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To quote the Smiths, fame fame fatale fame, it can play hideous tricks on the brain. That’s what’s happening in the album-opening title track from People Watching, the third LP by U.K. pop-rock star Sam Fender. “I people watch on the way back home/Envious of the glimmer of hope/Gives me a break from feeling alone,” he sings over the kind of hungry-hearted neo-Springsteen rock that is his sonic safety zone, before clarifying further, “I used to feel so invincible/I used to feel there was a world worth dreaming of.

New music drops every Friday. Here are some of the noteworthy awards contenders that debuted on Feb. 21, 2025.

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The British singer-songwriter has no previous Grammy nominations, but he’s a hit in his native country, with his two previous albums Hypersonic Missiles and Seventeen Going Under both topping the charts and going platinum in the U.K. He hasn’t quite caught on in the U.S. yet. The 30-year-old rocker peaked at No. 12 on Billboard‘s Heatseekers Albums chart for new and developing artists with Missiles, and he has placed two songs on the Hot Rock and Alternative Songs chart, but he has otherwise kept a low profile on this side of the Atlantic. That said, he has been embraced by music journalists: People Watching has a Metacritic score of 90 based on the first six reviews counted.

It’s New Music Friday, and the freezing cold won’t keep us from streaming some excellent new albums over the weekend.

Today marks the arrival of Sam Fender’s third album People Watching, which he worked on alongside The War on Drugs’ Adam Granduciel. There’s also a new album from Tate McRae, who has tons of momentum after the smash success of her 2023 song “Greedy.” Meanwhile, rising artists like Anxious, Anna Shoemaker, and The Murder Capital return with exciting full-length statements.

Here are eight new albums to stream today.

Abdomen — Yes, I Don’t Know

Abdomen are a Dutch power trio who come through with washed-out, angular indie rock. Today, they return with their sophomore effort, Yes, I Don’t Know. The new tunes are off-kilter and engaging, leaning hard on repetition and dynamics to foster an unpredictable and exciting tone.

Stream: Apple Music | Spotify | Amazon Music

Anna Shoemaker...

Someone dance with Conan Gray, so he doesn’t cry!

On Friday, the Gen Z pop star released his newest single, “Lonely Dancers,” just days after he announced his third album, Found Heaven.

The Eighties synth-infused pop song, co-produced by Max Martin, Ilya, and Oscar Holter, hears Gray singing to another “lonely dancer” at a bar as he welcomes him onto the dancefloor. In the video, Gray stumbles upon his love interest kissing someone else and proceeds to dance away his troubles in a bar filled with frozen patrons.

“Your lover left,...

This Kid Krow is no longer Superache-ing. On Wednesday, Conan Gray announced his third album, Found Heaven, co-produced by Max Martin, Greg Kurstin, and Shawn Everett. The album is due out on April 5.

Gray will also release “Lonely Dancers,” the fourth single off the album, on Feb. 9.

Gray teased the album announcement by placing posters hinting at the album title at local record stores across the world, including at Mexico City’s Roma Records, New York’s Rough Trade, and London’s Banquet Records. “Conan needs your help revealing the name of his new album,...

Conan Gray is waving a white flag. On Friday, the pop singer released his heart-wrenching track “Winner” about admitting that he’s lost — and that he’s hurt.

“I wrote this song at 2 a.m. — everything at the piano just spilled out all at once,” he said in a statement. “It was a moment where I finally felt like, ‘Fine. Great job. You did it. You hurt me more than anybody ever could hurt me.’ And it oddly felt nice.”

“I see now that there is a certain freedom that...

Season 2 of young adult romance “Heartstopper” has arrived on Netflix, accompanied by a soundtrack filled with pop and rock. Adapted from Alice Oseman’s graphic novels, the new season continues the cute, queer, colorful and cartoon-embellished story.

Now that they are boyfriends, Nick Nelson (Kit Connor) and Charlie Spring (Joe Locke) face the nuanced challenges of Nick’s decision to come out to his family and friends. Elle Argent (Yasmin Finney) and Tao Xu (William Gao) fight their own butterflies. Tara Jones (Corinna Brown) and Darcy Olsson (Kizzy Edgell) are back with their relationship road bumps — and let’s not forget our favorite bookworm, Isaac Henderson (Tobie Donovan).

The first episode kicks off on a solid note with Maggie Rogers’ “Shatter” and Fitz and the Tantrums’ “Out of My League.” The 1975’s “The Sound” uplifts episode three after a stressful round of testing for the Year 11 students. Taylor Swift’s...

Conan Gray transforms that feeling that you’re in a music video while listening to your favorite music into an real-life video. On Friday, the pop star released his single “Never Ending Song,” alongside its playful, Eighties-inspired visual that follows him dancing through the aisles of a grocery store.

“I wanted the ‘Never Ending Song’ music video to be the example of what we all wish we could do when our favorite song comes on. You’re snapped into your own little world, where suddenly everything feels like a music video,...

After sitting in second place ever since our predictions center launched, Paul Walter Hauser (“Black Bird”) recently dethroned Richard Jenkins (“Dahmer — Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story”) from the top spot in our limited series/TV movie supporting actor Emmy odds. If he indeed prevails, he will continue the trend of this award going to a first-time nominee.

Hauser would be the seventh out of eight actors under the popular vote system — which was introduced in 2016 after the TV academy did away with the preferential ballot — and the fifth in a row to win this category on his maiden Primetime Emmy nom. Under this system, the rookie contender-turned-champ trend was started by Sterling K. Brown with his victory for “The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story” in 2016. It survived another year, thanks to Alexander Skarsgard (“Big Little Lies”), before getting intercepted by Jeff Daniels (“Godless”) in 2018 — at which point...

Project Name: People Watching season two

Asking For: $50,000 through Indiegogo

Amount Raised Thus Far (At Time Of Post): $18,505

Days Remaining In Campaign (At Time Of Post): 5

Description: If you're itching to observe some fascinating personalities, all you need to do is engage in some People Watching. Creator Winston Rowntree is seeking contributions in order to fund the second season of an animated comedy that premiered earlier this year.

As Rowntree explains on the People Watching Indiegogo page, the goal of the show is "to convey what life is really like and the realities of being young in a world that has changed faster than at any point in history and yet is home to the realities that have been common to people throughout history." These themes are explored through conversations between People Watching's characters, who are colorful enough to match the show's bright style. The result is a wordy,...