New Releases: Lady Gaga, Kylie Minogue, Ezra Collective, JADE and more!

Welcome to New Music Friday, your one place to discover the biggest new song, album and DVD releases.

First, let's tackle albums.

Lady Gaga always has an ace (or in this case, a Joker) in the pack! Ahead of the theatrical debut of Joker: Foile A Deux (in which she plays Harley Quinn), Gaga is debuting a brand new album (marketed as LG 6.5, a halfway between Chromatica and her upcoming seventh album, the lead single of which is expected next month), Harlequin will be mostly comprised of classic standards, such as The Joker and Smile, which Gaga and co-0star Joaquin Phoenix will cover in the film, as well as two brand-new tracks, written by Gaga and her frequent collaborators Michael Rice and BloodPop. We can already smell that second Oscar, hun!

Coming off the back of last year's win at the Mercury Prize for their acclaimed third album Where I'm Meant To Be, Ezra Collective will be looking for their fourth LP, Dance, No One's Watching, to be a true breakout record. Could the experimental nu-jazz band be within touching distancer of a landmark first Top 10 album in the UK?

It's a bittersweet New Music Friday for fans of the boundary-pushing, genre-bending mastermind SOPHIE. Following her tragic death in 2021, SOPHIE's family have been working hard on mastering her second (and final) album. The self-titled SOPHIE arrives with a host of collaborators - from Kim Petras and BC Kingdom to LIZ and Bibi Bourelly - and is a final, shining testament to an artist whose influence on pop music can still be felt everywhere. SOPHIE forever.

Over on singles, can you hear that Padam Padam in the distance? Queen of Tension Kylie Minogue sashays in with another addictive pop bop, Lights, Camera, Action, which functions as the true lead single for her upcoming Tension II release. Co-written by Padam Padam scribe Ina Wroldsen, here's hoping that viral lightning strikes twice. 

Giddy up, baby! JADE instantly became one of British pop's brightest hopes with the release of her debut single Angel Of My Dreams, an experimental and deeply ambitious track that was a true hit for the solo star, spending 9 weeks in the UK Top 20 and becoming the first solo Little Mix track to chart two weeks in the Top 10. While JADE is still keeping us waiting for her true second single, the gap is being filled with the even more experimental and abrasive Midnight Cowboy, a cheeky and sensual nod to Beyoncé's RENAISSANCE, which also features background vocals by Doctor Who himself, Ncuti Gatwa. 

Elsewhere this week, we also have brand new singles on the way from The Weeknd and Playboi Carti (Timeless), Rose Gray (Switch) and The Cure's first single in 16 years (Alone).