Music has been embedded in my life ever since I was in the womb, my Mum and Dad basically raised me on music, especially POP music! I grew up listening to Madonna, Mariah Carey, Kylie Minogue, Spice Girls, Britney Spears and even AQUA and I’ve always been obsessed with pop culture and Eurovison! I love sharing my favourite songs and album every month with the world from Scene HQ!
MARINA – Butterfly
One of my personal absolute fave pop girlies MARINA aka Marina and the Diamonds has officially entered her independent era! BUTTERFLY has been released via Queenie Records, Marina’s label and taken from her upcoming 6th studio album and I. Can’t. Wait. Especially after listening to this gorgeous track on repeat since its release and in my household we listen to Marina religiously.
Ms Diamandis wrote and produced BUTTERFLY alongside CJ Baran who has also worked with Carly Rae Jepsen, Aly & AJ, and Panic! at the Disco among many other legends.
The track embodies a powerful theme of metamorphosis, transitioning from vulnerability to self-assured strength. Sonically it blends elements of her earlier baroque pop with a modern, shimmering production, creating a soundscape that feels both nostalgic and forward-thinking.
While some might find the lyrical metaphor of the butterfly somewhat trite (I don’t), the song’s emotional resonance and Marina’s vocal delivery create a captivating experience and this is classic Marina and captures all of her era’s in one so this diamond is very excited to see what’s next!
Miso Extra – Ghostly
Speaking about Ghostly, Miso said “Ghostly is about returning to your senses and regaining agency. The mood of the song came about when A.K. Paul and I were chatting about our shared love for Janet Jackson and Solange.” Miso Extra is one to watch-and one to listen to :).
ETHAN – One More Song
Exactly one year after ETHAN’s iconic Single In The Club (such a bop) which launched the artist as a promising new LGBTQ+ star, he returns to the club in his new single One More Song in which he questions why he is still there in the first place….
The track tells of consecutive, compulsive nights out in a subconscious quest for validation and numbness. Whilst bleak in subject matter, the song carries an almost celebratory tone, driven by a pulsating Euro dance beat and airy euphoric melodies, giving it the ultimate dichotomy!
Produced and co-written with Danish producer and songwriter Johannes Bruun, the song has an interesting creation story. The pair unexpectedly met off gay dating app Grindr in a complete networking-only fashion, saved each other’s details on Instagram and then several months later, their first ever session together resulted in One More Song. Who knew Grindr would be good for networking too?!
The story behind the song was inspired by each other’s experiences with heavy nights out coupled with emotional comedowns and rapturing realisations. ETHAN said “We met in Copenhagen for our session during the peak of summer and bonded over our antics of going out and staying out past the peak of the night, realising we were doing it, then repeating our bad habits over and over again”.
Malou Prytz – 24K Gold
#MalouPrytzWasRobbed needs to be trending because she really was! Malou Prytz perfomed in the third heat of the Swedish music competition Melodifestivalen 2025 in Västerås with 24K Gold and honestly her performance and the song were….24K Gold hehehe. Check it out below if you don’t believe me!
Such a bop right?! Malou delivered a burst of energetic pop, showcasing her youthful exuberance and polished vocal delivery. The track, with its catchy, synth-driven melody and anthemic chorus, feels tailor-made for radio play and dancefloors.
Had Malou been chosen, she would have been a strong contender for Sweden at in Switzerland and not gonna lie, I’m still feeling frosty!
Tommy Cash – Espresso Macchiato
Wowowowow Tommy Cash (also known as Kanye East LOL) won Estonia’s Eurovision pre-selection Eesti Laul 2025 show so will represent Estonia in Basel this year and I’m too excited, he’s an artist of huge popularity who regularly performs at prestigious festivals such as Glastonbury, Sziget and Roskilde with audiences often reaching tens of thousands and he’s just such fun and unserious which I find super refreshing.
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I’ve noticed Katy Perry and Charli xcx regularly like Tommy’s posts on Instagram too! Espresso macchiato has received a bit of backlash by some Italian media outlets and politicians for stereotyping Italian people and culture though eeeeep as well as his own history of performing in Russia and collaborating with Russian artists.
“Life is like spaghetti, it’s hard until you make it” is my new life motto and “No stress, no stress, it’s gonna be espresso” is pure poetry.
Jessica Simpson – Use My Heart Against Me
Jessica Simpson has dropped her first single in almost 15 years and she said she was inspired by “artists from the roots of Rock and Roll like Betty James, Bo Diddley and Chuck Berry to name a few.” and erm it’s giving me These Boots Are Made For Walkin’ vibes!
Use My Heart Against Me is taken from an upcoming two-part EP titled Nashville Canyon, the first part will be released on the 21st of this month and the second part will be here in the summer.
Jess said “I’ve lived through the hardest parts of life, and music is what has brought me back,” and “Nashville Canyon is for anyone who’s ever been told who they are or how they should live their life. It’s about finding your true voice and the courage to be exactly who you are. … This music is mine to share, and it’s not just about me — it’s about everyone who’s ever felt lost or overlooked. I want to remind them that they’re not alone.”
Marcella Bella – Pelle diamante
#MarcellaBellaWasRobbed is another hashtag that needs to be trending! Legendary Italian singer Marcella Bella has a career spanning nearly six decades and performed this inspirational anthem from her 18th studio album, Etnea (named after a famous volcano that looms over Catania in Sicily where Marcella was born) at the Sanremo Music Festival 2025 and she finished 29th (last place) WTF.
In December 2024 Bella was awarded by His Royal Highness The Crown Prince of Georgia aka David Bagration of Mukhrani the title of Dame Grand Cross of the Order of the Eagle and the Seamless Tunic of Our Lord Jesus Christ in recognition to her long and successful career spanning though and this song will be on my Spotify playlist forever.
LLL – Parasite
New icons loading….LLL are Sofia-Augusta Thoresen, Rebecca Pleym, and Elisabet Drøsdal and my new fav girlband from Norway! LLL entered this year’s Melodi Grand Prix 2025 with Parasite which didn’t win even though it’s such a banger.
Parasite was written by Olli Äkräs, Nora Jabri, Jim Bergsted and *the* Ben Adams (from A1 and Subwoolfer) and showcases LLL’s ability to craft a sonic world that’s both abrasive and intricately layered, marking them as an artist unafraid to delve into the darker corners of electronic music, this is the girls debut btw so keep your eyes peeled for more new music.
ALBUM OF THE MONTH: Joost – Unity
Dutch singer, rapper, songwriter and I’m gonna say it, Eurovision legend, Joost Klein made Eurovision history last year, becoming the first act ever to be disqualified after reaching the grand final, just hours before the show began.
Europapa has been living rent-free in my head since and now Joost has dropped his ninth album which features Europapa YAY!
Unity is a gabberpop record with loads of of iconic collabs (remember Scooter?!) with which he makes music about erm, unity so that’s why the album is called unity ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh-the unity of people, Europe, politics, other worldly subjects, the boom boom in my pants etc etc etc etc etc.
After Joost was unfairly disqualified, he didn’t feel like Eurovision actually united people by music which is Eurovision’s slogan (United By Music). He’s sharing his thoughts about the EBU in quite a few songs on the album, I would too tbh!
On the intro for Why Not??? we hear “once there was a boy, and he had a dream but then, one day, his dream was taken away” and “evil corporations ruling all the nations” eeeeep, oh and also at the Eurovision 2024 press conference, Eden Golan (who represented Israel) was addressed a question from a journalist-“Have you ever thought that by being here you bring risk and danger for other participants and public? You don’t have to answer this question if you don’t want to” to which Joost replied “Why not?” but he was obviously only trying to lighten the mood so that’s how Why Not??? came to fruition. There’s lots of Easter eggs in the official music video btw.
When I saw United By Music with Tommy Cash on the album I knew instantly they were going to go in on the EBU. On the chorus, Tommy denounces the hypocrisy of the EBU whose doctrine is to make the Eurovision apolitical but chose to ban Russia taking part in the contest in 2022 after its attack on Ukraine, while not seeking to take the same step after other participating countries engage in contested armed conflicts, such as Israeli bombings on Gaza.
Joost created another Instagram account called internetcafe247 which served as the digital starting point for the album’s release and he was posting videos and posts reprising his role as an internet cafe owner in sketches counting down to his album with stories where he said ‘’I’m sleeping here until the album drops’‘. So innovative if you ask me! Why Not??? was the last pre-single to this album and the music video for the song featured the fictional internet cafe on the internetcafe247 account.
Unity really is a delightful album and most of the songs here you can just dance to without thinking but then there is lots of real meaning present too so maybe dance with tears in your eyes, even though Joost says “it’s not that deep” at the end of United By Music. It is though!
Europapa is deep, when Joost was in Sweden last year he said “I want to inspire all the people to follow their dreams and think limitless. This world is created by humankind, so you can also create your own world. When I was a young kid, I used to watch Eurovision every year with my parents and I promised them that one day I would take the stage and make them proud. Amazingly, my dream came true! So I’m the living proof that if you really want something to happen, it might really happen..”. That’s definitely deep and really sweet.
Fun fact: in the Netherlands, Europapa broke the record for the most streamed song in a single day on Spotify within the country.
Back to Unity, the album is just epic and I’m so grateful Joost entered Eurovision last year otherwise I might not have ever discovered his music and now I can enjoy Unity in real time (and listen to previous albums) with fellow Joost fans, thanks Joost if you ever read this! My favourite tracks are Europapa, Internetcafe 24/7, Last Man Standing, Friesenjung, Why Not???, Gabberland, Discozwemmen, BOOM BOOM!!!!!, We’ll Meet Again, 1, United By Music and Luchtballon.
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