By Brianna Holcomb
arts and entertainment editor

As the New Year progresses, 2016 continues to bring new hits to the music world. Rihanna released her long-awaited album “Anti,” the oh-so-lovable Kanye West dropped his newest album “The Life of Pablo” and Beyoncé caused mayhem across the country with her single “Formation.” Of course, not every artist can cause uproar like these three, but here are a few artists with new and notable releases.

“Pillow Talk (Remix)” by Zayn Malik:

Last year, the world watched as Zayn Malik split from One Direction to pursue a solo career. Earlier this year, he released the sexy pop-R&B song “Pillow Talk.” The song took many by surprise, as it was not like the other songs he previously released before branching out into a solo career. Along with the release of the single came a steamy music video featuring model Gigi Hadid. On Feb. 25, he released a remix featuring rapper Lil Wayne. In many cases, the featured artist on a remix can make it better than the original, but this was not the case. Lil Wayne added no value to the song. If Zayn wanted a rapper on the track, there were probably better options than him, whose rap career seems to be primarily driven by a beef between he and Birdman. I prefer the original version to the remix.

“Need to Know” by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis:

The artists behind the song “Thrift Shop” released their sophomore album “This Unruly Mess I’ve Made” on Feb. 26. The day before the album’s release, they released the single “Need to Know” featuring Chicago native Chance the Rapper. The single has a melody similar to that of many of Chance’s own songs. Macklemore opens the first verse of the song and there is an honest feel to his tone. He talks about how having money does not make a difference and that he does not give his opinion unless it is asked of him. Macklemore has been under a lot of pressure from the Internet to produce a quality album with meaning. With the help of Chance’s verse, “Need to Know” might be just the song fans are looking for. Many may flock to the song because it features Chance, as I did, but the song does have a valuable message behind it, making it all the more worth the listen.

“Work from Home” by Fifth Harmony:

Girl group Fifth Harmony has come a long way since they released their first single in 2015, “Boss.” They recently released the single “Work from Home” which has a much different sound than their first studio album. The single features rapper Ty Dolla $ign, and has a much sexier sound than their previous efforts. In other songs the group focused on female empowerment, but this track has a more fun and flirty feel to it. The beat and the lyrics make the song very catchy. The song sounds like a sultrier version to their summer hit “Worth It.” The switch in style is a nice change for them. Their sophomore studio album “7/27” will be released May 20.