What the Hell Just Happened?

"What the Hell Just Happened?"
Single by Remember Monday
Released	7 March 2025 (2025-03-07)
Genre	Country-pop[1] power pop[2]
Length	2:58
Label	The Other Songs
Songwriter(s)	Charlotte Steele Holly-Anne Hull Julie Aagaard [sv] Kes Kamara Lauren Byrne Sam Brennan Thomas Stengaard [sv] Tom Hollings
Producer(s)	Billen Ted
Remember Monday singles chronology
"Famous" (2024) "What the Hell Just Happened?" (2025)
Music video
"What the Hell Just Happened?" on YouTube
Eurovision Song Contest 2025 entry
Country	United Kingdom
Artist(s)	Remember Monday
Language	English
Composer(s)	Charlotte Steele Holly-Anne Hull Julie Aagaard [sv] Kes Kamara Lauren Byrne Sam Brennan Thomas Stengaard [sv] Tom Hollings
Lyricist(s)	Charlotte Steele Holly-Anne Hull Julie Aagaard Kes Kamara Lauren Byrne Sam Brennan Thomas Stengaard Tom Hollings
Entry chronology
◄ "Dizzy" (2024)

"What the Hell Just Happened?" is a song by British country-pop group Remember Monday. A track reflecting the group's real-life dynamic of providing mutual support during challenging situations, the song was released on 7 March 2025 through the independent label The Other Songs,^[3] and was written by group members Charlotte Steele, Holly-Anne Hull, and Lauren Byrne, together with Julie Aagaard [sv], Kes Kamara, Sam Brennan, Thomas Stengaard [sv], and Tom Hollings. It will represent the United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest 2025, marking the first song by a girl group to represent the country since 1999.

Critical response to "What the Hell Just Happened?" was generally positive, with reviewers praising its energetic fusion of musical styles, lyrics, and strong vocal harmonies. Multiple critics highlighted influences ranging from Queen and Elton John to contemporary pop acts, while noting its suitability for the Eurovision stage. However, some offered more mixed assessments, criticising the song's rapid genre shifts as disjointed and lacking cohesion.

"What the Hell Just Happened?" became Remember Monday's first single to enter the UK Singles Chart, debuting at number 95 prior to the contest. It also peaked at number 38 on the UK Independent Singles chart.

"What the Hell Just Happened?" was written by Remember Monday, in collaboration with Julie Aagaard [sv], Kes Kamara, Thomas Stengaard [sv], and the songwriting duo Billen Ted, namely Sam Brennan and Tom Hollings.^[4] Lyrically, the group described the song as presenting a "quite autobiographical" account of friendship and post-night-out disorientation, with the trio explaining it reflects their shared experiences of emotional support during difficult moments.^[5] Following the release of the song, the group said: "'What The Hell Just Happened' is exactly how we’re feeling right now! It's all very surreal; our friendship goes so far back, and we definitely never imagined that we'd be doing anything like this."^[2]

Further, Mark Savage, a writer from the BBC, described the song as follows: "Try to imagine, if you can, that ABBA and Sam Ryder have teamed up with the cast of Six: The Musical, got blackout drunk and tried to recreate 'Bohemian Rhapsody' from memory."^[6]

Remember Monday are the first girl group to represent the United Kingdom since 1999, when Precious entered the contest with the song "Say It Again".^[7]

Along with the song's release, an accompanying music video was released on the official YouTube channel of the Eurovision Song Contest on the same day.^[8] Directed by Rupert Bryan, it was filmed in Hollybank House, Emsworth.^[9][10] Later that evening, Remember Monday appeared on a first exclusive TV interview on BBC One's The One Show, which featured the first full televised broadcast of the music video.^[11] Writing for Promonews, Rob Ulitski described the video as "a fiesty performance showcase, complete with period-era styling and a playful romp around a luxurious home".^[12]

To promote "What the Hell Just Happened?" before the Eurovision Song Contest 2025, Remember Monday announced their intent to participate in various Eurovision pre-parties. It was first announced that they will be performing at Eurovision in Concert 2025 held at AFAS Live Arena in Amsterdam on 5 April 2025.^[13] Further, they performed at the London Eurovision Party 2025 on 13 April 2025 held at Here at Outernet.^[14] The group also participated at PrePartyES 2025 on 19 April 2025 held at Sala La Riviera [es] in Madrid.^[15][16]

On 24 March 2025, Remember Monday made an acoustic live performance for an assembled press at an event held at Theatre Royal, Drury Lane.^[17] Billy Webber, co-founder of The Other Songs, the group's record label, also confirmed that they will be undertaking a promotional tour across Europe, which started following their attendance at Eurovision in Concert 2025.^[18] The band visited Denmark, where they have done press events,^[19] Norway, where they appeared on the Norwegian current affairs programme God morgen Norge,^[20] and Iceland, where they recorded the song "Husavik (My Hometown)" in the namesake town.^[21][22] After performing at the London Eurovision Party 2025, Remember Monday traveled to Ireland for various media appearances, including an interview on Virgin Media One's The Six O'Clock Show.^[23][24]

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
The Independent	[25]
The Telegraph	[26]
The Times	[27]
Yle	5/10[28]

Neil McCormick from The Telegraph, Roisin O'Connor from The Independent, and Ed Potton from The Times gave the song four out of five stars. McCormick called the track "a breathless pop pastiche of imperial period Queen with a dash of Elton John singing country with the Andrews Sisters". He also described the song's lyrics "a witty account of waking up the morning after a night before in comedic disarray".^[26] O'Connor commended the song's production, describing it as "full of fun and flair", with "dramatic piano crescendos, squalling guitar riffs, and bombastic blasts of synth". She further commented that the song "sounds like a result of a drunken one-night stand" between "Bat Out of Hell" by Meat Loaf and "Pink Pony Club" by Chappell Roan.^[25] Potton applauded the group's vocal harmonies and describing the track as having "shades of The Last Dinner Party, before an audacious tonal shift to urgent pop that’s worthy of Girls Aloud in their pomp, and cries of 'Freedom!' that bring to mind George Michael".^[27]

Writing for the British newspaper Metro, Robert Oliver also gave the song a positive review, dubbing the song as an "ambitious vocal masterclass" that the group are "sure to match on the night of the Eurovision grand final", and further describing it as "hyperactive and fidgety pop, trying to keep a smile on its face despite a crippling hangover".^[29] In an article for Attitude, Dale Fox called the song a "country-pop earworm" which "lands somewhere between The Chicks and Fearless-era Taylor Swift, with an anthemic chorus that sounds built for the Eurovision stage".^[30] Jo Forrest from TotalNtertainment described the track as "brimming with fun and infectious energy, a dancefloor-filler that relatably narrates a raucous night out with friends".^[10]

On the other hand, Tom Morton from National World criticised the song for its chaotic, shapeshifting mix of genres and styles, transitioning rapidly between vocal harmonies, synth-pop, and soft rock. While he described the lyrics as a "girlpower Taylor Swift personal diary intimate confessional vibes" with a "carpe diem theme", he also added that the song "feels like it's been written by committee, not by a songwriter, or as if AI was told to assemble music from a list of prompts which might attract Eurovision votes".^[31] Ed Power from The i Paper also gave the track a negative review, describing it as a song "you don't hum, much less listen to again and again"; instead calling it "a plea for Eurovision to sit up and pay attention". He also dubbed the song as having a "subtlety-deficient chorus barely 30 seconds in".^[32] Good Morning Britain host Charlotte Hawkins, in an interview with 2025 Swedish representatives KAJ, dismissed the United Kingdom’s Eurovision chances, stating, "we know the UK aren’t going to win", and calling victory "a tall order".^[33]

Eva Frantz [fi; sv] from the Finnish broadcaster Yle gave the song a mixed review, stating that while the band has the vocal ability, the different directions that the song takes felt like a cut-and-paste of "at least seven different songs".^[28]

The United Kingdom's broadcaster for the Eurovision Song Contest, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), announced its intention to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest 2025 on 16 October 2024, confirming an internal selection led by Andrew Cartmell, who was appointed as the head of delegation for the country, and David May, who previously served as manager for Sam Ryder, who finished in second place for the United Kingdom in 2022.^[34]

On 29 January 2025, during The Scott Mills Breakfast Show on BBC Radio 2, Scott Mills confirmed that the British entry had already been selected and that work was underway in its final presentation.^[35] On 7 February 2025, BBC Radio 1 hosts Natalie O'Leary and Vicky Hawkesworth stated that Remember Monday had been selected to represent the United Kingdom in Basel;^[36] the BBC did not respond to the speculation. On 7 March 2025, during The Scott Mills Breakfast Show, Remember Monday were officially confirmed as the British representatives with the song "What the Hell Just Happened?".^[37]

The Eurovision Song Contest 2025 will take place at St. Jakobshalle in Basel, Switzerland, and will consist of two semi-finals to be held on the respective dates of 13 and 15 May and the final on 17 May 2025.^[38] As the United Kingdom is a member of the "Big Five", "What the Hell Just Happened?" automatically qualified for the grand final.^[39]

Musicians

• Remember Monday – lead vocals
• Sam Brennan – programming, piano, brass
• Kes Kamara – synthesizer, percussion
• Tom Hollings – strings, bass guitar
• Gareth Grover – drums
• Nick Hollings – electric guitar

Technical

• Dan Grech-Marguerat – mastering, mixing
• Billen Ted – production