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Neuphoria May Playlist Release!
Last week, Austria hosted the 70th Eurovision Song Contest. For the unfamiliar, Eurovision is like a flamboyant lovechild of American Idol and the World Cup. However, last week’s contest restored some dignity when rank outsider Bulgaria stormed to a shocking landslide victory. Bulgaria’s Dara Yotova jettisoned the usual Eurovision sequins, melodrama and operatic nonsense- instead delivering a raw streetwise rendition of “Bangaranga”, with an extra dollop of charisma.
Or maybe I’m just biased- I did love Bulgaria when I visited in March.
Inspired by Eurovision, I asked AI to create an image of Meg and me as Eurovision hosts. Wunderbar!
In addition to Bulgaria, Neuphoria travels to Austria, Sweden (2x), Korea and France (2x) and of course, the Anglosphere in May.
The Playlist direct links are:
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If you wish to vote on the May Playlist, please submit your votes either by using the "Like/Dislike" buttons below- or by using the comment section at the bottom of the page by EOD Sunday, June 7th PT (Monday, June 8th for the Europeans, Aussies and South Americans).
From down here,
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Dara, Bangaranga (Dance/Pop/World)- Dara’s “Bangaranga” was the ultimate Eurovision Cinderella story: the 14 th betting favorite, until Bulgaria’s charismatic underdog flipped the script with a fresh, streetwise semi-final performance that propelled her to a landslide victory, almost doubling the votes of second place, Israel.
Key to Dara’s success was her rejection of the typical Eurovision sequins, melodrama, and operatic key-changes in favor of raw choreography, equally influenced by an urban street aesthetic and chaotic Bulgarian pagan ritual energy. Her considerable charisma and Alyssia Liu inspired "halo hair" didn't hurt.
FILLY, Taxi Driver (Electronic/Dance)- Vienna newcomer FILLY’s “Taxi Driver” is annoyingly infectious, following in fine EuroTrash tradition.
The single pairs a frantic, glitchy hyperpop production with a shamelessly wacky music video that channels chaotic millennial energy. I’d like to hail this taxi😊
Zara Larsson & Pink Pantheress, Midnight Sun (Girls Trip remix) (Dance/House)- Sweden’s pop powerhouse (with nearly 70 million monthly Spotify listeners), takes her 2025 hit “Midnight Sun” on a proper Girls Trip with the UK’s PinkPantheress in this April 2026 remix. Zara swaps her usual glossy Europop for the Pantheress’s House and Drum & Bass makeover, a fitting 2026 anthem for Sweden’s approaching Midsommar nights.
Madeon & Slayyyter, Fire Away (Electronic/Dance)- After a quiet spell, French DJ wunderkind Madeon returns with the glittering, high-energy "Fire Away". Teaming up with April Neuphoria favorite Slayyyter, Madeon tames the Coachella "It Girl"'s usual chaos into a sleek club anthem. It’s the perfect marriage of Parisian production precision and trashy-pop royalty. Consider this track fully loaded.
CORTIS, REDRED (K-Pop)- This high-energy single from the teenage rookie quintet CORTIS is currently ruling South Korea, locking down the #1 spot on the streaming charts and trending heavily in Taiwan, Singapore, China and Vietnam. "REDRED" drops the usual hyper-polished K-Pop template for an industrial synthesizer-driven club vibe. Sound the alarm!
GENER8ION & Yung Lean, STORM (Electronic/Alternative)- Thanks to Neuphorian
Eoin for turning me on to "STORM", French producer GENER8ION and Swedish seminal rapper Yung Lean’s exceptional electro-rock hybrid. The pulsating 2-part track is massive, but the real headline is the jaw-dropping Romain Gavras-directed music video featuring mind-bending ensemble choreography by Damien Jalet and starring Yung Lean.
I've deliberately loaded the full 2-part video version into the playlist (not the separate 1-part audio songs). Prepare to be blown away…..
Yung Lean trivia- In 2013 when he was just 17, Lean was already the leading pioneer of Sweden’s groundbreaking DIY Cloud Rap subgenre, which inspired the sonic DNA of massive US rap stars like Travis Scott, Playboi Carti, Lil Yachty and Lil Uzi Vert. Even though my son was only 13 at the time, he was an early adopter of that scene, putting us among the 500 or so to see Yung Lean live at the hazy Regency Ballroom in SF in 2014.
Charli XCX, SS26 (Alternative)- Fresh off pronouncing the dancefloor "dead" tastemaker Charli doubles down on her moody alt-rock pivot. Produced by A.G. Cook, "SS26" swaps hyperpop loops for gritty guitar power chords, using the fashion industry’s "Spring Summer" acronym as a metaphor for a relationship that has passed its expiration date.
Drake & Sexxy Red, Cheetah Print (Rap/R&B)- After dropping a historic trifecta of solo albums on May 15, Drake tracks have monopolized the global streaming charts, and he became the 1st ever artist to have 3 LP's debut in the top 3 spots of the Billboard Album chart. Pulled from the Maid of Honour LP, the provocatively sleek "Cheetah Print". features a hypnotic 2000’s Southern trap bounce before co- conspirator Sexxy Red’s slides into a raunchy interpretation of the classic "Cha Cha Slide". Listeners be advised........
PawPaw Rod & Sherwyn, Lights Down Low (R&B)- Following his 2020 breakout
single"HIT EM WHERE IT HURTS" —which topped Spotify’s global viral
charts—Hawaii-born, Oklahoma-raised PawPaw Rod connects with singer-producer
Sherwyn on “Lights Down Low”. Pulled from his May 15 debut LP, Picture Day……, the track mirrors PawPaw’s ample afro and 70’s aesthetic with a humid funkiness that swells into a nostalgic late-night party vibe. A perfect excuse to dim the room…..
Finn Wolfhard, I’ll Let You Finish (Rock)- Better known for his screen time on
Stranger Things, Finn Wolfhard previews his sophomore solo album Fire From the Hip with a raw, unapologetically lo-fi lead single. “I’ll Let You Finish” leans hard into Pavement territory, with a twangy, 90’s-ish guitar line and even twangier DIY harmonies. In a bizarre bit of pop-culture performance art, Mr. Wolfhard closes the song by literally reciting the infamous 2009 Kanye VMA stage interruption of Tay Tay line-for-line.
Zinadelphia, Postcard (Pop)— Combining her name with her Philly hometown, 23-
year-old Zinadelphia delivers a look at the ache of long-distance love on "Postcard"
The centerpiece of her April EP, The Boutique, channels a distinct 60’s blue-eyed soul vibe, pairing melancholic string arrangements with a crisp, vintage backbeat, sounding like a direct descendent of 00’s British soul revivalists Amy Winehouse, Duffy and Adele.
Thanks to Neuphorian Paddybear for turning me on to “Postcard”!
Stella Lefty, I Know I Know (Country)- Riding the wave of her viral smash "Boston", LA-based newcomer Stella Lefty doubles down on her country-pop crossover sound with “I Know I Know”. Pulled from her debut mid-May EP, Is This Heaven?, the track relies on a bright, foot-tapping banjo and catchy guitar progression to deliver a carefree sing-along.
Olivia Rodrigo, the cure (Pop)- Our defending April Neuphoria winner (for "drop dead") returns with her May 22 single, “the cure”, already #3 on global streaming charts. Trading her signature pop punk for '90s alt-rock, Olivia opens with an intimate acoustic strum reminiscent of the Foo Fighters’ “Everlong” before evolving into a moody, slow-burn akin to Smashing Pumpkins.
After Ms. Rodrigo sings that "she's unraveled" 17x in the song, RFK is wondering whether there is too much flouride in her drinking water.......
Lola Young, From Down Here (Pop/R&B)- Neuphoria favorite and previous winner, South London’s Lola Young returns with “From Down Here”. The 24-year-old’s meteoric rise ground to a harrowing halt last autumn when she collapsed on stage mid-song, forcing a hiatus to battle mental health struggles and addiction recovery- a perspective from which she shares on the autobiographical “From Down Here”.
A breathtaking view from the bottom.
Sienna Spiro, The Visitor (Pop)- Fresh off pulling off the feat of simultaneously landing three singles on the Billboard Hot 100, including her UK top 10 smash "Die On This Hill"—the London powerhouse delivers the title track to her highly anticipated July debut album. "The Visitor" (current #10 in the UK) is a disarmingly vulnerable ballad about the fear of impermanence, featuring Ms. Spiro’s show stopping vocals backed by a sweeping, twenty-piece string orchestra.