Life Listens: New offerings from Billie Eilish, The Oddfellows, Zico and Tommy Richman

SINGAPORE – In this monthly column, The Straits Times curates the most buzz-worthy music you need to know about that was released in May.

Ace Album: Billie Eilish – Hit Me Hard And Soft

The third and latest album by pop’s most precocious singer-songwriter reinforces the notion that Grammy- and Oscar-winner Billie Eilish is a young music star with an old soul.

Hit Me Hard And Soft – which debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 chart as her highest-performing album yet with 339,000 units earned and more than 193 million streams – feels like it was meant to be experienced the old-school way before streaming took over: as a whole album in a single sitting.

Bittersuite, the chameleonic penultimate track, reinforces this by rewarding the listener with references to lines and themes present in the album’s earlier tracks.

It helps that this work, done with her usual collaborator and brother Finneas, is tightly edited. There are 10 songs and none of the tracks feel like they have outstayed their welcome.

The album title applies to the songs’ multifarious and adventurous aspects. The siblings prove once again that they are masters of the beat switch, which makes many of the tracks a compelling listen because your attention never strays.

L’amour De Ma Vie (French for “the love of my life”) best exemplifies this with its organic jazz-inflected first half that morphs into an ultra-processed electronic pop banger in the second half.

There has been quite a bit of focus on Lunch’s explicitly queer lyrics, but 22-year-old Eilish covers a lot more ground on the rest of the tracks, from heartbreak to past trauma.

The Greatest, a slow burner that builds to a glorious finale, deals with unfulfilled expectations, while dark cabaret bop The Diner takes on the perspective of a stalker and delves into desperation and obsession. – Eddino Abdul Hadi

Must-see MV: The Oddfellows – Stronger (Song For Jacq)

The new music video for Stronger (Song For Jacq) by veteran Singapore indie rock band The Oddfellows pays tribute to TNT Music Productions, a music studio that is closing down after 35 years.

TNT owner K.K. Wong, affectionately known as Ah Boy, makes a cameo in the clip, which was filmed at the premises in Parklane Shopping Mall.

The studio played a significant role in the alternative rock boom in Singapore back in the 1990s, as it was where bands like The Oddfellows and hardcore stalwarts Stompin’ Ground held their practice sessions and made recordings.

The MV was directed by Syamsul Bahari, a member of home-grown punk band Circle Line Kid, and edited by The Oddfellows frontman Patrick Chng.

The tight shots capture the intimacy felt by the musicians as they jam and work on their music with Ah Boy in the tiny but cosy studio.

Also making an appearance is the person name-checked in the song title, Jacq Tan, whom The Oddfellows guitarist-singer Kelvin Tan describes as the “woman in my life”.

Stronger (Song For Jacq) was first released as one of the tracks in What’s Yours And Mine, their third album released in 2021. – Eddino Abdul Hadi

Chart Champ: Tommy Richman – Million Dollar Baby

A contender for pop music’s annual song of the summer title, Million Dollar Baby is a breakout hit that has put American singer-rapper Tommy Richman on the world map these past few weeks. Released in the last week of April, it quickly went viral, earning the top spot on Billboard’s TikTok chart.

The infectious hip-hop, funk and R&B banger is also making its mark on the mainstream, debuting at No. 2 on the Billboard singles chart on May 11.

Richman’s solid falsetto and the song’s bouncy bassline have also helped it hit No. 1 in New Zealand and Australia. It currently sits at the top of Spotify’s global charts.

While it may seem like Richman, who was born in Virginia, US, popped out of nowhere, he has been releasing songs since 2016.

The buzz around the 24-year-old picked up pace after modern R&B golden boy and fellow American singer Brent Faiyaz signed him to his label, ISO Supremacy, and brought Richman out on tour in 2023. – Eddino Abdul Hadi

Singapore Scene: Music Lab podcast – rhyu

The latest episode of ST’s Music Lab podcast features an interview with Singaporean singer-songwriter rhyu.

The 19-year-old may be a new name in the home-grown music scene, but she already has one original song, It’s Fine (2023), that has clocked more than 1.3 million streams on Spotify.

Her deep and expressive voice, as well as the mix of jazz, pop and R&B in her songs, have led to comparisons to Icelandic-Chinese singer Laufey, who reposted rhyu’s cover of A Night To Remember, Laufey’s song with Filipino-English singer Beabadoobee, on TikTok in October 2023.

The singer, whose real name is Raine Hahn Yu, grew up with parents who are also singers. She started dabbling in writing and composing songs at the age of four.

Her early influences were Mandopop artistes such as JJ Lin and A-mei, but her inspirations widened to include a range of acts such as American R&B singer Alicia Keys, the late American diva Whitney Houston and, of course, Laufey.

The artiste, who studied at School of the Arts Singapore, released her debut single Melt in 2022, a song that has since garnered close to a million streams on Spotify. She released her latest single, Quiet, in March, and is now working on an EP.

Listen to the Music Lab podcast, as well as rhyu’s live rendition of It’s Fine, at str.sg/Aqou – Eddino Abdul Hadi

Stream This Song: Zico – Spot! (featuring Jennie)

South Korean rapper Zico brought the party vibe to his collaboration with Jennie from K-pop girl group Blackpink.

It is easy to get hooked onto this funky hip-hop jam, especially with its refrain of “up and down, round and round”. There is also a breezy energy that flows between Zico’s raps and Jennie’s singing.

With lyrics about a casual encounter between two friends who meet at a late-night party, this is the perfect song to listen to while getting ready for a fun night out.

Spot! debuted at the top of Billboard‘s World Digital Song Sales chart, marking Zico’s first No. 1 on a US Billboard chart. It also marked Jennie’s second time topping the chart since her 2018 single Solo. – Jan Lee