· By Mattias Forsgren
Ellen Benediktson dives into yearning and impulse on her second EP, WID4L. Following her debut EP Good Girl
Ellen Benediktson dives into yearning and impulse on her second EP, WID4L. Following her debut EP Good Girl, Ellen pushes both her sound and artistic expression further, exploring the beautiful and destructive extremes of love in a maximalist pop landscape.
“In a world that feels overwhelming, I become more self-aware than ever,” Ellen explains. “There’s nothing smart about acting on impulse, but it feels so good in the moment. When the world is burning, it feels even more necessary.”
Released May 15th via Icons Creating Evil Art
(Alt-pop - Indie pop)
With WID4L, Ellen Benediktson expands her world and makes sure there are no question marks left. From the lyrics and production to the visuals and themes, the EP’s core message is clear: emotional impulsivity — recognizing your patterns, but still running right into them. Ranging from obsession and jealousy to self-irony and romantic self-deception, the EP explores the push and pull between mind and body.
Drawing on influences from indie pop and electro-pop, Ellen and her core team of producers build on what they established with Good Girl, creating both familiarity and surprise. Lyrically exploring indulgent self-sabotage, Ellen cuts to the core of passion for passion’s sake. Each track becomes another reckless drive into a field of red flags. Extending this theme into the visuals, Ellen takes Lady Macbeth’s red hands and dresses them in high fashion, creating a pop-gothic dreamscape of glossy productions about deadly sins.
“A warning that pulls you in. I wanted the red on my hands to feel corporeal, like the emotions just spill out and can’t be washed away.”
“The cover art for the EP had to feel like an explosive, messy ending. The idea was: ‘what if I just smeared myself in a ton of red goo?’ — like all the emotions had left my body and turned into something physical. It’s both beautiful and kind of creepy.”
Across five tracks, Ellen maps out her universe:
Who is Ellen Benediktson?
Ellen Benediktson is a Swedish artist making grungy pop with hooky melodies and clever lyrics. With influences from Lady Gaga, Hayley Williams and Miley Cyrus, she was always inspired by strong voices and bold personalities. Ellen made her debut as an artist in the Swedish Eurovision at 18, and had her break-through-moment when she went straight to the final with her song Songbird. She has since participated two more times in the competition, but in 2022 found her own sound and released her debut EP.
Ellen will be playing two showcases at this year's Tallinn Music Week conference in April 2026 and is in discussion with a new booking agent, booking new tour dates.
With WID4L, Ellen Benediktson steps deeper into her artistic identity — more fearless, more instinctive and ready to paint the world red
CONTACT
Carl-Marcus Gidlöf
HEAD OF THE SNAKE
Icons Creating Evil Art
Råsundavägen 73, Solna, Sweden
contact@icea.se