Hello and welcome! Looking forward to a nice Easter weekend? Are there any chocolate-covered bunnies potentially haunting your dreams, dropping eggs containing songs you’ve been hearing on loop for days on end? Then welcome to V’s new music round-up, where we tune you into some of the week’s biggest and best releases, whether they be singles or albums.

Here are this week’s top picks:

Dancing With The Devil…The Art of Starting Over by Demi Lovato

In making an (almost hour long) album about death and recovery, Lovato was able to find the life and joy to let her music take its own shape. A lot of the album features great road trip music aka the kind you can listen to while on long drives and use to reflect while still getting lost in the sound. Each of her belts on this record has a purpose and serves to deliver her most poignant, uplifting, and sonically cohesive record to date.

Company’s Comin’ by Leslie Jordan

Actor and social media sensation Leslie Jordan making a country and gospel album singing hymns from his childhood definitely tracks. There’s an intimate vibe to the record, like everyone’s sitting around the fireplace and strumming along in harmonic kumbaya. And by “everyone,” I mean Dolly Parton, Eddie Vedder, Brandi Carlile, Tanya Tucker, and Travis Howard, among others, the collaborators on the record.

The Movie by Nasty Cherry

Charli XCX-formed “I’m With the Band” stars Nasty Cherry’s third EP just proves how ready they are for a big full-length drop. The band has perfected the sound of women with boundless confidence and swagger who have just as many emotions to unpack as the rest of us. The synth rockabilly energy they give off is electric and tracks like “Her Body” and “Lucky” are showcases of where it could take them.

“deja vu” by Olivia Rodrigo

After the massive success of “driver’s license,” Rodrigo delivers another confessional love song that errs more on the angrier, frustrated side of love, the “I see you doing the same things with her now” side. The packaging comes in more of an upbeat yet melodramatic pop sound that pays homage to one of Rodrigo’s musical influences, Lorde, and gives her the credibility to potentially stake her claim as 2021’s breakout star.

“Sip It” ft. Tyga AND “Brazil” by Iggy Azalea

Azalea blasts back in with two singles, her first releases since August of last year, which have more in common than you’d think. Both feature heavy electronic and rhythmic beats with deep basses. But primarily, both feature Azalea’s usually spitfire flow delivered in a more relaxed manner, with the kind of calm confidence (calmfidence?) that suggests a level of comfort with her style.

“Film out” by BTS

Made in collaboration with Japanese rock band Back Number, the Japanese “Film out” is about a lost love and reminiscing about the good times. The song is a poignant and piano-heavy ballad that gives each member the chance to let their emotional delivery shine. It sets the tone for their upcoming Japanese compilation album just right by establishing their versatility as artists.

“4 Da Gang” by 42 Dugg and Roddy Ricch

42 Dugg and Roddy Ricch go bar-for-bar on their collaboration, each airing out their own grievances. Dugg raps about being able to hold it down for his city and his friends, while Ricch spits his verse about how people don’t give him the credit he deserves for making it this far. The song samples Scorpion’s 1982 “No One Like You” for a guitar-driven track that lets the two channel their inner rockstar.

“Envidioso” by Ozuna and Ovi

Translating to “jealous,” the song channels some of the energy from the song and rappers above it, delivering another showcase of confidence and braggadocio. Over a reggaeton trap beat, Ozuna and Ovi deliver verse after verse about people wanting to see them brought down but simply being envious of their success and where they’ve come.

“COUNT ON ME” by BROCKHAMPTON

Featuring a verse from A$AP Rocky and background vocals from Shawn Mendes, BROCKHAMPTON’s newest single channels a lot of the R&B harmonies and grooves that made 90s boy bands like Boyz II Men such crowd pleasers. They’re able to balance hip-hop beats with smooth crooning in a way that’s simultaneously current and retro.

“Successful” by Young M.A

“I’m one word with ten letters/Successful” encapsulates a lot of what the track represents for the New York rapper (and also the entire chorus). Young M.A blows the soul-inspired beat out of the water, delivering verse after verse about repping for New York City and experiencing success, a triumphant battle cry of sorts.

“HOT HOT” by Bree Runway 

Bree Runway is coming in hot (hot) post the success she achieved with her mixtape release late last year (which V talked to her about). The song that encourages listeners to recognize that they’re the hot ones is peppered with this late 2000s-early 2010s beat that punctuates across her sultry and charismatic vocals. It’s a club-ready anthem that is made for the summer feels.

“LazyBaby” by Dove Cameron

Not everyone can walk away from a breakup feeling like they can potentially get their shit together. Cameron’s song is an anthem for just that, a way for her to empower herself to choose happiness. It’s a relatively buoyant message over a relatively buoyant beat, with her vocals dripping off a SoCal, upbeat production that would feel right at home on any mainstream top 40 radio station.

“The Melting of the Sun” by St. Vincent

After going balls to the wall on previous single “Pay Your Way in Pain,” St. Vincent centers things around a more specific stylistic lane for this track (well, for the most part). While it’s a largely 60s and 70s influenced song, there’s elements of Motown, psychedelic rock, even some of the smokier pop environment you see now in artists like Lana Del Rey. You can’t say St. Vincent doesn’t keep things fresh.

“Hidden” by Talia Jackson

“Family Reunion” actress Talia Jackson’s new release showcases more of the dark pop sound she’d been building up over her drops last year. “Hidden” features nu disco framed against calming vocals and therapeutic lyrics about finding your way out of a bad situation. The trap breakdown midway with the consistent beat makes this one of those songs you might want to cry-dance to.