New Music Friday: Backstreet Boys, Julia Michaels, Ashley Tisdale And More

The first month of 2019 is almost over, but this new year of great, new music is only just beginning. Old favorites are returning with fresh songs, new favorites are rising up, and the under-the-radar artists are making themselves known.

Here are the new songs (and albums and EPs) from this week that you should be listening to on repeat.

Julia Michaels - “Happy”

The singer-songwriter released her new six-song EP, “Inner Monologue Part 1,” on Thursday, which features collaborations with Selena Gomez (“Anxiety”) and Niall Horan (“What a Time”). The project should be listened to in its entirety because all of the emotional tracks go hand-in-hand, but “Happy” is one of the songs off of it where you can just feel your heartstrings being tugged.

Backstreet Boys - “OK”

The boy band released “DNA,” their ninth studio album, on Friday, and it features a whole bunch of slow jams, but with more of a DJ-produced vibe, “OK” stands out the most on the project.

Ashley Tisdale - “Love Me & Let Me Go”

Ten years after her last album, Tisdale is getting ready to release “Symptoms” later this year, but first, she’s sharing the second single from it, and it’s even better than the first. Whereas “Voices in My Head” was a great bridge song from her old hits to the new ones to come, “Love Me & Let Me Go” is where Tisdale’s really showing the kind of flair she’s bringing with her 2019 music.

Alyson Stoner - “Stripped Bare”

The singer-actress-dancer has been teasing this song every day for a week with throwback posts from pivotal moments in her life. With this track, she’s added up all of those memories, dissected what they’ve meant to her and how she feels about her life right now, and then she proceeded to lay out all of her emotions for the world to hear.

Rachel Crow - “Up All Night”

People keep sleeping on the hits Crow keeps dropping, but that needs to change. “Dime,” which was released in 2017, is the all-out anthem everyone should be singing along to — loudly — every day, and 2018’s “Coulda Told Me” with CHIKA is the vibe everyone needs in their lives. Now, “Up All Night” is a smooth, sultry and soulful start to the year.

Nicky Romero & Olivia Holt - “Distance”

If you’re looking for a new song to dance around to, let out your emotions with and lose yourself in, this fresh track from the Dutch DJ and the “Cloak & Dagger” actress is what you need. Put on Holt’s 2018 song “16 Steps,” then this one, and repeat.

Tori Kelly - “Change Your Mind”

The 26-year-old has a way of making listeners fall in love with her voice all over again with every new song she releases, and this one is no different. The acoustic qualities of the song allow her emotional and powerful voice to really shine.

Lauv & Troye Sivan - “I’m So Tired”

It’s clear these two are a musical match made in heaven because this is one song we’ll never get tired of hearing.

Jack & Jack - “Used to You Now”

Made up of Jack Johnson and Jack Gilinsky, the pop-rap duo released their 12-song debut album, “A Good Friend Is Nice,” on Friday. With a cool vibe, a simple-but-hot beat and melody, and with a concept many will recognize from their own lives, “Used to You Now” is a must-listen song.

FLETCHER - “Undrunk”

If you’ve ever wished you could undo all the mistakes you made while you were drunk, you’re not alone. FLETCHER sings about just that on this hypnotic song you’ll feel like you immediately know the words to.

BONUS: Kira Kosarin - “Vinyl”

While the singer released the first song off her debut album earlier this month, she dropped its accompanying music video on Friday. You won’t be able to keep yourself from rewatching it, just like the song gives you no choice but to keep listening to it on repeat.