NEWS
Rising pop superstar Bellah Mae has released her stellar debut EP ‘With All Due Disrespect’, featuring the infectious lead single ‘Mr Hypocrite’.
On the floor-filling banger, Bellah dissects the double standards women face in relationships, where toxic partners play to a different set of rules than their girlfriends.
Bellah says,
“I’m so proud of the song and the message within it. It came about when I was driving to the studio and I was reflecting on a conversation myself and my bestie Lily had the night before… where a guy had said to me 'guys are never friends with girls, they always want something more with them'. But he had a girl best friend, and I wasn't allowed to have guy friends. I was like, how does this even make sense! It wasn’t the first time and it took me into a spiral sparking thoughts of all the hypocritical nonsense I’ve had in my dating life that no one shouldn’t have to put up with, should they?!”
It's typically Bellah - pairing relatable storytelling lyrics and killer hooks for the ultimate pop banger. Featuring six tracks, ‘With All Due Disrespect’ was written chronologically and charts the messy feelings experienced in the aftermath of a break-up, following Bellah through each stage of relationship grief.
Opening the record is Bellah’s searing debut single, Boyfriend Of The Year’ . Released earlier this year, it’s a song that showcases Bellah’s intimate brand of song writing, making use of a winning combination of “big feelings, little details”. This vivid writing is something that places her among her Gen-Z contemporaries like Olivia Rodrigo or Sabrina Carpenter, carving relatable and honest stories to be screamed back to her by crowds of her peers.
There’s also the heart-wrenching, 'Feels Like You Died' which explores the complicated post-breakup period where you grapple with your right-hand person no longer being there: “I feel like as human beings the only other way we experience that is when somebody is physically gone," Bellah reflects of the song, and the strange loss of routine and familiarity that comes with a split. ‘On Purpose (For My Future Daughter’ comes next, where over twinkling synth-pop Bellah poignantly examines a relationship with the rose tinted glasses off, and you start to realise mistreatment that might have been swept under the carpet, “Thank God you’ve just a part of my 20’s/Thank God we’re not married with a family”.
The rest of ‘With All Due Disrespect’ continues to follow Bellah on her journey. On tongue-in-cheek ‘Date Your Dad’, which was co-written with Amy Wadge (Ed Sheeran), Bellah quips, "Just because you know one Arctic Monkeys song/It doesn’t make you indie"; while on the intoxicating, razor sharp 'Drama King' she rallies against an immature ex, “You follow Instagram models one after the other/But God forbid I follow back my best friend’s brother”.
To celebrate the release, Bellah hits the road next month on her first ever UK headline tour which has fully sold out, kicking off in Glasgow on October 16th, stopping off at Manchester’s Deaf Institute, Birmingham’s O2 Institute 3 and culminating in a London show at Omeara. Bellah is also set to support Caity Baser as part of the Day of the Girl event series from War Child on 9th October. The shows follows euphoric sets on the BBC Introducing Stage at Reading and Leeds festival, where she played to packed out stages with fans singing back every lyric, as well as slots at Brighton Pride and Isle of Wight festivals this summer.
A true pop storyteller, Bellah Mae’s writing style incorporates her influences ranging from Dolly Parton to Avril Lavigne and Miley Cyrus. In the tradition of other Gen Z artists her music defies categorisation, incorporating ever expanding sonic touchstones to create something that feels wholly unique, that has clearly resonated with listeners around the world having racked up an impressive 22 million streams across her releases to date.
With fierce ambitions, heaps of charm and an arsenal of upcoming bangers, Bellah Mae is a big one to watch.
'With All Due Disrespect' is out now.
Listen HERE
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