Agnes is back on the dance floor, but this time, she’s bringing her contradictions with her.
The Swedish pop icon released her fifth studio album, Beautiful Madness, on January 23, marking a clear pivot from polish toward emotional risk. The project arrives as the follow-up to 2021’s Magic Still Exists, which earned Agnes four Swedish Grammy nominations and a win for Composer of the Year. Where that album reveled in elegance and restraint, Beautiful Madness leans into tension, imperfection, and release.
Across 12 tracks, Agnes moves between club-ready momentum and inward reflection, building a body of work that values honesty over control. Singles like “BALENCIAGA COVERED EYES,” “EGO,” and the gospel-tinged “LOVESONGS” previewed the album’s direction, offering glimpses of vulnerability wrapped in dance-pop structure.
The album’s newest single, “LOVESONGS,” centers on emotional independence rather than romance, pairing restraint with quiet power.
– I’ve tried to write LOVESONGS for so many years. This kind of song nature. I’m so grateful that it now exists outside my head – and there for others to listen to. All songs on the album are about just that: embracing your whole self, letting everything take space.
That theme runs throughout Beautiful Madness, an album title that evolved from a single idea into a guiding philosophy. For Agnes, the phrase reflects a personal reckoning with contradiction, learning to sit with discomfort instead of smoothing it away.
– I’ve realized that it’s precisely in the contradictions, in the madness and the unfinished, that life actually feels alive. You can be selfish and loving at the same time. Ugly and beautiful. Have hubris and be humble. Everything fits within the same person – it lives and operates there simultaneously. That’s what Beautiful Madness is, Agnes says, adding: Life is a beautiful madness, and it’s when we stop chasing perfection that the truly interesting things happen.
Letting Words Lead the Way
Unlike previous releases, Beautiful Madness began with lyrics rather than melodies. Agnes allowed language to shape the music, opening space for sharper storytelling and vocal experimentation.
– Letting the lyrics take the lead opened up new worlds and allowed new types of songs to emerge. I’ve really enjoyed digging into the words, and it has enabled me to experiment more with my voice than ever before.
To support that shift, she assembled a focused group of collaborators, including Vincent Pontare and Salem Al Fakir, Magnus Lidehäll, Kerstin Ljungström, Alex Aris, Hanna Wilson, and Frans Bryngel. The sessions prioritized immediacy, preserving early takes instead of sanding them down.
– After my last album, I found some gems – people I really wanted to continue working with. I kept the group small to maintain that intimate feeling this time too. This allowed me to push both myself and others even further. We challenged boundaries and dared to experiment.
Singles Built for the Club and the Mirror
“BALENCIAGA COVERED EYES,” the album’s lead single, contrasts luxury with emotional dissonance, pairing house piano with a sense of unease.
– It all started with an image in my mind: a person amid chaos of luxury, parties, mess, and gazes. Someone appearing confident and glittery on the surface, but experiencing something else inside – behind those ‘Balenciaga covered eyes’.
Later tracks expand that exploration. “EGO,” the album’s disco-leaning standout, focuses on surrender rather than dominance.
– “EGO” was the first song I wrote for my new album. With this album, I wanted to reveal more sides of myself and highlight the opposites that can live within us and even work together.
A Career Still in Motion
Agnes rose to prominence at 16 and went on to score international success with “Release Me,” which topped dance charts in the U.S. and U.K. Over two decades, her sound has continued to evolve without losing its emotional core.
With nearly half a billion streams and praise from outlets including Billboard, Pitchfork, The Guardian, and NME, Agnes enters this chapter with momentum. She is set for a sold-out show at London’s KOKO on January 28 and a confirmed appearance at Mighty Hoopla 2026.
Beautiful Madness is out now, not as a reinvention, but as an honest expansion of an artist still learning to let go.
