New Music Friday: Ariana Grande leads with 'hate that i made you love me' ahead of petal

New Music Friday: the week's essential releases

Ariana Grande is back with the lead single from her upcoming album petal, and it arrives alongside a packed New Music Friday that includes aespa's second studio album and a cosmically timed project from Labrinth. According to Billboard, these are the releases everyone will be talking about this weekend.

Ariana Grande, 'hate that i made you love me'

The Ariana Grande lead single lands softer than expected. Grande had described petal as "a little feral" on Instagram, but "hate that i made you love me" opens with plinking production that Billboard compares to a video game bubbling under water. The sharpness is in the writing, not the texture. Lines like "Tell me why is it this way / Why you so hate to see women endure" carry quiet weight, and the song works on more than one reading: a romantic split on the surface, something wider underneath.

aespa, LEMONADE

Just one month after announcing it, the K-pop four-piece delivers LEMONADE, their first full-length in two years. The guest list is notable: G-DRAGON, Ty Dolla $ign, and Becky G, who appears on the hyperpop title track. The album arrives as the group prepares for a world tour that runs through 2027, so the timing is deliberate.

Labrinth, Cosmic Opera Act II

Labrinth pulled his music from Euphoria's third season, citing alleged mistreatment, and the final episode airs May 31. He fills that gap with Cosmic Opera Act II. Standout track "THE LIVING" opens on a bluesy guitar riff and builds through intricate layers. The result sounds, unsurprisingly, like something written for a screen.

Also out this week

• Jungle share "The Wave," the first single from their upcoming album SUNSHINE, due August 14.
• Violet Grohl releases her debut album Be Sweet To Me, an 11-track record on which she handles vocals, songwriting, and production.