new (and old) music friday #33: kim petras, dorian electra, joan

when do you feel the most alive?

for me it’s in the dead of night, my favourite songs blasting through my headphones at full volume, fully allowing myself to feel all the things i try so hard to keep at bay during daylight hours.

yesterday - along with the new songs from this post - i revisited melodrama; tracks like liability, writer in the dark and green light, brimming with possibly and reminding me that it’s okay to feel too much, to be on the edge of the universe about to jump head first into the unknown.

for the first time in years i have no idea what the future holds but as long as i have music to soundtrack the highs and lows, i’ll be okay.

1. kim petras

i'll be honest, i've felt conflicted about supporting kim petras as she continues to work with dr luke and the debate about whether it's possible to separate art from the artist rages on, but there's no denying she's released some impeccable bops lately. 

she marked the end of "era 1" with the release of three new songs, and my favourite has got to be 1, 2, 3 dayz up which features the grammy-nominated (!) SOPHIE. live videos of the track have been circulating since last summer but i only became aware of them the day before it was released, so luckily i didn't have to wait long for an official ~studio~ version. straight away this party-ready anthem became one of my most played tracks and shows no sign of stopping. 

it took a few days for if u think about me to really work its magic, but once it did i found myself yelling along to this break-up banger at any given opportunity despite having not had a relationship for nearly six (!) years. slightly more subdued for the pop lover, the chorus still packs a punch with her signature "woo-ah" becoming a "you-ah", and if that's not growth i don't know what is. 

2. joan 

if you've been reading this blog for ten minutes or more, you'll probably know that 80s music is my One True Love, hence why this next track would have knocked me off my feet had i not been sitting down. synth-pop duo joan have been making waves with their retro sound since 2017 and their offerings have been mixed so far, but this track was an instant stand-out. with all the hallmarks of a thompson twins or tears for fears track, drive all night will be on repeat in the coming months. 

3. GIRLI 

another artist whose releases have been hit or miss, the north londoner hit the nail on the head with her latest offering, deal with it. bearing all the hallmarks of pop music's past - think teenage dream-era katy perry and when kesha still had the dollar sign in her name - yet still decidedly fresh, it harks back to when pop music was all about Having A Good Time and with artists like kim petras at the helm, i'm delighted to see more upbeat tracks infiltrating the mass of depressing hip-hop/trap infused music clogging up the charts of late. 

4. dorian electra

following a string of super catchy bops, dorian electra decided to try something new and "crowdsourced" their latest single with the help of their instragram followers. the songwriting session for 2 fast took place via a live stream in which a plethora of fans - many of them musicians themselves - added their input on the lyrics, BPM and even cover art for the track; more than 200 people are credited with its creation at the end of the lyric video. in theory it should have been a disaster, but somehow dorian and their team of collaborators (which includes bonnie mckee who is responsible for this Absolute Banger) managed to produce one of the best songs of 2019 so far. 

5. kerrie-anne

last week saw the return of eurovision: you decide, in which the public and a panel of judges (including saturdays alumnus mollie king) decided which song should represent the UK at this year's song contest. as predicted, they went with the safe option, a budget sam smith wailer by the name of michael rice whose track bigger than us shows all the signs of an x factor winner's single from 2010; its only redeeming feature was a slight key change in the middle. 

in my opinion, the real winner was kerrie-anne and her song sweet lies, which would be far more memorable with audiences. the worlds of x factor and eurovision have collided somewhat in the last few years, with more and more acts hoping the international song contest could be their Big Break. but anyone who knows eurovision knows that cheesy pop reigns supreme; loreen's impeccable euphoria, the iconic outfits worn by bucks fizz and of course swedish behemoth ABBA are what everyone remembers. 

sweet lies would be right at home not only blasting through the speakers of a gay club at 2am but on the stage in tel aviv this year and it's criminal that pop lovers everywhere will be denied this moment. adding insult to injury, the track isn't even on spotify, but was uploaded to youtube yesterday, so if you need me i'll be playing it at full volume and dreaming of what could have been. 

6. slayyyter 

after what feels like an eternity, mine is finally here. slayyyter posted a snippet of the song at the end of january that sent Gay Twitter into a meltdown, and the 90s-inspired club ready bop was definitely worth the wait.