Recent music releases have been creating buzz online and in the SHU community, especially for artists Tate McRae, Sabrina Carpenter, and SZA.
McRae released her third album, “So Close to What” on Feb 21. McRae is a singer, songwriter, and dancer who, since her debut album in May 2022, has been gaining more popularity through her music. This new album consists of fifteen songs including previously released “Sports Car” and “2 Hands.”
In promoting her song “Sports Car” on TikTok, one user wrote, “I’m actually addicted to it. I haven’t stopped listening to it since it dropped.”
“I think [2 Hands] is really good and I can’t wait to hear the rest of the album,” said freshman Sophia Ryan before its release. “I think the song differs from the music that McRae has released in the past because her style has changed over the years. I believe her music style is more upbeat than it used to be.”
Source: Instagram, @tatemcrae
Source: Instagram, @sabrinacarpenter
Sabrina Carpenter released a new deluxe version of her “Short n’ Sweet” album on Feb 14, which includes a new version of “Please Please Please” featuring Dolly Parton, plus bonus tracks like “15 Minutes,” “Couldn’t Make It Any Harder,” “Busy Woman” and “Bad Reviews.”
Carpenter’s remix of “Please, Please, Please” with Parton garnered some mixed reviews online. One TikTok user wrote, “This is so iconic,” while another wrote, “I don’t like it but that is one iconic music video.”
“It gave me the feeling of nostalgia as Dolly’s iconic voice brought that familiar warmth, while Sabrina added that modern pop energy which made the song feel exciting and new,” said junior Cherysse Jean-Charles.
SZA released a new deluxe version of her last album “SOS” called “Lana” on Feb 9. The updated version includes “Joni” featuring Don Toliver, “Take You Down,” “Open Arms (just SZA)” and “PSA.”
Solána Rowe, better known as SZA, is an American singer-songwriter whose musical style combines elements of hip-hop, soul and minimalist rhythm and blues, according to IMDB.
“I feel like all the songs I either love or hate. Some songs are extremely interesting and some are extremely boring,” said freshman Rori Hourihan. “Nothing is particularly bad, some of it is just mediocre and some of it is awesome and amazing.”
Hourihan wished the album was more diverse, saying that SZA’s music has remained relatively the same in comparison to her previous albums.
“I don’t know, to me it all just sounds very SZA. I don’t really see too much of a difference in terms of like growth from her and her previous album,” said Hourihan. “It is just a deluxe version on an already existing album that would sound similar to the songs that it’s adding on to.”
Next month, be on the lookout for more major album releases, like Lady Gaga’s “Mayhem” debuting March 7 and Mumford & Sons’ “Rushmere” and Wallows’ “More” on March 28.
Jessica Balogh contributed to this article.
