Okay, so Monday’s blue, and Tuesday is grey (Wednesday too), Thursday you don’t care, but Friday? Friday, you’re in love! With new music. Vulnerable pop princess Selena Gomez (also providing us with a star turn in Only Murders in the Building) is releasing her new single, “Single Soon”, on 25 August. And so too is her fellow Disney alum, the enduring Miley Cyrus who returns with “Used To Be Young”. One wonders if managers panicked about this scheduling – it’s not unheard of for pop stars to move release dates to avoid logjams – but truly, if we have learnt anything from Barbenheimer, is a dual release not great for business and, more importantly, our souls?
Whisper it, but it has the feel of monoculture. After years of too much new content which never seems to stick, events like this are as refreshing as a Diet Coke on a scorching day. Whatever your feelings towards the seeming polar opposites Barbie or Oppenheimer, it was delightful to discuss movies and spend hallowed time in the cinema. Even if you are not a Swiftie (I’m afraid I believe that “London Boy” was written specifically about me), there’s a joy to experiencing Swift’s sell-out concert run; if you would like some late August comfort, I’d advise reading about supportive fathers at the Eras tour. While Gomez and Cyrus’s new songs may not cut through in a similar fashion, it is a sweet Friday diversion: a reminder that the memories you create around culture can be more joyous than the culture itself.
If the Cyrus-Gomez face-off were not enough, Ariana Grande is also releasing a deluxe 10th anniversary edition of her break-through album Yours Truly on Friday, which will feature updated versions of songs. But it’s the shiny and new material from Cyrus and Gomez which is truly exciting. It’s a delightful low-stakes competition, both easily-measured (stan accounts and execs will surely be counting those Spotify streams) and also, because, who really cares?
Cyrus and Gomez are at the top of their games. The stars have issued statements of support for one another, and it’s easy to believe them. They have staying power: this particular battle does not feel like war. Instead, the mess is fun. You wake up with two new songs, you decide which you like, you share your opinion, you move on. (It must be said that if this were a competition of names, “Single Soon” – a reference to fans’ insatiable appetite for content and the autumn heartbreak towards which many are careering – is a genius move.) Even better if, like Barbenheimer (sorry again), the projects are antithetical: September 29 sees the release of a new Saw and Paw Patrol film in the states.
It’s hard to make noise with a new release these days: a same-day drop at least creates momentum. Last year, Taylor Swift released Midnights and The Arctic Monkeys dropped The Car on October 21. This year’s anointed date appears to be September 8, with new albums from Olivia Rodrigo, The xx’s Romy Madley-Croft and James Blake. If pop culture has to team up to create that moment, so be it: everyone, from fans to financiers and artists to audiences, win. Just ask Greta Gerwig and Christopher Nolan.
Henry Wong is a senior culture writer at Esquire, working across digital and print. He covers film, television, books, and art for the magazine, and also writes profiles.
