Other Highlights
There is way too much music released every month to cover in-depth, but here are some of the best and biggest new tracks from other Eurovision artists:
Dami Im – “A New Era”
“Black Box” has a somewhat odd concept for a musical, which obviously means I am all in. The musical is about the inventor of black box flight recorders, and also uses a lot of tech (including headphones for the entire audience) during its showings at the Queensland Performing Arts Centre in Melbourne. One of the songs pre-recorded for these performances is a new track by Dami Im, who beautifully belts her way across the song “A New Era”. Uplifting, cinematic, dramatic, this is an excellent new track by Australia’s 2016 representative.
Jendrik – “Stronger From It” and “Parallel Dimension”
Jendrik has released so, so much music this year already, but I felt these two tracks particularly warranted highlighting. “Stronger From It” is a gorgeous, uplifting pop rock track about overcoming the things life has thrown at you. The German artist’s second release this month is the emotional, relatively stripped back “Parallel Dimension”. This emotional, contemplative track slowly but surely builds while Jendrik sings about the feelings consuming him as he sees the world fall apart while his personal life is going better than ever. Jendrik has also announced that all streaming money from this and the other 29 songs he has released or will release this year will be going to Doctors Without Borders.
AWS – “Innen szép nyerni” (LP)
Hungarian post-hardcore outfit AWS have released their new album “Innen szép nyerni” (It’s nice to win from here). 12 tracks await on this release, with each one offering musical and lyrical gut punches and catharsis in spades. A healthy mix of previously released tracks (such as the almost industrial “Senki nincs már ébren” and the much more melodic “Ketten képzeletben“) and new tracks (such as the attitude filled title track and the absolutely drum pounding “Kilépő”) await on this album, which I highly recommend.
Maja Keuc – “Sončnice” (LP)
2011 Slovenia representative Maja Keuc steadily released some new music recently, and now has added a bunch more to create the album “Sončnice” (Sunflowers). From the entrancing build-up of album opener “Labirint” (Labyrinth), to the lush, uplifting choruses on the title track or the beautifully nostalgic closer “Poletje 2010” (Summer 2010), this album is full of some gorgeous adult contemporary pop rock
VICTORIA – “sad girl summer (not again)”
For those who want a darker, moodier summer anthem, VICTORIA has got you covered. “sad girl summer (not again)” is a warning about not making the same mistakes and falling for the same person again, and it is a certified bop while doing so. Musically, it takes from a number of eras and sounds, with the most noticeable to (and appreciated by) me being some early 2010s electronic vibes. VICTORIA shared songwriting duties on this track with her “Paradox” team of Beatrice Jaksch, Gabriel Pettersson, and Maya Nalani Carlsson. Jaksch and Pettersson produced the track together under their production team name diandian.
Nevena Božovic x Boris Režak – “LAŽ”
The dramatic ballad “LAŽ” (Lie) is a collab between Nevena Božovic and Boris Režak, who between them have unbelievable amounts of Eurovision related experience. For this team up, they sing over a dramatic piano ballad that, of course, has some tinges of rock to it. Lyrically, the song is about the feeling of betrayal when you discover your partner has been telling lies to you for a long time.
Amir – “Sommet”
After going on hiatus following the tragic loss of his mother, French singer Amir is back with new music. His new track “Sommet” (Summit) is a pounding pop rock track that aims to be an uplifting anthem about persevering and making your dreams come true. The arena-ready, anthemic sound of this track has already been recognized by France Télévisions as the song powering their coverage of the upcoming Olympic Games in Paris.
MARO x NASAYA – “Lifeline”
Réunion born, LA based electronic artist NASAYA collabs with MARO for their new joint track “Lifeline”. The gorgeous composition and production manages to be both energetic and subdued, with elements of alternative dance and other genres throughout the song. Just as on their previous (albeit very, very different) collab, MARO’s voice sounds as rich and beautiful as ever. Highly, highly recommended.
Miki Núñez – “Dins del meu cap”
Spanish fan-favourite Miki Núñez can’t get someone out of his head on summer festival banger “Dins del meu cap”. From the sweet, relatively relaxed verses that include acoustic guitar, to the loud, jump along choruses, this track is something I’d expect to hear on beaches across Spain.
Soraya – “EARTHQUAKE”
Upping the pace on her release schedule is Soraya, who follows up last month’s excellent “ALAS” with the powerful “EARTHQUAKE”. This EDM song, as the title implies, is in English, with the lyrics being about Soraya being shook like an earthquake by her lover. Soraya wrote and co-produced the song. Also working on the production are AAfrAA, grifff, Seiken, and Juan Battista.
Levante, Francesca Michielin – “Farfalle”
It’s a meeting of Italian singer-songwriters as Levante (Sanremo 2022) and Francesca Michielin join forces to sing about “Farfalle” (Butterflies). This drum heavy, indie pop rock sound, is not only an excellent track but also a really cool departure from Francesca’s usual sounds. The song is part of the remake of Levante’s first studio album “Manuale distruzione”, titled “Manuale distruzione – dieci anni dopo” (Manual distribution – 10 years later). The guest list on the album is a real who’s who of artists from the indie, alternative, and other spheres of Italian music. Here is an overview of just the fellow Sanremo artists featured: SANTI FRANCESCI, Colapesce, Dimartino, La rappresentante di lista, Malika Ayane, and gIANMARIA. And that is not even all the guests. So, in short: very much worth checking out if you are a fan of indie, alternative, singer-songwriter, and/or Italian music! Album of the month!
Manizha – “Candlelight”
Ahead of her upcoming EP “Hope”, Manizha has released the stripped back, and slow “Candelight”. The track is about the importance and power of hope. The track was written by Manizha, Liz Horsman (Gabrielle Aplin, SOLOMON, JP Cooper) and Evgeny Sukhotin.
PAENDA – “Accelerate”
It’s time to speed things up again in this round-up, and PAENDA is here to help with “Accelerate”. This dance banger takes some stellar inspiration from the 90s and early 00s, while still sounding very modern. On the song, PAENDA sings about not wanting to take it slow with someone but instead go go go. PAENDA regular Christina Horn helped the artist co-write the track, with Fabian Leibrock and Your Mama returning to the production booth for the Austrian.
Andrius Pojavis – “Sing Me A Hug”, “Laimės namai”
It’s two songs in two languages for Andrius Pojavis this month. “Sing Me A Hug” is an understated track powered by a rhythmic piano melody about the expressive power of a loving embrace. Meanwhile, “Laimės namai” (Home of happiness) is a cheerful little indie track by Lithuania’s 2013 representative. The song is about finally finding that person that truly makes you happy, with the music being a drum computer and a synth line.
Rokas Yan, Monika Liu, Vaidas Baumila – “Gegužis”
Rokas Yan teams up with Vaidas Baumila and the icon that is Monika Liu for new track “Gegužis” (May). It’s a cute, cheerful yet melancholic track about two people who started a relationship when they were young and have stayed together ever since, never having the time to really think about what they dreamt their future should look like. Rokas wrote the song together with Maras Ligeika and the song’s prodsucer Gytis Valickas (Jurijus, 8 Kambarys, Donny Montell).
Ruta MUR & Jurijus – “Hold Me”
Speaking of Jurijus, he collabed with Eurovision national final fan favourite Ruta MUR for new joint track “Hold Me”. The song continues with Ruta MUR’s 80s inspired sound, with a slightly heavier emphasis on synthwave and soft-rock. The Miami Vice-esque musical vibe is continued in the lyric video, where we skip over open waters during an oversaturated sunset. “Hold Me” is part of Ruta MUR’s new album “Meridiem”, which also includes previously released tracks such as the crooning “Forever” and more, and is definitely worth checking out!
Angelica Agurbash – “Если ты со мной…”
Angelica Agurbash represented Belarus in 2005 and has had quite the career already. Now, she is coming back from an extended hiatus with “Если ты со мной…” (If you’re with me…”), the first track from her next album. On Instagram, Angelica dedicates the song to those struggling, and to those persevering. Musically, it is a ballad that explodes into a terrific rock sound, all the while showcasing Angelica’s powerful and emotional vocal delivery.
Victor Crone – “Comes And Goes”
Everything “Comes And Goes”, as Victor Crone reminds us on his new song. The cheerful, clap and stomp along guitar led pop track was originally written in 2020, but only now it finally sees the light of day. A highly recommended track for when you’re enjoying a lovely warm summer evening. Victor co-wrote the song with Isak Hallén (Smash Into Pieces, Paul Rey, Calabasas), Adam Renström (Lancelot, Gamma Skies, Nicky Romero), and the song’s producer Jonas Jurström (Alan Walker, Jennifer Lopez, Oscar Zia).
Purple Disco Machine, Benjamin Ingrosso feat. Nile Rodgers & Shenseea – “Honey Boy”
This song was performed at Eurovision by the always electric Benjamin Ingrosso, so what is there to say except: you know how good this is. Putting a legend like Nile Rodgers together with the unstoppable banger makers of Purple Disco Machine is already a genius move, and the rest of the song just adds to that. What is of note and you might not know is that production credits are shared between Purple Disco Machine, Nile Rodgers, and Hampus Lindvall (Zara Larsson, Martin Garrix, Matt Simons).
Tom Leeb – “Breakaway”
“Breakaway” is a great piece of bluesy soft rock by French artist Tom Leeb. The Leeb-penned lyrics revolve around Tom Leeb needing some time to himself to figure things out. The music was written by Tom and the song’s producer Ben Mühlethaler (Remady, Giorgio Gee, Luca Hänni). One of the best tracks this month!
Next page: Highlights from artists from across the Extended Eurovision Universe
Giwrgos Oiko