SIGRID RELEASES BRAND NEW SINGLE “THE HYPE”

Sigrid, the award-winning, critically acclaimed global pop star, went back to basics earlier this year, writing new songs in studios from London to Oslo.

After a period of musical experimentation, the 26-year-old reclaimed control of the writing process, crafting lyrics and melodies that felt true to her roots as one of the biggest breakthrough Scandinavian pop stars of her generation.

Reflecting on the past six years of stardom, Sigrid introduced us to her defiant pop with feminist anthem “Don’t Kill My Vibe” in 2017, which led to her winning the prestigious BBC Sound of 2018 – the first Norwegian artist to do so – and today Sigrid releases brand new single “The Hype.”

“The Hype” is a sprawling pop anthem that embodies everything we’ve come to love about the pop sensation, with gritty lyricism and melodies that never stop rising. I’m wondering if I lived up to the hype. Sigrid discovers a universal feeling that encompasses revelations about career and relationship success. This quick-witted power anthem is both witty and blunt, a full circle moment from “Don’t Kill My Vibe,” which was the start of Sigrid’s “The Hype.”

This is the first release Sigrid has a producer credit on, having knuckled down in the studio earlier this year with longtime collaborator Askjell, who co-wrote one of Sigird’s biggest ballads Dynamite, and Nick Hahn.

“The Hype” is part of Sigrid’s highly anticipated upcoming project, the first new music since How To Let Go’s Acoustic special edition last year, and is driven by a dance-like-no-one-is-watching beat.

Sigrid remains one of the most understated pop stars, dressed in a T-shirt and jeans to perform live on stage, choosing practicality over what is expected of young female musicians in the music industry.

The visuals for “The Hype” stay true to Sigrid’s debut EP, with no props to lean on and no grandiose concepts, just Sigrid, honest and raw. Sigrid’s rawness is the thread that has endeared her to global audiences.

Sigrid performed a surprise headline set at Barn On The Farm last month, turning up with only a keyboard and reducing her massive pop songs to stunning piano songs, showcasing Sigrid’s inimitable talent as a modern singer songwriter.

She then took the stage with British band Flyte and artists Billie Marten and Ber, performing a ten-minute cover of Neil Young’s Old Man, which became a festival highlight.

Sigrid has become one of the leading live pop acts of her generation, with two top 5 critically acclaimed albums under her belt, 2019’s Sucker Punch and 2022’s How To Let Go, arena shows in both London and Ireland, global world tours from Japan to LA, and festival performances ranging from Glastonbury to her first UK festival headline at Belladrum in Scotland.

Since Sigrid’s ascension to pop stardom in 2017, the 26-year-old has achieved every accolade a young artist from a small town off the coast of Norway could ever hope for, writing huge pop songs from the heart with that rasp and recalling great vocalists from Stevie Nicks to Carole King and Freddie Mercury.

With her nonconformist and progressive attitudes toward femininity in pop, Sigrid has lit up stages. Sigrid has become renowned for her high-energy live shows, writing anthemic choruses for breathtaking festival performances, and will end 2022 headlining London’s SSE Wembley Arena. It’s no surprise that Sigrid feels she can truly express “all those emotions” when she performs live with her band.

Hailed as “life-affirming” (NME), “stunning” (Line of Best Fit) and “an impressive pop statement” (Clash) – last year’s How To Let Go built on the praise of 2019’s debut Sucker Punch – home to the enormous banger, top 10 hit and festival favourite “Strangers” – flitting between disco-tinged lead single, “Mirror”, and the alt-rock emo of Bring Me The Horizon collaboration, “Bad Life.”

Like her debut, “How To Let Go” crashed into the Norwegian charts at number 1, while in the UK it improved on Sucker Punch’s number 4 debut by reaching number 2. Its success means that since exploding straight out of the blocks in 2017 with instant classic and feminist anthem “Don’t Kill My Vibe”.

Last year was a pivotal period in Sigrid’s collaboration. After meeting Griff at a fashion show, the two pop stars bonded over pizza and their music industry experience, and went into the studio to write the mighty firecracker ‘Head on Fire,’ which won Best Collaboration at the NME Awards 2022.

Another chance meeting with Bring Me The Horizon backstage at Reading Festival led to vocalist Oli Sykes and keyboardist Jordan Fish sending a demo to Sigri – both being fans of each other’s music – and the tear-stained rock ballad “Bad Life” was born.

The song is an allegory for dealing with mental health struggles day by day, combining the Norwegian pop sensation’s uplifting powerhouse choruses with Bring Me The Horizon’s ability to capture intense emotion, and will be performed in a powerful version at Reading & Leeds festival 2022.

Sigrid has cemented her position as the ‘voice’ in alt-pop, but reminds us that at the heart of every one of her huge pop songs is a girl at the piano in her hometown Alesund.

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Ivy Rose

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