new (and old) music friday #37: gia woods, robyn, georgia, BTS

last weekend, something incredible but also totally ridiculous happened. after a mildly stressful skype call on good friday, i'm now a ~narrative writer~ for the music streaming site VIBBIDI, which is currently undergoing a revamp before its official launch in the summer. their aim is to bring back the Good Old Days before music bloggers weren't an endangered species, which is where i come in, writing reviews about my favourite artists. 

somehow they stumbled across this blog and liked the look of my writing, and the idea that something i created nearly four (!) years ago as an escape from the stress of my uni course has led to an actual paid (!) job is still unbelievable to me. luckily my family were on holiday in wales so i had the house to myself all weekend, and spent the time yelling along to the songs i'm about to discuss below, partly in celebration but also complete disbelief that something so good has happened to me after one of the worst years i've had in recent memory. 

1. gia woods 

it's safe to say i've fallen hard for gia woods. after making waves with her 2015 track only a girl - the video of which served as her coming out - she's gone on to release a string of catchy synth-driven bops, each with a Big Chorus to boot. her latest release keep on coming was an instant favourite of mine, but unbelievably it did take me a few listens before i could fully appreciate the excellence of break-up banger new girlfriend and risk-it-all anthem jump the fence. all that's in the past now though and i've had all three on repeat this last week. 

2. dorian electra

every article i've read about dorian's incredible new single flamboyant has referred to them as a "charli xcx collaborator", but if you ask me, their brand of bold 80s inspired electro-pop has established them as a unique artist operating in their own lane. building on the sound of previous hits career boy, VIP and man to man before tearing them down to create something new, flamboyant - with its delightfully campy video that pays homage to liberace - veers dangerously close to a parody of pop, but as pitchfork said, it's clear electra is in on the joke. 

3. aly & aj

i know i've talked about this duo incessantly in the last few months, but can you really blame me when every single song they've released has been a banger? their latest track don't go changing is no exception, where a gentle bed of synths gives way to a drum beat belinda carlisle would be proud of. they also opened up to paper about their mental health issues during their days at disney, in which they had leading roles in phil of the future and the quite frankly iconic cow belles (supposedly inspired by the legendary simple life). as discussions about mental health are becoming more and more normalised, it's still reassuring to see that our favourite artists are human and face the same struggles as the rest of us. 

4. swimming girls 

ever since i saw them support pale waves last year, i've been obsessed with the bristol-based band, whose impeccable back catalogue just got a whole lot better with 1 2 many, their latest single. their irresistible blend of indie-pop soundtracks a story many of us will be familiar with as they try and fail to resist urge to drunk-text That Person, arriving at their door in the dead of night. with an EP in the works, i'm excited to see what they'll do next and am eagerly awaiting the next time they come to manchester. 

5. kim petras 

a significant departure from the sugary sweetness of the SOPHIE-assisted 1, 2, 3 dayz up, broken is decidedly more subdued, but kim's heavily autotuned vocals still pack an emotional punch; though she's in paris in mark jacobs, it's obvious the wounds still haven't healed. whether this song marks the direction of her next album remains to be seen, but i'm definitely here for it should she decide to go full 5 in the morning on us. 

5. georgia 

i first became aware of georgia when she dropped the critically acclaimed started out last year, and i couldn't get its melody out of my mind. the daughter of leftfield's neil barnes, their electronic sound has no doubt influenced her own work, and nowhere is this more apparent than on about work the dancefloor, an Absolute Bop reminiscent of robyn's early sound. whether i'm going out or staying in, this song has been on repeat pretty much since i heard it.

6. robyn

following my last post, i felt compelled to check out robyn's setlist from her alexandra palace gigs because though i love dancing on my own - imagine my distress when i realised i saw her perform it in 2012 supporting coldplay and have no recollection of it - and call your girlfriend, i was intrigued to see if she had any other bops i'd neglected, and it's safe to say i wasn't disappointed. ever the poptimist, i couldn't help favour her earlier tracks from 2010's body talk, including hang with me, indestructible and stars 4-ever, but i also rediscovered missing u from her newest album honey. i found the whole thing a bit hit and miss, but this ode to love and loss hit me right where it hurts. a classic Sad Bop - of which robyn has undoubtedly had a hand in bringing to the mainstream - i found myself yelling it at the top of my voice while tears streamed from my eyes, and if you ask me, that's the sign of a truly excellent pop song. 

7. ellie goulding

another hit and miss artist, i strongly believe miss goulding peaked with the release of her debut album lights, which contains gems such as wish i'd stayed, this love (will be your downfall) and your biggest mistake, as well as starry eyes, which despite being A Bop, fell foul of overplaying on every major radio station throughout 2010. 2015's delirium also spawned some hits such as army, don't panic and don't need nobody, while her contributions to both the fifty shades and bridget jones soundtracks were also excellent. while her third album has yet to see the light of day, she's released a smattering of sub-par singles in the last year, but that all changed with sixteen. 

much like robyn's dedication to the Sad Bop, ellie goulding has dealt largely with nostalgia ever since lights was released, often lamenting the early days of her teenage relationships before Real Life got in the way. nowhere is this more apparent than sixteen, which sees her reminiscing about "the reckless days of being a teenager", via billboard. while my own Teenage Years were as far from reckless as possible - i was distinctly unpopular and it would be years before their penchant for binge-drinking blue WKDs on the field behind their respective houses held any appeal for me - i can't get enough of this piano-driven bop, which unlike her previous releases flux and close to me features something akin to my beloved Big Chorus, and i'm praying her upcoming album will include more of the same. 

8. BTS/halsey

after weeks spent dodging boy with luv as it permeated every inch of my social media despite me not following any k-pop obsessives, i finally gave in and properly listened to it and my place on the bandwagon has been firmly established. prompted by a tweet from matty healy, i watched their performance of the song on SNL and found myself captivated by their dance moves and impeccably cut suits. though i've yet to delve into the depths of BTS' discography, i can't deny their ability to create a damn good song and while halsey's contribution is minimal, it's no doubt brought k-pop to a whole new audience who would never actively seek it out themselves, so maybe by my next new music friday post i'll be a fully fledged BTS stan. 

new (and old) music friday #3: pet shop boys, ellie goulding, taylor swift, femme

i'll be honest, there's only one new release mentioned in this post; instead i found myself revisiting old favourites this last week. 

1. femme

last friday saw the release of femme's long-awaited debut album, debutante. all we've had to tide us over for the past year was her infectiously catchy singles gold and S.O.S, but the album will no doubt satisfy the pop cravings of her loyal fans, some of which - myself included - had the chance to appear in her video for light me up. 

i first saw that she was looking for people to star in the video through a post she made on instagram, and seeing as one of my life-long dreams was always to be in a music video, decided to email her about it. it wasn't long before the day of the shoot came around and i was making my way to london, trying to find the studio which was tucked away in a secret corner of tottenham hale. i arrived half an hour late (sorry), sweat most likely dripping from my forehead onto my carefully-applied foundation, so it was lucky there was a make-up artist on hand for any touch ups. there were only a handful of people there, including femme herself, which considerably eased my anxiety. 

the actual filming itself took about ten minutes, but was definitely one of the most bizarre experiences of my life. the premise of the video was that everyone had to sit down in front of the camera with their eyes closed and react to whatever was put in front of them. typically, i drew the short straw and ended up putting my fingers into a tub of electric blue hair gel and touching what i think was an uncooked sausage. pretty gross, but it produced a great reaction. though i think i had it fairly good compared to the guy who went before me, i arrived just as he'd finished plunging his feet into a bucket of ice. 

nevertheless, the video turned out great (and i'm not just saying that because i was in it) and when it was released last month, my mother took great pleasure in showing it to everyone she knew. it also had its premiere on v magazine's website, and it was also featured on nylon and buzzfeed (number 18 for those of you too lazy to scroll down the list) (don't worry, i'm one of you). you can see it here (find me at 2:19-2:22)and when you're done, listen to the album on spotify. my favourite tracks include shout out loud, fever boy and romeo. 

2. selena gomez/nicki minaj

this time last week i was in york with my best friend, this week he's preparing to leave for new york tomorrow, where he'll be living for the next three months. life, eh? 

but of course we celebrated with an excellent pre-party playlist, which included two songs from two of my favourite pop artists that had somehow passed me by. the first one was me & my girls from selena gomez's excellent album revival, which is the ultimate girl-power, don't-need-no-man anthem. i'm going home with who i came with, and who i came with's not you, she quips in the bridge, and i think we all (i.e. me) need to remember that a good night out isn't totally defined by whether you go home with someone (or at the very least share a sambuca-infused kiss). 

the second was beautiful sinner by our lord and saviour nicki minaj, taken from her second (and in my opinion, best) album pink friday: roman reloaded. the only requirement when listening to this song is that it is turned up as loud as possible (though having a drink or two in you is also advised). you're a cheat and a liar but tonight you're everything i desire, croons minaj in the pre-chorus, before the songs launches into a dance floor-ready chorus, and it's a combination of heartfelt lyrics and heavy beats that just works.

3. pet shop boys 

upon retuning home the next day incredibly hungover, i needed a pick-me-up that didn't involve alcohol, and what better than the pet shop boys live concert from their 2009 pandemonium tour, recorded at london's O2 arena. the full concert can be found on youtube, but if like me you have the attention span of a squirrel, i recommend just listening to it's a sin, why don't we live together?, new york city boy and two divided by zero, all of which i'd not heard before but are now firm favourites of mine. 

determined not to let the (living-room based) party end (i even recovered enough to have a single red berry bulmers), my mother and i continued our listening via youtube through our TV speakers, and let me tell you, the "related video" section is a true blessing. it all started when i made her listen to vocal, one of my favourite tracks from 2014's electric and from there, we discovered a plethora of more previously-unheard tracks, including thursday, axis and love is a bourgeoisie construct. the next day we were in HMV ransacking the racks until we found the aforementioned album and come monday morning, my mother was blasting it as loud as possible in her car in the morning's traffic on her way into work. 

we also dug out some of their older albums. the first was 1993's (!!) very, which includes gems such as can you forgive her?, i wouldn't normally do this kind of thing, and yesterday when i was mad. secondly was story: 25 years of hits, a compilation CD free with the mail on sunday back in 2009, in support of their album yes. i never got as far as listening to that album because i was hooked as soon as i heard the compilation. back in 2009, i fell in love with west end girls, home and dry, flamboyant and what have i done to deserve this? (fun fact: this song was playing while i was shooting the video with femme and she didn't know what the song was; luckily i was on hand to tell her), and i still love them to this day. 

4. ellie goulding 

it was also thanks to my mother that i fell in love with a song i wasn't crazy about when i first heard it, and it was army by ellie goulding. it might not sound like much when you first hear it, but don't make the same mistake i did and switch it off after the first minute. if you wait long enough, you'll be rewarded with a spectacular crescendo of synths that make it all worthwhile. i proceeded to spend every bus journey post-hearing-this-song-for-the-first time with it playing full blast and trying not to cry as i thought about my best friend leaving me for three months. we'll be okay though, because as ellie says, no-one fucks it up like us. 

there are also a few gems on her last release delirium that i revisited this last week, including don't panic, don't need nobody and something in the way you move. i also went back to her first album lights and fell back in love with this love (will be your downfall), wish i stayed and your biggest mistake, some great album tracks that were lost in the hysteria surrounding her breakout single starry eyed back in 2010. 

5. taylor swift

finally, fresh in at number five is new romantics by the pop giant that is taylor swift. though i have mixed feelings towards swift, perfectly encapsulated in this article, this song came at me out of nowhere. it appeared in the "recommended" section of my youtube homepage, and i clicked on it just out of curiosity. one listen later and i was hooked. 

i suppose because of my feelings towards 1989-era taylor, a world away from the naive country star with the corkscrew curls that 14-year-old me adored, i was reluctant to admit that i actually enjoyed this song. i closed the tab and went back to whatever it was i was doing (i don't even remember now, such was the impact of the track) but i couldn't help myself going back for more. 

and that was how i found myself listening to it on repeat at 3am with tears in my eyes because despite all her controversial "slut-shaming" lyrics, the girl can write a bloody good pop song that perfectly encapsulates the pain of every 20-something the world over. 

honourable mentions 

of course i couldn't end this post without mentioning the passing of the purple king prince, who ended his glam-rock reign when he passed suddenly last night. because his music is near-impossible to find online after he did a taylor swift and took it all down from spotify, i can't provide any links, but i highly recommend tracking down a physical copy of his greatest hits (something i'm planning to do this weekend) and listen to purple rain (of course), raspberry beret, 1999, when doves cry and my favourite (so far, i'm aware that there's more of his expansive discography i'm yet to explore), little red corvette. i'm not going to add the terribly low-quality youtube links because such an icon deserves a much better send off. 

this week was also excellent for music videos, and so i present little mix's hair, perfectly summed up in this witchsong article, rihanna's spectacular needed me, directed by cult film-maker harmony korine, and finally, released yesterday, the heartbreaking video for a change of heart by the 1975, which has got me playing the album on repeat all over again. 

finally, this week's playlist can be found here.