Mario Is “Glad You Came” To Our New “R&B Season” Playlist Update: Stream

Even though the year is starting to die down a bit as far as new music releases, we still have some gems to talk about on our latest R&B Season playlist update. First off, we have two new records from Jorja Smith on her most recent two-pack: “Loving You” featuring Maverick Sabre and “Don’t Let Me Go.” The former is a piano-led ballad with lovelorn lyrics, a gorgeous vocal performance, soft snaps, and grand harmonies to beef the cut up a little bit. As for the latter, it’s a soft acoustic guitar track along a similarly romantic and melancholy line, with vocal harmonies that serve more as emphasis than the building swells of the other song.

Elsewhere on R&B Season, we also wanted to shout out another collection of a few loosies, Ella Mai’s 3 EP. As the title suggests, these three new records are pretty distinct from each other, with “One Of These” being a peppy and highly percussive brass cut and “Little Things” being more of a smooth, woozy journey over a trap beat. For our money, though, the highlight is definitely “Hearts On Deck” thanks to its warm bass, glistening synth keys, catchy melodies, and a simple but grounded snap-based instrumental.

Finally, we’d be remiss not to mention the ongoing return of one of the R&B world’s most beloved stars of the early 2000s. Mario brought a lot of soul and class to his latest single “Glad You Came,” built around a crisp and groovy drum kit, light piano flutters, and gliding vocal runs. The heartwarming record definitely embodies its comforting and optimistic lyrical matter in its sonic presentation, as it doesn’t feel overly dramatic or bombastic. If there was any doubt if he still had it, you can cross that skepticism off.

If you’re looking for more new music this week, we’d recommend you check out our Fire Emoji playlist (linked in the “Read More” section below) for the best new hip-hop this week. MCs like Ferg and SahBabii came through with some solid albums, whereas Kenny Mason’s “HOODRAT” ranks among the best new songs of November so far. Let us know what your favorite R&B Season pick was this week, as well as what else we missed, down there in the comments section. Check the playlist out above and, as always, stick around on HNHH for more amazing music drops around the clock.