DETROIT – Happy Friday!
5 songs we have on repeat this week:
Recommended Videos
Champion -- Bishop Briggs
Bishop Briggs is giving off strong energy and empowering women with her new song "Champion."
Her voice resonates strength and the lyrics land as hard as a gut punch. The video features Briggs with a shaved head and body language that proves she's ready to fight back.
"You gotta get bruised / Before you get mad / You gotta fall down / Before you fight back / Was feelin' so weak / But baby I'm strong / Little did I know / I'm a champion"
The music video is tied to the video for the recently released "Tattooed On My Heart," which is a ruminating ballad on a love where you give more than you get.
"It's always you / Taking me for granted / Always you / That plays me as the fool / And if I'd known, if I'd known, if I'd known / If I'd known you'd rip it apart / Oh, I wish I didn't get your name tattooed on my heart"
If the songs were stages of grief, "Tattooed On My heart" would be depression and "Champion" would be anger tinged with acceptance.
If you like "Champion" here are some other songs by Bishop Briggs worth checking out:
River | Dream | White Flag | The Fire | Dead Man's Arms |
Catching Fire -- Sum 41
Sum 41’s new album, “Order in Decline,” includes an emotional, heavy track that focuses on love, mental health and suicide.
Suicide prevention support and mental health resources
“I never knew you needed help / Well, 'cause you always seemed so tough / But now I'm here alone / Without you by my side / If only I had known / That you kept it all inside.”
Vocalist Deryck Whibley told NME he was trying to write a song coming from someone who has lost someone.
He said he “wanted to be careful to not sound like I understand what it’s like to suffer from depression because I never really have.”
There were a few people and things on Whibley’s mind when he penned “Catching Fire.”
“I also wanted to write it as a love song for my wife because I wouldn’t know what to do if I lost her,” he said. “At the same time I was writing it, there seemed to be a rise of celebrities taking their own lives – with Robin Williams, Anthony Bourdain, Chris Cornell and Chester [Bennington].”
“Catching Fire” is a painful song about love and loss. Out of all the songs off the band’s new album, it’s my favorite.
If you like "Catching Fire" here are some other songs by Sum 41 worth checking out:
Never There | Pieces | We’re All to Blame | With Me | Still Waiting |
Glad He's Gone -- Tove Lo, Major Lazer
Three remixes for Tove Lo's song "Glad He's Gone" dropped recently. The original song has a little more heart than the remixes, but the Major Lazer remix is arguably the best out of them.
Original Song | ELVIRA Remix | Jayda G Remix
The song itself is about helping a friend through a breakup when you know the person they were with wasn't good enough for them, or didn't treat them right.
"Baby, no tears for that sucker / We'll never go dry this whole summer / Wanna get over, get under / (You're better off, I'm glad that he's gone)"
Tove Lo's fourth studio album is titled "Sunshine Kitty" and is expected to be released sometime this year.
If you like "Glad He's Gone" here are some other songs by Tove Lo worth checking out:
Habits (Stay High) | Talking Body | Not On Drugs | Out Of Mind | Scream My Name |
It Wasn't Easy To Be Happy For You -- The Lumineers
The Lumineers is set to debut an album Sept. 13 that's broken up into chapters about a fictional family.
The band dropped "It Wasn't Easy To Be Happy For You,” a track from the second chapter, which focuses on Junior Sparks. Junior is the grandson of Gloria Sparks. Songs from her first chapter were released in the spring.
“Yeah, it wasn't easy to be happy for you / Yeah, I took the poison, praying you'd feel it too / You held your punches back, and I left the room.”
Each of the three chapters will be released as EPs with the full-length album.
If you like "It Wasn't Easy To Be Happy For You" here are some other songs by The Lumineers worth checking out:
Donna | Life in the City | Gloria | Ophelia | Ho Hey |
I Wish -- Hayley Kiyoko
Hayley Kiyoko dropped her new song and a self-directed music video for "I Wish."
The song touches on the topic of unrequited love and the desire to find someone to be with who equally returns the love that is given -- someone who is not selfish with their affection.
"Sometimes I wonder if you'll ever let me in / I wonder if I'm ever gonna find somebody / I cry and I cry and I cry and I cry out to the heavens / Why won't you just send me somebody?"
The song dips easily into longing and vulnerability before rising again into a more aggressive, frustrated tone. She blends the two sides perfectly together.
Kiyoko is an advocate for LGBTQ rights and considered a gay icon by her fans, who refer to her as "Lesbian Jesus."
If you like "I Wish" here are some other songs by Hayley Kiyoko worth checking out:
Girls Like Girls | Cliffs Edge | Gravel To Tempo | SLEEPOVER | Curious |
Other songs to check out:
- I.F.L.Y. -- Bazzi
- Ready Set -- Kash Doll feat. Big Sean
- Tip of My Tongue -- Kenny Chesney
- MOOD 4 EVA -- Beyonce feat. Jay-Z and Childish Gambino
- Forever -- Tory Lanez
Upcoming shows:
- Stick to Your Guns at the Magic Stick in Detroit on July 26 (Friday)
- Mo Pop Festival at West Riverfront Park in Detroit on July 27-28
- Khalid at Lirrle Caesars Arena in Detroit on July 28 (Sunday)
- Beck at DTE Energy Music Theatre in Clarkston on Aug. 3 (Saturday)
- Shawn Mendes at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit on Aug. 5 (Monday)
Friday Finds: July 19, 2019 --
Email us with local music suggestions and events at aainsworth@wdiv.com or kclarke@wdiv.com