WAKE UP! HONEY, cult Swedish pop star Agnes has released her new album, BEAUTIFUL MADNESS
"Life is a beautiful madness, and it's when we stop chasing perfection that the truly interesting things happen."
Swedish pop icon and undisputed Mother of Spiritual Disco, Agnes has been a powerhouse on the music scene for two decades with nearly half a billion streams. After bursting onto the scene at just 16, she quickly found global success with world tours, multiple hit albums and the unstoppable 2009 dance smash Release Me which cracked the top 10 across Europe and hit number 1 on both the US Billboard Hot Dance and UK Official Dance Charts.
Now, the super talented Agnes sheds her skin and dives head first into chaos with her highly anticipated sixth studio album BEAUTIFUL MADNESS.
BEAUTIFUL MADNESS was born today, 23.01.26 at 00:00 following the Swedish Grammy-winning triumph of 2021âs Magic Still Exists aka the album that introduced the world to spiritual disco. Agnes began teasing this new era throughout 2025 with club ready anthems BALENCIAGA COVERED EYES, MILK and EGO before kicking off the year by dropping WAKE UP on New Yearâs Day.
Sheâs also confirmed for Mighty Hoopla this summer and will be taking over the world famous KOKO in Camden for a sold out show NEXT WEEK! On a school night, no less, but it'll 100% be worth being a tiny bit tired in the office the next day.
LOVESONGS is the gospel infused fifth single taken from BEAUTIFUL MADNESS and captures the strength in being able to stand on your own. In a press release, Agnes said "I've tried to write LOVESONGS for so many years. This kind of song nature. I'm so grateful that it now exists outside my head and there for others to listen to. All songs on the album are about just that: embracing your whole self, letting everything take space."
When Agnes steps into BEAUTIFUL MADNESS, she brings with her a rich musical journey: from teenage pop phenomenon to award winning songwriter and style icon. Yet her most transformative journey has occurred within.
BEAUTIFUL MADNESS is more than an album title, it encapsulates Agnes's life experiences in recent years. What began as a song idea quickly evolved to embody the entire soul of the album. BEAUTIFUL MADNESS embraces contradictions, showing both strength and vulnerability while releasing the pursuit of perfection.
"I've realised that it's precisely in the contradictions, in the madness and the unfinished, that life actually feels alive. You can be selfish and loving at the same time. Ugly and beautiful. Have hubris and be humble. Everything fits within the same person-it lives and operates there simultaneously. That's what BEAUTIFUL MADNESS is," Agnes says, adding: "Life is a beautiful madness, and it's when we stop chasing perfection that the truly interesting things happen."
This time around, Agnes let the lyrics lead the way. Rather than starting with melodies, she allowed words-sometimes playful rhymes, sometimes sudden insights-to shape the music. The result is an album where each track carries raw emotion, a distinct personality, and a quest for authenticity.
"Letting the lyrics take the lead opened up new worlds and allowed new types of songs to emerge. I've really enjoyed digging into the words, and it has enabled me to experiment more with my voice than ever before."
Agnes assembled an impressive lineup of collaborators to bring BEAUTIFUL MADNESS to life including Kerstin Ljungström, Vincent Pontare, Salem Al Fakir, Magnus LidehÀll, Alex Aris, and British songwriter Hanna Wilson. She also forged a new partnership with house producer Frans Bryngel, together crafting an environment where instinct and experimentation could thrive. The result is an album that captures the untamed energy and emotional purity of music in its earliest, most inspired form. Together, they fostered a creative environment aimed at preserving each song's original essence-maintaining the raw energy from its earliest form.
"After my last album, I found some gems-people I really wanted to continue working with. I kept the group small to maintain that intimate feeling this time too. This allowed me to push both myself and others even further. We challenged boundaries and dared to experiment."
The first single, BALENCIAGA COVERED EYES, explores the tension between external glamour and inner fragility-all set to a hypnotic beat and house piano.
"It all started with an image in my mind: a person amid chaos of luxury, parties, mess, and gazes. Someone appearing confident and glittery on the surface, but experiencing something else inside-behind those Balenciaga covered eyes. The song also came from wanting to write something I myself would want to hear when going out on weekends."
She released her second single MILK during the summer last year and on the disco-synth-tinged poptrack EGO, Agnes is singing about putting the ego aside and letting something new take its place, both in relationships and within oneself. Check out Agnes closing P3 Guld 2026 (a major, annual music awards ceremony in Sweden recognising contributions to Swedish popular music, basically the Swedish version of our BRIT Awards.)
Absolute pop brilliance!
"EGO was the first song I wrote for my new album. With this album, I wanted to reveal more sides of myself and highlight the opposites that can live within us and even work together. It's not about being good or bad-because we're all way more complicated and complex than the labels we give ourselves and each other. I wanted to capture the feeling that it is only when we dare to let go of control that life can surprise us."
With her previous album Magic Still Exists, Agnes received four Swedish Grammy nominations and won Composer of the Year. The album earned critical acclaim from The Guardian, Billboard, Pitchfork, and NME and endorsements from global pop stars and icons including Sam Smith, Elton John and RuPaul.
Agnes is a voice celebrated by both industry professionals and audiences, and two decades of continuously ever-evolving musical expression.
Iâve just realised Agnes actually teased the album title in the interview I did with her last year (HERE) and Iâm low key shook. When I asked, âYour visuals often mix glamour with a touch of surrealism-how does that aesthetic connect to the music on this new project?â she replied: âI love combining beauty with a bit of madness.â
SEE?! She said âI love combining beauty with a bit of madness.â She told me the title before we even knew it. Although looking back, she did post the name on her socials back in May last year too....but still!
Comments ()