New Releases: Hozier, Addison Rae & Charli XCX, Calum Scott and more

Let's start with albums this week. Irish singer-songwriter Hozier has been tinkering away for four years on his third LP, Unreal Unearth, which finally sees the light of day today. The project's launch single, Eat Your Young, became Hozier's first UK Top 40 single since 2015 (!), and it's nice to have him back. Previously albums Hozier and Wasteland, Baby! reached Number 3 and 6 on the Official Albums Chart in 2014 and 2019 respectively...could now be the time for Hozier to claim his first UK Number one studio record?! We wouldn't bet against him. 

And while Hozier may have taken us to church, we reckon we can count on Addison Rae to take us to pop heaven this week. After years of hoping, wishing and praying (OK, just me?) TikTok star, actress and very promising pop princess in the making Addison Rae finally issues her self-titled EP via Atlantic Records. At just four tracks long and barely even scraping 10 minutes, it's not exactly a long listen, but the pop included here is incredibly captivating. Take the mythical I Got It Bad, a sheeny, bouncy electro-pop banger all about making the bad decisions for a bad boy ("he looked right into my eyes and it was over, I knew I should walk away but I ran closer..." preach it, diva) or the kinetic 2 Die 4, a bouncy little number in which Addison teams up with one of the biggest influences of her music, shape-shifting auteur Charli XCX. 

Making a name for herself on the US comedy-drama The Sex Life of College Girls (and due to star as Regina George in the live-action Mean Girls musical, yes you read that right) ascendant US singer Reneé Rapp issues her debut album Snow Angel tomorrow. She's quickly gained a rapidly expanding fan-base on both sides of the pond for her emotionally fraught yet poignant songwriting but like any good pop girl, also has a wicked knack for a hook. 

Meanwhile over on singles, Calum Scott (coming fresh off a BRIT nomination for his single Where Are You Now? with Lost Frequencies and hitting the Top 20 as part of Jax Jones's Whistle) is beginning the roll-out of his third album with a brand new single At Your Worst. A pleasing devitation from the ballads that have so far dominated his solo career, At Your Worst sees Calum teaming up with the hitmakers behind songs by Dua Lipa, Rita Ora and Hailee Steinfeld for an 80s-influenced bop that proves he should really do more uptempo stuff. Someone get Charli XCX on the phone we have a diva in need!!

Read more on The Official Chat with Calum Scott

Elsewhere, K-pop sirens Fifty Fifty will be hoping for a resurgence of their record-setting UK Top 10 single Cupid now featuring US pop starlet Sabrina Carpenter, Madison Beer continues to slay in her own slay with Spinnin' (with previous single Home To Another One still being a very high-watermark for one of the year's best pop surprises), while Demi Lovato continues to tease her Revamped project by turning her saxy Max Martin single Confident into a hard-rock rager.