--- title: 5 Songs You Need to Listen to This Week description: New music from Lin-Manuel Miranda featuring JLo, Camila Cabello, Luis Fonsi and more, plus Kelela, LÉON, Brad Walsh and Tee Grizzley. canonical: https://time.com/4972743/5-songs-you-need-to-listen-to-this-week-28/ author: Raisa Bruner article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-10-06T20:55:37.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:47:50.901Z og:title: 5 Songs You Need to Listen to This Week og:description: New music from Lin-Manuel Miranda, LÉON, Kelela, Brad Walsh and Tee Grizzley og:url: https://time.com/4972743/5-songs-you-need-to-listen-to-this-week-28/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 5 Songs You Need to Listen to This Week twitter:description: New music from Lin-Manuel Miranda, LÉON, Kelela, Brad Walsh and Tee Grizzley twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # 5 Songs You Need to Listen to This Week (6 Oct 2017)  by [Raisa Bruner](https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Oct 6, 2017 8:55 PM UTC  by [Raisa Bruner](https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Oct 6, 2017 8:55 PM UTC Lin-Manuel Miranda’s [new song](http://time.com/4969625/lin-manuel-miranda-almost-like-praying/), featuring the voices of over a dozen artists, is at once a celebration, an homage to _West Side Story_ and a call for unification in the face of tragedy, all in service of the people of Puerto Rico. Meanwhile, dynamic R&B artist Kelela searches for new modes of expression in a complex and haunting album that hints at her political agenda. Sweden’s LÉON brings her brand of rich, timeless instrumental pop alive on “No Goodbyes.” Detroit rapper Tee Grizzley has a dark banger on his hands with the unapologetic “Win.” And [Brad Walsh](http://time.com/4532096/brad-walsh-six-infinite-album/) releases a body of work with _Antiglot_ that makes us question what music can — and should — do. ### “Almost Like Praying,” Lin-Manuel Miranda _Hamilton_ creator Lin-Manuel Miranda has made his catchiest song yet with “Almost Like Praying.” He put this track together in just two weeks in support of the post-hurricane humanitarian crisis in Puerto Rico, from which he traces his own roots, and it’s a master feat: mixing strains of Sondheim with modern pop production, Miranda tapped the voices of over a dozen renowned singers — Jennifer Lopez, Marc Anthony, Luis Fonsi, Gloria Estefan and Rita Moreno among them — to list all of the island’s towns in a musical act of unification and support. As for the title of the song? “The name ‘Maria’ will forever have a different connotation on the island,” [he told TIME;](http://time.com/4969625/lin-manuel-miranda-almost-like-praying/?utm%5Fcampaign=time&utm%5Fsource=twitter.com&utm%5Fmedium=social&xid=time%5Fsocialflow%5Ftwitter) the hurricane happened to share the Sondheim character’s name. “Most of us know ‘Maria’ as the name of a really great song in _West Side Story_… My brain started flipping the lyric. ‘Say it loud and there’s music playing, say it soft and it’s almost like praying.'” ### “Blue Light,” Kelela There’s an icy futurism to Kelela, melting smoothly into the warmth of her supple lyricism. On “Blue Light,” off of her long-awaited debut album _Take Me Apart,_ theforward-thinking R&B star starts with the basic building blocks: an eerie instrumental, a bassline, her ethereal voice. Then she throws in the electronic elements, constructing a song that’s both intimate and strong. ### “Boadicea,” Brad Walsh You’ve never heard anything [quite like Brad Walsh](http://time.com/4532096/brad-walsh-six-infinite-album/)‘s new album _Antiglot_ before. Composed entirely of “body sounds” — layered lyric-less vocals and the noise he could make without instruments — the ambitious work is a resonant soundscape, in turns arresting and meditative. “Boadicea,” composed and written by Enya, will take you through the emotional ringer. Like a Gregorian chant gone rogue, Walsh’s performance elevates a simple hum into a complex journey, from an ominous depth to something that sounds like hope. Created as a reaction to the U.S. political climate, _Antiglot_ just might be the cathartic listening experience we all need. ### “No Goodbyes,” LÉON It may be called “No Goodbyes,” but [Swedish singer-songwriter LÉON](http://time.com/4644339/leon-liar-music-video/)‘s lush new song off of her just-released EP _Surround Me_ feels like a welcoming embrace. While the Swedes of her generation are collectively best known for their propulsive pop — think Tove Lo, [Tove Styrke](http://time.com/4774901/tove-styrke-say-my-name/), [Zara Larsson](http://time.com/4704699/zara-larsson-so-good-interview/) — LÉON’s sound is more classic. Raised with a musical background, she sticks to a timeless style that’s rich and orchestral. “No Goodbyes” is a perfect example: cascading flute notes find grounded echoes in a voice equal parts floating and powerful. ### “Win,” Tee Grizzley Detroit rising star Tee Grizzley brings total confidence to “Win,” which sees him rap with irrepressible energy over a hauntingly melodic piano backing track. “Had to risk it all just to win big,” he raps at the top of a poignant story. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4972743/5-songs-you-need-to-listen-to-this-week-28/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4972743/5-songs-you-need-to-listen-to-this-week-28/"},"headline":"5 Songs You Need to Listen to This Week (6 Oct 2017)","datePublished":"2017-10-06T20:55:37.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:47:50.901Z","description":"New music from Lin-Manuel Miranda featuring JLo, Camila Cabello, Luis Fonsi and more, plus Kelela, LÉON, Brad Walsh and Tee Grizzley.","url":"https://time.com/4972743/5-songs-you-need-to-listen-to-this-week-28/","keywords":["Newsfeed","Music","entertainment"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Raisa Bruner","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4972743/5-songs-you-need-to-listen-to-this-week-28/","name":"5 Songs You Need to Listen to This Week (6 Oct 2017)"}}]}] ```