexy Villain” is all about embracing a bad girl persona in love. Believe us—you have to listen to them both.

6. Angels & Airwaves Gives Us a Preview of LIFEFORMS Album With ‘Spellbound’

Our Angels & Airwaves fandom goes back more than a decade, so it’s an understatement to say we’re excited for Sep. 24 and the release of LIFEFORMS, the band’s first full-length album in seven years. This week, the band released a music video for the new song “Spellbound,” and we think it’s our favorite LIFEFORMS track yet. With its thumping, electronic-driven sound, it’s a song about love going awry, and we can’t get enough. The music video was also filmed with a real cube of lasers using state-of-the-art tech, which is very on-brand for the band.

7. PRETTYMUCH Teams Up With Jeremih for ‘I Don’t Wanna’

PRETTYMUCH impresses us time and time again with their thoughtful and classic-sounding R&B stylings, and their new collaboration with Jeremih, “I Don’t Wanna,” is the perfect encapsulation of their power as a group. With tender yet clever lyrics powerfully delivered by the band, it’s one that we predict will find its way onto a lot of playlists this weekend.

8. Nessa Barrett Shows Us What She’s All About With pretty poison EP

There is a good reason singer-songwriter Nessa Barrett has found a massive audience in TikTok, and that’s because she’s a master of her craft, putting together songs with dark authenticity and a pop-punk edge that just speaks to people. Today, she released her debut EP, pretty poison, and it beautifully captures what we’ve grown to love about the star. The EP features seven killer tracks, including the titular “pretty poison,” but the ominously titled “i hope ur miserable until ur dead” has to be our favorite. If that title isn’t enough to win you over, just give it a listen.

9. Monsta X Drops All-English Single, ‘One Day’

Call us selfish, but we can’t help but adore when our favorite K-pop groups drop songs in English. We don’t always have time to sit there and learn all of the Korean lyrics, okay? Monsta X’s latest track, “One Day,” puts the band’s multilingual talents front and center. “It’s been a really long time since we’ve released an English song,” the band’s Kihyun explained in a press release. “To get this song out, we’ve had a lot of support and help from many others. I’d like to give my sincere thanks. Due to the pandemic, we weren’t able to see our international MONBEBEs, nevertheless, they’ve always been the light and energy for us.”

10. Sofía Reyes and Becky G Team Up for the Ultimate Collab, ‘Mal de Amores’

When we heard Sofía Reyes and Becky G were teaming up for a collaboration, we expected nothing less than perfection, and their new song, “Mal de Amores” delivers. This Spanish track is a bop whether or not you speak the language, but it might help to know it’s a song about bad love, and we adore the way these ladies bring it to life. We especially love the music video, which starts with Sofía and Becky eating ice cream straight out of the tub with massive spoons, discussing how they don’t need men.

Missed our favorite tracks of last week? Click HERE to check out our top 10 releases of the week of Sep. 3, 2021.

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10 Big Things That Happened in Music the Week of September 10, 2021

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