When Chloe Qisha graced NME’s The Cover last year, we met a popstar raring to go big. At that point, she was just about to release her second EP ‘Modern Romance’, which showed off the Malaysian-British singer’s ambition, quick wit and slick pop sound. Since then, she’s supported Coldplay, Sabrina Carpenter and RAYE, and was on the longlist for the BBC Sound Of 2026. Qisha is now readying her debut mixtape ‘Fantasize’, which expands her sonic world while honing her songwriting chops for making cheeky, theatrical pop.
On ‘Fantasize’, Qisha maintains her ABBA-meets-Sabrina Carpenter melodrama, but isn’t afraid to explore other territory. Chappell Roan-ish chants decorate a pumping synthpop beat on the empowering ‘Cry About It’, while ‘Baby Girl’ sees Qisha admire gorgeous women atop a glossy, disco-funk strut. At times, these expeditions are less successful; ‘Possessed (but in a hot way)’ begins with a nasty, gothic, Depeche Mode-inspired bass, but loses its campy momentum thanks to its soaring, overly sincere piano arpeggio.
Where Qisha’s previous songs grappled with loss (‘VCR Home Video’), insecurity (‘21st Century Cool Girl’) and existential dread, ‘Fantasize’ is a full-on hornfest. Qisha clearly relishes in dishing out innuendos like it’s Christmas. “We’re just so in tune / When you play my G-string / Ain’t talking ’bout my guitar, ah”, she winks on ‘Question Of The Day’, while on ‘YDH’, she dreams about a chance encounter: “Pass me a knife for the tension between us, clutching my pearls at the thought of his… personality”.
Qisha shines best when she’s irreverent and saucy, but her fantasy turns into a pipe dream when she discovers her crush is, well, gay. On the flamboyant, ABBA-coded ‘He Likes Boys’, Qisha never makes her love interest the butt of the joke; instead, it’s her desperation to salvage the relationship despite learning that he’s not into women: “I would be waiting forever, if I thought I could change your mind…”. And it’s here where the EP could have leaned into Qisha’s vulnerability to balance out the braggadocio on its first half, but misses its chance.
‘Surprise Surprise’ contains some fantastic zingers (“My lips are chapped from kissing your ass” – burn!) and a killer bridge melody, but spends a little too much time dumping on Qisha’s ex to reveal more about her as a person. ‘So Sad So Hot’ treads similar lines to 2024’s ‘Sexy Goodbye’, but lacks the detail and characters that made the song so memorable. ‘Fantasize’, the closer, contains one of the catchiest choruses on the mixtape and a really interesting nugget of information. “I’m sorry for Chloe, it’s all my fault / I tried to be edgy and it didn’t pay off”, Qisha apologises towards the end.
With a line like that, you wish Qisha took the chance to bear her soul and plunge into the depths of her psyche. We don’t seem to learn as much as Qisha this time round as we have on her previous EPs, but there’s also no denying that ‘Fantasize’ is impressively infectious evidence the singer knows how to craft a pop song and sell a fantasy across a full-length project.
Details
- Record label: Colombia Records
- Release date: October 30, 2026
