6 women in music making Benelux sound better

By Karl Batterbee

If you are on the hunt for some new additions to your playlist of pop tunes, Discover Benelux has got six songs to send your way. Fast-paced and female-fronted, these anthems have each been making waves over the airwaves across Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg this summer.

Stefania – Bliksem

Back with her first release since 2023, Dutch-Greek singer Stefania returned in suitably flashy style with Bliksem (Lightning) this summer. Channelling mid-’00s Eurodance, the song is brought right up to date with a sound that seems tailor-made to be the next TikTok dance trend in the Benelux region. Regardless of your grip on the Dutch language, this is one song that is going to be staying in your head – whether you like it or not!

6 women in music making Benelux sound better

Before becoming a solo artist, Jelle spent 15 years as the lead singer of Lasgo. Photo: Sieme Hermans

Jelle van Dael – Monster

Approaching two decades in the music business, Belgian singer Jelle van Dael ensured that 2025 would be yet another great year to look back on when she unleashed the aptly-titled Monster out into the world.

A rousing dance tune, it adopts a similar approach to storytelling as the recent Eurovision Song Contest winner and pan-continental hit Tattoo by Loreen; a theatrical reading of a drama-filled love story that pairs a symphony of strings with its bang-hard beats in order to hammer home its point.

You may have spotted Jelle van Dael out on the festival circuit at some point; for 15 years the artist toured the US, Europe, Latin America and Australia as the lead singer of one of the most successful Belgian music exports of all time, Lasgo. She has recently followed-up Monster with new single Casanova.

Dutch artist Anouk has just released her 14th album. Photo: Press Image

Anouk – Set This Thing On Fire

One of the Netherland’s most celebrated artists is also one of the most sonically diverse, too. In the past ten years, Anouk has released an orchestral album, a soul record and a collection of Dutch-language songs. But with the release of her 14th album in April, the legendary lady returned to the sound that saw her star rise to stratospheric levels in the ‘00s – loud and lairy rock music!

Set This Thing On Fire is the name of the new album, as well as the lead single. It is a radio-ready statement of intent – to not only embrace what makes you different from others, but to categorically reject any notion of quelling it. The retro-hued rock anthem is no doubt going to be a firm favourite with live crowds, when she takes the stage at the 17,000 Ziggo Dome in Amsterdam for two nights in September.

From Netflix shows to Netherlands chart topper, Pommelien Thijs is one of the most exciting new comers in the Benelux region. Photo: Press Image

Pommelien Thijs – Ben Je Klaar?

Undoubtedly one of the most popular new artists in both the Flanders region of Belgium and the Netherlands, Pommelien Thijs is not resting on any of the recent laurels bestowed upon her. Forging ahead with more new music for her fans, the Belgian artist released Ben Je Klaar? (Are You Ready?) in the middle of August. Listeners responded with a resounding ‘yes’ – they were ready; with the song being streamed a million times in its first week on Spotify alone.

A remarkable composition, it takes on the guise of three different genres throughout its duration. Commencing as a ballad, it morphs into a rock number for the middle section, before ending with a bang – quite literally, as a dance banger!

TV fans might recognise her face; she is currently starring in the series Knokke Off. It was recently released onto Netflix under the title High Tides, and quickly reached the Top 10 of the platform’s most-streamed chart in a total of 43 countries.

Belgium’s Mentissa has got a beat heavy bop on her hands with Désolée. Photo: Press Image

Mentissa – Désolée

French-language funk from a Flanders-born ‘fille’! Désolée (Sorry) is the newest release from the Belgian artist Mentissa. A toe-tapping tune that is seeped in soul, it rewards repeated plays, with listeners discovering something new to enjoy in its layered production every time.

Mentissa Aziza won the very first Flemish edition of The Voice Kids in 2014, but her musical career really took off seven years later – after her participation in The Voice in France. Her debut single Et Bam followed shortly thereafter and has gone on to be streamed more than 50 million times in France alone. She was recently nominated for the prestigious French awards Victoires de la Musique, and her debut album La Vingtaine is well worth investigating if you have not yet.

Laura Thorn took Luxembourg to the Grand Final of the Eurovision Song Contest in May. Photo: Corinne Cumming / EBU

Laura Thorn – La Poupée Monte Le Son

After over three decades away from the competition, Luxembourg returned to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2024, with the song Fighter by TALI. Spurred on by a good result, the Grand Duchy were back once again for the 2025 Contest in May, which took place in Basel, Switzerland. The song was La Poupée Monte Le Son (The Doll Turns Up The Sound), performed by Luxembourg singer (and music teacher!) Laura Thorn. And it was a respectable nod to the country’s rich Eurovision heritage.

Picking up where a classic Eurovision winner for Luxembourg left off – Poupée De Cire, Poupée De Son by France Gall – Laura’s present-day ‘poupée’ is a more empowered doll. The tribute to the 1965 classic is also a role reversal of the lyrics, which were penned by iconic singer, actor and director of that era, Serge Gainsbourg. Whereas the doll in the France Gall song was controlled by a man, things are mercifully a lot different 60 years later in 2025 – this doll is pulling her own strings. The final result is just as camp as the story behind it, and makes for a beguiling listen.

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