In the world after Chappell Roan and ‘Wuthering Heights’ a group like Haute & Freddy couldn’t make more sense. Their debut ‘Big Disgrace’ has finally seen the light, after having performed with great songs like ‘Dance the Pain Away’. It is, without a doubt, one of the revelation bands of 2026.
The album will not disappoint those looking for pop drama squared in the style of Marina Diamandis (‘Sweet Surrender’) or Kate Bush (‘Symphony for a Queen’). The influence of Queen and Cyndi Lauper is also evident in their recordings, while their rock base connects them with contemporary proposals such as The Last Dinner Party. Without a doubt, they are in the same universe.
Of course, Haute & Freddy use much more eighties synthesizers, something that is evident again in the single ‘Showgirl at Heart’, Friday’s focus track and today’s Song of the Day.
There are clear echoes of Wham! in the musical production, while the piano riff that runs through the song leads to the aforementioned Lauper. ‘Good Luck Babe!’ by Chappell Roan is the obvious precedent for this brilliant synth-pop ballad sprinkled with burlesque rhythms and melancholy that describes the sensations of an artist who lives by and for the stage.
A kind of ‘The Life of a Showgirl’ written in the second person, ‘Showgirl at Heart’ portrays a person who seems ordinary on the outside (takes the train to work, waits in line) and goes unnoticed, but when she gets on stage she takes on the world. The core of the song is in its title: that person waiting behind you in the supermarket could be the one who gets on stage at night and takes a mass bath, seeming that the “world is theirs.” The mention of the “prima donna” underlines that protagonist feeling, also leading to the Diamandis classic.
