#35: LoveLeo
Just shut up and try not to shatter my my facade.
This week, Gracie Abrams, daughter of lens flare enthusiast J.J., extends her reign at number one on the Irish singles chart with ‘I Love You, I’m Sorry’. This feat sadly precludes her from being a featured artist on Dreams of Number One, but thankfully, there’s another nepo baby popstar waiting in the wings.
LoveLeo is the musical project of 26-year-old Los Angeles singer, songwriter, producer and director Leo Reilly, son of Mr. Cellophane himself, John C. Reilly, and film producer Alison Dickey.
Reilly’s 2019 debut single ‘BOYFREN’ was an early TikTok success story, thanks in part to its offbeat, maximalist video, and he followed up with a string of popular singles throughout lockdown before going quiet in 2021.
Recently he announced a return to music with his new album, ‘Strongest Man Alive’. The modest streaming numbers to date point to a loss of momentum to some degree, but the good news is that the music is really great.
He’s cited the Postal Service, 3OH!3 and the Flaming Lips as influences on the new record and you can definitely hear these coming through, with latest single ‘Asking’ owing a heavy debt to ‘Such Great Heights’.
Pick of the bunch for me is ‘Big Talk’, which would sit nicely alongside recent releases from our favourite indie sleaze revivalists The Dare and XKYLAR.
Listen to LoveLeo on:
Spotify | Apple Music | Tidal | YouTube
Connect with LoveLeo on:
Instagram | TikTok | Facebook | Twitter
Pop Nuggets
Fresh from flirting with Grimes on Twitter, queen of pop Imogen Heap has returned with a new single ‘What Have You Done To Me?’. There's no album on the way, sadly, but we’ll apparently get some more new music.
Scissor Sisters (the pop act, not the convicted killers) have announced a reunion tour, including a stop in Dublin next May. Sadly, they won’t be joined by founding member Ana Matronic, who is unavailable due to history podcast-related commitments.
Barcelona’s Primavera Sound festival has announced a pop-heavy 2025 line-up that reads like it was pillaged from my fan-fiction, with Chappell Roan, Charli XCX, Sabrina Carpenter, FKA Twigs, CMAT and Magdalena Bay all penciled in to perform.