TNAM.UK X JUST FOR FUN
28 March 2026
Dirt Flirt is a fast rising queer pop icon, who has already supported the likes of MUNA, girli and and played alongside Bimini on their UK tour. Her latest single ‘Like Madonna’ is an angsty declaration of self confidence and empowerment, and solidifies Dirt Flirt’s signature alt pop punk style. In conversation with the singer-songwriter, Dirt Flirt discussed the making of and inspiration behind ‘Like Madonna’, and what this new era means for her music.
Dirt Flirt released her debut single ‘Diesel Skirt’ in 2023, which established her unique genre- defining sound as angsty queer pop punk. If you have been lucky enough to see one of her shows, Dirt Flirt is an electrifying and charismatic live performer. She played lead guitar on tour with the phenomenal Bimini in 2022-2023; this exhilarating experience of playing festivals and huge venues meant that her sound as a solo artist was destined to have a live feel to it. Dirt Flirt recalled ‘when I got the job with Bimini that changed my life […] it opened me up to this world and made it start to feel like it was actually a possibility.’ I asked if live performance was key to her writing process, to which she replied ‘I feel like when I am writing I am always picturing how I would perform this’. ‘Like Madonna’ certainly has the energy and drive of a club anthem; it was performed at Dirt Flirt’s recent show at Heaven supporting girli.
Dirt Flirt’s musical influences include MUNA, Troye Sivan and My Chemical Romance – she has taken inspiration from Gerard Way for her live shows, particularly ‘the way he’d run around with the mic, it just seemed like some kind of freedom’. When performing live, she also often chooses to take centre stage without a guitar; this was ‘a very conscious decision […] when I write I don’t often write with a guitar’. In this instance the upbeat electronic instrumental was the springboard for the creation of ‘Like Madonna’. The track was written in collaboration with producers Song Higginson and Matt Thorne, who presented Dirt Flirt with a percussive instrumental that fit the chorus lyrics she had written that morning. The track opens with a spacey distorted sweep of guitar notes, before launching in with a complex drum beat and Dirt Flirt’s vocals at the forefront of the texture, singing the confrontational phrase ‘you’re not around when I need you’. The production of the track ebbs and flows, but keeps the high energy, angsty pace throughout. The pre-chorus leaves space, again using guitar textures, to forefront the vulnerable lyrics ‘I know that I let you down’ before a drum riff catapults us into the headbanging chorus, punctuated by ‘oh oh oh’ in the backing harmonie and powered by an excitable bass line.
The lyrics of ‘Like Madonna’ are direct, questioning and express feelings of conflict when distancing yourself from a toxic person. Dirt Flirt told me that the lyrics grew from the ‘Hung Up’ reference in the chorus, but add a certain level of vulnerability. She sings ‘you’re making me cry / you’re making me make mistakes’, which over the percussive punk track adds an edge of emotion that shines through the slightly distorted vocals. There is a softness to the lyrical meaning of the track that effectively contrasts with the fast tempo instrumental. The song takes a genre bending take on Madonna, embedding the playfulness of ‘Hung Up’ into the track but transforming it from camp pop to angsty punk.
In terms of future music from Dirt Flirt, she revealed that ‘I’m going to release a lot more music this year […] ‘I have so much music that I’m sitting on’. We look forward to the ever evolving artistry of Dirt Flirt, and for now look forward to screaming ‘I don’t want the drama’ in the most dramatic way possible.
