Pop’s rising star Haiden Henderson has announced his debut album, bleach, arriving October 30 via Lava/Republic Records. The announcement came earlier this week while Henderson was performing on tour with 5 Seconds of Summer, marking the beginning of a new chapter for an artist increasingly willing to challenge the expectations surrounding modern male pop.
Alongside the album announcement, Henderson has released his provocative new single “i wanna be your girl,” a playful and intimate track that explores attraction, masculinity and the desire to experience a different kind of closeness.
On the song, Henderson imagines a relationship that goes beyond simply being someone’s boyfriend. Rather than occupying the conventional role of a male partner, he explores the fantasy of having access to the private, unguarded moments typically shared between close female friends — from getting ready and taking off makeup to simply feeling comfortable enough to let one’s guard down.
“I was raised by a single mom so I’ve always had a hard time hanging out with other guys. There’s always some sort of an awkwardness that I can’t get around. I thought it would be fun to just lean into that for a song,” says Haiden Henderson.
Produced by Grammy Award-winning songwriter and producer Benny Cassette, whose credits include SZA, John Legend and Miguel, “i wanna be your girl” turns its unconventional premise into something playful, flirtatious and surprisingly personal. Rather than focusing on literally becoming “one of the girls,” the song explores the desire to be welcomed into a world of intimacy and trust that Henderson has traditionally viewed from the outside.
The single follows “NSFW” and “freak for you,” two releases that helped drive 560,000 new followers through social engagement and offered an early glimpse into the world of bleach. Across the forthcoming album, Henderson explores sex, masculinity, desire and self-discovery through a deliberately unfiltered pop lens.
bleach represents a conscious move away from perfection and expectation. Instead, Henderson embraces humor, vulnerability and carefree sexuality while questioning the conventions that have traditionally shaped the image of a modern male pop star.
The result is an album built around contradictions: provocative but playful, confident yet deeply personal, and deliberately irreverent without losing sight of the emotions underneath it all. Henderson uses pop music as a space to examine identity and desire while refusing to take himself too seriously.
The album announcement arrives as Henderson continues touring across North America as support for 5 Seconds of Summer, bringing his music to arena audiences as part of the band’s global tour.
With bleach on the horizon, “i wanna be your girl” offers another glimpse at an artist determined to make his debut on his own terms — stripping away the polished expectations of pop stardom and leaving something considerably more raw underneath.
bleach arrives October 30 via Lava/Republic Records.
HAIDEN HENDERSON: Instagram | TikTok | YouTube