For those not in the know, the just-released ‘NOW That’s What I Call Music! 81’ features 16 major current hits from today’s hottest artists, including Coldpay X BTS, Doja Cat, Elton John & Dua Lipa, Ed Sheeran, GIVÉON, Jonas Brothers, Kane Brown & blackbear, The Kid Laroi & Justin Bieber, Lil Nas X & Jack Harlow, Olivia Rodrigo, The Weeknd and more!

Oh, and if all that wasn’t enough, it also includes five up-and-coming NOW Presents What’s Next New Music Preview bonus tracks from Cochise, Conan Gray, LONR, mazie, and Wolf Alice!

1. Industry Baby [Lil Nas X & Jack Harlow]
2. Need To Know [Doja Cat]
3. Bad Habits [Ed Sheeran]
4. Stary [The Kid Laroi & Justin Bieber]
5. My Universe [Coldplay X BTS]
6. Take My Breath [The Weeknd]
7. Cold Heart (PNAU Remix) [Elton John & Dua Lipa]
8. Ghost [Justin Bieber]
9. Traitor [Olivia Rodrigo]
10. For Tonight [GIVEON]
11. One Day [Monsta X]
12. Who’s In Your Head [Jonas Brothers]
13. Moth to a Flame [Swedish House Mafia & The Weeknd]
14. Better Days [NEIKED, Mae Muller & Polo G]
15. Meet Me at Our Spot [THE ANXIETY, WILLOW & Tyler Cole]
16. Memory [Kane Brown & Blackbear]
NOW Presents What’s Next
17. Telepath [Conan Gray]
18. No Friends [Mazie]
19. Pocket Rocket [Cochise]
20. HI LONR [LONR]
21. The Last Man on Earth [Wolf Alice]

This free-flowing work of musical art opens on the authentic and confident Industry Baby [Lil Nas X & Jack Harlow] and the highly addictive ebb and flow of Need To Know [Doja Cat] and backs those up with the Grammy Song Of The Year nomination for Bad Habits [Ed Sheeran] (and which comes with a wickedly great music video!), the goosebump-rendering pumps and bumps of Stary [The Kid Laroi & Justin Bieber] and then we get the one of my favorite tracks of the past decade, and which is also (IMHO) one of BTS’s best collaborations, My Universe with Coldplay.

Along next is a man who encapsulates that feeling of ’80s music to perfection, The Weeknd with his mega hit Take My Breath and that is itself followed by the legendary combination of past and future on Cold Heart (PNAU Remix) [Elton John & Dua Lipa], a song that has a lot of meaning for those who have lost loved ones Ghost (If I can’t be close to you, I’ll settle for the ghost of you) [Justin Bieber], the beautiful Traitor [Olivia Rodrigo] and then we get the simply astonishingly strong vocals and lyrics that come together for GIVEON’s For Tonight.

The K-pop delights of One Day [Monsta X] and the brightly shining slide pop of melodies of Who’s In Your Head [Jonas Brothers] are proffered next and are themselves backed by the masterpiece Moth to a Flame [Swedish House Mafia & The Weeknd], the pop-lectric Better Days [NEIKED, Mae Muller & Polo G, and where Mae Muller’s vocals truly come alive], before the chart toppers round out with a song that transcends age and time Meet Me at Our Spot [THE ANXIETY, WILLOW & Tyler Cole], coming to a close on the space trip within Memory [Kane Brown & Blackbear].

The impressive NOW Presents What’s Next section opens with the translucent ’80s vibe of Telepath [Conan Gray] and the lyrically/musically disjointedly curious No Friends [Mazie], then comes the upbeat and energetic smoothness of Pocket Rocket [Cochise], the lushly velvet vocals of HI LONR [LONR], closing on the hauntingly majestic The Last Man on Earth from Wolf Alice.

Official Music Trailer

Official Purchase Links