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Today, I am doing something very different. With one exception, none of these singles were sent to me in one way or another. Today's items are written from a thought that occurred to me somewhere before Christmas and stuck in my head. Here I'm testing that idea a little.
But, before going into details. Yes, I'm an older male, listening today to music that was not made with someone like me in mind, but that every once in a while I am exposed to. Mostly through the morning show on Radio 2, that my wife likes to listen to before leaving for work and some other odd times when I come down from working upstairs. At Radio 2 they play mostly older music, but with sometimes something new thrown in. Quite often we are looking to each other and wondering, so this is the number 1 record at this moment, but when is this song finally starting? And then one song came by and I knew instantly why this was a hit (read the tenth post). Hence, this week's singles post focuses on young(er) female singers that are popular at this point in time, starting with the current number 1 over here. Let me apologies to fans, that not all I write may be to your liking, but, hey, even in 2026 tastes are allowed to differ.
The Fate Of Ophelia. Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift is one of the biggest if not the biggest artist(s) at the moment. And still, she never scored that BIG hit in The Netherlands. I always wondered how that is possible. In 2025-26 that has changed. She has her first number 1 hit. Now, I do not know a lot of Swift songs, so can't really compare. When listening to The Fate Of Ophelia, what I'm hearing is a decent pop track, one that sort of does everything right. It shows a lot of restraint as well, right up to the point that it has me wishing that it would go off at some point. The video clip starts with the recreation of a painting that apparently makes young women and girls go to the museum where the original hangs. Besides that, it recreates show movies that I saw on TV when I was young, Marilyn, Esther Williams, etc. Movies I did not really like, but nostalgia does a lot when watching the video in 2026. The Fate Of Ophelia is a nice track, no doubts there, but, The Netherlands, is this her best track yet or is it finally a recognition of her overall popularity?
Already 19 weeks on the charts and still at number 2 and nine weeks at number one in 2025 before Ms. Swift. This is the song that triggered my thoughts, "So this is number 1"? What I'm hearing, is a song with something of a soul vibe to it, but to my ears it has absolutely nothing going for it. The melody is bland, the singer has no vim in her. It sounds to me as if Man I Need is the result of a few students who had to stay late because they flunked their assignment. A have-to instead of want-to. I know, all is taste, but quite often I can not particularly like a song but hear what makes it good and liked, e.g. Miley Cyrus' 'Flowers'. This song totally passes me by here, even baffles me.
In life all needs to be fair. Olivia Dean is found twice in the chart of week 2, so let me give her a second chance. With So Easy (To Fall In Love) at number 9, she has two big hits at the same time. And if I had to choose, the choice would be obvious. This one is a genuine soul ballad. A song that could have been sung by both Aretha and Dusty. The bossa nova elements and the trumpet give the song a fresh vibe and even Herb Alpert would have fallen in love with Olivia singing this song. Here the relaxed vibe totally works in favour of the song. The heart and soul is in the singer and the musicians. To my ears So Easy (To Fall In Love) is totally anachronistic in 2026, but then I see young men and women dancing to the same tunes as I was as a student. So why should they not like a jazzy soul song like this?
Somewhat older, but a song that totally passed me by, I think. All of a sudden Lola Young was an item in my music magazine, 'Oor'. THE song was Messy, so I decided to give it a chance. The song came to number 2 in 2024 and stayed no less than 34 weeks in the charts. I find that I like the song. It has this slow drive that keeps it going at its own near slacker pace. Lola Young sing-talks in the verse and then sings in the chorus. In the lyrics she does not mince her words and whoever she's singing to must be either deaf or a total asshole. The chorus is not so much unlike what Taylor Swift does, but far rougher. More U.K. I'd say, direct and in your face. This is far from punk but the vibe of Messy is as direct as The Jam's 'A Town Called Malice'.
And what about The Netherlands? Well, here's Roxy Dekker. Last spring she drew so many people that it was near impossible to get on the 'Bevrijdingspop' terrain in Haarlem. I can be extremely short about Loser, which is despite the title a Dutch language song. This is bubblegumpop for the 2020s. Autotune, pop without any form of bite. It can't even come close to a song like 'Messy'. Why is this a hit (at number 15)?
Hannah Mae is a name I know, because of the tv series "Beste Zangers" where she participated. Wacht Op Mij ('Wait For Me') is a song that I hadn't heard before. It is number 26 this week. Hannah Mae presents a serious track, a true ballad, but not a love song. This is about mental illness and its consequences, but also the help that is offered. In her way of singing, she is an exponent of how several young female singers sing recently, a little breathy and hesitantly. In my ears this is a courageous single, not one that can be expected to become a hit. She chose to release it any way. This song is not for me, but I hear the love with which it was made and the vulnerability she shows through strength. Hannah Mae presents Wacht Op Mij with the exact right tone.
At number 34 comes Bente's new single. Vocally, she resembles Hannah Mae but also, lyrically and musically. Hoogtevrees ('vertigo') goes from brittle to huge during the course of the song. The theme is just as serious. Bente featured in the same show, 'Beste Zangers', but one season later. So, I knew her and knew she could really sing. The style of singing is not totally my thing, but lets say that after a few years I'm getting a little used to it. Hoogtevrees is an interesting track, as it manages to present a few different moods. Bente invites herself and everyone who tends to look to his/her feet to start looking up. The music invites her to do the exact same thing and becomes a positive storm, to end in a very small way. Again, a very serious theme for a single, but one that takes the listener along. It may not be an 'Eloise' or 'Just A Little Bit Of Peace In My Heart' to my ears, but for someone young in 2026 it may well, perhaps deserves to become so.
This debut single was pushed on that Radio 2 morning show I already mentioned, this week as new music on "Jan Willem's radar". Heidi Curtis takes us on board of a good and tight rock song. It takes me back circa 30 years when the likes of Alanis Morissette and all the female singers who followed her for a short period of time, most never heard from again, became popular. Listening to Undone, I can only say that I've heard this all before. Been there, done that, some passages even sound too familiar. Especially Florence + Machine comes to mind. That out of the way, Heidi Curtis rocks and quite enthusiastically. She goes for it and it is easy to hear she is serious about her first single. That makes the song a winner and this being a first single, gives Ms. Curtis hopefully ample time to find her own voice as well.
Back to abroad. Another name impossible to escape in the past year was Chappell Roan. To my surprise, she has not scored a really big hit. This is the last of her three chart entries. Listening to The Subway I can only barely suppress a yawn. When will this song get going? Okay, Ms. Roan can sing, that is obvious, but everything I'm hearing has been done before and a lot better. Perhaps I'm listening to the wrong song, but this is not for me.
And here, finally, you might say, is the cause of all the above. The reason why I wanted to write this specific post. This song is an instant banger. It sounds like something that I might have heard before, but never in this way. This went straight into my ears and set of fireworks there. This song has so much energy. I could also call it an ADHD track as it keeps bouncing around without a single pauze. The singing is all over the place. The horns keep blasting into my ears, at full blast at that, without mercy. The message is really hit home. To my surprise Raye already had seven previous hits to her name, but always with someone else. This is her first solo hit over here and for now stuck at number 3. How can the other two, see above, top this song? There's something wrong in this world and unfortunately not just this chart position. Where Is My Husband? does put a mind on more positive thoughts though. Something to escape the rest with for a short period of time.
Wout de Natris - van der Borght
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