europopped

Not everyone in Scandinavia has blond hair. And not everyone is perennially perky, either. Take, for example, darkwave goddess Karin Park. The Swedish singer-songwriter who has lived in (and maybe still does) Norway has had some Scandi success the past few years with less-than-sunny material that might appeal to Depeche Mode fans or even a few fans of Goth music. But Lady Gaga lovers will also like her. Her latest is "Restless" and it's a dark pop masterpiece, with chilling synths and standout vocals. Per her bio, her latest record "combines electronica, industrial, dubstep and synth pop with her unmistakeable, truly unique voice." Her forthcoming album (Highwire Poetry) drops May 28th and "was influenced by her strict religious upbringing in a remote Swedish town and the three years she spent in a Japanese missionary school," per England's Guardian. Barry Barnett and Christoffer Berg (The Knife etc) produced the set. Not sure if she's joking or not, but she claims this video was shot in her current house, a church (spooky yet awesome).

Follow @europopped

There's a new dance diva in Sweden and she's ready to take over, friends. Nikita Nox hails from Malmö and has previously worked as a dancer for artists such as Arash, touring the world with him. Now, she's launching a solo career and "What Would You Do" is her deubt music video. The song has been out since last year, but she just uploaded a clip for it today. She also signed a licensing deal with Playground music Scandinavia. Check out her first music video below....really pretty good!

Follow @europopped

For those who obsessively follow the Swedish scene, there's no question who the most exciting new alt rock/pop act is from Stockholm. The answer is Urban Cone. We first wrote about this band last year (see their fantastic "Freak") and each new single is progressively better. "Kings & Queens" is no exception. The five piece (Rasmus Flyckt, Magnus Folkö, Tim Formgren, Emil Gustafsson, Jacob William Sjöberg) recently played a few shows in Canada and are set to electrify fans in Europe this summer. We only pray that Goldenvoice/Coachella books them for 2013 to play the Miike Snow slot (they deserve as much and are every bit as good as Miike Snow, despite the fact not as many know this Universal Music Sweden/Warner Chappell publishing signed quintet, yet). Just genius songwriting. See below for proof (brand new video).

Follow @europopped

Why isn't this song and video bigger than Rita Ora's latest single? It's better! Alex Saidac's video for "Stay In This Moment" dropped yesterday and somehow it only has around 2000 views, which is confounding for a song and clip this strong. We wrote about Alex last year when she dropped her fantastic "Shine," but this new single of hers is even better....boasting a pop hook worthty of Rita or Rihanna. Speaking of Rihanna, Alex's song recently beat a Riri track in a Swedish radio station challenge (just an informal online voting poll at sverigesradio's website, but still) so maybe there is hope this tune will catch fire in Sweden and perhaps elsewhere by summer. Really strong song, check it below.  

Follow @europopped

So there's this singer named Rebecca Stella in Sweden. She's sort of one of those girls that divides women in Stockholm: some love her, others hate her for her looks and style. Regardless, the beauty has put herself on the map...appearing in a branded jeans ad campaign for Sweden's Nelly late last year. Remarkably, it's an American label, Ultra Records, that now hopes to give her music career a boost (not too surprising, given that Ultra is the home to Rebecca & Fiona in the States). Today they uploaded/debuted her latest music video, "Give Me That O." We can assure you the "O" here does not stand for oatmeal. Check it below, followed by her recent ad for Nelly. Not bad at all and better than her last video, "Swag In A Bag."

Follow @europopped