We’ve been desperate for a no-skips album this year. We’ve been craving a record that’s easy on both the ears and the mind. We’ve been in need of a project built on irresistible beats and silk-smooth R&B vocals. Little did we know this surprising duo would be the ones to deliver it. Chlöe trades her sister Halle for legendary producer Timbaland and, on Resurrection, once again proves she thrives in a partnership. No shade to her excellent solo work. Timbaland dominated the late ’90s alongside Aaliyah, Missy Elliott and Ginuwine before doing it all over again in the 2000s with Nelly Furtado, Justin Timberlake and Brandy, among many others. For him to handpick Chlöe for a full collaborative project is perhaps the biggest compliment an R&B singer can receive. Yet for her to say yes and take the risk of potentially sounding ‘outdated’ is an equal compliment to the producer. Does it sound outdated? Yes. But in the best way possible. As the album unfolds, you hear echoes of some of Timbaland’s biggest hits. We can easily imagine ‘Talking Dirty’ and ‘Belong To You’ as songs the late Aaliyah would be recording today. Chlöe does an excellent job of lending her angelic voice to the smooth, nostalgic production. The ‘Rock The Boat’ singer would be proud. ‘Believer’, in turn, instantly transports us back twenty years. It even features the signature “One time, two times, three times” that has become synonymous with so many of Timbaland’s productions. The familiar sound we all love is paired with new territory for the producer. We get funky on the fun and confident ‘Better Than She Can’. It’s here that Chlöe takes the reins and leads the song rather than the other way around. It’s her commanding lyrical delivery that immediately grabs your attention. The places her voice can go are simply unmatched. Something we noticed right away is how effortlessly Timbaland adjusted his song lengths to today’s attention span. He used to be known for producing extremely long tracks; ‘Mirrors’ by Justin Timberlake, for example, stretches to a whopping eight minutes. On Resurrection, most songs do not even reach the two-minute mark, making them perfectly suited to today’s ‘TikTok generation’. Yet within those time limitations, he still manages to take his beats in different directions without ever becoming repetitive. On a project this strong, there is hardly any need to pick favorites. However, it is on songs like ‘Caught’ and ‘On Your Own’ where the chemistry between the two collaborators shines brightest. The laid-back R&B production respectfully leaves room for Chlöe to showcase exactly what she is capable of vocally. The result sounds both timeless and current, especially at a time when artists like Kehlani and FLO are proving that traditional R&B still has a place in today’s charts. We are more than happy to relive Timbaland’s iconic sound through new music sung by one of today’s finest vocalists. This is everything we could have wished for and we cannot wait to make it the soundtrack of our summer. Now all that is left to ask is for them to do it all over again and bring Halle along for the next project.
Yasmine Byrne carries the title of Local Hero for all the right reasons. The Irish DJ and singer, better known by her stage name Jazzy, is making history with her music. Back in 2022, she rose to prominence as the first Irish female recording artist in 15 years to score an Irish number 1 single with the Belters Only collaboration ‘Make Me Feel Good’. One year later, she did it again with her debut single ‘Giving Me’, which topped the charts in Ireland and reached the Top 3 in the UK. Her talent is undeniable and she continues to rack up major Top 10 hits. You would think a debut album would have arrived by now, yet we have still been waiting for it. This week, she finally announced that her debut album, Peace & Patience, is on the way. October 23 still feels far away, but no worries, the lead single has already arrived. Together with Chris Lorenzo, she delivers the absolute banger ‘Invincible’. This screams hit from the very first listen. It is house music at its best: young, fresh, catchy and relatable, with the kind of energy that makes you want to dance. Most importantly, it does exactly what a lead single should do: get us excited for Jazzy’s long-awaited debut album.
Ryan Beatty is back with new music. The American singer-songwriter had an extremely successful 2024. He co-wrote four songs on Beyoncé’s album Cowboy Carter. As if being handpicked by Queen B herself wasn’t rewarding enough, he also took home his very first Grammy thanks to his contributions to the album. Now, he has his eyes set on an award for his own music. Later this month, Ryan will release his fourth studio album Sweet Fortune. The lead single, ‘Secret Language’, is a gorgeous country-pop song. His songwriting reads almost like poetry. “All the ways I say it in a secret language. Did you hear what my words couldn’t tell? I keep it all to myself.” The production is in the hands of Ethan Gruska, best known for his work with Phoebe Bridgers. We love how the song slowly builds its layers before fully unfolding near the end. We’re met with a beautiful chaos of instruments and Ryan’s soft tone begging to be heard.
Barbara Boko and Shiloh are in the midst of their very own fairytale scripted for fame. The story begins strictly behind the scenes in the studio. In case you’re wondering whether you’ve heard of the UK-based duo before, you probably have. They started out in the music industry writing and producing for some of the artists we love, including Tems, Wizkid and Jorja Smith. With the latter, they worked on her successful and critically acclaimed album Falling or Flying. In fact, they worked on every track and helped shape its sound. Now it’s time to step into the spotlight with their own music. No longer hiding only in the songwriting credits, the duo is now fully on display. They are releasing music under the name DAMEDAME* and have just dropped the incredible ‘FIRE BURNIN’ THRU THE RAIN’. The song is honestly so good. You can hear little pieces of each artist they’ve worked with before coming together in one sound that feels entirely their own. We love it when producers and songwriters step up and claim stardom for themselves.
Madonna is not the only artist revisiting a legendary project to bring the world a part two this year. Ten years after the release of his mixtape Mood, Jacquees is ready to revisit one of his biggest successes. The singer and rapper will release Mood 2 later this year. The latest taste of the mixtape is another collaboration with JUVENILE. This already marks the third time the duo has released music together. We’re not mad at it! With ‘Lick Back’, Jacquees gives us exactly what we’d expect. The club banger is heavily inspired by the R&B sounds of 2016. He unapologetically stays true to the ‘good old days’ without trying to make it sound current. That’s exactly why it works, we’ve missed songs like this. We’re instantly transported back to the club, a bottle in our hand, dancing to the best beats and an R&B voice to melt away to.
Ladies and gentlemen, theys and thems, we have our summer hit of 2026. This year it’s not a glossy pop song from one of your favorite pop stars, nor is it an exotic, sun-soaked catchy tune. No, this year we’re staying close to home. The Avengers of Germany got together in the studio to secure a worldwide smash hit in the making. With a dream team like this, it’s no surprise they’re trending all over the world. DJ and producer KITSCHKRIEG knew exactly what he was doing when he invited duo Blumengarten and Germany’s queen of rap, Shirin David, onto his track ‘Gut Genug’. The catchy tune is trending for all the right reasons. The high-pitched “Du bist gut genu-u-u-u-g!” will be stuck in your head all day after just one listen. The song blends together every genre imaginable to create that international feeling. It’s pop, it’s hip-hop, it’s EDM, it’s quite literally everything. For a moment, you almost forget you’re listening to a German song. This is shaping up to be a very good summer for these four musicians. While you’re here, be sure to listen to Blumengarten’s music. You’ll love it.
One of the best comebacks of the year so far belongs to Tove Lo. The Swedish popstar returned with a bang thanks to the massive tune ‘I’m your girl right?’. The song is quite literally a pop explosion in your face, in the best way possible. Even though we’re not tired of it yet, it’s already time to move on to the next taste of ESTRUS. As if her own return wasn’t exciting enough, she now gets another hitmaker out of retirement. On ‘des fleurs’ she joins forces with Stromae. The Belgian singer hasn’t released new music since 2022. For him to make his return alongside Tove Lo only adds to the excitement surrounding the song. Together they have written and produced a beautiful track that blends the best of both worlds. Tove’s dreamy, polished vocals paired with Stromae’s deep and unmistakable voice are a match made in heaven.
Malcolm Todd just released his third studio album Do That Again. While he has a brand new album to promote, he is currently having a peak moment with his two-year-old song ‘Earrings’. During his recent television appearances, this meant he wasn’t performing brand new songs but instead this older track. Yes, the music industry is at its most unpredictable it has ever been. If you had told us five years ago that artists would be promoting their third, brand new album by performing an album cut from their older debut record, we wouldn’t have believed you. Anyway, enough about the ever-evolving music industry, let’s talk about new Malcolm music. With his latest project he does what he does best: making pop music with soft-rock influences and, here and there, a touch of R&B. We were fully tuned in thanks to the lead single ‘Breathe’. On the song we hear the young singer at his most flirtatious and fun yet. Compared to his older material, it feels much sexier thanks to the heavier R&B-leaning production. Don’t be fooled though, this sound is largely a one-off on the album. The song that instantly grabs our attention is ‘Obsessica’. Honestly, the title alone had us curious. On the song Malcolm falls for that one person who seems to have all the odds stacked against them. “I’m a Virgo, you’re a Taurus. Chart says no, let’s just ignore it and go!” He knows exactly who his target audience is and is ready to have fun with it in his lyrics. There’s no pretending to be more mature than he actually is. Instead, he name-drops all the girls he has been obsessed with and even shouts out his bisexual love interest. “Is it ‘cause you’re bi and liking guys right now? I like that for me somehow. I wanna explore it, I’m a tourist.” We think we’re a little bit obsessed with this one. Around the middle of the album we find, fittingly, ‘Malcolm In The Middle’. Besides the obvious reference to his own name, the song was inspired by the sitcom of the same title. His father, Tim, was a television scriptwriter who worked on the show. Todd himself even made a cameo as a baseball player in the sixth episode of the fourth season. Sonically, he plays with swing and blues influences from the 1940s. As always, he knows exactly how to make it sound current and incredibly catchy. Thirty seconds into ‘Gun To My Head’ we switch up the tempo. Malcolm is finally admitting the truth to both himself and his ex-lover, using the song title as a metaphor for honesty and confession. It’s pretty plain and simple, but it works, especially when keeping his target audience in mind. The song is cute, straightforward and easy to love. While ‘Malcolm In The Middle’ sits exactly at the midpoint of the album, we can’t help but wonder why ‘Good Bye’ wasn’t chosen as the closing track. It would have been the perfect way to end the record. On the acoustic song we strip back everything we’ve heard so far. No big production, no heavily processed vocals, just Malcolm and his guitar. We hear his voice in its rawest and purest form. It’s refreshing to hear him sound so stripped back, truly laying his voice bare. The album is far from ambitious and we would even argue it takes a step back from his self-titled second album, which brought us ‘Chest Pain (I Love)’ and ‘Bleed’ with Omar Apollo. Yet it’s exactly the move that makes the most sense for Malcolm right now. It explores themes that will undoubtedly resonate with his fanbase. Considering he is only 22 years old, he is doing exactly what he should be doing: having fun with his music while creating songs that happen to connect commercially. It just goes to show there’s nothing wrong with sounding exactly your age and leaving yourself room to grow into the pop artist you’ll be one day.
Canadian singer Charlotte Cardin is a massive popstar in her home country. She has a whopping fourteen Juno Award nominations to her name and took home the Album of the Year award for both of her first two studio albums. Now it’s time to expand that success worldwide. Listening to the music coming from her upcoming third project, there’s no doubt she’ll soon be recognized all over the world. On ‘Take Me Back’, Charlotte delivers a beautifully honest and haunting pop song. On the breakup track she sings about a relationship filled with uncertainty and emotional ups and downs, while facing the hard reality that love can blind someone to the warning signs that things are not as they seem. She explores themes of jealousy and self-doubt in both English and French. The accompanying music video is as beautiful as the song itself. This is heartbreak music at its very best.
Every now and then you come across a song that brings tears to your eyes upon first listen. Chills all over your body, not even realizing what the song is about yet, but something about it just grabs you. ‘trees for the woods’ is the song we didn’t know we needed and are happy to share with you today. Amie Blu is a singer-songwriter of French heritage based in South London. The 20-year-old singer blends alternative R&B with classic soul. Her voice has a certain calmness to it that soothes you in the most beautiful way. There’s something so pure and raw about her talent. Her latest release exposes that to the fullest. Lyrics such as “Try to have an honest conversation alone but you can’t handle your reflection, so you start throwing stones” has us holding our breath. This is hands down one of the most beautiful songs we’ve heard so far this year.
Tinashe fans know they are always in for a surprise when it comes to what she’ll do next. The singer has openly spoken about her struggles with being forced into one box. Her label wanted her to be more pop, while so-called fans wanted her to be R&B. All Tinashe ever wanted was to be... well, everything! Ever since Tinashe went fully independent, she has been releasing music that truly resonates with her audience. Without a label, there was simply no need for labels. She was finally able to blend everything she grew up listening to into her music. And she continues to do so today. The multi-talented singer can produce her own music, write her smash hits and dance her ass off. On her upcoming project she seems more ready than ever to remind everyone of the popstar she is. Whenever you’ve seen Tinashe on a festival line-up lately, chances are it was for a DJ set. She has been busy hypnotizing crowds with her banging sets. You can clearly hear that influence coming through on the lead single of her new project. ‘Too Easy’ is a certified banger that can easily find its way into the clubs. We love how cheeky and confident she sounds while singing about how she makes being a popstar look easy. Don’t get it twisted though, she is irreplaceable!
Everyone in need of therapy after a heartbreak has the opportunity to save a whole lot of money this summer. Whether you suspect your partner of cheating, are going through a tough breakup, or simply need a breather to forget about your worries, forget the therapist… you can count on FLO to have your back. The trio shared their advice on ‘Therapy At The Club’, and it’s not stopping there. On the next single, ‘Don’t Break Her Heart’, they show up for you like any best friend would. Afraid of getting your heart broken? Just give Stella, Jorja and Renée a call and they’ll make sure to warn your lover not to even think about it. They comfort you with their pitch-perfect harmonies while scaring your partner with the chanting “Don’t do it!”. If it’s up to FLO, no hearts are getting broken this summer. Judging by the song and video, we would highly suggest listening to the ladies. They seem more than willing to do anything for their friend. Their sophomore album Therapy At The Club is shaping up to be the perfect girl group album. It’ll be packed with massive pop tunes, traditional R&B love songs and big beautiful harmonies. If you thought it couldn’t get any better after their debut album, well, they’re here to prove you wrong.
Life after The Internet is good and running at full steam. Band members Syd and Steve Lacy have both announced new solo albums for a July 17th release date. We love a little friendly competition. Fans of the band couldn’t be happier to receive this much music from its members at the same time. Steve Lacy will release his much-anticipated third studio album Oh yeah? this summer. To kick off the new era he released the lead single today. With ‘the feeling’ he brings us a beautiful, emotionally charged track that lands somewhere between R&B, neo-soul and indie-rock. Of course, the production wouldn’t be complete without his signature guitar riffs appearing in all the right places. The singer pours his heart out on the song. The way he cries out “Am I your baby?” and serenades us with “Staring at your pictures, wishing that I was with you” is quite heartbreaking to listen to. This one has us all up in our feelings.
Lately something has been missing from pop music in the UK. What’s been missing is that raspy voice that started out somewhere between pop and folk before evolving into one of the biggest voices bringing EDM-inspired beats into massive pop productions. That missing piece is, of course, none other than Ellie Goulding. The singer has been busy growing her beautiful family, but luckily she hasn’t forgotten about us. The ‘Anything Could Happen’ hitmaker found her way back to the studio amidst it all and officially kicked off her new era today. Leading up to the September 4th release of her new album I Know Too Much, we received the first taste today. It only takes one listen to fall in love with the song. There’s something euphoric about the production as it grows bigger and bigger with every passing minute. Combined with Ellie’s heartbreaking raspy voice pouring out her soul, it’s a recipe for goosebumps all over our body. Listening to the lyrics had us wondering whether she’s singing about a toxic romantic relationship or perhaps even her relationship with the music industry, especially with the line: “I’m tryna be a Hollywood baby ‘cause you made me think that London hates me.” The singer, however, explained that the song is actually about her inner bully. That negative, critical voice inside your head that keeps trying to bring you down.
Infinity Song is living proof that mixing family and work can go together. Siblings Abraham, Angel, Israel and Momo Boyd have been releasing music for over ten years. The New York City-based band is known for their soulful take on soft rock. This sound resonated with Jay-Z, who signed the band to his label Roc Nation. Under the label they are now ready to release their third studio album, the self-titled INFINITY SONG, on June 12th. The next single of the album is the catchy tune ‘Hurricane’. The song shows a more playful yet mature sound for the band. The talent really shines through on this one, both vocally and instrumentally. It’s definitely the kind of song that will do well in a live setting. Luckily, the band announced their headlining tour alongside the album announcement. They’ll be touring the world from June all the way through November. And may we remind you that band member Momo Boyd also found the time amidst it all to release her solo debut album last April, while also appearing on Baby Keem’s successful album Ca$ino. Busy!
Here at the Clean office it doesn’t take much to make us happy. We are always on the hunt for the best in music for you. Once we discover a new artist with a banger release under their name, you’ll have us floating on a cloud. Let us introduce you to Qui. The American R&B singer is currently building her career one step at a time. Her social media channels are packed with vocal performances, R&B covers and short-form music content, all helping to promote her latest EP release. With Cold Summer she has us locked in, particularly with ‘If I Was You’. The track transports us right back to the days when Amerie was taking over the charts and when Teairra Mari seemed destined to become just as big as Rihanna. Her music leans towards big melodic R&B with an emphasis on vocal performance and emotionally driven songwriting. We can only hope more people jump on her bandwagon before she blows up. Hop on!
Let’s start the week right. Let’s start the week laid-back, with no worries on our minds, because honestly… it could always be worse. We are in love with the latest release from rapper Bizzy Crook. The artist has been releasing music since 2013. Unfortunately, he struggled to get the recognition he deserved for many years. That all changed last year. In 2025, his career took a massive turn when he worked with singer Leon Thomas. Together they brought a Grammy home for their work on ‘Mutt’. Now it’s time for Leon Thomas to return the favor and jump on Bizzy’s new single. ‘Could Be Worse’ is the lead single from the upcoming album Underdogs Win Eventually. We couldn’t think of a better album title knowing his back story. If the single is any indication of what’s to come, we should gear up for more Grammy nominations. Because honestly, it could’ve been worse. Way worse.
Ravyn Lenae is one of those unique artists who simply can’t be put in a box. She is a chaotic mix of every genre she dares to dip her toe into. Chaotic in the best way possible. You never know what her next move will be. The only thing that always stays central is her almost innocent, angelic voice. After the immense success of her 2024 album Bird’s Eye, particularly with the slow-burner hit ‘Love Me Not’, she announced her new project. Her third studio album Blue Island is set for release on August 7th. Along with the announcement, she already gave away what we can expect. “Blue Island is a point of arrival, and feeling set in my ways and in who I am, and feeling free of any of those preconceived notions about Blackness or what I had to be in the past. I think now it’s fun to challenge the idea of what R&B is supposed to sound like, what pop is supposed to sound like… and really say ‘fuck all of that’ and do my own thing.” Of course, the announcement went hand in hand with new music. Her new single ‘Handle’ is everything you’d expect from the singer, yet nothing you could have ever imagined. The catchy tune challenges what today’s music can sound like. We are way past the time when artists had to place themselves in one box and limit themselves to a single genre. On the perfect ‘Handle’ we hear R&B in the vocal production, pick up on indie-rock through the guitar riffs and drums, and stay light and bubbly with the chanting pop chorus. This instantly became one of our favorite songs released this year so far.