Debbie Sings escapes reality in favour of the party on “Sunny Skies”

When Debbie Sings first saw her handmade merch resurface on Coachella’s main stage, it felt almost serendipitous. Two years earlier, the Copenhagen artist – real name Sophia Hage – had been painting T-shirts by hand in her living room just hours before one of her debut shows, scrawling phrases like “Debbie Sparks”, “Debbie Swims”, and “Debbie Screams” in black paint onto white fabric. “It was so shitty,” she laughs. “We sold our merch for next to nothing. You couldn’t even wash this shirt without it messing up.”

With a bag full of freshly painted merch, Hage and a friend rushed to the venue where French artist Oklou was performing alongside Debbie Sings later in the evening. After chatting briefly, she offered Oklou one of the shirts. “A friend sent me a photo a year later of her on stage at Coachella in 2022 wearing it. I couldn’t believe it.” It’s the kind of story that feels symbolic for an artist still carving out her world and while she might not be a household name yet, it hints at what’s to come.

On Debbie Sings's new single, “Sunny Skies”, she distills the spirit of early 2000s electroclash with a dose of eurotrash exuberance – a little Peaches, a little Aqua, filtered through her own lens. Released on The Big Oil Recording Company, known for its eclectic pop releases that are club-ready yet rough around the edges, “Sunny Skies” fits right in.

Euphoric on the surface, it masks a manic undercurrent beneath the shine, marking the beginning of a more cohesive era for Hage despite the chaos she’s faced to get there. “It’s happy, but overly happy,” she explains. “It’s not a grounded happiness. It’s almost a delusional way of coping or even escaping.” Written during a whirlwind year that saw her move from Berlin back to Copenhagen, the song captures what she calls an “out-of-body” joy that’s born out of exhaustion, heartbreak, and hedonism.

Hage initially found her start in the punk world under the moniker Jenny before turning to production for the freedom it offered. “When I started making music on my computer, I realised I could make any sound I could imagine,” she says. Her 2025 debut album Debbie’s Songs zigzagged through genres – country twang, rock riffs, and electronic gloss – but her upcoming EP (due February) tightens the focus. Influenced by Uffie, Peaches, Justice, and the hyper-digital production style of A. G. Cook’s label PC Music, she gravitates towards stylistic leanings of electro-club recession pop: messy, euphoric, and unfiltered. “I’m European and I come from a punk-ish scene. That kind of chaotic, intuitive energy just speaks to me.”

“Sunny Skies” also hints at Debbie Sings's art-school sensibilities. Currently studying film composition and collaborating with visual artist Signe Dige, she embraces visuals that are loud, colourful and a little absurd. The single artwork features a cross made of amplifiers as it dramatically reaches into the heavens and ties into her upcoming EP cover, where she becomes crucified by it. “I wanted to crucify myself on the bass,” Hage says, half-joking. “Or be crucified by sound.”

Her live shows carry that same impulsive, maximalist party-spirit. Performing with dancer and performance artist Camilla Lind, Hage playfully and unpredictably improvises on-stage with props like confetti, champagne, and cake. It’s the perfect snapshot of how Debbie Sings thrives on spontaneity. “I’ve never played a show that’s similar to another,” she says. “I think it's very important. When you do the sort of music I do, it has to have nerve behind it.”