- Published on
Swedish House Mafia & Lykke Li Drop 'Happiness Is So Sad'
- Authors
- Name
- Electronic Music Hub
- @electrohubhq
It has been the sound of Swedish House Mafia's summer, and now it is officially out. 'Happiness Is So Sad', the trio's collaboration with fellow Swedish icon Lykke Li, was released on 31 July 2026.
Premiered with Zane Lowe on Apple Music 1, the track lives up to its title — a bittersweet record about how memory holds joy and loss at the same time, the happiness of a moment tangled up with the ache that it's already gone. It was written and produced in Stockholm, with Swedish House Mafia working alongside PARISI and Fred again.., and songwriting from Max Martin and Oscar Holter.
A summer of build-up
Fans have watched this one grow in real time. It world-premiered when the trio opened their Ushuaïa Ibiza residency on 30 June, where it quickly became a defining moment of the Sunday sets, and got its biggest airing yet when Sebastian Ingrosso brought out Steve Angello to play it on the Tomorrowland Mainstage.
For Lykke Li, it is her first new material since her sixth album The Afterparty in May 2026 — and her first-ever link-up with Swedish House Mafia, a meeting of two of Sweden's biggest musical exports that somehow took until now.
Read more: Swedish House Mafia & Lykke Li drop 'Happiness Is So Sad'
Photo by @clem.protin