The Winners
Lena – “Loyal to myself” (LP)
After being loyal to herself on a single back in March, Lena now releases new music in the form of an album of the same name. Ahead of the album’s release on the last day of the month, Lena released the drum and bass adjacent track “Drug worth doing”. The album clocks in at a gargantuan 17 (!) songs and sees Lena singing over a large variety of pop music. From the emotional, minimalist opener “Let me dream” (which also appears in German) to the bouncy “First love” and a handful of distinct previously released tracks, this alkbum has a lot to offer regardless of what part of Lena’s discography you like most.
KALUSH x Balsam – “Розбуди мене”
Track 15 of the KALUSHcollab sees the group immediately build on their work with Balsam from last month. “Розбуди мене” (Wake me up) is about trying to find your direction in life among uncertainty. The song was released ahead of a joint concert and weeks before KALUSH start touring across Ukraine.
Jamala – “Люблю”
Jamala’s latest release is a love song celebrating, well, love. This new music by the 2016 winner sees her once again be musically inspired by trip-hop and other genres, as her distinctive voice echoes over the production by co-composer Stas Chornyi (alyona alyona’s album “Galas”, Jerry Heil’s “WHEN GOD SHUT THE DOOR”, Kalush Orchestra’s “Вітер виє”).
Ruslana – “Буйна” / “Iron Beat”
The 2004 winner meanwhile treats us to her new music in two versions: one in Ukrainian and one in English. The music video is a part of Ruslana’s upcoming show “Wild Heart,” with both the video and the song inspired by Cossack legends of the fear- and awe-inspiring sound of metal on metal. Indeed, the entire beat of the song was created by Ruslana with chains, scythes, and other real metal weapons and tools.
Conchita Wurst – “Any Day From Now On”
The latest track by Conchita Wurst is called “Any Day From Now On”. The dramatic, electro-orchestral track is an ode to resilience and community. Conchita co-wrote the song with Patrick Reising, Francesco Wilking, Kat Frankie (lyrics only), and Paul Gallister (music only, also produced).
Katrina – “I Couldn’t Live Without Your Love”
Katrina (formerly of Katrina and the Waves) continues her slow but steady release schedule with a follow-up to last year’s single “Shut Your Mouth”, although this new music by her is very, very different from that. The song is a cover of the 1966 Petula Clark classic (which I best know in its German guise), and according to Katrina this was one of the songs from her childhood that spurred on her desire to sing.
Majestic x The Jammin Kid x Celine Dion – “Set My Heart On Fire (I’m Alive x And The Beat Goes On)”
Celine Dion is back on the UK charts with the new mashup *deep breath* “Set My Heart On FIre (I’m Alive x And The Beat Goes On)”. As the title implies, this track combines her pre-existing track “I’m Alive” with “And The Beat Goes On” by US group The Whispers. Thanks to Majestic and The Jammin Kid, the songs turn into one magnificent disco-meets-the-90s bop.
Carola – “Rör vid mig”
BRinging some 80s rock vibes to the round-up is Carola with “Rör vid mig” (Touch me). Carola is co-credited for writing the track alongside the producers Adéle Cechal (Molly Sandén, Malou Prytz, Myra Granberg), Carl Wikström Ask (Darn, Sondre Justad, Linnea Henriksson), and Emil Gustafsson (Cornelia Jakobs, Urban Cone, Thomas Stenström).
Loreen – “Forever”
Loreen introduced the world to “Forever” during the Eurovision final, with the performance of this energetic yet moody EDM track being quite the moment. The studio version feels a bit lighter, which does somewhat undercut the emotional power of it in my opinion. Loreen took on lyrical duties on this new music, while the song was composed by Boy Matthews (TWICE, HRVY, Cher Lloyd), Conor Blake (Meduza, Sting, KSI), TMS (Lewis Capaldi, Dua Lipa, Rosa Linn), and Zhone (Troye Sivan, R3HAB, Paris Hilton). Zhone also co-produced the track, sharing credit with BillenTed (“Wellerman” remix, Tiësto, Mae Muller).
Next page: New music released by the 2023 artists
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