Lykke Li releases new single 'Lucky Again' and announces sixth album 'The Afterparty' will drop in May

Image: Chloé Le Drezen
Published: 16 February 2026

Acclaimed Swedish artist Lykke Li has returned with her first new music in four years, the single ‘Lucky Again’ which will feature on her sixth studio album The Afterparty, due for release on 8 May.

Written and produced with long term collaborator Björn Yttling amongst others, ‘Lucky Again’ opens with distorted, swirling instrumentation shot through with stabs of violin before sliding into a pop-triphop meld interspersed with strings and synth flourishes. Li’s vocal is supported by multiple backing vocals which lends the song a choral feel without ever feeling overwhelming.

The lyrics carry a sense of despair as Li looks forward to an ever distressing future, but with the hope that things will get better: ‘I am lost / I am bruised, I am broken / No sign I shout into darkness…Baby, hold on tight til the bitter end / If we're lucky, we'll get lucky again.’

“I was twirling around in love addiction for all those albums. Now I’m going into my existential era,” Li says. “To me it’s samsara in a song. The wheel of life; winning, losing, living, dying. Having had something and praying you’ll have it again. Whether it’s sex, money, vitality, love. I always said I wanted the Vivaldi song at my wedding or funeral but I think this is giving more revenge heist energy.” 

‘Lucky Again’ is the first taste of Li’s new 9 track album The Afterparty, out on 8 May. Written in Los Angeles and recorded in Stockholm with a 17 piece string orchestra, the album is just 24 minutes long and explores the concepts of mortality, hedonism, and impermanence. There is a a feeling of staring down the end of the world, evidenced on ‘Lucky Again’, of dancing before the inevitable hangover overtakes us, of clinging on through sheer force of will, with The Afterparty exploring both the despondency and joy of life.

The album artwork conveys some of the turmoil present in its lyrical content, showing Li with her face warped by translucent tights covering her head. Of the striking image Li says: “I find that we’re in an era where everyone is talking about, ‘My higher self'. Fuck that. This is an album dealing with your lower self: your need for revenge, your shame, despair, all of it.”

Li first released music in 2007, and scored major hits across Europe with the singles ‘Little Bit’ and ‘I Follow Rivers’. Two of her albums, 2011’s Wounded Rhymes and 2014’s I Never Learn peaked in the top 40 albums charts in both the UK and US. She has earned 10 Swedish Grammy nominations, and over her almost 20 year career has collaborated with some of music’s biggest names including Kings of Leon, Mark Ronson and U2.

‘Lucky Again’ is a standout track and marks the beginning of a period of reinvention for Li, and it is almost guaranteed The Afterparty will become one of 2026’s great albums.

‘Lucky Again’ is out now via Neon Gold Records. You can download and stream here.
Follow Lykke Li on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and YouTube.

The Afterparty track list
Not Gon Cry
Happy Now
Lucky Again
Famous Last Words
Future Fear
So Happy I Could Die
Sick Of Love
Knife In The Heart
Euphoria

US & EU LIVE DATES 2026
10 April – Coachella Music Festival – Indio, CA
17 April – Coachella Music Festival – Indio, CA
22 May - Vivo Rio - Rio de Janeiro
24 May - Parque Ibirapuera - São Paulo
19 June - Metronome Festival, Prague
5 July - Finsbury Park – London^
10 July - Pohoda Festival - Slovakia (Headline)
19 September - Palacio de los Deportes – Mexico City, MX*
* with Robyn
^with Wolf Alice