#DALEYPOP X February 2026
Starring: Loreen, Jessie Ware, Harry Styles, Slayyyter, Madonna, Bentley Robles, Frankie Grande, Eliad Cohen, Appleton, Victoria Beckham, A*Teens, J Lo and Agnes!
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 yapping about my favourite songs and album of the month every month with the world from Scene HQ!
Loreen - Feels Like Heaven
Following teasers that included projections in Berlin, London and Paris as well as a countdown on her official website, Swedish pop powerhouse and two-time Eurovision winner Loreen has finally and officially announced her third studio album WILDFIRE set for release in March! I've never pre-ordered a vinyl so fast in my life.
It's honestly a miracle and a super exciting time to be a Loreen fan. Her last album was nearly a decade ago (2017-Ride) and we've all been super patient since then. We're getting an official music video tomorrow too! I am ASCENDING.
The album will feature thirteen tracks, including her 2023 Eurovision-winning hit Tattoo and Is It Love. Among the new songs is her brand new single, Feels Like Heaven which was co-written with the one and only Sia, Queen Loreen herself, Jesse Shatkin and Calum Landau. Together, they have created a sound rooted in Loreen's nomadic heritage, shaped by electronic and global pop influences.
Loreen said “When heaven is spoken about here, it isn’t a place or a belief system. It’s an inner state. Just like hell, it exists in the mind and is experienced in the present moment. Feels Like Heaven is about surrender. Because when you surrender, you create freedom. And freedom is love and love is safety." and “From that sense of safety comes empathy, clarity, and deeper understanding of our lives and others. Our wellbeing is shaped by the state of our inner world. We suffer when we resist, and we heal when we surrender. In the end, heaven and hell aren’t destinations, we create them here, through the way we feel, and love.”
Loreen is one of modern pop's most spiritually charged and emotionally fearless voices and returning in full force and Feels Like Heaven sounds better and better on each listen! Check out her epic debut performance of Feels Like Heaven on Star Academy in France below by the way, I have the same chills as when I saw her first live Tattoo performance.
OMG, she understood the assignment! Loreen's upcoming album marks the beginning of a new era and is a journey through a wide emotional spectrum, from despair and anger to sexual energy and liberation.
Jessie Ware - I Could Get Used To This
Jessie Ware is six years deep into her disco era and while the British singer has hinted that she might take her next album in a different direction from 2020’s What’s Your Pleasure? and 2023’s This! Feels Good!, the first single, I Could Get Used to This is another disco-pop bauble in the vein of Spotlight and Pearls.
With the new song, Jessie serves up a woozy cocktail of fluttery flutes, lush strings, wobbly bass and pie-eyed key changes, all in service of more hedonistic pleasure-seeking. Directed by London-based twin duo Fa & Fon, the official music video sees Jessie taking on the role of another Roman goddess, Juno, protector of women and her voice is like butter!
She alternately admires her countenance in a handheld mirror and lies on a chaise lounge in a secret garden surrounded by other gods and goddesses, a tableaux vivant whose intentional artifice reflects the song’s embrace of fantasy and whimsy. Welcome back Jessie!
Harry Styles - Aperture
I'm loving that Harry Styles has totally reinvented himself in his new era. Aperture is a moody and atmospheric, yet driving and bouncy bop while Harry’s vocals shine as always and is taken from his upcoming fourth album Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally. What a name!
I'm obsessed with the lofi synthesised beats, heavyweight bass and minimal techno vibes. Aperture is a far cry from Harry’s more traditional work as part of pop icons One Direction, yet crucially, its electronic elements sit tastefully in the mix with Harry's vocal stylings.
The combination of Harry’s familiar voice and unusual electronic backing has already seen the song become a huge hit which is deserved IMPO.
Slayyyter - DANCE...
OMG....Slayyyter is giving me life with this new track, her best yet I fear! Taken from her upcoming album Wor$t Girl In America. I didn't think she'd be able to outdo her Starfucker era but maybe I was wrong.
DANCE... is a dark and seductive pop song and gives me BS Blackout vibes. If you're a fan of French electro, or Blackout or The Weeknd's After Hours era, then you'll be into this I reckon. DANCE... opens with anxious percussion and comes into focus with buzzy synths and a vampiric melody. Then the chorus hits with euphoric declarations: "I kinda hate you, but It doesn't matter, let me daaaaaaance" and "You seem so miserable. It doesn't matter, let me dance." and honestly it's incredible.
Madonna - LA BAMBOLA (FOR DOLCE & GABBANA - the one
Omg we finally got Madonna singing in Italian! Recorded for the Dolce & Gabbana campaign, Madonna covered Patty Pravo’s 1968 hit La Bambola brilliantly and is a moody, cinematic reimagining highlighting themes of independence and desire. Think Take a Bow meeting Bad Girl.
Madonna showcases a deeper vocal tone and her ability to blend theatricality with the song’s emotional, anti-patriarchal narrative is immaculate while reinforcing her status as the Queen of Pop. This has me even more excited for her new album, we've been so starved for new Madonna music for so long and 2026 is the year we get Confessions on a Dancefloor Part 2-hopefully!
Bentley Robles (Feat. Frankie Grande) - Phantom Feelings
If you don’t know Bentley Robles yet, you’re seriously missing out. The next main pop boy and pop papi, Bentley is quietly positioning himself as one of indie pop’s most compelling queer voices and on the brink of something biiiig. His latest release, Phantom Feelings is a reflective deep dive into the emotional cost of chasing mainstream success, a topic Bentley has always been refreshingly open about with fans on social media.
Frankie Grande brings a theatrical yet grounded presence to the track. A seasoned Broadway and cabaret performer, he adds both charisma and lived in experience, elevating the song’s emotional core without overpowering it. Together, he and Bentley create a layered pop moment that feels sincere and vulnerable, while still delivering undeniable melodic pull.
The official music video pushes the concept even further. Directed by Thea Sass-Ainsworth, it unfolds in a satirical “flop stars anonymous” meeting and actually, just watch it below!
Bentley has recently announced his way over due debut album, OLYMPUS is coming this April and is "for the little gay boys dancing to pop divas with their door locked. for the underdogs pressing their faces against the glass windows of hollywood."
Bentley is a Scene reader too by the way and I'll never get over interviewing him with ZEE MACHINE last year HERE and he shared the love on his Instagram too....
What a legend!
Eliad Cohen - What If
I've somehow only just discovered Eliad Cohen and wowowowowow he's so handome but anywaaaay Israeli music producer, DJ, actor, model and entrepreneur Eliad dropped What If written and produced by himself. I can't stop listening to it. It randomly popped up on my Spotify and I was like who's this and fell down a rabbit hole as you do....
You're welcome xoxo
Appleton - Falling Into You
The All Saints sisters are back with new music and on their own terms. Nicole Appleton and Natalie Appleton have dropped first single in 22 years-wild! Falling Into You is as much a return to their roots as it is a comeback, much to the joy of us army of fans, old and new (who discovered Pure Shores after it went viral on TikTok) which makes me so happy!
Natalie told Grazia that the reunion came about almost accidentally. After releasing Everything Eventual on vinyl in 2003 and receiving such a positive response, their children-especially their sons-started encouraging them to return to the studio. “They were like, ‘Why don’t you guys go back in?’” Natalie explained. Even Gene Gallagher, Nicole’s son with Liam Gallagher got involved, suggesting, “Why don’t you ask Aunty Nat?” which prompted Natalie to think, should we?
After reaching out to their original producer Gareth Young, the sisters went back into the studio with very low expectations. “We didn’t even know we were doing a single,” Nicole said. “But it was really easy and really fun-I don’t know how else to describe it.” Natalie agreed, adding that stepping back into the studio felt like a time warp: “It was like we’d just walked out 20 years ago and then walked straight back in. It’s easy.”
Oh and the girls are performing at Mighty Hoopla this year! Get tickets HERE.
Victoria Beckham - Not Such An Innocent Girl
I had no choice to include Victoria Beckham and this song in my column....it went to number one 23 years later, more than two decades after its release!
Lady Beckham's 2001 solo single Not Such An Innocent Girl surged back into the spotlight climbing to the top of the iTunes chart in Ireland and hitting the number one spot in the UK amid an unexpected wave of fan support after the Brooklyn Beckham drama.
It's actually such a good song and I think Vicky was ahead of her time! Let Your Head Go and This Groove need their flowers next.
A*Teens - Iconic
After more than two decades, A*Teens is making their highly anticipated comeback with Iconic, their first new single in over 20 years!
A*Teens made a celebrated return to celebrate their 25th anniversary at Melodifestivalen in 2024 (Sweden's national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest and Sweden's most-watched television event) with a spectacular medley featuring both their own hits and some of ABBA's most beloved songs.
The performance was met with overwhelming enthusiasm from fans old and new and so they kinda had to make a comeback with a brand new song and this time they're actually competing in Melodifestivalen too which is so cool, last night! There's no spoilers ahead though, don't worry. A*Teens said "We didn't know it then, but the response we received after our interval act at Melodifestivalen 2024 became the starting point for our comeback. Over the past two years, we've toured and traveled around the world, meeting our audience, and the idea of new music started to appeal to us. It feels big, nerve-wracking, and completely right to launch it at Melodifestivalen."
The track was written by the award-winning team behind Loreen's Eurovision-winning Tattoo (Jimmy Jansson, Moa "Cazzi Opeia" Carlebecker and Thomas G:son), Lina Hansson and Dino Medanhodzic and it's erm, iconic!
During 2025, fans worldwide experienced A*Teens live for the first time in over 20 years, as the band toured Chile, Argentina, Mexico, the UK, Spain, and Norway including an exclusive performance at Stockholm Pride in Sweden. I loveeee that one of Sweden's biggest music exports of all time with over 6 million albums sold worldwide is back baby!
AOTM: Jennifer Lopez/Agnes
J.Lo (25th Anniversary Edition)/BEAUTIFUL MADNESS
I COULDN'T CHOOSE! I've had both albums on repeat, 12 year old me had J.Lo on repeat too back in 2001, the second studio album released by Jennifer Lopez and I had no idea most of her songs were sang by other people back then but I was only 12! I can't get over how obvious and how wild the ghost singer allegations are now that I know, so many songs here she isn't singing the chorus and she easily could have. Oh well 25 years later, J Lo has released a very special 25th anniversary edition and I just loveee this album. It's just so nostalgic and prime J Lo IMPO. It's Jenny's sophomore album that cemented her name and music in the history books and fabric of pop culture.
Love Don't Cost a Thing still slaps and I remember being obsessed with the dance break in the video....
Oh and I fancied dancer Cris Judd who appears in the video too who then went on to become married to J Lo. Play was another amazing song and so was Ain't It Funny and to be honest, the whole album.
Omg I remember drooling over Eduardo Verastegui in the Ain't It Funny offical music video too and being gutted that I just caught the last 21 seconds flicking through the music channels....wow I'm just realising now that I actually have J Lo to thank for some of my gay awakenings and also, another iconic dance break!
J.Lo (the album) launched at number one on the Billboard 200, the same week her romantic comedy The Wedding Planner topped the Stateside box office, making her one of the few entertainers to lead both charts simultaneously.
Swedish pop icon Agnes has been a powerhouse on the music scene for two decades with nearly half a billion streams and now she sheds her skin and dives head first into chaos with her highly anticipated sixth studio album BEAUTIFUL MADNESS.
Agnes has always been good at turning confidence into a dance floor language and BEAUTIFUL MADNESS feels like her leaning all the way into that superpower. The undisputed Mother of Spiritual Disco-best known to many for the era defining Release Me sounds completely at ease here, gliding through sleek disco pop and glossy electronic moments that feel intentional rather than nostalgic. There’s a real sense of control in the production: nothing is rushed, nothing begs for attention and that restraint actually makes the album hit harder.
What I love most about BEAUTIFUL MADNESS is how grown it feels without ever getting boring. Agnes isn’t chasing trends; she’s curating a mood! Sensual, self-assured, occasionally dramatic but never chaotic. This is the kind of album that sneaks up on you and feels essential, like pop music made by someone who truly knows who they are.
I’m eating this whole era up to be honest and I wish Agnes wasn't so slept on. I mean, EGO is a perfect example of pop perfection and deserves way more recognition. I'm obsessed with how full and upbeat and cinematic it is, combined with Agnes' commanding and breathtaking vocal delivery, it really is.... *chefs kiss.
I'm obsessed with TRIGGER, SIGN IT, MILK, LOVESONGS, WAKE UP and of course, BALANCIEGA COVERED EYES too. I can definitely hear clear influences from Beyoncé’s RENAISSANCE on SIGN IT.
The production and the vocals are so crisp on this album I'm geniunely impressed and have it on repeat before and after having J Lo on repeat. I think even each interlude has their own place in the album and I can't wait to see Agnes bring this era to life at Mighty Hoopla this summer!
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