Moody by Royel Otis

Album: Hickey (2025)

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Royel Otis is a guitar-pop duo from Sydney, Australia. The band was formed in 2019 by Royel Maddell and Otis Pavlovic. "Moody" is the lead single from their sophomore album, Hickey.
"Moody" is a bouncy yet deceptively tranquil tune about the way love makes you justify behavior you probably wouldn't tolerate from anyone else. "It's kind of about a toxic relationship, not a girl in particular," Maddell explained to Apple Music. "The guy, the person singing, is the moody one as well 'cause they're constantly saying something negative."
The song came together quickly in March 2025 during a session with hit songwriter Amy Allen (Sabrina Carpenter, Tate McRae) and producer Blake Slatkin (The Kid Laroi, Sam Smith). Maddell started fiddling with chords on Slatkin's acoustic guitar, Pavlovic layered melodies on top, and with Allen suggesting the writing concept, most of the song (minus its intro and bridge) was wrapped up in a single day.
The following month, Royel Otis teased the chorus on TikTok with lo-fi, grainy clips that racked up millions of views. By the time "Moody" hit streaming platforms and alternative radio, it already had a ready-made fanbase humming along. But the chorus lyric ("My girl's a bitch when she's moody") sparked a wave of online backlash, with some listeners accusing the duo of misogyny.

"It was definitely stressful," Maddell told Billboard. "I think it's important for everyone to have their opinion; we didn't mean for it to be offensive. A lot of people assume that the person singing is the hero, but that wasn't our intention. It's supposed to be contradictory."

Amy Allen, for her part, reassured the band: "I've got your back."
Ironically, the controversy seemed to fuel the song's rise. "Moody" became Royel Otis' first track to top any Billboard chart, hitting #1 on Adult Alternative Airplay, outpacing even the viral success of their cover of Sophie Ellis Bextor's "Murder on the Dancefloor," which reached #2 on the same chart.
As for the album title, Hickey, Maddell and Pavlovic explained that like the mark itself, love leaves its imprint. Or as they put it, "Love bites harder than any other emotion in the world."

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