With Glitter Tears, the debut EP that has been steadily coming over the horizon as we progress through 2025, almost with us, Mareya has released ‘Happy Girl’. It’s a fierce new single, the Māori artist delivering a refinement of her bold pop-rock crossover brand.
Tomboi Records’ latest begins with muted guitar lines, soft vocals and delicate keys. Opening up the vulnerability that is key to Mareya’s mental health honesty. The first chorus throws you into a new arena, a firework of soaring performances, rock distortion and stadium-pumping drums. Instantly, the raw chaos of mental health struggles is transformed into rebellious sparkle. Each rendition of the hook rises again, until a key change throws you into the final moments feeling empowered and ready to take on the world once again.
“I wrote Happy Girl when I felt anything but happy,” Mareya comments. “I was in the middle of an identity crisis, and I wasn’t even ‘done’ with feeling crap when I wrote the rejoiced ending! I wrote that part as a kind of manifesto out of that feeling, and you know what? It kind of worked.”
Born in Aotearoa and now based in Melbourne, Mareya is rising the ranks of alt-pop ones to watch. With plenty of starry performances since her 2019 debut, she’s topped charts and performed alongside The Veronicas and Phil Ceberano. Turning her previous pain into her current power, she’s definitely one to keep an eye on going into 2026.
‘Happy Girl’ is out now!
