Starting off on TikTok can be a rough start. First an artist has to go viral, then the people decide whether that artist went viral because they’re annoying or because they’re genuinely good.

Scene Queen, previously Rosè until legal issues with the K-idol arose, started gaining traction with her first single “Are You Tired?” under the original moniker. Once the change was made to Scene Queen, she had a great start with her pink yet not so pretty EP “BIMBOCORE”. Metalcore for the Barbie girls, this new genre and movement has taken off with the female metal fans all over. Scene Queen has shown that while black is a cool color, you can still wear pink and be hardcore.

“BIMBOCORE VOL. 2” is the follow up released on November 10th, 2022 and doesn’t pull any punches with its audience. This EP is full of heavy breakdowns, screams, and pretty pink lyrics about sex, drugs and rock and roll. All of the tracks are heavy and go hard, but still include “pink” in the title.excpet for “Barbie and Ken”, but the pink is implied. Really, its what the Warped Tour girlies didn’t even know they needed.

The EP starts strong with “Pink Whitney”, aptly named after the delicious pink lemonade flavored vodka and hits just as hard. Unabashedly feminist, she gets out the gate by determining the establishment needs to be disbanded just on the grounds that they don’t pay the girlies enough. Catchy “bang bang de-boom” lyrics and a bopping rhythm make for a fun and mosh-able track. Scene Queen delivers fantastic bars that are a nod to the scene. Notably, “rich bitch can’t pay my expenses/queen for a day like I’m fuckin’ Vic Fuentes” is a tongue-in-cheek line for fans of the Pierce the Veil song “King for a Day”, which is even better when you scroll through the Scene Queen TikTok and find her old meet and greet photos.

From there, it is simply bop after bop. “Pink G-String” is sexy and sapphic, making nasty lyrics like “floss my teeth with your g-string” sound fun and edgy. The song also establishes a concept that Iggy Azalea fans may have tried to do, but Scene Queen just does it better: a twerkle pit. Yes, that is twerking in the circle pit where most folks thrash. On paper it seems silly, but just one listen to the song may be convincing that its fun. “Pink Cocaine” slows things down a bit with a somber track about drug use and how lonely it is. Making it sound pink and cute doesn’t make it a fun experience, and Scene Queen is very effective at making that clear.

“Pink Barbie Band-Aid” hits hard at folks who just want to cover up their issues and make them look acceptable instead of facing their issues head on. She plants her pink political flag on the side of bodily autonomy with lyrics like “freedom of speech/freedom means nothing/I don’t own my body/even when we’re fucking” and screams “fuck you!” at the end. If you don’t know, now you do.

Continuing this trend is “The Rapture (but it’s Pink)” featuring Mothica. The duo claps back at folks against cancel culture, stating clearly that folks who are getting “canceled” had it coming for their poor behavior.

Adding to Scene Queen’s star-studded album is Cody from Set It Off guesting on “Barbie & Ken”. Possibly the most aggressive track on the album, it bleeds pure maniacal fun as the dolls literally go at each other to the death. Cody and Scene Queen’s harmonies are extremely pleasing to the ears and contrast with Scene Queen’s feral screams near the end of the track. It’s horrific, campy fun that is scary but ultimately a good time for all…except Ken.

Speaking of feral, girlies looking to lose their shit in the pit can look forward to “Pink Hotel” at live shows. Sexy and kinky, the song starts off sounding more like a Travelocity ad than the closer on a metalcore album. Fear not, it goes off the rails as quickly as it starts as listeners are informed that they can leave their panties at the door as well as their bags. Another little Travelocity-esque interruption occurs to assure listeners that Scene Queen thinks of women as multifaceted and not just hoes, but immediately goes back into fun, sexy debauchery. Not all of the lyrics make sense, but they don’t necessarily have to. Its a sexual, kinky romp that is meant to get the heads banging and the bodies moving. It does just that, and with gusto.

This album might make some dudes in the scene angry, and that is probably the point. Pink, glittery, and often violent, “BIMBOCORE VOL. 2” establishes this artist as a rocker fans have been waiting for. Scene Queen is here and ready to rule the girls who like to rock hard and feel pretty doing it.

BIMBOCORE VOL. 2 is currently streaming on Spotify and other music platforms.

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