Blackpink & Selena Gomez – ‘Ice Cream’
In their second massive collab of the year (following June’s ‘Sour Candy’ with Lady Gaga), K-pop queens BLACKPINK team up with Selena Gomez to serve up a summer treat that slow burns like a patch of skin you’ve forgotten to slather in Factor 50. “You could double dip cos I know you like me,” purrs Selena at one point – just one of several cheeky double entendres delivered here with a Carry On-worthy wink.
Baby Queen – ‘Medicine’
Where Baby Queen’s ‘Buzzkill’ told a story of being depressed at a party in one of the year’s catchiest singles, the London-via-South-Africa musician’s follow-up takes a more subdued approach. On ‘Medicine’, she grapples with the effects of anti-depressants and the various tactics we use to keep ourselves numb from the world, gently rejoicing: “Thank god for my medicine/I feel so much better.” It’s understated, packed with laugh-out-loud cynicism and proof that this rapidly rising star is pop royalty in waiting.
READ MORE: Baby Queen is our TREMORS artist of the month
Celeste – ‘Little Runaway’
Feeling the void of fresh Adele tearjerkers in your Music To Cry To playlist? Celeste is here to get the saline streaming down your cheeks once more. Proving she was truly a deserving winner of this year’s Rising Star award at the BRITs, the London singer elegantly details losing your faith over a poignant piano melody. “Hallelujah, take me to ya/Cos I’m lost alone again,”
she cries in her rich, husky voice, which drips with just enough urgency to almost make you drop to your knees and offer up one big amen.
Lou Hayter – ‘My Baby Just Cares For Me’
We might not be able to enjoy a classic summer holiday to the continent without the shadow of coronavirus looming over us, but Lou Hayter’s ‘My Baby Just Cares For Me’ will make you feel like you’re blissfully tanning beside an azure pool in France within seconds. The first taste of the New Young Pony Club member’s debut solo album, its simple, sparkling electro-pop is the perfect chic escape for now.
Girl In Red – ‘Rue’
It seems like a long time ago we were all coveting a burgundy hoodie and painting our eye bags in glitter after watching Euphoria. Girl In Red brings back those days with her new single ‘Rue’, inspired by the show’s lead character and the parallels the Norwegian saw in her story with her own mental health struggles. Over a country-tinged guitar line, she details her own ups and downs but ends on a stirring note: “I’m gonna make it work.”
