"New Religion" is a song by American singer Bebe Rexha and British electronic music group Faithless, from Rexha's fourth studio album Dirty Blonde (2026). It was released on March 6, 2026, through Empire Distribution. Commercially, the song reached top 10 in Germany and Belgium and number one on the US Billboard Dance/Mix Show Airplay chart.

Background and development After the management team changed in December 2025 and her music deal with Warner Music Group concluded in January 2026, Bebe Rexha announced a new music project by signing with Empire Distribution.

The song follows the promotional releases "I Like You Better than Me" and "Çike Çike", which were released in February 2026. "New Religion" was the third from her upcoming studio album Dirty Blonde, following popular demand from fans who "helped shape" the track. It also follows a previous collaboration between Rexha and Faithless, "Dollars and Dimes" from the latter's 2025 record Champion Sound.

Upon its release, she expressed gratitude to Faithless for allowing her to use elements from their original song. Rexha also expressed excitement about presenting it to audiences around the world, performing it live and hearing it "at festivals, in clubs, at parties, on the radio".

Composition "New Religion" heavily builds on the Faithless song "Insomnia" (1995) and incorporates elements of its original production. Rexha stated that the song is about "letting go and getting lost in the music" and was intended to be "a love letter to music itself" and its power to rescue people from dark places: "when the bass hits, you feel it in your chest and suddenly you feel alive again".

Critical reception "New Religion" received generally positive reviews from music critics, who praised its high-energy EDM production, the effective interpolation of Faithless' "Insomnia", and its personal theme of music as emotional salvation and unconditional love.

Euphoria Magazine called the song "a song that describes the joys of unconditional love buried in the arms of a catchy EDM melody". Jack Irvin of People described it as a "high-energy dance banger". QNews called it "one of the year’s most addictive club tracks", noting that it "reimagines the iconic 90s dance anthem Insomnia by Faithless, weaving the track’s unmistakable bassline into a slick modern pop-dance production" and that it feels "both nostalgic and fresh".

In a more analytical piece, Medicine Box Mag described the track as "Bebe Rexha's full-throated claim that music saved her the way faith saves a believer", calling it "a devotional anthem" that treats the dancefloor "not as escape but as arrival" and praising its bold comparison of music to religion as genuine rather than stylistic. Culled Culture noted that the song allows Rexha to "profess her undying devotion to the Church of Dance".

Reviewing the parent album Dirty Blonde, Euphoria Magazine identified "New Religion" as "the beating heart of the album" and "one of the strongest moments of her career", highlighting its balance of "90s dance nostalgia with contemporary EDM sensibilities" and its portrayal of music as "a mechanism for survival and personal rebirth". PopMatters acknowledged that "New Religion" "certainly performs well as a thesis statement for a new era for Rexha".

Accolades + Awards and nominations for "New Religion"YearOrganizationAwardResult2026MTV Video Music AwardsBest Dance

Commercial performance Upon release, "New Religion" became Rexha's first significant hit throughout Eastern Europe and Latin America in nearly five years. In the United Kingdom, the song peaked at number 41 on the UK Singles Chart, becoming Rexha's highest charting single since "I'm Good (Blue)" (2022). It also reached a peak of number five on the UK Dance chart.

"New Religion" also entered the charts in several European countries, peaking at number 8 in Germany, number 22 in Austria, number 26 in Switzerland, number 62 in Ireland, number 49 in France, number 30 in the Netherlands, number 97 in Sweden and number 8 and 12, respectively, in the Wallonia and Flanders regions of Belgium.

In the United States, "New Religion" debuted at number 11 on the Billboard Hot Dance/Pop Songs chart, with 2.1 million streams. That same week, the song debuted at number 39 on the Billboard Dance/Mix Show Airplay chart, and eventually, it topped the chart on the week of May 9, becoming Rexha's fourth and Faithless' first number-one single.

Music video The accompanying visual for "New Religion" was published on Rexha's official YouTube channel on March 6, 2026. It combines footage from Faithless' original "Insomnia" music video with newly filmed scenes of Rexha in a nightclub.

Rexha performs alongside backup dancers under dark, metallic lighting, wearing a black plunging outfit, oversized sunglasses and layered necklaces, including cross pendants. The visual juxtaposes contemporary club imagery with footage from "Insomnia", linking Rexha's reinterpretation to the original song.

Live performances On March 10, 2026, Rexha performed "New Religion" for the first time on Jimmy Kimmel Live!.

Charts

Weekly charts + Chart (2026) Peakposition Australia Dance (ARIA) 17 Bulgaria Airplay (PROPHON) 5 Canada CHR/Top 40 (Billboard) 37 Croatia International Airplay (Top lista) 1 France (SNEP) 49 Germany Dance (DBC) 19 Global Dance Radio (Billboard/WARM) 1 Global Excl. US (Billboard) 170 Greece International (IFPI) 49 Greece Airplay (IFPI) 13 Ireland (IRMA) 62 Italy Airplay (EarOne) 68 Latin America Anglo Airplay (Monitor Latino) 11 Latvia Airplay (LaIPA) 1 Lithuania (AGATA) 55 Malta Airplay (Radiomonitor) 4 Netherlands Airplay (Dutch Charts) 10 New Zealand Hot Singles (RMNZ) 10 Nigeria Airplay (TurnTable) 93 North Macedonia Airplay (Radiomonitor) 8 Norway (IFPI Norge) 82 Norway Airplay (IFPI Norge) 29 Poland (Polish Airplay Top 100) 1 Poland (Polish Streaming Top 100) 75 Romania Airplay (UPFR) 4 Serbia Airplay (Radiomonitor) 5 Slovenia Airplay (Radiomonitor) 2 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan) 97 Sweden Dance (Sverigetopplistan) 4 Turkey International Airplay (Radiomonitor Türkiye) 1

Monthly charts + Chart (2026) Peakposition Belarus Airplay (TopHit) 1 CIS Airplay (TopHit) 1 Estonia Airplay (TopHit) 3 Kazakhstan Airplay (TopHit) 3 Latvia Airplay (TopHit) 2 Lithuania Airplay (TopHit) 1 Moldova Airplay (TopHit) 1 Paraguay Airplay (SGP) 87 Romania Airplay (TopHit) 3 Russia Airplay (TopHit) 1 Ukraine Airplay (TopHit) 2

Certifications

Release history +Release dates and formats for "New Religion" Region Date Format Label Various March 6, 2026 Empire Italy March 9, 2026 Radio airplay United States March 10, 2026 Contemporary hit radio

See also List of Billboard number-one dance songs of 2026

References