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Global Pop Round-Up: May 2026 Edition

Global Pop Round-Up

The Bias List is a K-pop blog that also covers a fair amount of J-pop. But just like most music fans, I enjoy tracks from all around the world. So, I thought I’d start a monthly round-up of some of the non-K-pop songs that have caught my ear. No ratings — just highlights!

February 2022 // March 2022 // April 2022 // May 2022 // June 2022 // July 2022 // August 2022 // September 2022 // October 2022 // November 2022 // January 2023 // February 2023 // March 2023 // April 2023 // May 2023 // June 2023 // July 2023 // August 2023 // September 2023 // October 2023 // November 2023 // January 2024 // February 2024 // March 2024 // April 2024 // May 2024 // June 2024 // July 2024 // August 2024 // September 2024 // October 2024 // November 2024 // December 2024 // January 2025 // February 2025 // March 2025 // April 2025 // May 2025 // June 2025 Pt1 Pt2 Pt3 // July 2025 // August 2025 // September 2025 // October 2025 // November 2025 // December 2025 // January 2026 // February 2026 // March 2026 // April 2026


Check out my 9+ rated songs for 2026 by following this new Spotify playlist! (and check out prior years too, if you’re interested)


Adam Lambert – Eat U Alive

Sounds so much like Gaga’s Disease.


Basic Element – Fireworks (ft. Ray Slijngaard & Maria Mathea)

Prepare for club euphoria with this one. I love Basic Element and I’m so glad they’re back!


Becky Hill – Hands On Me

Short but sweet (and banging) dance music.


Benjamin – Badabim (My Kind Of Terapiaa)

God, he’s just so good at this! Freaking catchy as hell.


Bess – Kuudes aisti

Reliably great Finnish synthpop.


Chrissy Chlapecka – Purple Moon

She never really misses. I like the 80s funk influence on this.


Dagny – Closet Disco Queen

This is such a shift in sound for her. Very clubby.


DeathbyRomy – Body Horror

Huge electro rock with a fantastic chorus.


Debbii Dawson – Where Have All The Good Men Gone?

She just nails this ornate ABBA-esque pop sound.


Demi Lovato – Love Controller

Doesn’t this sound like Gaga? It’s one of her best songs, for sure.


Edvin Tƶrnblom – Enkelbiljett Till Himlen

I’m obsessed with the bombastic schlager theatre happening here. It’s comedy taken seriously and boasts some of the year’s biggest and best melodies.


Ellen Benediktson – Only Lovers

Great new EP from Ellen. All killer, no filler.


Ericka Jane – Lige SĆ„ Ligeglad

Slowly builds into something quite spectacular.


Erika Vikman – Adam & Steve

I’m posting this because I adore her but I’m actually disappointed in this song. I wish it was performed in Finnish because the lyrics are so lame and gimmicky.


Fangoria – Bailo

Their entire album is worth checking out, but I keep coming back to this extremely catchy dance track. It reminds me of the Macarena, but in a very complimentary way.


Grete Paia – Armastus On Pime

Hard hitting dance!


Honey Revenge – Run Your Mouth

Such a nostalgic sound.


House Of Serpents – Black Rose

Big, chugging synthrock.


Kesha – Origami!

Definitely NSFW but my god this slams! The chorus has such a huge sound.


Kyra Machida – Want Your Body

Solid Britney-esque pop.


Madeon – Fire Away (ft. Slayyyter)

I love this kind of gritty, rock-tinged dance.


Madonna – Bring Your Love (with Sabrina Carpenter)

It’s not doing much for me, but I appreciate hearing new Madonna regardless.


Martin Rolinski & Tess Merkel – Let There Be Love

This pairing of BWO and Alcazar is a fever dream for me. Nostalgia engines firing on all cylinders!


Mr. Fantasy – Do Me Right

There’s this little synth loop that reminds me of Nu Shooz 80s hit I Can’t Wait and I just adore it. It screams summer to me.


MUNA – Eastside Girls

Their new album is so good! Big anthemic pop melodies with fantastic 80s-inspired production.


Neea River – Shoulder

Another banger. What else can I say?


nightlife – U Know

Everyone’s aping the early-2000s Neptunes sound but this group goes straight for N.E.R.D! Their blend of heavy rock guitar and soul feels genuinely unique in today’s landscape.


Olya Polyakova – ŠœŠ°Š³Š½Ń–Ń‚Š½Ń– Š±ŃƒŃ€Ń– (Magnetic Storms)

Really like the retro sounds of this. It actually reminds me of a Ukrainian T-ara song (I know how strange that sounds, but trust me).


Oner – Car Goes Fast

I haven’t checked in with this C-pop group in awhile but their new album is very good. I love this anthemic synthwave track and its Bigbang-esque mv.


PNAU – Nirvana (ft. Earthgang & sadMONTH)

I’m absolutely taken with this track’s huge sound. The chanted choir acts as such a great contrast to the heavier rapped verses.


Ralph – Girls Together

This chorus is so euphoric. I love how the melody dips and dives in unexpected directions.


Santos Bravos – Velocidade

I’m very sold on Santos Bravos and this song has been lodged in my playlist since they started promoting in in April. Why no MV?


Souvenir – Stranger To Myself

MASSIVE synthpop from one of my favorite producers of the moment. Love it!


Tuure Boelius – Ikuisesti 25

Anthemic Finnish pop with lots of fun references to global hits.


Valencia Grace – Voodoo

She remains incredibly kooky in a fun way. This is very Kate Bush.


wavvyboi – Wanderlust

A mini rock opera from this exciting up-and-comer.

5 thoughts on “Global Pop Round-Up: May 2026 Edition

  1. As the resident MUNA stan in this comment community, I may comment here my thoughts on their DOTW album once I get to it. I did listen to its title track when it dropped, but that’s it. Stoked to get to ittt

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  2. i was not expecting to see nightlife here at all!! threyve been one of my absolute favorite bands since their first couple songs back in 2021 – so glad to see them get more recognition. if you havent listened to the rest of their discography yet (and they only have about a dozen or so songs) i’d highly, highly recommend it

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  3. Nick did you happen to listen to Zara’s Midnight Sun remix album? I really liked that she took the Brat remix album approach of really reimagining the songs and some of the remixes have way more interesting and risky production. The new Pretty Ugly remix is nuts (positive), but I also like the Girl’s Girl, Crush, and Puss Puss remixes. I also like Hot & Sexy w/ Tyla, but that one’s more because I like the original song a lot and they didn’t change it much lol

    Anyways, it’s a fun addition to the original album which I enjoyed too!

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