Mahalia – Whatever Simon Says

The last two years have marked many achievements for Leicester-born starlet Mahalia.

Few R&B talents have been able to craft supreme songs as consistently as this artist, and with recognition from industry benchmarks like the Brits, GRAMMY’s and MOBO’s, it’s clear that her work is rightfully appreciated.

Her new single ‘Whatever Simon Says’ is a poignant song that discusses the ever-oppressive and unrealistic beauty standards that society places on women.

Everybody who knows me knows that I definitely don’t follow social norms and shitty beauty standards. I’ve always been someone who has never let people try to change me – especially my romantic partners. This song is about wanting it to work with someone but knowing it ultimately can’t because their expectation of what type of woman I should be is just far too high. I feel like “whatever Simon says” is every girls ‘f*ck you’ to the system that has always been set up through a male gaze. It’s us saying that we are going to be  everything we want to be because we want it. And not because a man tells us to.”

Mahalia

The longlist for BBC Sound of 2019 was announced today…

… and as usual, its both predictable and surprising in equal measures. The poll is still an influential indicator as to what the mass population will be listening to in the coming year.

There’s a strong shift on solo acts this year, and more so weighing heavily on soul, RnB and rap. I can’t tell who will win, but I’d like to see Grace Carter, Ella Mai, Mahalia or Rosalia get to the top… I also sense that Octavian could do very well (although he’s never ended up on the site).

The winner is revealed on the 11th January, and you can read more about the finalists over on BBC.