#DALEYPOP X JUNE 2026
Starring: ZEE MACHINE, Bonnie McKee, Ariana Grande, Cara Delevingne, Kesha, Lola Leon, Kylie Minogue and Kacey Musgraves!
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!
ZEE MACHINE and Bonnie McKee - HEAVEN IS A GAY BAR
Happy Pride Month! ZEE MACHINE and Bonnie McKee have dropped the perfect Pride Month anthem. The upbeat synthpop and dance track serves as a celebration of queer joy, community and free love.
ZEE says the track was born out of something bittersweet, the slow disappearance of real world queer spaces. It’s his love letter to the clubs and bars that first gave him permission to be fully, unapologetically himself. The sweaty, glittery sanctuaries where identity clicks into place on the dancefloor. Meanwhile, Bonnie McKee was instantly all in. Pop has given us plenty of love songs, heartbreak anthems and late night confessionals but almost never one that focuses on the pure magic of a gay bar. The safety, the joy, the electric sense of belonging and that’s exactly what makes this one hit different.
Ariana Grande - that that i made you love me
Three-time Grammy Award winner Glinda I mean Ariana Grande is back in full pop deity mode with her highly anticipated new single, hate that i made you love me. The track marks the first taste of her upcoming eighth studio album, petal which is set to bloom next month (31st July) via Republic Records. With expectations sky high and her post Wicked era glow in full effect, hate that i made you love me signals a fresh, emotionally charged chapter for Ari, one that’s already got us collectively levitating.
The track is a powerhouse collaboration, co written and produced by Ariana herself alongside longtime hitmaker ILYA and the ever iconic Max Martin aka pop’s ultimate architect, making it a sleek and high gloss meeting of minds that practically guarantees chart domination.
Cara Delevingne - I Forgot/Out of my Head
Wait since when did Cara Delevingne make music?! How come we're just now getting two singles at once complete with full on visuals? The multihyphenate model turned actress has officially entered her pop girl era and it works. Both tracks come dripping in moody, confessional energy, think glossy darkness with a raw edge, very Tove Lo coded in the best way possible. Between the honesty, the aesthetic and the emotional punch, Cara might’ve just stumbled into a whole new lane and it’s kind of a serve.
Cara revealed the songs are deeply personal, shaped by her journey through sobriety and the mental health struggles she’s faced along the way. One of the tracks taps into the chaos of modern life, her take on a world where everyone’s talking but no one’s actually saying anything real. “We changed the chorus to ‘out of my head,’” she explained, “because I think that’s something I have to do every day-to escape my overthinking.” Relatable queen. Her other track, I Forgot, leans even further into vulnerability built to capture the messy, unpredictable landscape of mental health. The heaviness, the rawness, the moments that don’t tie up neatly. And in perhaps the most British confession ever, Cara summed it all up perfectly. She’s not exactly one for confrontation or expressing anger….so this is her outlet. Her therapy. Her way of finally letting it all out.
Kesha - ORIGAMI!
“Turn me into your pretzel!”-Kesha is fully in her liberated, unfiltered era and it’s a joy to watch and to be an Animal right now. With ORIGAMI! she’s radiating confidence, chaos and that signature wink to camera energy clearly revelling in her creative freedom exactly as she should. The track itself is a playful, cheek to cheek pop banger that leans all the way into self expression and uninhibited joy. The official music video was co-directed by Kesha herself alongside Brett Loudermilk (omg why do I love the name Loudermilk? Dale Loudermilk....I like it) and Zain Curtis matches that spirit perfectly, pairing sculptural, body bending formations from the dancers with slick, high energy choreography from Robbie Blue. It’s vibrant, campy and completely on brand.
Speaking about the song, Kesha described ORIGAMI! as “a celebration of freedom and self-love, wherever and however you choose to express it” and that ethos runs through every beat. It’s carefree, it’s confident and it’s Kesha doing what she does best, turning personal empowerment into an unapologetic pop moment.
“I’ve been fighting for this kind of sovereignty-this ownership over myself-for a long time,” Kesha says, and you can hear that hard-won freedom all over ORIGAMI!. She wrote the track at a turning point-newly liberated, newly in control and reconnecting with parts of herself that had been on pause. “When I got the rights to my voice back, I got my spark back,” she’s essentially declaring and the result is a full on creative reawakening, equal parts cheeky, confident and totally uninhibited. She’s even joked about being in a reflective, mostly celibate era with a few very specific exceptions which just adds to the layered, playful contradiction that makes this rollout so her. There’s self awareness, there’s humourand there’s a clear sense that she’s calling the shots now. P.s. why is no one talking about Reno Gold being in the video?! Well Mr Gold is but still....
Lola Leon - T Shirt
Not even Lourdes Leon aka Lola Leon born under a paparazzi flashbulb in 1996 when Madonna quite literally delivered her into pop mythology is spared the emotional carnage of a bad romance. Lola Leon formerly known as Lolahol knows how to spin pain into poetry where there’s wreckage. Where others spiral, she composes channeling chaos into something sharp edged and self possessed. While the internet is eager to brand every move a new era, Lola’s not quite buying into the reinvention narrative. As she puts it: “People keep saying, ‘This is a new era, this is a new era’-I don’t know where that came from!” Instead, what she’s doing feels more grounded, more intentional. Like a return, not a reset. A reconnection with her roots, her history and the people who’ve watched her evolve in real time.
Lourdes isn’t just Madonna’s daughter, she’s stepping firmly into her own spotlight very much the leading lady of her own story. Like her mother before her, she has that instinctive ability to turn chaos into something compelling (and of course, make it look effortlessly chic while doing it). Enter T Shirt, her latest single. A moody, stripped back confessional that trades spectacle for intimacy. It’s raw but controlled, vulnerable yet guarded, delivered with that signature cool girl detachment that makes every line land just a little harder. There’s an understated confidence in the restraint, like she’s letting you in….but only just enough to keep you wanting more.
Released alongside a haunting, intimate video shot by cinematographer Eric Yue, it trades glossy spectacle for something far more piercing. An emotional autopsy laid bare. “It’s pretty straightforward,” Lourdes says, almost shrugging off the weight of it. There are no metaphors to soften the blow, just the raw, slightly mortifying truth of being caught up in a love that’s quietly wrecking you. Messy, a little humiliating, and painfully familiar….because, let’s be honest, we’ve all been there, right?!
Kylie Minogue - Light Up
If you haven’t dived into Kylie Minogue’s new Netflix documentary yet….what are you waiting for?! Light Up lifted straight from the docuseries feels like one of its most heartfelt moments, an emotional centerpiece wrapped in soft, glowing pop. Co written with Chris Martin of Coldplay, the track carries a gentle, almost cinematic warmth. Kylie describes it as a song about unconditional support, the kind of love that catches you when you’re at your lowest and reminds you who you are. “It’s about that love that your parent, or someone who cares for you, can give you when you’re lost, confused, lonely, distressed,” she explains. “Someone who loves you can look into your eyes and see a world of potential.”
It’s tender, affirming, and quietly powerful. The kind of song that sneaks up on you and lingers long after it ends. In true Kylie fashion, it glows rather than shouts offering a moment of comfort and connection that feels as timeless as it does deeply personal.
AOTM: Kacey Musgraves
Middle Of Nowhere
I cannot believe it’s taken me six albums to get into Kacey Musgraves….where have I been?! Spotify randomly served me Dry Spell out of nowhere and I was instantly hooked. Those lyrics had me actually laughing out loud and don’t even get me started on the music video….very that girl.
I had to investigate further and when I realised it was Kacey I immediately threw on Middle of Nowhere and it's a masterpiece! Every track just hit. Witty, warm, a little bit heartbreaking and ridiculously sharp in its storytelling. Honestly, if you’re going through a dry spell of your own, this whole era is weirdly comforting. It doesn’t take itself too seriously but it still says something real. I’m equal parts obsessed and slightly devastated that I’ve slept on her for this long….but also? Kind of thrilled, because now I’ve got a whole discography to deep dive into head first!
I totally get how and why Middle of Nowhere received critical acclaim and I'm gutted that I've missed out on Kacey's music all this time but now I'm a fan and have seven whole albums to catch up on yay. I love discovering new music!
Eight time Grammy Award winner Kacey's sixth studio album really is made for two-stepping though. The collection draws from a love of Texas dancehall classics, humorous takes on the human condition and the space where traditional country borders many sounds including Norteño and even zydeco. Fresh yet familiar, honest, fearless, immersive and always ready to wink at life’s twists and turns.
My favourite tracks on the album are Mexico Honey, Dry Spell, Rhinestoned, Horses and Divorces, I Believe in Ghosts, Coyote, Middle of Nowhere, Loneliest Girl, Everybody Wants to Be a Cowboy, Back on the Wagon, Uncertain TX and Hell on Me.
So Musgrats or Spaceys....let me know what Kacey album I should dive head first into next?!
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