New Year, New Scandipop

Starting the year with a bang. Or, more specifically, six bangers. Not a ballad in sight here.

Icelandic duo HubbaBubba have teamed up with Thorunn Antonia for Aldrei Of Seint, which they’ve recently taken to number 1 in Iceland. It’s a superb reworking of Thorunn’s own electropop hit from 2012, Too Late. And what’s not to love about a sustainable sound? Those Nordics always were streets ahead when it came to recycling!

It doesn’t get more Europop than a string-laden dance chorus built around a German phrase…but performed in Finnish, of course. Finland’s own Ira is out with a supremely catchy new tune Auf Wiedersehen.

Last year she had a huge hit with Crying Like A Bitch, now she’s back and still unapologetically Disturbing The Peace. It’s yet another soulful stunner from one of Denmark’s most promising new artists, Saint Clara.

“The way you touch me makes me a softie” probably wouldn’t be the most endearing lyric in the hands of a male popstar… But Danish artist MILA delivers the pop goods on her new single Softie – sounding like a cross between a Middle-Eastern beat-driven bop and a Tate McRae chart-topper.

V1 is the brand-new but retro-flavoured single from Norwegian producer Coucheron. It sounds like he’s playing with a sample of what could have been your favourite song off the radio as a kid. But nope, this is all written and produced solely by him. He’s clever like that.

She delivered one of my fave mood-pop moments of 2024 when she released Bed Of Roses. Now, ORKID is out with the parent EP – a five-track masterpiece called Where Flowers Grow. New song Skin and Bones is a particular highlight. It stands out via its shimmer; Swedish synthpoptastic enough to temporarily fill the Robyn-shaped hole we’ve all had in our lives for too long. It’s rare that a track comes along to be mentioned on that level – but this is definitely one of ’em.

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