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:
Froukje & S10 – “Ik Haat Hem Voor Jou”
We kick off this section with some Dutch excellence courtesy of Froukje and S10, and I am so happy to see not only the two of them in this round-up again, but seeing them here together. “Ik Haat Hem Voor Jou” (I Hate Him For You) sees the two singing about hating each others exes and being ready to marry each other if one stays single. As always with these two, the song doesn’t only consist of excellent lyrics and vocals, but also a pounding beat. Froukje and S10 wrote the song together with Valentijn Verkerk (Roxy Dekker, Antoon), with Antoon joining Froukje in the production booth.
TEYA – “Grandma On The Dancefloor” (EP)
This has been coming for just a few months and now it is here: TEYA’s new EP “Grandma On The Dancefloor”. The 7-track (well, 5-track, 2 interlude) EP includes the new songs “Immigrant Child” and “Jail”. Musically and lyrically, both tracks continue on the electronic-banger-meets-personal-songwriting of the previously released tracks. It feels a little weird to say this about an EP that is so introspective and at times serious, but this release is a lot of fun!
Barbara Pravi – “Exister”
With her second studio album coming out next month, Barbara Pravi decided it was time to release the third single of the project. “Exister” (Exist) follows “Bravo” and title track “La Pieva (Chez Moi)“. “Exister” is Barbara at perhaps her most electronic ever, with a pounding beat supporting a forceful, at times almost spoken delivery by the singer.
PEPTALK – “Your World” feat. Montaigne
What do you get when you combine Montaigne with Australian band PEPTALK? A great slice of indie-pop. A nice slice of indie-pop, of course! This song fits in perfectly with Montaigne’s discography, although I do feel it has been a little while since we had something that sounded like a guitar on a Montaigne track, but I honestly could be wrong on that one. Anyways, a really fun and cute track that I can definitely recommend to fans of Montaigne (like me!).
Alle Farben & LUM!X & Noel Holler – “Gonna Dance With Somebody”
Now here is a fun surprise for us all: LUM!X has one of my favourite songs this month! “Gonna Dance With Somebody” is a remix (rework? new take on?) the Mando Diao 2009 hit “Dance with Somebody”. LUM!X teams up with German DJs Alle Farben and Noel Holler for this absolute banger. Highly recommend!
O.Torvald – “Водограй”
Ukrainian rockers O.Torvald are back with new music! Following the release of Jamala’s single last month, we now have a full tribute album for Nazariy Yaremchuk, aptly titled “Re: Yaremchuk”. O.Torvald bring their excellent energy and attitude to their take on the song “Водограй” (Fountain). A bunch of other acts also show up on the album, like Vidbir’s KAZKA and recent round-up regular Balsam.
TVORCHI, Klavdia Petrivna – “Орбіти”
In this equal billing team-up, TVORCHI and Klavdia Petrivna revolve in “Орбіти” (Orbits) around each other. The song is about when two strong-willed individuals want to be together but also do not want to give in. A very fun new release with a nice groove!
Edurne – “Exstasis” (LP)
Spain’s Edurne comes with a collection of bangers this month in the form of her latest album, “Exstasis”. My personal stand-out is “Mírame” (Look at me), which was one of the last singles released ahead of the album. Producers and composers who worked on the album include Marc Montserrat (Miki Núñez, Blas Cantó, Chanel) and many others.
MARO & NASAYA – “CHIQUITINHA”, Flor Gil, MARO – “CHORO ROSA (Versão Diamante Bruto)”
Another MARO and NASAYA collab hit streaming this month with “CHIQUITINHA”, which splits the difference between the songs they’ve worked on together in the past to create a lovely lush electronic-meets-acoustic sound.
That wasn’t all the new music by the Portuguese singer-songwriter this month however! MARO also appeared on a single for the upcoming debut album by her Brazilian colleague Flor Gil. “CHORO ROSA (Versão Diamante Bruto)” (CRY PINK [Rough Diamond Version]) is described by Flor as the musical translation of saudade and features MARO not only singing but also adding her distinctive musical style to it.
ZOË – “Paname”
She represented Austria by singing in French, and has happily kept making a long list of French-language bops and bangers ever since: it’s ZOË! “Paname” is her latest addition to that and is an ode to the city of Paris, with the title being of its many nicknames. As is so frequently the case, ZOË wrote the song herself with her dad Christof doing the production.
ALIKA – “mis minuga saab?” ft. villemdrillem
As she stays away from her piano, ALIKA serves up some great beats on new track “mis minuga saab?” (what will happen to me?). While ALIKA takes the lead, rapper villemdrillem joins in on occassion following his verse. This really energetic and fun track was written by ALIKA and villemdrillem together with the song’s producer Karl Killing (Raum, Elina Born, Púr Múdd).
Ochman – “Siłacz”
Poland’s Ochman is gearing up towards the release of his third album. “Siłacz” (Athlete) is a cover of the early 00s hit by Marcin Rozynek. Ochman removes the rock-ballad underpinnings and takes the track into a direction right in line with his own discography. Juliusz Kamil (JESC 2018 winner “Anyone I Want To Be”, Marcin Sójka, Natalia Zastępa) produced the song.
Kate Miller-Heidke – “Linger”
Also taking on a cover this month is Kate Miller-Heidke. The Australian singer covers the alt-rock classic and 90s college radio staple “Linger” by The Cranberries. Kate takes the song into a softer, more indie direction perfectly fitting her different vocal style. A lovely version of an absolutely beautiful song! This song sees the 2019 contestant work with producer Glenn Hopper aka LEN20 (Jessica Mauboy, Lil Nas X, Ruel).
Twin Dive feat. Erica Jennings – “Matau Tave”
Many people don’t know this (and I frequently forget it!), but before Erica Jennings enriched Lithuanian NFs with bops like “Back To Myself,” she represented her country at Eurovision. She was a member of Skamp, Lithuania’s entry in 2001. This month, Erica released an all new collab by featuring on a new song by the band Twin Dive. This track has a late 90s Britpop vibe to it, so anyone who needs their Oasis fix before they go on tour should definitely check out “Matau Tave” (I See You).
Benjamin Ingrosso – “All My Life”
Our beloved “Kite” correspondent brings more news out of the studio Benjamin Ingrosso seemingly has booked 24/7, as he released the song “All My Life” this month. Check out this new music in the article below:
Next page: Highlights from artists from across the Extended Eurovision Universe
Giwrgos Oiko