EW's Friday Five: Dolly Parton, Lizzo, and Kesha serve up big pop collaborations
Every Friday, EW runs down the five best songs we heard this week. In today’s edition, it’s all about team-ups: Lizzo and Ariana, Kesha and Big Freedia, Maren Morris and Hozier, Pet Shop Boys and Years & Years, and Dolly Parton and a dancefloor.
Galantis & Dolly Parton — “Faith (feat. Mr. Probz)”
Although the Swedish EDM duo had us at “and Dolly Parton,” this giddy, claptastic track more than delivers the goods as a life-affirming dancefloor jam. That it is built atop the sturdy foundation of the great John Hiatt classic “Have a Little Faith in Me” and the video features a rainbow coalition of bus riders breaking out into impromptu dancing is smiley-face icing on the cake. For impatient listeners, living ray of sunshine Parton bursts in at the 1:40 mark like a shot of pure Vitamin D. —Sarah Rodman
Pet Shop Boys — “Dreamland (feat. Years & Years)”
Technically speaking, “Dreamland” came out in early September — and truth be told, we completely missed it. So today’s drop of singles “An open mind” and “No boundaries,” both of which ooze the Pet Shop Boys’ famously ethereal champagne-bubble synth, serves a higher purpose of showing us the light that is this holy union between two LGBT icons: the 40-year-strong trailblazing duo of Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe, and the nascent gay phenom Olly Alexander of Years & Years. Know your history, know your agenda, and now, know your new after-hours anthem. —Marc Snetiker
Maren Morris — “The Bones (with Hozier)”
The spitfire Texan (and one quarter of the Highwomen) recently invited the Irish crooner over to offer an assist on this burbling ballad from her latest album GIRL. They make a commanding pair — even as they intertwine their voices in the most feathery fashion — and a convincing case that a strong foundation is the key to a lasting love, even for the most mistake-prone among us: “The house don’t fall when the bones are good.” —SR
Lizzo — “Good As Hell (feat. Ariana Grande) – Remix”
The Year of Lizzo and The Year of Ariana have chugged along spectacularly albeit on different routes through 2019, so it was really just a matter of time before these A-list pop trains intersected. They meet modestly but remarkably on this remix of Lizzo’s “Good as Hell,” which itself isn’t so earth-shattering as the hey-you-know-what revelation that Lizzo and Ari are actually perfect pop complements. Their team-up here offers just enough hope that, should we be so lucky, their next collab might be nothing short of great as hell. —MS
Kesha — “Raising Hell (feat. Big Freedia)”
With an assist from the dependable, inimitable Big Freedia, Kesha — the decade’s queen bee of glitter-tears long before Euphoria — makes a welcome return with a catchy sax- and gospel-fueled video riff on televangelist troublemaking. “I don’t wanna go to heaven without raising hell,” she sings with a certain ebullience, and while the tune does feel like Kesha’s unique take on the motifs that sent Lizzo skyrocketing, there’s room plenty for a plurality of self-love — and it’s easy to see why Kesha, in her astounding new era, is singing to the rafters on this one. —MS
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