The Best Songs Released in September 2025

September was a crazy month for new music, including major releases from artists like Cardi B. (her first since the Grammy winning Invasion of Privacy), the surprise release from DJO, and the amazing collaboration between Finneas and Ashe’s The Favor with The Dream.

As we approach Q4 of 2025, there’s still a ton of new music on the way, including The Last Dinner Party, Florence + The Machine, Of Monsters & Men, and of course, the newly-released The Life of A Showgirl by Taylor Swift, which dropped this past Friday with mixed reviews (more on that from us later).

Noteworthy album & EP releases:

Double Infinity, Big Thief
Gun, Boyish
The Hard Way, Cameron Whitcomb
AM I THE DRAMA?, Cardi B
Shock Treatment, Caroline Kingsbury
Cate Le Bon
Finer Things, Clover County
Where the Earth Bends, DAFFO
The Crux Deluxe, DJO
Vie, Doja Cat 
Play, Ed Sheeran
The Dream, The Favors
last night you said you missed me, Hazlett
Sister, Frost Children
Goldie Boutilier Presents, Goldie Montana, Goldie Boultilier
Dream Ride, G Flip
Inertia, Grandson
THAT’S SHOWBIZ BABY!, JADE
this won’t last forever, joan
Sunflowers and Leather, Jonah Kagen
Fade Your Heart, Joy Crookes
SWAG II, Justin Bieber
Girl Violence, King Princess
I Can See The Future, Leith Ross
I’m Only F**king Myself, Lola Young
BUZKILL (forever), Lyn Lapid
A Quiet and Harmless Living, Matt Maeson
portals//polarities, Night Tapes
The Art of Loving, Olivia Dean
Anemoia, SG Lewis
Peak Experience, Sydney Sprague
Breach, Twenty One Pilots
Bleeds, Wednesday
Don’t Cry Because It’s Over, Will Linley
The Rub, Your Smith
Midnight Sun, Zara Larsson

In chronological order:

“SPEED DEMON” – Justin Bieber
Release date – September 5

Justin Bieber’s “SPEED DEMON” has been everywhere this month, and for good reason. Kicking off his surprise album Swag II, it’s the kind of track that instantly grabs your attention with its slick beat and in-your-face hook. The chorus practically begs to be clipped for TikTok, and that’s exactly what’s happened. It’s become the backdrop for edits, dance trends, and reaction videos all over the app. What makes it hit even harder is the mix of swagger and vulnerability in Bieber’s delivery, giving the song more bite than just a flex. It’s another Bieber hit that proves he knows how to keep listeners locked into whatever comes next. – Jesse 

“WHERE IS MY HUSBAND!” – RAYE
Release date – September 19

I’ve been patiently waiting for British singer RAYE’s follow-up to her fantastic 2023 release My 21st Century Blues, and even though she’s released a couple singles here and there since, as well as a collaboration with Doja Cat and LISA earlier this year, but they didn’t feel like authentic “RAYE” songs in the way that I knew her lead single for her inevitable next album would.

Before the official drop, RAYE had been hinting at the imminent release of “WHERE IS MY HUSBAND” quite frequently on social media, a clip of the song even going viral before its release. I think this could have backfired in some cases, but I’m glad it didn’t for RAYE, because “WHERE IS MY HUSBAND” debuted at No. 4 on the Official UK Singles Chart, topped the UK iTunes Chart, and claimed No 1. on the Official Independent Singles Chart.

“WHERE IS MY HUSBAND” is unbelievably catchy, incredibly well-produced and written (RAYE is credited as co-writer and producer with frequent collaborator Mike Sabath), and feels entirely like RAYE while still tapping into a more mainstream audience that may not be familiar with her vocal prowess, jazz and soul influences, and overall vibe that’s generally lacking in the contemporary pop music space.

“WHERE IS MY HUSBAND” has been stuck in my head basically every day since its released, and I cannot wait for more information about her upcoming album and to see her when she goes on tour—I already secured my ticket. – Kristin

“One of The Greats” – Florence + The Machine
Release date – September 24

Ahead of her upcoming album, Everybody Scream, Florence Welch has released “One of The Greats,” a scathing take on sexism in the music industry, described by Welch herself as a “lunatic, enormous, poem-rant-joke thing.” It’s also important to note that this song—and seemingly the rest of the album—was impacted on Florence’s near death experience in 2023 when she nearly died from an ectopic pregnancy, resulting in a ruptured fallopian tube that caused massive internal bleeding.

“One of The Greats,” which was co-written with Mark Bowen and co-produced by Bowen and Aaron Dessner, is a dark, powerful song that could be the backdrop of a David vs. Goliath story, including the trials and tribulations of getting to the top. “It must be nice to be a man and make boring music just because you can,” she sings. A not so subtle dig at the way men and women are compared in the music industry.

“You [male performers] get to be up there and be hot in a T-shirt, and everyone’s like, it’s amazing!” With women, it’s different. “Your body is the show, the clothes are the show.” Many of her male peers have three children and continue to tour, “because they have a partner with the kids at home. What I’m sacrificing to keep going is more apparent, and bigger, as you get older.” – Kristin

“Gorgeous” – Doja Cat
Release date – September 26

“Gorgeous” is a catchy, surprising song off of Doja Cat’s new album, Vie. The song’s music video looks like a glossy 80’s beauty advertisement, featuring top models Paloma Elsesser, Alex Consani, Amelia Gray and Irina Shayk, among others. The aesthetics and sound fit with the rest of the album, which Rolling Stone referred to as “an eighties detour.”

But the catchy beat, glamour and visuals of the video disguise the real message. While Doja sings of benefiting from physical beauty, she is also critiquing the shallow nature of the industry and the maintenance and investment it takes to be gorgeous. While verses mention surgery, waxing, body sculpt, laser, and drugs, among other beauty procedures and products. Doja sings of  “gettin’ showered in compliments,” feeling “empowered but not within,” and of having “contacts but no close friends.” The track was produced by Jack Antonoff, George Daniel, Sounwave, fa Il e n, Stavros, and Kurtis McKenzie. – Caitlin

“Tit for Tat” – Tate McRae
Release date – September 26

“TIT FOR TAT” is a surprise single by Tate McRae released on September 26. As of writing, it is number 1 on Spotify’s Top 50 USA chart and number 5 on the Global chart. The title references a common phrase insinuating a back and forth feud, which is also addressed explicitly by McRae in the lyrics: “Let’s go song for song, let’s go back to back/ Let’s go tit for tat, boy, you asked for that.”

The track is likely a response to “A COLD PLAY,” a single released by McRae’s recent ex, the Kid LAROI, on September 5. In the song, LAROI sings “It’s really hard to accept the fact that I can’t…fix you, wish I could.” In “TIT FOR TAT” McRae sings: “fix your fucking self.” The vengeful, petty McRae is an energy that was not present on her most recent album release, So Close to What. The track was written by McRae, Ryan Tedder, Julia Michaels, and Grant Boutin, and produced by Tedder and Boutin. McRae’s Miss Possessive tour goes until November 8.
– Caitlin

Check out our monthly recap posts HERE.