PAWS UP, London! Electro-pop trailblazer MkX is bringing his high energy to The Mayhem Rave
– 3 min read
With over 9 million streams, Billboard-charting artist MkX is making waves with UP, a slick tribute to early 2000s pop reimagined for 2025.
His rollout began with MAN ON A MISSION, directed by Prince collaborator Scott McCullough, followed by WANT U BAD, featuring a hyperpop remix and a club-ready version by Grammy-winner Dave Audé (Lady Gaga, Madonna, Beyoncé).
A proud Berklee alum, MkX has become a standout headliner at pride festivals across the US, dazzling crowds with his high-energy, visually striking performances.
He recently took the main stage at World Pride DC, opening for Doechii and performing to a crowd of 30,000-cementing his place as one of pop’s boldest new voices.
Produced by MkX and co-written with his longtime collaborators Myah Marie (Britney Spears, RuPaul, Selena Gomez) and Brandon Colbein (Zayn, Kehlani, Hayley Kiyoko), his latest single UP fully embodies the singer’s trademark aesthetic of “taking all the sounds that have inspired me throughout my life, putting them in a blender and creating something new.”
UP showcases his ongoing passion for the early 2000s production sonics of Max Martin and fuses it with elements of hyperpop sound design, drawing inspiration from the genre’s primary pioneer, SOPHIE.
“For this song,” MkX says, “I really wanted to lean into that very 2001-era punchy pop, which in my opinion subtly foreshadowed different elements of hyperpop. Adding interesting textures that perk up your eardrums…like lasers, bubbles, zaps, bleeps and bloops (for lack of a better term). A lot of the sounds I imagine you’d hear inside of a rocket ship. When we wrote the song, we wanted to draw from that very golden era of pop where everything was super hooky and punchy, but do it in a 2025 way."
UP was heavily inspired by Britney Spears, *NSYNC, Backstreet Boys, and one of my favourite Janet Jackson songs, Doesn’t Really Matter. I actually found the same robot dog that Janet used in her video and used it in the cover art and short form content for UP to pay homage to that video. We shot everything in a very futuristic hotel room that we decorated to exude that classic Y2K aesthetic.
Aside from his own artist project, MkX has been producing for other artists such as Ayesha Erotica, TWICE, Kim Petras, That Kid and 6arelyhuman.
In MkX’s previous duo project with his sister, he landed shows opening for Ariana Grande, David Archuleta, and Rixton and back in the summer, MkX performed at The Mayhem Rave in NYC.
They loved him so much that they've invited him over the pond to perform at The Mayhem Rave in London now too! Straight after Lady Gaga's final Mayhem Ball on the 4th October at the The O2 Arena!
To be fair I've never been to a rave and I tried get tickets for The Mayhem Ball but all 4 nights sold out too fast so I've missed out but I'm ready to keep dancin’ til I'm dead!
MkX is a rising superstar and a certified little monster so it's guaranteed he'll bring mayhem to the Mayhem Rave.
Tickets for The Mayhem Rave on 04.10.25 are available HERE and UP is on all streaming platforms now.
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Written by
Scene's head pop critic/pop culture enthusiast, living in Brighton. Since 2021, I write a silly monthly column, sometimes interview artists, occasionally review theatre and listen to pop music daily!
