Life Listens: New music from Rose, Ariana Grande, Shazza and Benjamin Kheng

SINGAPORE – In this monthly column, The Straits Times curates the most buzz-worthy music you need to know about that was released in the past month.

Stream This Song: Rose – Messy

The latest single from Rose of K-pop girl group Blackpink is also her first contribution to a film soundtrack.

Messy is the second single from F1: The Movie, the sports action drama starring Brad Pitt. It is set to open in Singapore cinemas on June 26.

The minimally produced, electronic-tinged pop ballad has her taking a more restrained approach, with more crooning and less belting.

Lyrically, it shares the same space as her previous solo single, Toxic Till The End. She also explores the darker side of complicated relationships in Messy, and how being in love can blind one to toxic traits. “How bad could it really hurt?” she asks in the song.

The South Korean-New Zealand singer is credited as a songwriter on the track, together with a team that includes Lostboy, the British songwriter-producer who won a Grammy for Best Pop Dance Recording for Australian diva Kylie Minogue’s 2023 hit Padam Padam.

Messy is also gaining traction among local listeners, and made its debut on Rias’ Official Singapore Chart at No. 6 in mid-May.

Must-see MV: Ariana Grande – Supernatural

In the new music video for Supernatural, American singer-actress Ariana Grande walks through a burning, post-apocalyptic neighbourhood and gets abducted by aliens.

It sounds like the plot of a B-grade science-fiction flick, but there are layers of hidden meanings behind the visuals.

The UFO at the end, for example, is a symbol of the otherworldly love and loss of control she sings about on the track from her seventh album Eternal Sunshine (2024), while the destruction is a metaphor for the end of a doomed relationship.

Directed by Grande and American music video director Christian Breslauer, the video first appeared as part of Brighter Days Ahead, the short film that accompanied Eternal Sunshine. It spawned a reissue, Eternal Sunshine Deluxe: Brighter Days Ahead, released in March.

In the Brighter Days Ahead film set 70 years after the events of her We Can’t Be Friends (Wait For Your Love) MV, Grande plays Peaches, a character who has her memories of a past relationship wiped out.

If that sounds familiar, it is because it was influenced by Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind, the 2004 sci-fi romance film starring Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet that inspired Grande’s album title.

Ace Album: Sleep Token – Even In Arcadia

In the last couple of years, Sleep Token went from viral sensations to chart-topping global music stars.

Fronted by a singer and multi-instrumentalist who is known only as Vessel, the enigmatic, mask-wearing British band are known for widening the scope of metal music by incorporating pop, R&B and electronic, ambient soundscapes.

Even In Arcadia, Sleep Token’s fourth album, strays even further from their hard rock and metal roots. Vessel croons passionately in emotionally-laden verses before being engulfed in big, downtuned power chords and polyrhythmic drums.

The cathartic screams are kept to a minimum, and he seems more intent on employing vibratos and falsettos in songs that tackle personal introspection and emotional vulnerability.

Notably, in Caramel and Damocles, he sings about the burden of fame, and how a rising and increasingly demanding fan base paved the way to existential dread.

Thanks to massive streaming numbers – Even In Arcadia registered the highest streaming week for a hard rock album – the release reached No. 1 on the Billboard album charts, a spot normally reserved for pop, hip-hop and country acts.

Chart Champ: Morgan Wallen – I’m The Problem

American country singer Morgan Wallen’s I’m The Problem went straight to No. 1 on the US Billboard album chart, its biggest debut so far in 2025. The new offering also scored the highest streaming week for any album released in 2025.

His fourth album overall, it is his third to top this chart.

A marathon of a listen, I’m The Problem runs a little under two hours, with 37 songs in total.

As the title suggests, there is a distinctive shift to introspective songwriting throughout, a sign that the country star has embraced new-found maturity in his craft. It is a far cry from the carefree, pleasure-loving early works.

Songs such as the title track and Kick Myself see Wallen tackle his imperfections, while Superman showcases a desire to be a better role model for his young son.

Being one of contemporary country music’s most successful artistes is sweet, but as he points out in tracks such as Falling Apart and Genesis, fame can come with a heavy emotional toll.

Singapore Scene: Shazza and Benjamin Kheng – Olivia Dean

Home-grown singer-songwriters Shazza and Benjamin Kheng collaborate for the first time on Olivia Dean, a sprightly pop track and a paean to first love. The pair mooted the team-up while they were both performers at the 2024 National Day Parade.

The upbeat tune has an infectious melody and their voices blend harmoniously as they sing about the exhilarating rush of a new romance.

Titled after English neo-soul singer-songwriter Olivia Dean, the song also features a catchy, choir-ready bridge as well as orchestral embellishments.

Shazza, whose real name is Shareefa Aminah, was recently featured in the 10th edition of Forbes’ 30 Under 30 Asia list released on May 15. The list, which includes other Asian personalities such as K-pop boy band Stray Kids, highlighted her viral TikTok videos with Canadian duo Crash Adams and the shoutout she got from Coldplay’s singer Chris Martin during the British rock band’s 2024 concert in Singapore.

Olivia Dean is the second single Kheng has released in 2025. He also dropped the pop-punk-tinged tune Spine in April.