#DALEYPOP X JULY 2026

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!

Katy Perry - Watch It Burn

The world needs to stop sleeping on Katy Perry now. Watch It Burn is a blazing pop rock anthem that feels like the sound of someone finally dropping the match after years of holding back.

Built around themes of anger, self worth and emotional release so super relatable, the song sees KP trading love and light for raw honesty as she confronts old wounds and refuses to stay silent any longer. The soaring chorus reminds me of her biggest empowerment anthems but at the same time feeling more personal and battle scarred.

I loveee the official music video too! Directed by Christian Breslauer aka one of the best self taught, ambitious award winning directors out there IMPO, the visual leans into themes of destruction and liberation echoing the song's central message of letting old versions of yourself go up in flames.

Rarito - BATHHOUSE

I won’t pretend to know a huge amount about Rarito but from what I can tell, he’s an emerging artist making a real statement with his latest track, BATHHOUSE. It’s a bold, pulsing celebration of queer history wrapped in an irresistibly catchy pop sound and it’s bloody good. His vocals are effortlessly smooth and while the song is packed with playful energy and infectious hooks, there’s a deeper meaning running through it.

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Beneath the surface, BATHHOUSE pays tribute to the LGBTQ+ community, the spaces that fostered connection and belonging and the activists who fought for visibility, acceptance and freedom long before those conversations entered the mainstream. Rarito is one to watch I reckon!

LaRoux - BabyLine

Elly Jackson, better known as La Roux is back baby! I had a feeling new music was on the horizon especially with her joining Hilary Duff on tour. I was already excited to see Hils but now knowing La Roux will be there too with fresh material in tow, has taken my excitement to a whole new level. If I finally get to hear Bulletproof, In for the Kill and I'm Not Your Toy live, I may never recover.

Leading the charge is BabyLine, a shimmering pop anthem powered by Elly’s unmistakable vocals and a soaring, euphoric chorus. There’s a sense of release running through the track, the feeling of emerging from a difficult chapter, taking a deep breath and realising the weight you've been carrying is finally starting to lift. It's hopeful, uplifting, and undeniably infectious.

BabyLine is the second official single from the forthcoming album Old Flames and Elly has described it as a song about "finding your way out of the woods and back to yourself." Compared to its predecessor, Cabin Fever, it feels brighter, lighter and more optimistic. A destination reached after weathering the storm. That said, Cabin Fever is still an absolute bop in its own right.

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Rêve - Devour

Singer songwriter Briannah Donolo aka Rêve delivered one of the most exciting pop debuts in recent memory with Saturn Return back in 2023. If you still haven't listened to it, you're seriously missing out. I'm pretty sure I've sung its praises in this column before, maybe more than once, but honestly it's worth repeating.

Fast forward to 2026 and Rêve is continuing the journey towards her highly anticipated second studio album with her brand new single Devour. A euphoric slice of dance pop perfection, the track is packed with pulsing energy, irresistible hooks and the kind of confidence that makes it impossible not to hit repeat. The accompanying video takes that intensity to another level, placing Rêve at the centre of a fever dream visual landscape bursting with attitude, desire and commanding self assurance. It's bold, captivating, and completely in sync with the song's insatiable spirit, further proving why Rêve remains one of pop's most exciting and distinctive voices.

Rêve's sophomore album, Delusions of Grandeur is set to arrive later this year, and if Devour is any indication, we're in for something special. In fact, a random thought just crossed my mind: imagine if Canada ever joined Eurovision and sent Rêve as its first representative. Tell me she wouldn't absolutely own that stage. I'm choosing to manifest it now.

Back to Devour though, Devour is already making a strong case for itself as one of the year's most commanding pop releases. Bold, euphoric and bursting with confidence, it's the kind of track that grabs your attention from the first beat and refuses to let go. If this is the direction Rêve is heading in, then Delusions of Grandeur has every chance of becoming one of the standout pop albums of the year.

Carly Rae Jepsen - On Wires

YAY new Carly Rae Jepsen music! On Wires serves as the lead single from Carly's upcoming 8th album Day and Night and it's a double album! On Wires is the kind of pop song that makes emotional uncertainty feel cinematic.

Floating between longing and obsession, the track captures that dizzy moment when friendship threatens to become something more with Carly's voice soaring over a rich blend of live instrumentation and shimmering pop production. Carly's traded her trademark glossy hooks for something far more adventurous on On Wires diving into a rich blend of jazz, pop and rock crafting a soundscape that feels both unexpected and exhilarating. The chorus spirals skyward in a haze of euphoric reverb, creating a dreamy, almost transcendent rush! Rather than just playing it safe with an instant radio friendly banger, she takes a creative risk and I think it pays off spectacularly.

The official music video adds another layer of emotional depth, exploring the tension between motherhood and career as Jepsen carries a microphone cord through the world, symbolising the push and pull of competing roles and desires.

The Irrepressibles - Sweet & Unique - Pride Version

I know Pride Month may be over, but with Brighton Pride just around the corner, plus Pride is something worth celebrating all year round, it feels like the perfect time for The Irrepressibles to return. The visionary project of Jamie Irrepressible is back with the radiant new single Sweet & Unique and I absolutely adore it.

Never one to shy away from celebrating his identity, Jamie has long made it his mission to create music for and about queer experiences. Sweet & Unique continues that tradition serving as a playful yet sensual celebration of individuality, attraction and self-expression. Musically, it's a sun-soaked, R&B infused summer anthem that blends the spirit of 1960s rhythm and blues with glam rock swagger. Bolan-esque flourishes, uplifting gospel choir moments and gorgeous string arrangements give the track an irresistible sense of joy and movement.

One of the song's most exciting elements is the prominent vocal role of longtime Irrepressibles violinist Elliot Lyte. After hearing Elliot sing during studio sessions, Jamie recognised the beauty and soulfulness of his voice and saw the perfect opportunity to turn Sweet & Unique into a duet exploring queer desire. The result is warm, natural and utterly captivating. Oh and then there's the official music video which deserves a mention all of its own....

Shot in Los Angeles and directed by Samuel McGuire, it features an entirely queer cast and beautifully captures the song's balance of flirtation, confidence, and connection. Set against LA's sun drenched backdrop, the clip leans into the chemistry between its lovers while never losing the track's light hearted charm and sense of fun. Honestly, just watch it then you'll understand immediately why this song is such a delight. Reflecting on the video, Jamie Irrepressible says: "I always love seeing a director's interpretation of one of my tracks. It's like a day in the life of the gays in Los Angeles-a bit of fun, and why not?"

Director Samuel McGuire took a similarly playful approach when bringing Sweet & Unique to the screen. He explains: "I really loved the idea of following two couples as they trek across the city on a hot summer's day in search of the beach. The heat became a way to create that sense of sexual tension and cheeky innuendo, while also capturing how summer can make us all act a little carefree and impulsive. As the couples journey across town, they encounter other people experiencing the same thing-feeling restless, getting out, expressing themselves and embracing who they are."

Samuel's vision was to create a world where every encounter added to the sense of queer community and shared experience. "I thought it would be great if everyone they met along the way was gay," he says, "and it made for a fabulous adventure. The reward at the end is a sunset swim and the close of a beautiful evening, perfectly complementing a beautiful song." The result is a vibrant, feel good visual companion that celebrates connection, desire and the simple joy of being yourself.

AOTM: Madonna

Confessions II ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Now for the main event. Album of the Month. And honestly it was always going to be this. CONFESSIONS II feels like the album Madonna has been building towards her entire life. The one and only Queen of Pop is finally giving the gays, girls, guys, dolls and the entire world exactly what we've been waiting for. In some ways, it feels like a greatest hits collection except it isn't. Somehow Madonna has distilled every era, reinvention and iconic moment of her career into a brand new body of work that feels nostalgic yet completely fresh. The best way I can describe it is this: CONFESSIONS II feels like the long awaited biopic transformed into an album or the Celebration Tour reimagined as a studio record.

Also, every song on the album feels like a snapshot from a different chapter of Madonna's extraordinary career, woven together into a cohesive and dancefloor ready statement. I can't get over that it's been seven years since Madame X landed back in 2019 by the way. Wild.

CONFESSIONS II, Madonna's fifteenth studio album since her debut in 1983, arrives following the release of the singles I Feel So Free, Love Sensation and Bring Your Love featuring Sabrina Carpenter. The collaboration continues a creative partnership that first caught the public's attention when Madonna joined Sabby C on stage during her Coachella headline set earlier this year, adding another exciting chapter to the pop icon's ever evolving legacy.

Is CONFESSIONS II as good as 2005's Confessions on a Dance Floor? Honestly, yes. Absolutely. 100%. And for a sequel album, that's an incredibly rare achievement.

I'll admit I was nervous when Madonna first announced CONFESSIONS II last year. I was a tiny bit nervous when M first announced CONFESSIONS II last year especially after her famous reductive comment, I really didn't want that to bite her on the bum but nope, phew. Thankfully those fears were completely unfounded. If anything, she's delivered something that honours the original while confidently carving out its own identity.

I refuse to choose between CONFESSIONS II and Confessions on a Dance Floor. They're far more different than they are similar. The original was a sleek, uninterrupted journey through the dancefloor while CONFESSIONS II feels sleek and uninterupped too but it feels broader in scope, a celebration of everything Madonna has been, is and continues to be.

This album captures it all: her lifelong devotion to club culture, her self-empowerment philosophy, her origins, her family, her sexuality, her spirituality, and her decades long refusal to let anyone tell her who she should be. Don't tell her to stop bitches! It's a record that reflects every facet of Madonna's story while still sounding urgent, contemporary and completely alive. I feel like even non Madonna fans can't slag this album off. As M says on Read My Lips (with Feid)....shut your mouth.

Despite a career built on constant reinvention and an extraordinary capacity for resilience, Madonna's life has also been marked by deep personal loss. She was only five years old when her mother, Madonna Fortin died from breast cancer. A devastating experience of course, that would profoundly influence both her personal life and creative work for decades to come.

The impact of that loss is perhaps most poignantly captured in the landmark 1991 documentary Madonna: Truth or Dare, where she visits her mother's grave and speaks candidly about the grief, longing and sense of abandonment that helped shape her identity. It remains one of the most revealing moments of her career, offering a glimpse into the vulnerability behind one of pop music's most formidable figures.

Loss continued to cast a long shadow over Madonna's life. Remarkably, her debut single Everybody was released just days after the term AIDS entered mainstream public awareness in the early 1980s, placing the beginning of her career alongside a crisis that would devastate the communities she would spend decades championing both publicly and personally.

From the outset, Madonna refused to stay silent. Long before many major pop stars were willing to address the epidemic, she used her platform to advocate for compassion, awareness and research. In 1987, she raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for AIDS research through a benefit concert, and her commitment never wavered. More than three decades later, during The Celebration Tour she delivered one of the show's most powerful moments with a performance of Live to Tell, accompanied by images of those lost to AIDS projected across giant screens. Alongside the death of her mother, the AIDS crisis stands as one of the defining forces that shaped Madonna's worldview, artistry and activism.

On CONFESSIONS II, Madonna revisits those formative years through the stunning Danceteria, named after the legendary New York nightclub where her journey truly began. Against a propulsive, euphoric beat, she vividly recounts her earliest days in the city: "Then I see Mark Kamins is the DJ, he's the DJ, hide the cocaine. He played my tape Everybody, this is how we start the party." The track serves as both a personal memoir and a love letter to a vanished era, with references to the people and places that helped create the Madonna we know today.

Among those mentioned is Martin Burgoyne, her best friend at the time, roommate and collaborator, who died from an AIDS related illness in 1986 at just 23 years old. His inclusion gives the song an added emotional weight, transforming it from a nostalgic look back into a tribute to those who never had the chance to grow older alongside her. Beyond its emotional resonance though, Danceteria is simply one of the album's standout tracks. It's epic, exhilarating and packed with references that devoted fans (like me) will obsess over. Much like the accompanying CONFESSIONS II film, it's overflowing with Easter eggs, rewarding listeners with countless nods to Madonna's history, mythology and enduring legacy.

As for the album itself, I can't choose a favourite song from the album because the whole album is one of those rare, skipless, start to finish journey albums. I have a million thoughts, but nothing prepared me for the emotional devastation of this album's final stretch. Fragile hits like a punch to the face. She invokes her estranged brother, Christopher Ciccone who died in 2024. The little star reference that opens The Test with her daughter Lourdes "Lola" Leon is stunning. You'll only know if you're a true Madonna fan though, and then comes Betrayal to finish the job, wrestling with her complex and lingering trauma of her childhood and the unresolved resentment she held towards her stepmother, Joan Ciccone. I genuinely went into L.E.S. Girl expecting it to be the album's fun, chaotic B-Day Song or S.E.X. moment. (I love both of those by the way no matter what anyone says). Instead I'm sitting here glassy eyed....especially when she sings "Everything fades away...." which just lingers long after the music stops. Madonna and Stuart Price knew what they were doing saving some of the album's deepest emotional blows for the end. I love how she pays tribute to those who've danced alongside her over the past five decades.

Beyond scenes from her youth and reflections on a troubled family life, though, CONFESSIONS II is an homage to the space that most helped Madonna endure: the club. Both lyrically and via BPM, mother has always beckoned her loyal listeners to let it out on the dance floor. On CONFESSIONS II, she goes further, speaking candidly about the disco as a site of processing, memorialisation, and coping. On Love Without Words, she tells us that music itself can be, a form of intimate care. In sharing with us how she survived enormous loss, CONFESSIONS II becomes a guide for survival, an obelisk to endurance. Proof that even after five decades in the spotlight, Madonna is still finding new ways to tell her story and somehow helping the rest of us make sense of ours too.

While her blueprint is personal, it’s by no means solitary. On the second track, Good for the Soul, she reminds us that life’s hardships are not meant to be faced alone. I love the lyrics “The ones you love will keep you above,” and when she sings about hoping to be reunited with those she’s lost. I know I said I can't choose a favourite song from the album but I do really love Good for the Soul, surely it's one of her best songs ever?! It's the same with One Step Away. It's just sublime and sounds like classic Madonna but also fresh and futuristic. Also, I literally got goosebumps the first time I heard her sing that long "freeeeeedooooom" near the end.

What elevates CONFESSIONS II even further is the way the album flows as a complete piece of work. Every song melts seamlessly into the next, creating the feeling of one continuous journey rather than a collection of individual tracks. The transitions are immaculate, the pacing is flawless and by the time the album reaches its emotional final act, you're completely immersed. It's a masterclass in album sequencing, the kind of cohesive listening experience that's becoming increasingly rare and one of the many reasons CONFESSIONS II feels so special.

There are honestly too many sonic and lyrical callbacks to Madonna's back catalogue on CONFESSIONS II to count. References, melodies, themes and visual cues from every era of her career are woven throughout the album, creating a rich tapestry that rewards both casual listeners and lifelong fans. For an artist who has spent more than four decades reinventing herself and refusing to look backwards, this level of self reflection feels significant.

I can't help but wonder whether a combination of factors led Madonna here. Revisiting her past while developing the long discussed biopic project, experiencing the loss of people closest to her, and surviving her own life threatening health scare seem to have inspired a period of deep introspection. CONFESSIONS II feels like the work of someone taking stock of an extraordinary life. Examining the triumphs, the heartbreaks, the mistakes and the memories that made her who she is. Because beneath the mythology, the headlines and the title of Queen of Pop, Madonna is human after all.

I have to mention one more thing that perfectly captures Madonna's enduring magic. Last month, she turned Times Square into one giant dance floor with a surprise performance that brought thousands of fans together in the heart of New York City. It felt like a fitting extension of everything CONFESSIONS II represents: community, celebration, resilience and the unifying power of music. More than forty years after arriving in New York with little more than ambition and a dream, she's still capable of stopping the city in its tracks and getting everyone to dance. Some things never change!

ICONIC. Honestly I wish I'd been there. Can you imagine experiencing that in person?! I would've been shook, this was the kind of pop culture moment people talk about for years and years. Still, I'm not complaining too much because I've had CONFESSIONS II on constant repeat ever since and every listen reveals something new. So thank you mother! Now if you'll excuse me I've got CONFESSIONS II to listen to again. For about the twentieth time today. Oh and thank you Stuart Price and Rafael Pavarotti if you ever read this.