Avant-garde global pop star Amaarae returns with a captivating new single and video, “Girlie Pop,” continuing her sonic reinvention of Ghanaian and African music through the lens of futuristic pop and club culture. The sleek, pulsing track arrives ahead of her much-anticipated sophomore album BLACK STAR, set for release on August 8 via Interscope Records.
Stamped with Amaarae’s signature softness and airy, hypnotic vocals, “Girlie Pop” is both sensual and magnetic — a euphoric celebration of romantic infatuation. The accompanying video, directed by Omar Jones, offers a bold and intimate visual journey into the beat-driven ecstasy of two souls colliding — a vision of passion set ablaze by music’s transformative power, inside and outside the club.
“Girlie Pop started as a freestyle over an open guitar on a magical night in Brazil!” Amaarae shares. “I wanted to make a song that embodies the feeling of a kiss from your favourite person in the world… the BLACK STAR album is all about fun and fantasy! I want Girlie Pop to be the soundtrack for when you sit and daydream about your crush.”
“Girlie Pop” follows the boundary-pushing single “S.M.O”, which accompanied the official announcement of BLACK STAR. Together, the tracks mark a bold new era in Amaarae’s ever-evolving artistic universe.
This new release arrives amid a milestone year for the Ghanaian-American artist. In April, Amaarae made history as the first Ghanaian artist to perform at Coachella, where she stunned audiences with a high-energy set featuring unreleased BLACK STAR tracks and a symbolic head-shaving on stage — a declaration of personal and creative rebirth. In June, she brought her electric performance style to Glastonbury, earning critical acclaim and igniting further anticipation for her next chapter.
With appearances at AfroNation, Lollapalooza, Maiden Voyage, Osheaga, Lowlands, and more on the horizon, Amaarae continues to assert her global pop dominance. Her meteoric rise began with 2020’s THE ANGEL YOU DON’T KNOW and reached new heights with 2023’s Fountain Baby — a genre-blurring, critically lauded LP featuring hits like “Angels in Tibet” and “Reckless and Sweet.”
From “Sad Girlz Luv Money (Remix)” to collaborations with Childish Gambino, Stormzy, Janelle Monáe, 6LACK, Kaytranada, Babyface, and Tiwa Savage, Amaarae has continually redefined what it means to be a boundary-pushing African artist in global music spaces.
With “Girlie Pop” and BLACK STAR on the horizon, Amaarae is once again reshaping the sound of tomorrow — one dreamy, dance-inducing anthem at a time
