Reneé Rapp Heats Up HEY GIRL Radio with New Single “Leave Me Alone” + Album Bite Me

Reneé Rapp lounges on a patterned sofa in a casual yet bold look, wearing a white tank top and jacket, with her blonde hair cascading over her shoulder and an intense gaze.

This is some HOT sh@t 🔥🔥

Fresh out. So cool it hasn’t even touched the ground. Reneé Rapp just dropped “Leave Me Alone” — and it’s an instant banger. Bold, unfiltered, and brimming with bad girl brilliance, the new single marks the official start of her Bite Me era — her long-awaited second album, landing August 1st via Interscope (Polydor in the UK).

Close-up photo of Reneé Rapp with tousled blonde hair partially covering her face, lips slightly parted, and a bold, intense expression. The image features a clean white background and a "Parental Advisory: Explicit Content" label in the bottom left corner.

Let’s talk about this track. “Leave Me Alone” is high drama and high energy — a breakup anthem for anyone who’s ever had enough and isn’t afraid to say it. Reneé channels every ounce of frustration, power, and messy emotion into a track that sounds like a late-night scream session wrapped in pop gold.

“A powerful statement about reclaiming your personal narrative, ‘Leave Me Alone’ encourages listeners to embrace every facet of their personality — the chaotic and the confident.”

Reneé Rapp lounges on a patterned sofa in a casual yet bold look, wearing a white tank top and jacket, with her blonde hair cascading over her shoulder and an intense gaze.
Shot by Zora Sicher

And the video?

Blonde doppelgängers. A raunchy pillow fight. Total chaotic brawl.

It’s wild. It’s weird. And it’s totally watchable. Reneé doesn’t just perform — she owns the moment. This is theatre-kid-turned-pop-star behaviour, and we’re obsessed.

She’s been teasing this new era with chaotic breadcrumbs — from launching a mysterious BITE.ME website and flashing a “Bite Me” lip tattoo, to cryptic celeb posts from Paris Hilton, Charlize Theron, Gabby Windey, and even Monica Lewinsky. It’s cheeky. It’s viral. It’s peak Reneé.

And this drop follows serious heat. You’ll remember her collab with Megan Thee Stallion on Not My Fault — the fiery track from the Mean Girls reboot soundtrack, where Reneé reprised her role as the Regina George. That song smashed her Spotify streaming record and led to a power duo moment on Saturday Night Live.

Before that, she released her debut album Snow Angel — a breakout record that became the biggest debut by a female artist in the U.S. in 2023, racking up 1.4 BILLION streams (and counting). That’s not just numbers — that’s a full-blown takeover.

And now?

She’s back, bolder than ever. With Bite Me incoming, “Leave Me Alone” is the perfect battle cry for anyone reclaiming their space, their story, and their voice.

Reneé Rapp is biting back.

She’s chaotic royalty, and she’s on HEY GIRL Radio right now.

HGx

HEY GIRL IS FREEDOM + LOVE

HEY GIRL Radio: Remember Summer’s cover of Miley Cyrus’s anthem “Wrecking ball”

music band of men and woman standing in front of smoke holding flowers in black and white

Lets Fly Fly and Float Away… Relax, sit back, and let life wash over you like a warm summer breeze.

Sometimes, in these days, we need to escape from the current state of our minds and the world. This dreamy pop version of Miley Cyrus’s “Wrecking Ball” does just that. Remember Summer’s cover is a unique take on this iconic song, with an amazing video that makes it an instant classic. Love it! We love how creativity can touch your heart with an instant flash of togetherness and joy.

The pair met in the summer of ’16 at the Forest Gate café where they both worked and started making up songs to pass the time in a hot kitchen.

Dove recalls…

“Summer of 2016 became the year of collaboration for Paddy and me. We started swapping ideas at work. It all started as a bit of fun, really, sort of a distraction to stem boredom.

“But when the café went bust the following year and we both got fired, we realized that we’d started something we missed more than frying eggs. Since we live 5 minutes away from each other, we’ve kept it up. This is… Remember Summer.”

The duo now is beginning to unveil their new music as they enter a fresh chapter. Taking the well-loved Miley Cyrus anthem “Wrecking Ball” and giving it their own folk flair, Remember Summer added a vintage-soaked hue to the modern pop track. Glowing with warmth and a tinge of nostalgia, the duo uses raw synths and echoing vocals to put their own stamp on the hit track.

Dreaming of summer…

This song is perfect for dreaming of warm summer mornings, lying back in the grass, looking up at the sky, and dreaming big. But hey, girl, it’s not all soft—the powerful vibes are inspirational. This is a summer classic. We love it!

HG x

HEY GIRL Radio: Daphne Guiness video by David LaChapelle

Check out Daphne Guinness. The release of her new and fourth album, Sleep, via Agent Anonyme Recordings.

Daphne: “Volcano is one of the first songs I wrote with my writing partner Malcolm Doherty. I remember being on a train in Germany and observing a furtive man with a suitcase and my imagination went straight to Marlene Deitreich in Shanghai Express. As I pulled into Hamburg in the driving North Sea rain, my thoughts ran wild: what was in that suitcase? I’ve always been interested in espionage and spy movies, and imagery from the clandestine world of the ’30s made for a compelling juxtaposition with its electro/dance sound.”

Contemplative, self-reflective, and personal, it represents her most beguiling body of work to-date; a sleek sophisticated experience enhanced by an array of esoteric creative touches, complementing its dancefloor rush. Today’s announcement is accompanied by the new single, Volcano, and her latest visual collaboration with iconic filmmaker and photographer David LaChapelle.

Volcano leaps between eras: referencing the mystery of Weimer-era underground clubs. It finds Daphne, with her cut-glass English accent, embodying a secret agent in “nothing but my trench coat”, set against a backdrop of ’60s surf guitar, disco, and pioneering electronica. Like much of Daphne’s music, the track also features unconventional sonics: including a tinkling, metallic percussion sound captured by dropping a piece of low-density aerogel onto a glass surface.

Says David, “Working with Daphne is like stepping into another era of music, when things were not done by committee and it wasn’t just about selling units, it was about collaborating and creating artistic album covers and videos. The freedom and trust she gives me is unparalleled, aside from my own projects — it’s always such a unique and fabulous experience. The end result is as beautiful and as glamorous as the process. In Volcano you can see the sense of humour and the joie de vivre that people don’t necessarily know that Daphne possesses.

“I’m pulling that out in this video — the song inspired that. Daphne is not as serious as people would think, and it’s great to show what a true artist and collaborator she really is. She makes her art and music for all the right reasons.”

David LaChapelle’s video for Volcano opens with the arresting sight of Daphne hurtling into the airbag of a car before unfolding into a visual feast of surrealist visions. At first glance it feels like a celebration of the excesses and decadence of the fashion world, but it gradually degenerates into a nightmarish satire of the industry’s darker tropes. It represents a rare foray back into music videos for LaChapelle, after previously helming the singles Evening In Space, Revelations I, II & III and Heaven for Daphne.

It has been nine years since he last directed a video for another artist: Hozier’s unforgettable Take Me To Church.

Daphne says, “This album encompasses my world view at this moment, I’m looking back and looking forward at the same time. I think that music is an equaliser in so many ways. It’s a way to get a message through in the weird times that we’re living in. Every album is an education.”

Enjoy < Big Love HEY GIRL xx

Album Sleep to be released on April 19, 2024

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HEY GIRL Radio: Surprise Baby new single

singer surprise baby for hey girl magazine

Los Angeles based project Surprise Baby new single Motorcycle.

Motorcycle details a commentary on the feeling of escapism and shimmers with muted, jangly guitars, mellow melodies and celestial harmonies, creating an iridescent soundscape that you can truly lose yourself within.

Surprise Baby is the Los Angeles based project of musician and songwriter Sarsten Noice and producer Claire Morison. Described as rock and roll cowboy meets indie pop, the two, who are originally from Northwest Montana, use their long-standing relationship as friends and creative partners to craft a sound which is both authentic and captivating.

Their upcoming EP is a result of Surprise Baby refusing to be pigeon-holed and see’s the two exploring a realm of different genres and sounds. Following the release of their debut single Poison the Well, Motorcycle is the second track from the EP and details a commentary on the feeling of escapism. It is a mostly fictional narrative on the desire to escape a relationship, specifically on a motorcycle heading to New York.

Noice shares, “Call it a quarter life crisis, call it fear of commitment, the feeling is that of running away. There is also a sentiment of not wanting your partner to worry over you, and making the unrealistic promise that you won’t die on the road. The fact that the narrator believes so deeply they won’t die while simultaneously desiring to be as close to danger as possible is the irony of the song itself.

“It is a mostly fictional narrative on the desire to escape a relationship, specifically on a motorcycle heading to New York…”

Motorcycle shimmers with muted, jangly guitars, mellow melodies and celestial harmonies, creating an iridescent soundscape that you can truly lose yourself within.

Not afraid to speak her truth, Noice shares how she uses songwriting as a way to process her internal world and give intense emotions a way out of her body. She shares, “I try to create imagery that accurately captures a specific feeling and then allow myself to build lyrics in an abstract way, opposed to straightforward storytelling. This I hope leaves the songs open to the listeners’ interpretation.”

The highly anticipated upcoming EP will see Surprise Baby continue to touch on themes surrounding relationships, self-growth, spirituality and transformation.

Enjoy .. Big love HG xx

HEY GIRL Radio: Raina Sokolov-Gonzalez is back

Raina Sokolov-Gonzalez: Healing Through Music

Raina Sokolov-Gonzalez invites us to pause, reflect, and breathe with her latest single, The Healing — a meditation on gratitude wrapped in the warm embrace of Jazz, R&B, and Gospel. This isn’t just a song; it’s a soulful reminder that every moment we share is a blessing. As Raina puts it, “Grounded in the body, The Healing remembers the preciousness of life”.

A Brooklyn-based singer and composer with music in her DNA, Raina grew up speaking the language of melody and rhythm. Rooted in Jazz and R&B, her soundscape is alive with harmonic intricacies and raw, poetic storytelling. Her songs begin with improvisation, digging into emotional truths and transforming the everyday into something profound. Vulnerable and brave, her music invites us into her sonic world — a space where honesty shines and connection deepens.

Produced by her brother Jake Sokolov-Gonzalez, mixed by Grammy-winning Jon Rosenberg, and mastered by 2x Grammy-nominated Ryan Schwabe, The Healing is an intentional creation from lyrics to arrangement. It delivers feel-good vibes alongside a much-needed message of hope and connection, building on themes explored in her previous releases, Who Is She and Like I See You.

Who Is She unpacks the evolving roles of women and the legacy of gender across generations, while Like I See You flips the love song script, celebrating the steadfast friendships that see us through life’s highs and lows.

With over a million Spotify streams and glowing features in The New York Times, Complex, Wonderland Magazine, and Rolling Stone, Raina’s music is touching hearts globally. She’s lit up iconic venues like Public Records, Brooklyn Bowl, and SOB’s, and her 2022 tours brought her soulful message to audiences across Europe and the West Coast.

Raina’s hope? That her music gives people permission to feel deeply — to let tenderness take up space, to connect honestly, and to love courageously.

Take a listen. Feel it. Share the love.

Big love,
HG xx

HEY GIRL Radio: Bishop Briggs Returns with New Single & Music Video

Bishop Briggs — Superhuman

Some songs don’t just play — they land. They find the tender spot and press gently until something opens. Bishop Briggs has always known how to make those songs, and her new single “superhuman” is no exception.

Out now via Arista Records, “superhuman” is everything we love about Bishop — her voice a force of nature, her lyrics a gift you didn’t know you needed. The hook says it plainly and beautifully: “You’re superhuman. Bulletproof as can be. I know the truth is you can do anything.”

We dare you not to feel something.

Born in London to Scottish parents, raised in Japan and Hong Kong, Bishop Briggs carried her whole world into music. Days after high school she landed in Los Angeles with a dream and a voice, playing every venue that would have her — until one night, in a tiny hole-in-the-wall, everything changed. The rest is the kind of story that makes you believe in following your instincts all the way.

“I wrote ‘superhuman’ when I was 8 months pregnant. I really felt like I was in a space where I was seeking positivity and light for my little one who was about to arrive. This song quickly became a poem about encouragement and knowing you have the strength to continue on no matter what comes your way.”

Bishop Briggs poses against a pale grey background in all black — sheer long-sleeve top, midi skirt, and strappy platform boots — arms outstretched, leaning into the frame with effortless energy.
Bishop Briggs gazes upward against a dreamy painted sunset backdrop — warm golds and purples — hands pressed together at her cheek, in a black textured jacket. Shot on film with a warm light leak bleeding across the bottom of the frame.

“Wild Horses.” “River” — 680 million streams and still climbing. Albums Church of Scars and Champion. Stages shared with Coldplay, alt-J, Kaleo, Bleachers. A life lived fully in the music. Bishop doesn’t blur genres so much as dissolve the walls between them — folk, pop, electronic, alternative — until what’s left is just pure feeling.

“superhuman” was chosen as the soundtrack for the Rise To campaign by Rise — an initiative of Schmidt Futures and The Rhodes Trust that finds brilliant young people who need opportunity and supports them for life. It’s a perfect match. A song about what you’re capable of, for people being shown exactly that.

If you know someone who needs to hear this today — send it. That’s what music like this is for.

Listen to “superhuman” on Spotify
Watch the music video on YouTube
Learn more about Rise

Love to listen. 🤍
Big love, HG xx

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Big love, HG xx

HEY GIRL Radio: NEW EP from XADES

Xades has just unveiled her highly anticipated Shaded EP!

Xades (pronounced “shades”) is the newest creation of the DJ and curator known mostly as MSJY. While MSJY’s DJ sets are known for their heavy bass, bouncy rhythms and darkness, Xades is an ode to the sweet Latina soul hidden underneath the tiny powerhouse behind the booth. While it is certainly new to hear the voice behind the sound, MSJY has been sharing her music around the world for more than eight years.

“Xades (pronounced shades)”

By using music as a portal to connect with people and interact with her surroundings, she enjoys exploring its various soundscapes with a sharp mind, sensitive ear and dedicated heart.

The Dekmantel-affiliated selector, and former resident at Amsterdam’s De School, Groningen’s OOST and Berlin’s Griessmuehle, is known for thoughtful, playful sets that dig into bass and breaks, adding dashes of her past influences: trip-hop and IDM.

As Xades, Jenny explores her voice and songwriting, extending her tentacles into different genres. The result is a vulnerable exploration that transitions smoothly through dub, downtempo electronica and contemporary R&B.

Her multiple musical and cultural roots – Brazilian mother, Argentinian father and Swiss passport – seep through the versatile layers of her sound.

Love to listen :)

Big love, HG xx

 

HEY GIRL Radio: NEW EP from Aibai

The new four-track EP from Aibai. Disconnected delivers an immersive experience, transporting listeners into an ambient dream-like state.

She’s back!! with an amazing EP ‘Disconnected’ .. here at HEY GIRL we really vibe off your sound, we just love it, put it on your headphones loud and let her beats take to a land of sun and possibilities.

Aibai is a 24-year-old producer from Minneapolis, currently based in Phoenix. Her songs are filled with ambient, cinematic soundscapes that create a daydream-like atmosphere. Having experimented with different genres, her new music explores more of an upbeat electronic dance style, taking inspiration from the likes of Odesza and Polo & Pan, mixing organic instruments with electronic elements to create a unique blend of sounds.

LOVE. LIFE
“You are so HEY GIRL”

Her latest four-track EP Disconnected, narrates the artist’s feelings during the time she wrote it. Noticing a disconnection from reality, she immersed her emotions into her music, creating a release which allows listeners to escape from real life, delivering an immersive experience and transporting them into an ambient dream-like state.

Leading single “Higher” sees the artist playing with samples she recorded of her roommates and pets. She shares, “It was super fun including everyone on this song! And I had a fun time taking their voices, meows, and barks and turning them into a cool new sound that could add to the song.”

All-encompassing echoing synths, playful melodies and dance-worthy beats create an intoxicating aura, letting your mind float away and forget about your worries. Ethereal, hypnotic and transcending, Aibai has constructed her own world with Disconnected, and it’s one where you’ll never want to leave.

Get listening gang :)

Big love HG xx

FREEDOM. LOVE

HEY GIRL Radio: Paprika Kinski

“Paprika Kinski is a sparkling pop gem that won’t hesitate to destroy your rival for 50 quids…. so be careful”
LOVE. LIFE

Paprika Kinski infuses this scintillating acid, everywhere: in her music obviously, but also in the accessories that she uses, in the cuts and the costumes that she signs for herself and her two musical acolytes Jean and Aurélien, from the group.

In her ordinary, deceptively naive fictions, she stages and sounds teenager passions and adult anxieties, life stories…

Their song “Eiffel Tower” was featured in the Netflix series ‘Emily in Paris’.

 

Big love HG xx

FREEDOM. LOVE

HEY GIRL Radio: Los Angeles-based artist MALIA

Look out for Malia
in 2022

Originally from the Pacific Northwest, the alternative R&B/neo-soul songstress garnered some initial buzz after opening for The Internet’s Syd on her West Coast tour and went on to amass millions of streams on her EPs Late Bloomer and Ripe. 

LOVE. LIFE

Often described as healing, MALIA’s sounds aren’t just something you listen to, they’re something you feel. Originally from the Pacific Northwest, the alternative R&B/neo-soul songstress is creating a buzz where ever she goes.

We love her sound .. Look out for her new EP coming soon

HG xx

FREEDOM. LOVE