With a growing army of fans around the world behind her, millions of streams to her name, and toured with the likes of New Found Glory, if you’re not aware of LØLØ yet, chances are you soon will be.
Her latest single, “Possibility”, is a track many who hear it may find themselves relating to, cementing and showcasing her ability to connect with her audience on a grounded, real-life level. Here, she tells XS Noize about the song, shares how she first got into music and reveals the one band she’d most like to tour with.
When did you first realise you wanted to make music your career? Was there an album you listened to or a concert you attended that made you think: “Yeah, this is what I want to do with my life”?
Growing up, I always knew I wanted to do music, but I was a huge theatre kid and thought I wanted to be on Broadway. Specifically, Elphaba on Broadway was my dream– Wicked was always my favourite musical, and I got into musical theatre after falling in love with The Wizard Of Oz as a kid. It wasn’t until the beginning of high school, when I picked up a guitar, that my guitar teacher was like: “You have a good voice – you should try writing a song.” At first, I was VERY against the idea because I absolutely despised the thought of anyone being able to “read my diary”, so to speak, but as soon as I sat down to write my first song, that was the moment I said: “I want to do THIS now, screw Broadway”…which is probably for the best because puberty made my voice a lot raspier and not very Broadway-esque – I probably wouldn’t have done well trying to do that.
Which bands and artists would you say most inspire or influence the music you make? How do those influences filter through the songs you share with the world?
Green Day, Avril Lavigne, and Taylor Swift would probably be my top three inspirations. They all influence me in different ways that I can’t really put my finger on, but you can definitely hear different parts of their writing and storytelling in my own writing.
What’s the story behind your new single, “Possibility?”
My boyfriend was playing a big music festival called “Rock in Rio”, in Brazil. He plays the drums for Shawn Mendes. Everyone knows that Brazil is the place where the most beautiful girls in the world reside and I was feeling a TAD insecure. I was in Nashville, in a hotel room, alone with my thoughts. I hate to admit this but I was having a very psycho evening in which I just stalked my boyfriend on Instagram and looked at the girls that were following him that were attending the concert LOL. I’m just a girl …Not my finest moment. To distract myself I wrote “Possibility” which is about being scared that the person you’re with can POSSIBLY hurt you at any given moment.
What do you want those who listen to the track to take from it?
I want them to know that they aren’t alone in being anxious about a relationship—it happens to everyone, and it’s okay!
Tell me about the music video – can you talk me through the process of creating and shooting it?
Actually, the heat went out and we had to shoot the whole thing in almost below zero temperature (32 for my Fahrenheit kids). I was warming up in a winter jacket beside a few space heaters between every shot. It was freezing. We shot it in a studio in Toronto in the middle of a snow storm! Hopefully you couldn’t tell haha. I wanted a simple yet cool visual for the song and I think we achieved that! Could have done without the fake blood though, that stuff tasted nasty!
You recently released a deluxe edition of your album ‘falling in love with robots and wishing I was one’. For anyone who hasn’t listened to either version, how would you describe them?
They’re almost the same, but the deluxe version has a couple of new songs that are some of my favourite on the whole thing! Plus a few reimagined versions of songs— a live version, a sad version, and a demo version. As a fan of music, I always love when artists give different versions, I think it’s super cool!! So, I wanted to do something special for my fans. The entire album I’d say is about the trials and tribulations of falling for people who don’t seem to have many emotions, and at the same time, wishing you could have a little bit less so that it wouldn’t hurt as bad. It explores the two sides of that coin.
Do you have any favourite tracks on either version and if so, which ones are they?
“Hot girls in hell” is one of my favorites because I love how it explores the two different feelings with a breakup — grief & anger. I love how the production and mood of the song reflect those two opposite emotions too. I also really love the “u & the tin man” demo because that song is what opened up the entire world of my album. It’s cool to listen to the actual recording from the very first day I started putting this whole thing together.
You’ve racked up more than 100 million streams on Spotify alone – what do you think it is about you and your music that makes your songs so appealing to listeners all over the world?
Haha I’m not sure! I just try to be as honest as possible and put myself out there…what I’ve learned from doing this is that we all have very similar lived experiences. I’m just lucky I guess that a lot of people can relate to what I’ve been going through.
You’ve toured with, among others, New Found Glory, but if you would hit the road with any band or artist, living or dead, who would it be?
Green Day, for sure! That would be my dream.
Throughout your career, you’ve played at some of the world’s biggest festivals, but if you had to pick one festival you haven’t performed at yet, which would you like?
Hmmm probably Coachella or Glastonbury!! Those would definitely both be “I made it” moments.
Finally, as someone with a huge social media following across several platforms, how do you personally and professionally feel about the huge role SM plays in helping artists establish themselves? Do you think you’d have achieved the success you have so far, even 10 years ago, when several SM sites either didn’t exist or were starting?
Hmmm well social media is good and also bad. It helps people get discovered but at the same time, it makes a lot more competition because anyone can be discovered, so you need to try a lot harder to stand out! I would hope I’d achieve the same success without it but it has definitely helped a lot of people discover me! So, I love it and hate it at the same time haha.
LØLØ shoot credits: Photography: Christina Bryson @AVERAGECOWGIRL, Styling: Jacquelyn Veliz @LYNVELIZ, Make up: Ty Sanderson @TYSANDERSONN
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