Browsing Tag

Pop Singer

Belinda Vodea flourished through the retro 80s aesthetic in her pop single, EOM

Posted on 1 December 2023

Belinda Vodea’s debut single EOM (Eyes on Me) is a lustrous nod to the 80s pop era, artfully infusing modern sensibilities with retro flourishes. This London-born British-Albanian artist’s sound resonates with the familiar warmth of a bygone era, yet her approach is refreshingly contemporary, much like her predecessors Dua Lipa and Rita Ora,

Vodea’s airy and soulful vocal delivery is a standout feature of EOM, beckoning listeners with its natural ease and emotive quality, drawing comparisons to the bright and edgy tones of Zara Larsson. Her voice, coupled with the backdrop of lightly distorted electric guitars and expansive, reverberant 80s drums, creates a soundscape that is both nostalgic and bracingly new.

The collaborative spirit of the track’s production, led by Ashea (known for her work with Alan Walker), reflects the power of female artistry, a choice that Vodea emphasises as key to capturing the song’s essence. EOM is a musical journey of love, longing, and self-discovery, with lyrics that explore the universal need to feel noticed and remembered, yet also the determination to progress and thrive. The song’s thematic content is echoed in its composition—dramatic drums and nostalgic synths underpin the narrative of romantic disappointment and personal growth.

Belinda Vodea, who has honed her craft from a young age, balancing her passion for music and dance with academic studies, is poised to make an unforgettable entrance into the pop scene. With her influences ranging from George Michael to Rihanna, and from Bryan Adams to Jhené Aiko, she has developed a unique sound that pays homage to the music that resonated in her household during her formative years.

EOM is more than a debut; it’s a statement of intent from an artist who has been preparing for the spotlight her whole life. From performing mini-shows for her family to aspiring to sell out stadiums, Vodea’s ambition is as clear as her talent. With the single set to release on all major streaming platforms on December 1st, Belinda Vodea is a name to watch in the evolving landscape of pop music.

Stream EOM on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Mara Liddle has unleashed her pretty in pink (tonal hues) pop earworm, All Over the Place

Posted on 29 September 2023

Mara Liddle has lived up to her legacy after laying down a solid foundation for her hyper pop queen supremacy in 2022 and being selected as one of BBC Introducing’s curation of Big in 2023 artists list.

With her latest single, All Over the Place, created in collaboration with JB Thomas, she unleashed an upbeat floor-filler of an exposition of coming-of-age anxiety in a digital age when everyone is watching, and no one is listening.

After Gen Z have routinely been dubbed as the ‘lost generation’, Mara Liddle and her pastel-hued pop productions are a guiding light towards a semblance of sanity and inner security. With a few 90s Euro pop embellishments to the earwormy hooks, the nostalgia will grip you as fervidly as the contemporary resonance in the lyrics.

All Over the Place will be available to stream from September 29; stream it on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Jasi Bella calls time on the perpetuation of damaging ‘crazy ex’ archetypes in her latest dance-pop track.

Posted on 18 June 2021
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DoBHqzklCvM

Swedish pop artist Jasi Bella’s latest single, Your Ex, is a straight-up attack on the perpetuation of the ‘crazy ex’ stereotyping. Not only is it a warning that women can see through the wool being pulled over our eyes when you tell us why your last relationship was a disaster. It is also an emboldening track that inspires solidarity between women that suffer the same narrators that twist the story to play the victim of the ‘insanity’ they inspired.

With rates of domestic violence skyrocketing as a result of the lockdowns, we’re more conscious of the dangers of toxic relationships than ever; conversations, such as what you will hear in Your Ex, are vital to have. The vibrant pop track deserves to go viral.

Your Ex released on June 4th; you can check it out for yourselves by heading over to YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Lizzie Hosking sends us grooving back to the 70s with her latest pop single, ‘Lose My Mind’.

Posted on 29 May 2021

After making an unforgettable 2020 debut, Adelaide’s quickly ascending pop artist Lizzie Hosking has amassed a loyal fan following with her reflectively poignant lyrics and her soulfully funk-infused instrumentals that send you grooving back to the seventies while you listen to Hosking bring in a new era of pop.

Her latest single, ‘Lose My Mind’, starts with an ethereal ballad-style intro before the acoustic instrumentals lace the soundscape with enlivening melodies that allow Lose My Mind to unravel as a feel-good feat of pop. Even if you spent all day listening to the radio, you would struggle to find better instrumentals in a contemporary pop track. Even the most pretentious music fan in your life couldn’t turn their nose up to the delicious guitar licks in Lose Your Mind.

We can’t wait to hear what else Lizzie has to offer with her upcoming material. She’s definitely worth a spot on your radar.

Lose My Mind is now available to stream via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Farah Ash reminds us that no man is an island in her debut RnB pop track.

Posted on 21 April 2021

LA-based Norwegian-Moroccan pop artist Farah Ash has made her solo debut with her empoweringly demure single, ‘No Man’. With “no man is an island” as the chorus, you’re forced to contemplate the effects of the isolation that we’ve endured. It’s an unignorable reminder no matter how attractive social withdrawal seems, we all need a community to thrive.

With the multicultural sun-bleached beats triggering your tribal impulses, you’ll have no choice in allowing No Man to resonate as a high vibe hit. It is an incredibly strong debut that could easily find its way onto the A-lists of plenty of international radio stations. But it was only a matter of time before Farah’s name started to dominate the airwaves. After working with Pitbull’s team, Chris Brown, Travis Scott and Post Malone, and even making it in Asia with her K-pop tracks, her own ascent to the top almost seemed inevitable.

No Man is now available to stream via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Why can’t we accept ourselves: Arja Kraska bravely speaks up and sings with substantial class on ‘Standards’

Posted on 15 February 2021

With her honest insight into a traumatic issue that has been plaguing teenagers and young women for years, Arja Kraska sings so passionately about the blurred ‘Standards‘ made popular by fashion magazines, that only creates unnecessary anxiety for impressionable minds.

Electrifying San Francisco, California-based singer-songwriter Arja Kraska, has grown up with music flowing through her creative veins, from getting the taste of the arts at elementary school, to returning to her true love when she was sixteen years old. She sings with that real passion and her meaningful voice makes your whole body shiver with admiration, at what her message is portraying.

This is the sadly very real story of a talented young woman who has grown up like so many before her, scrolling through airbrushed fashion magazines and looking at skinny models, wishing that she was like them and worrying about her looks.

Her voice grows stronger as the song moves into high gear as she has grown the self-awareness that she is indeed real, while other girls use their looks to get free drinks but inside, are actually unhappy and don’t have anything else to offer the world. She is worried for fellow girls like her, who haven’t been able to break free and instead starve themselves, hurting their malnourished bodies in the process.

‘Standards‘ from California’s young pop starlet Arja Kraska, is a truthful gem that shows her glorious voice to the world and maturing role model mind at one, realizing that she is on the right path to ignoring mainstream hype that is actually damaging and not helpful for her health in the slightest.

Her real message is one that needs to be heard worldwide, over and over until things change. Accepting yourself is the only way to true freedom and those that truly care about you, will lead you into the right direction of fulfillment with that real love.

Hear this inspiring new track on Spotify and see more from this incredibly gifted young singer on her IG.

Reviewed by Llewelyn Screen

That Cali vibe is alive at night: Progressive Pop R&B singer Teasley drops hot visuals for ‘Moonlight’

Posted on 24 December 2020

Freshly cut singer-songwriter Teasley brings us that old school flavor on the epic music video with a twist on his latest track called ‘Moonlight‘.

Teasley is a Pop/R&B musician who has been creating his own lane for a while now. He drops the gears and speeds in with a fine new music video that shows how he isn’t messing around anymore. The time to rise is now and he is ready.

The determined look on his face gives us some insight into what is going to happen next as you can see the hunger from miles away and he rocks in with a pair of sunglasses and well-groomed beard, that gives the ladies heart palpitations.

‘Moonlight‘ from the stylish Californian artist Teasley is an ode to that old school style that is so lacking in music these days with mumblers choking the heck out of music fans brainwaves for too long now. His smooth voice never seems out of tune and the singer just wants to be with that girl who he cares about.

Being somewhere romantic and under the stars and with good company is the way to go to recover after a long year and he sings with such passion and meaning. This is the type of R&B song to put on late at night when the candles are lit and the sizzling Jacuzzi is close by to be with your lover.

Hit up the hot music video via YouTube and see his fly style on IG.

Reviewed by Llewelyn Screen

The feeling of regret after a breakup: Excellent vocals amid pain sets Xavier Ralph apart from the rest on ‘Thoughts of Me’

Posted on 2 December 2020

The soulful Sussex pop singer-songwriter Xavier Ralph rides the love wave on his new single called ‘Thoughts of Me’. This is about that feeling of a relationship that was maybe a bit too good that you don’t think will ever get better. You want that lover back but the door has closed and the lock is bolted closed now.

Signed by the legendary indie Uprise Records UK, this is an artist on the rise as his team are beyond excited with his growth and the excellent results so far, shows their belief in him is on point.

The crashing waves flow through and make a soothing sound over the ocean as you wonder down the beach, lost in your own thoughts as you go through everything that just happened. This is the start of a music video that touches on a relevant topic that so many of us have faced. That pain after feeling love; that empty feeling that has you questioning your every move. Instead, this should be when you take it on the chin, get up, heal and move on. This is easier said than done however and will take that extra strength and discipline to be your life jacket and keep you afloat.

This is the story of a mind that is ticking way too fast and tormenting itself about a love that was going so well and then ended too fast. This is a harsh feeling that you probably shouldn’t feel but do anyway. You cared more about her than she did for you so swimming again to new seas is perfectly right in this moment.

His voice is so smooth and each note hits the right spot. You can see his youth and how being in love for the first time is proving more complicated that he originally thought. This is a quality track with the splendid production adding so much class. ‘Thoughts of Me’ from the Hastings singer-songwriter Xavier Ralph is such a clean pop song that it won’t ever need dusting.

See this excellent video on YouTube, hear more on Spotify and follow his journey on IG & FB.

Reviewed by Llewelyn Screen

Traveling the world to achieve his goals: Harrisen Larner-Main shows us exquisite singing on ‘Come Along’ EP

Posted on 29 November 2020

Somerset-born and world travelling singer-songwriter Harrisen Larner-Main has been patiently waiting to drop his highly anticipated 5 track EP called ‘Come Along’ and this is now his time to shine.

His voice draws you in so close and you drift away in a glorious daydream with a tone that is so tremendous on our battered ears which are cold from the winter wind. A man that has traveled around Europe and many other countries to push his music to as many people as possible; his vision is worldly and you can feel his self-awareness wrapped around your heart.

The whole EP is a waterfall of crisp water-tinged and luscious vocals that will have you singing along at the top of your lungs. This is the type of artist that sings about his previous experiences and love is at the core of his creations. His trusty acoustic guitar is played like a seasoned professional and you can tell that he has been performing since he was barely 13 years old. The music bug bit hard and he can’t stop doing what he is passionate about.

The whole EP is so classy and sung with such pureness and particular favorites have to be ‘Impossible To Feel The Cold’, ‘Happier’ and ‘Curtains’. He has the ability to raise his voice without sounding like he is putting too much strain on his vocal cords. The natural energy has you transfixed and the songs about love and reminiscing of what transpired in the past will have you remembering those regret-filled moments in your life, when love was there for the taking but something happened to end things so abruptly.

The soulful English singer-songwriter is a musician who you can tell is honest and humble; all he wants to do is perform on stage and make music that moves you, inspires you and makes you love harder.

Harrisen Larner-Main sings from the bottom of his heart on the excellent EP ‘Come Along’. This is the story of a man who has built his community of fans from years of travelling around the world and making life-lasting friends. He bet on himself to succeed, put in the hard work, and is using all of his wide-array of talents to do what he loves and does best.

Hear this fine EP on his Spotify and find out more about what makes Harrisen tick on his YouTube and Facebook.

Reviewed by Llewelyn Screen

Prepare for your feelings of inadequacy to be quashed by Emily Koko’s single ‘More Than That’

Posted on 18 November 2020
Emily Koko

We’ve been lucky enough to get a sneak peek of Emily Koko’s soul-driven RnB Pop single, ‘More Than That’, a lockdown-born single which navigates the relationship between love, confusion and feeling as though you’ll never be quite enough.

More Than That boldly proves that feelings of inadequacy are more of a commonality than we realise on a day to day basis. Those feelings are the trap door which allows us to fall into toxic relationships with people who not only allow us to question our worth but tell us that we deserve for all the self-deprecating talk to run through our heads.

Emily Koko’s lyrics are and smoothly soulful harmonic vocals are perfectly paired with the slow-tempo grooves in the Indie RnB Pop soundscape.  More Than That may only be her sophomore release, but she’s already exhibiting nuanced maturity in her sound. She’s undoubtedly one to watch.

You’ll have to wait a little longer before you check out More Than That. In the meantime, you can head over to Spotify and check out her debut single Together Alone.

Review by Amelia Vandergast