Kid Cudi and Ariana Grande

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From Ariana Grande and Kid Cudi's duet to Ed Sheeran and Elton John's Christmas collab, what's your favorite new music release this week?

A trio of superstar collaborations came to close out the year, starting with Elton John and Ed Sheeran wishing everyone a “Merry Christmas” with their cozy carol. The song appears on the “Christmas Edition” of Sheeran’s Billboard 200-topping album =, with all profits from the holiday season benefiting the Ed Sheeran Suffolk Music Foundation and the Elton John AIDS Foundation.

Contrary to the title of Netflix’s upcoming film Don’t Look Up, which is about a comet hurtling toward Earth and threatening to destroy all of mankind, Ariana Grande and Kid Cudi encourage listeners to “Just Look Up” in their shimmering (and slightly dark) ballad about how nothing else matters other than being with a loved one when the end of the world is near.

 

And Justin Bieber and Juice WRLD reminisce on a lust-filled euphoric adventure in the City of Angels on “Wandered to LA,” which arrives a week before the late rapper’s second posthumous studio album Fighting Demons. 

So which new music release is your favorite? Vote below!

What's your favorite new music release this week?
“Nod is about the solace we find in community. It’s about the comfort in knowing that we are not alone," said vocalist Tim McIlrath

Rise Against have released a new single, ‘Nod’, their first new music since 2022.

The new track kicks off the punk band’s “inspired next chapter” and was produced by Catherine Marks. “I swear to God this can’t wait,” vocalist and lyricist Tim McIlrath sings at the top of the song’s chorus. “Not one more minute, one more day.”

“Nod is about the solace we find in community,” said McIlrath in a press release. “It’s about the comfort in knowing that we are not alone. This comfort can temper our anger and our frustration, at least temporarily.”

‘Nod’ follows the band’s 2021 album ‘Nowhere Generation’. It was followed by an EP titled ‘Nowhere Sessions’ which included live versions of songs from the album.

Tracks such as ‘Talking To Ourselves’, ‘Broken Dreams, Inc.’ and the LP’s titular single were re-imagined as live recordings, as well as a cut of their 2008 song ‘Savior’ and covers of Misfits‘ ‘Hybrid Moments’ and Creedence Clearwater Revival‘s ‘Fortunate Son’.

Check out ‘Nod’ below:

the release of ‘Nod’ arrives just before Rise Against head out on a UK and European tour alongside L.S. Dunes and Sondaschule.

They’ll kick off the shows on January 28 in Dublin, before heading to Belfast on 29. Then, in February, they’ll head to Paris, Brussels, Berlin, Zurich and more, before wrapping up the tour in Vienna on February 22.

The tour also includes stops at London’s O2 Brixton Academy, Manchester’s O2 Victoria Warehouse and Birmingham’s O2 Academy on February 6, 8 and 9 respectively. You can find a full list of dates further down. You can find tickets to the UK and Ireland dates here.

Rise Against’s 2025 tour dates are:

JANUARY
28 – 3Olympia – Dublin, Ireland
29 – Telegraph – Belfast, Northern Ireland

FEBRUARY
2 – L’Olympia – Paris, France
4 – O13 – Tillburg, Netherlands
5 – Forrest National – Brussels, Belgium
6 – O2 Brixton Academy – London, UK
8 – O2 Victoria Warehouse – Manchester, UK
9 – O2 Academy – Birmingham, UK
12 – Velodrom – Berlin, Germany
14 – Mitsubishi Electric Hall – Düsseldorf, Germany
15 – Sporthalle – Hamburg, Germany
17 – Zenith – Munich, Germany
18 – myticket Jahrhunderthalle – Frankfurt, Germany
21 – Volkshaus, Zurich, Switzerland
22 –Stadthalle – Vienna, Austria

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