Ellen Benediktson returns with WID4L, her sophomore EP released May 15, and it feels like a major artistic step forward. Across five tracks, she explores obsession, jealousy, self-deception and emotional impulse with a level of honesty that is both immediate and addictive.
An EP that embraces emotional instinct
Rather than trying to tidy up complicated feelings, WID4L lets them breathe. The record leans into the space between knowing what hurts and still moving toward it, turning that contradiction into its strongest creative idea. It is a brilliant fit for Benediktson's vocal style, where intensity and vulnerability can sit in the same phrase.
Sonically, the project is rooted in indie and electro-pop, but there is a sharper and more unpredictable current running underneath. The production feels alive and restless in the best way, giving each song momentum while keeping her emotional directness front and center.
The visual world is just as striking
A vivid red palette runs through the era, not as surface styling but as a physical extension of the record's emotional themes. Benediktson describes wanting the red to feel corporeal, as if emotion has spilled out into the real world and cannot be washed away.
That concept lands beautifully in the campaign imagery, where high-fashion styling meets a slightly gothic tension. The result is elegant, dramatic and memorable, matching the EP's fearless tone without ever feeling forced.
Only Lovers sits at the center
At the heart of the EP is Only Lovers, a standout song about a love so intense it risks breaking everything around it. The verses stay tightly coiled before the chorus opens into something expansive and euphoric, capturing the idea that pain can feel like proof that something real was there.
It is a powerful performance and one of Benediktson's most effective songs to date, balancing raw emotion with melodic precision. Only Lovers does not just define the EP's emotional core - it elevates it.
From Eurovision breakthrough to fearless second chapter
Benediktson first stepped onto Sweden's Eurovision stage at 18 with Songbird, reaching the final and returning to the competition twice more. After that run, she took time to shape a sound that felt fully hers, leading to her debut Good Girl in 2022.
WID4L builds on that foundation with real confidence. The emotional clarity of her earlier work is still there, but the writing now feels bolder, stranger and more fearless. For listeners who value pop music with personality and risk, this is a very strong release.
WID4L is out now.
