New Music Friday May 16: Rihanna, Jin, Morgan Wallen, Latto, Nick Carter, Jessie J and More

Happy New Music Friday! The weekend is here, which means more streaming, new playlists and the best that music has to offer — and ET has you covered for everything in between.

BET revealed the first slate of performers for 2025 BET Awards. The lineup includes Lil Wayne, Teyana Taylor, GloRilla, Playboi Carti and Leon Thomas. The awards hosted by Kevin Hart will air live on June 9.

Janet Jackson will be honored with the prestigious Icon Award at 2025 American Music Awards. This is an honor given to an artist whose music has had undeniable cultural and global influence over the music industry. Janet will also take the stage, marking her first television performance since 2018. Other performers who have been announced include Benson Boone, Blake Shelton, Gloria Estefan, Gwen Stefani, Lainey Wilson and Renee Rapp. The awards hosted by Jennifer Lopez will air May 26 on CBS and stream on Paramount+.

This week, Shakira kicked off the North American leg of her record-breaking Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran World Tour. The run began with a sold out stadium show in Charlotte, NC followed by the first of two sold-out nights at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ. Shakira holds the record for the most stadium dates by a female artist in a single city, with 11 Mexico City shows.

Kevin Mazur / Getty Images

Live Nation announced $30 Ticket to Summer, an offer that gives fans the chance to purchase $30 tickets to over 1,000 shows at select amphitheaters across the U.S. and Canada throughout the season. The initial on-sale begins May 21 and featured acts include The Offspring, Halsey, Nelly, Pierce the Veil, Avril Lavigne, Kesha, HARDY, Dierks Bentley, Cyndi Lauper, Kidz Bop Kids, Rod Stewart and more.

FINNEAS revealed the official music video for “2001” from his album For Cryin’ Out Loud! The video was directed by Claudia Sulewski and stars FINNEAS as a lovestruck actor on-set yearning for his on-screen director, played by Kate Hudson. Claudia shared, “When I first started conceptualizing this music video, I knew I wanted to pay homage to 2001: A Space Odyssey, with nods to some of the film’s most iconic set ups like the fisheye lens and the upside-down sequence, along with a few little easter eggs from the behind-the-scenes of the film.”

Megan Thee Stallion is bringing her larger than life anime world to Airbnb Experiences. Fans will get to see her Otaku Hottie Quest experience on June 12 in Los Angeles. ET’s Cassie DiLaura sat down with Megan who teased a big collaboration on her upcoming album and said she would love to work with Doechii on new music.

Rihanna has released a new song, “Friend Of Mine” from the SMURFS Movie Soundtrack. She will star as Smurfette in the film out July 18. This is the second song to come off the soundtrack following “Higher Love” by DESI TRILL featuring DJ Khaled, Cardi B, Natania and Subhi.

Plus, new music from Jin, Morgan Wallen, Nick Carter, Latto, Jessie J, Kesha, Damiano David and more!

“Friend Of Mine” from SMURFS Movie Soundtrack – Rihanna

Stream it now: Apple / Spotify

Echo – Jin

Stream it now: Apple / Spotify

I’m The Problem – Morgan Wallen

Stream it now: Apple / Spotify

“Somebody” – Latto

Stream it now: Apple / Spotify

Love Life Tragedy – Nick Carter

Stream it now: Apple / Spotify

“Living My Best Life” – Jessie J