Debrah Scarlett releases official debut single ‘Cynical Youth’
It seems Debrah Scarlett is finally ready for the big launch of her solo career. The Norwegian-Swiss pop star took her first steps in the spotlights when she participated in The Voice of Norway in 2013, but she reached a way bigger audience in 2015, when she represented Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest, singing the duet ‘A Monster Like Me’ with singer-songwriter Mørland. Last year we got to hear a little taste of what Scarlett is capable of on her own with the track ‘To Figure’, but after this genre bending introduction, she now steps forward with her first official single ‘Cynical Youth’, taken from her upcoming debut EP Dys(u)topia, to be released on the 17th of March.

Let us start off by saying ‘Cynical Youth’ is a massive step forward for Scarlett. It is not necessarily an easy listening, radiofriendly track, but it sure is captivating! The song opens with a vocoder intro and builds up with piano, guitar and subtle drums, to a bold, soaring chorus. She channels Florence + The Machine’s bombastic power, fellow Norwegian Aurora’s honest lyricism to top it all off with Sia-esque belting. Needless to say it is all sorts of amazing, right? In the lyrics, Debrah describes how she grew up in between worlds (moving from Switzerland to Norway and back on more than one occasion) and the alienation that comes with that experience and turned it into an impressive debut on which she seems to have found who she wants to be as an arist. It makes me curious to hear what more the upcoming EP has to offer!