Musically (and in many other ways) Australia is one of my favourite countries. It’s an enormous place with relatively few inhabitants, so it’s amazing how much talent lives among them. Carla Wehbe, whom I featured more than once before already, is one of the best examples. Sydney-based, she’s a rising singer, songwriter and producer who merges current pop melodies with a retro nostalgia.

On her new EP Dark In The Light, Wehbe explores a music path that she calls ‘angry pop’. “Dark In The Light is an exploration of duality – a raw, emotional dive into the idea that light and dark coexist in all of us”, she says. “The EP lives in the in-between: the heart ache beneath the smile, the flicker of hope inside despair, the beauty in contradiction, even the darkness inside of joy.”

Wehbe scored two Wildcards before, and this week, she’s making it three with the gloriously titled Fuck It I’ll Be My Own Best Friend.

In the words of Women In Pop magazine, the upbeat tune has a faintly nostalgic soundscape that feels comfortably familiar while remaining completely contemporary. It switches between gentler, electronic verses and louder, guitar driven choruses. The sonics reflect the nature of the lyrics; in the quieter verses Wehbe ponders her friend circle with a sense of sadness and self-pity (‘my so called friends are having fun / I haven’t heard from anyone / Tell myself I don’t mind’), while the powerful chorus allows her to fully vent her rage. She concludes: ‘who needs enemies when I’ve got friends like these? / God damn your plans I hate crowds anyway… fuck it I’ll be my own best friend’.

As said, Fuck It I’ll Be My Own Best Friend by Carla Wehbe is the new Carte Blanche Music Wildcard. It will be prominently displayed at the top of the blog for an entire week.

Follow her on Facebook | Instagram | Spotify

In the Wildcards 2025 playlist you’ll find all of this year’s Carte Blanche Music Wildcards so far.

Werner Schlosser

I’m a music industry watcher and journalist. Worked at a CD club, a record store chain and was editor in chief of an entertainment trade magazine. Have been in the radio business since 1987, producing and presenting shows. Was music director of several stations. Also, I developed the European Border Breakers Chart, Music Moves Europe Talent Chart and ESNS Chart. CEO of Werner Bros. tekst | uitleg.