A truly engaging artist who has increasingly appeared across my social media feeds over the past few years is French alt-pop diva Mango In Euphoria (Manon Jocelyne Aicha Bérard).
Sadly, logistics meant I had to leave London just hours before the 2023 ‘Punk ‘n’ Roll Rendezvous’ at ‘The Water Rats’, Gray’s Inn Road, London. My clearest memory of that missed opportunity is seeing her name printed on the back of my event T-shirt — and sharing a warm pre-show chat at the bar with Healthy Junkies frontman Phil Honey-Jones, just before the night kicked off (and before I aought my train back to Scotland from King’s Cross Station)!
Amid the chaos of her teenage years, Mango found solace in the music of Miley Cyrus, Lady Gaga, and Lana Del Rey. She was further inspired by the rebellious spirit of The Runaways and the electrifying energy of The Struts — influences that helped shape the foundations of her sound.
When Mango moved to London, living in a hostel and navigating an uncertain future, she was just another face in the crowd, never imagining her songwriting would one day be taken seriously. Yet through encounters with darker characters, personal hardship, and a deep awareness of societal injustice, she began to carve out a distinct artistic identity.
From the streets of Camden to the heart of Hackney, her performances pulsed with raw, unfiltered rock and roll energy, infused with disco rhythms and dream-pop textures, creating an ethereal punk atmosphere that set her apart.
That initiation has led to her continued ascent with the release of ‘Arm Candy’, a sleek, cinematic synth anthem. Darkly glamorous and laced with tension, the track solidifies her place among Europe’s most compelling emerging pop voices.
Though she has left the song’s exact meaning open to interpretation, ‘Arm Candy’ paints a vivid emotional landscape of late-night neon, industry pressure, and a relationship strained by illusion and performance. The single previews her forthcoming EP, ‘Lethal Lust’ — a project centred on men within the industry who dismissed and underestimated her for years. The lyrics suggest a face-to-face reckoning: a demand for honesty and accountability from a partner or powerful figure.
The recurring line, “sell your soul, grab your arm candy,” cuts sharply into fame culture, superficial relationships, and transactional intimacy. Throughout the track, stark contrasts emerge — prophecy versus pornography, destiny versus spectacle — framing a battle between higher calling and commodified desire.
Her previous single, ‘Champagne Problems’, leaned into reflection and empowerment, exploring themes of self-realisation and defiance. With ‘Lethal Lust’ on the horizon, Mango In Euphoria continues to foreground deeply personal narratives, confronting power dynamics, gender politics, and ambition within the music industry.
To those familiar with my work on ‘Donald Strachan On The Radio’ – ‘Views From The Edge’, it will come as no surprise that my choice for March 2026’s ‘track of the month’ is ‘Arm Candy’. This marks the second time Mango In Euphoria has claimed the accolade, the first being Lovestruck in June 2024. As a result, ‘Arm Candy’ can be heard around halfway through the second hour of every show throughout March, alongside a curated selection of her other tracks across the month.
