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Christine And The Queens 

Courtesy of Corona Capital Guadalajara

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Christine And The Queens On 'Chris': "This Is A Record That Talks About Being Too Much"

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"I want an album that talks about excess and carnal desires like men can talk about," the French singer tells the Recording Academy
Jennifer Velez
GRAMMYs
May 14, 2019 - 4:47 pm

Chris, or, as she's known onstage, Christine And The Queens, is a disrupter. "Blasting Peaches in cis men's cars," she recently tweeted. 

Energetic, expressive and stimulating, Christine's electro-pop paired with her visuals can be equally destabilizing. "Some of us just had to fight/For even being looked at right," she sings in the video for "5 dollars," which portrays her walking around topless, then strapping on BDSM gear and a men's suit. Toying with both masculine and feminine expression, her latest album Chris embodies a growth in Christine's female identity. 

"I wanted to tell the complexity of where I was. I was stronger than I used to be, more powerful also with what happened to me as a woman," Chris told the Recording Academy. "I was lustful, frustrated, but full of that eagerness to live things fully. I was also joking when I was making the record, I was like, 'This is a record that talks about being too much.' It's easy to be too much when you're a woman and you're easily told to shut up or maybe be less loud or maybe keep your composure."

The Recording Academy spoke with Chris after her set at Corona Capital in Guadalajara, Mexico, where she share more about Chris, how dancing helps connect with international audiences, how female artists are forming a sisterhood and more. 

This is your first time in Mexico. How has it been?

It's too short. I will come back because I just arrived yesterday, performed today for like 15 minutes, which was lovely. Great crowd, really embracing and warm, but it's already done, so I want to do more. I wish I could come back. I was really eager to come here, actually. I was intrigued by Mexico. I wish I had more time to just properly explore. Some of my dancers actually stayed longer than me to explore a bit before the gig.

What intrigues you about it?

I've been here only like a day, but I think it's really vibe-y and spiritual. I don't know if I'm fantasizing it or not, but I feel like some things are connected and people have this relationship to spirituality that feels uplifting and celebratory and I think it's a really great feeling. Also when you're on stage, you can feel there is, I don't know, people project something that was quite different than other countries to me.

Your latest album is called Chris. What was the inspiration behind it?

Second album, second chapter. I'm saying "chapter" on purpose because hopefully there'll be a whole novel. [Laughs.]

That record came out like four years after the debut album, which was kind of life-changing to me. [The first album] was unexpectedly successful, and in Chris I wanted to tell the complexity of where I was. I was stronger than I used to be, more powerful also with what happened to me as a woman. I was lustful, frustrated, but full of that eagerness to live things fully. I was also joking when I was making the record, I was like, "This is a record that talks about being too much." It's easy to be too much when you're a woman and you're easily told to shut up or maybe be less loud or maybe keep your composure. I was like, "I want an album that talks about excess and carnal desires like men can talk about." It would be like a rock star album. 

In the U.S. there's a study out that women are very underrepresented musically at festivals and on charts. Do you have any thoughts on that?

Yeah, it's fascinating also because there are lots of great female musicians out like ... Grimes, Rihanna, there are tons of fantastic female performers, but we are weirdly underrepresented in the statistics and I was actually really surprised to learn that. Also, in a way it doesn't surprise me, unfortunately though. It's not even just in music, it's everywhere. Even in the technical jobs, women are not there. I never worked with a female sound engineer. Never. Ever.

When you're a female artist, it's twice as hard. You're sexualized immediately. You are questioned five times more, and if you try to navigate the complicated waters of the mainstream, you have to find a way to be a woman that is appealing and not threatening. It's complicated, but I think with everything that happens now, hopefully it's going to stretch a bit what it means to be a woman in this industry. There are lots of fantastic female performers that should be topping the charts. Rosalia, lots of inspiring females around.

I also think what changes in a good way is solidarity and that becomes a real thing, like a sisterhood. I noticed, even myself as a performer, that women are exchanging way more, talking way more to each other, building strong friendships that can help them along the way. I think solidarity comes to be a real thing, which is a good thing.

The festival's mission is to bring international artists that have not been here before. What is it like for you to be able to bring your music to a new place?

It's always reallly interesting because you get to discover if there is a relationship or not with your music and people over there and what is the relationship. So it's really a great moment when you can discover exactly how you exist as an artist for them. It was quite soothing [here] because I saw people mouthing the words of an English record made by a French woman.

How is it for you to play a French song in front of an audience that doesn't speak French?

This is where music is also great. [It's] this weird universal language. I think even though people don't really get it, they kind of get it, which is good. As French people, we listen to lots of English pop music when we're young and you get the emotion anyway. You don't even have to understand and sometimes when you do understand you go, "Ohhh, ohhh." I think with music you can also connect the physicality of my performances every time with the dancing. The body also speaks hopefully. So there is also a way to convey the emotion with the body, so people get if I'm sad or happy. 

You dance, you sing. Do you have a favorite form of expression?

Sometimes it shifts. Sometimes I feel more like dancing and sometimes the singing's the only thing I can do, which is why I do love this weird job of mine. I can do everything at once. It's shifting constantly. It's also cool because I have cycles. Like, I need to come back to the studio. Oh no wait, I need to be on stage. Oh no wait, I need to shut up. Oh wait. Yeah, all over the place.

What's next for you after Corona Capital? What are you doing?

 I'm touring a bit with Florence and the Machine, actually. She's inviting me on her tour, which is a great, great thing to be in because she's touring the U.S. in huge venues. She's huge as a performer there. So I'm like, "Thank you for inviting me."

Then I'm doing all the summer festivals. Then I think I'm going to stop to write some more because I started to write already and I want to release music sooner than four years in between records.
 

Boy Pablo On Growing Up Bicultural & Why Writing About Love Comes Easily To Him

GRAMMYs

The Joy Formidable 

Courtesy of Corona Capital

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Exclusive: The Joy Formidable To Celebrate 10th Anniversary Of Debut EP With Welsh Version

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The Welsh trio sit down with the Recording Academy in Mexico to talk 10th anniversary of 'A Balloon Called Moaning' and more
Jennifer Velez
GRAMMYs
May 16, 2019 - 4:46 pm

It's been 10 years since Welsh alt-rock band The Joy Formidable released their first EP A Balloon Called Moaning. No small feat, the band is celebrating with a project unlike any other they've done before.

"Instead of re-releasing [the album,] we recorded it in Welsh," Vocalist/guitarist Ritzy Bryan told the Recording Academy.  "We're excited, it sounds beautiful and it brings back a lot of memories."

The band, whose latest album is Aaarth, says their love of music and frienship is what has kept them strong this long.

"It's actual friendship, and caring about each other and also the music, absolutely the music," bassist/vocalist Rhydian Davies said. "I think when we get on stage and we're playing what we're playing, we forget about everything and enjoy the moment and it's not because of business."

The Recording Academy talked with the charming trio after their set at Corona Capital Guadalajara in Mexico about more details of their Welsh release, how important personal songwriting is to them, what's next for them and more. 

Tell me, how does it feel to be in Mexico?

Rhydian: Hot.

Ritzy: It's been a little while. I think we were here in 2012. It's been seven years and we had a really lovely time last time that we visited. So I think we've been just excited to come back and hoping and kind of, I feel a little bit torn, I wish we'd been back more but, no point in having regrets. Hopefully we can come back more regularly from now on.

Rhydian: There are so many things that get in the way unfortunately, you know? We'd like to go everywhere on every album cycle but, certain things come in the way; logistics or whatever it is, personal circumstances, but, It's just nice to be here we've not been to Guadalajara before.

You're celebrating 10 years together this year. What is the glue that keeps you together?

Ritzy: I think a lot of respect for each other, good communication and, I think, all of us have got quite different personalities, and just over time you learn how to I suppose just build, inspire each other, how to still have a sense of humor, how to still be really good friends but, we're all quite different people. Over time we've just created this dynamic that feels very intuitive and very, I don't want to say easy, 'cause we fight as well you know.

Rhydian: It's friendship and love isn't it?

Ritzy: Yeah.

Rhydian: Friendship, love and respect comes from that because you spend 24/7 with someone, you're bound to have some arguments and how'd you get over that? It's love isn't it? It's actual friendship, and caring about each other and also the music, absolutely the music. I think when we get on stage and we're playing what we're playing, we forget about everything and enjoy the moment and it's not because of business. We are not doing it just because we want to be famous or it's like I'm getting paid at the end of this so those are pretty major things I think. Don't do music if you doing it for those reasons, that's my opinion. 

Matt: Rhydian Davies with his opinions (all laugh)

Where do you get your inspiration from? I mean you have made music for so long, where does it come from constantly?

Ritzy: It comes from the smallest little thing that happens, maybe. Just you see something that triggers or it makes you feel something and it can go from there, something as simple as nature or just a moment in time watching something through the window, walking down the street to something much more expansive, where you just feel like you need to get something out, you have a story to tell, or you feel like you need to share something that has happened to you good or bad. I think it could be—

Matt: Could be anything—

Rhydian: It could be very personal.

Ritzy: Yeah very.

Rhydian: Because it's been something cathartic for us as well, trying to get over things. You know, there's been things, traumas and fear and into sometimes, what would you call it, mental problems, mental issues, which is obviously something that affects so many people, and we don't like to talk about it but, I think whatever you talk about, you can't help but put your personal element on it because it is obviously how you see the world, isn't it? The personal is always, I think, a really big part of this band. It's not like trying to fit in lyrics to go "DA DA DA" so it sounds nice at the end. "In the air, we're gonna fly, I feel so high," and that's fine. There's a place for everything isn't it? But, I do feel like it's also been a benefit for us to also talk about something that actually means something personal you know?

Matt: We've also got a song about a cactus.

Corona Capital's mission is to bring more international music to Mexico, what does it feel, for you, to play in a new city? To get your music in a new place?

Ritzy: I don't think we ever get in a place all weary. It's not like we wake up in the morning and we're like, "Uh, Where are we? It's fucking ground hog day". That isn't what drives our band or us as individuals, we still are hungry to play music, we are still excited to wake up in a new city but—

Rhydian: You know, we love to play anywhere. New city, old city, we are always excited to go back.

Matt: The key thing is your message is in there, you ask about lyrics and I don't think it's just the lyrics as well as what your message [is], I think.

White Lies Talk Touring Mexico, 'FIVE' & Why Friendship Is The Key Ingredient To Band Longevity

GRAMMYs

HONNE

Courtesy of Corona Capital 

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HONNE On Showing Their True Feelings, Being Covered By Chris Martin & More

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The longtime friends sit down with the Recording Academy in Mexico to talk influences, what's next and more
Jennifer Velez
GRAMMYs
May 16, 2019 - 3:35 pm

British R&B/electropop duo HONNE have earned a lot of attention since releasing their first EP in 2014, even from the likes of Coldplay's Chris Martin. 

Made up of James Hatcher and Andy Clutterbuck, Honne, which means "true feelings" in Japanese, have two full-length albums under their belt, their most recent being Love Me/Love Me Not. Projecting smooth, sensual vibes, Honne are Inspired by artists like Al Green, Radiohead and Quincy Jones, among others. They continue to take their interpretation of love on tour worldwide, most recently in Mexico.

The Recording Academy caught up with the longtime friends in Mexico at Corona Capital Guadalajara, where they talked about touring the world, how they connect with fans, collabs they'd like to do, new music and more. 

Is this your first time at Guadalajara?

Andy Clutterbuck: Yes, it is. We've never been here before. We've been to Mexico quite a few times. But it's great. We love it. We're having a great time.

James Hatcher: Wonderful.

Clutterbuck: The crowd were amazing. The weather is great. We couldn't ask for much more.

Tell me about the crowd vibes. The Mexican audience. What is their vibe? How do you feel in their presence?

Hatcher: They're amazing. Everyone is. They sing along a lot. They're very present in the moment. They get stuck in... get emotionally involved, yeah. It's a good time ... One of the best audiences in the world.

Clutterbuck: Yeah, they clap when you want them to clap. They sing when you want them to sing. It's very easy. It's a pleasure to play here in Mexico.

How does it feel to be able to play in front of an audience in a city you've never been to before?

Clutterbuck: It feels great. We love traveling. That was one of the big perks of this job, to be able to travel and see different places. So yeah, coming here and doing it all over again, completely fresh to a new audience is great. It's like everyone is losing their own virginity. Well, apparently everyone has seen us like four times already, the people who have come, so not like that at all.

What's the story behind your name?

Hatcher: So, Honne is a Japanese word that means "true feelings." Just after we started writing, I was living in London, and Andy was living in Japan for two or three months. We just felt we had like eight or nine songs and we stumbled across that word and it just all sort of fell into place. It just fits in with what kind of songs we're writing about.

Speaking of true feelings, how does it feel to be vulnerable in front of so many people?

Clutterbuck: Well, it can be really scary. If, you know, it depends on what size room you are playing and how up for it the crowd are. But I mean when you get out here to play to a big audience, it's fine because I guess you do feel vulnerable, but not really that vulnerable. Everyone's on your side and it's great. You know, you just do what you do. But in a small room, when everyone is a bit shy, and you're building up to it all, it's scary. You can feel a bit scared, and everyone's looking at you, but I don't know. You just... it's nice that people are obviously there to enjoy your music so you have just got to remember that.

So when you're performing in front of a crowd that doesn't speak your language, how do you connect to them?

Clutterbuck: We try to learn. Like we learn even those small amount of words. Just the very basics like "hello" and "thank you," and "we love you." Generally that gets everybody on our side, because it shows that you care.

Hatcher: We're very lucky that around the world, people sort of learn a lot of English, or at least learn the lyrics in English, so we're very, very fortunate that people sing along with our songs even though it's not necessarily in their language. Which is amazing in Mexico, that so many people would go and do that.

So Love Me/Love Me Not is your latest album. What inspired it?

Clutterbuck: It's a story of two sides, or two halves. We all go through ups and downs, so it's sort of about our ups and downs over the last couple of years. Being away on tour, and ... Yeah, it's just an account, again, of like our lives over the last couple of years ... Warm On A Cold Night  was much the same and this—you know, things change. But we're just talking about true, honest things that happened to us. So that's it. 

You also wrote a song that Chris Martin is now singing!

Hatcher: Yes ... It's our song "Someone That Loves You" that we wrote with Izzy Bizu that came about just by Twitter.

With both Izzy and Honne, we were mutual fans of each other, and we said let's get together and just write a song. We ended up releasing it together. But then she went on tour with Coldplay in the U.S., and Chris Martin always said that he loved that song and they performed it together there at this little event. He said, "I'll record all of Andy's parts," so they bloody took Andy off, didn't they? They took Andy off and put Chris on, and it's still lovely, but it's a little bit different. It's made to be more like how Izzy played it live, so it's a slightly different groove.

Clutterbuck: Basically, if you would have told me 10 years ago that Chris Martin would sing a song that you wrote, I would be like "hell yes, that sounds great."

What's next for you after Corona Capital? Where are you off to?

Clutterbuck: Back home.

Hatcher: Yeah. So just did the two week U.S. tour. Finish here in Mexico. We go home and we're going to write a load of new music and over the summer and toward the end of the year, we're still doing a few festivals and a bit of touring, but the focus is shifting more towards writing new music.

Anything you could tell us about that new music?

Hatcher: It's going to be lovely.

Clutterbuck: It will be lovely, glorious, sensational... [Laughs.] There's also a collaboration on the way as well with SG Lewis, that's going to be coming out at some point. Just various bits and bumps that we've kind of got in our back pocket that are coming.

Any collaborations that you haven't had but you want to do in the future?

Hatcher: There's lots of like, pipe-dream ones that will probably not ever happen, like Chance the Rapper, that would be nice. Kehlani, that would be nice. We just did a remix of one of her tracks actually. Came out yesterday. Who else have we got?

Clutterbuck: Anybody, I mean I don't mean anybody, but anybody we like

Hatcher: There's loads of artists that we really, really like. It will be interesting to see how things unravel and opportunities come up.

Holy Ghost! On What "Do This" Is Really About & Why They Feel So Good About 'Work'

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Lauv

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Lauv On "F**k, I'm Lonely," Staying Independent, Mental Health & More

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At 25 years old, the singer/songwriter and producer has found a way to be his own boss
Jennifer Velez
GRAMMYs
Aug 8, 2019 - 4:33 pm

In a sea of internet sensations filled with viral hits, indie-pop artist and producer Lauv has been like a shark—constantly moving forward. 

The singer/songwriter's work hits you in a whole spectrum of relatable feels. Last year's I met you when I was 18 EP will have you swooning over lyrics like, "To be young and in love in New York City/ To not know who I am but still know that I'm good long as you're here with me," while "Enemies" takes you through the awkward post-breakup space when you just want to be civil: "Why do we, we have to be/ Enemies, enemies?/ Forget all the scars/ All that they are memories."

With more than two billion streams, a growing following of one million on Instagram and more than four hundred thousand on Twitter, the singer known as @lauvsongs has also landed on Billboard's Next Big Sound and Emerging Artist charts.

The best part? It's all on his terms.

At 25 years old, Lauv has found a way to be his own boss in the complex music industry. Through the use of AWAL streaming service for global distribution, he has been able to control how his music is shared. Being independedent may not necesarilly have been his plan in the beginning, but sometimes when one door closes, another one opens. And that's certainly the case for Lauv.

"I always felt like I was trying to prove something to these label people, and I felt very intimidated," he told the Recording Academy. "I think once stuff started to happen for me and really once I put out, 'I Like Me Better,' I was like, wait a second. The tables are flipped. It's now possible for me to do this without the people that made me feel intimidated."

The Los Angeles-based artist, who originally wanted to work for other artists while studying at NYU and who has also penned songs for the likes of Charli XCX and Demi Lovato, is working on his forthcoming debut album. This time around, he's writing about more than just love. One of the topics he tackles is his own journey with mental health, something he is very open and honest about on social media. 

Lauv recently spoke to the Recording Academy about his mental health journey, his latest single "f***, i'm lonely," navigating the industry as an indepependent artist and more.

You went to NYU. What did you major in?

Yes. Music technology.

What did you learn majoring in that?

Basically, it's just all audio engineering stuff, learning proper miking techniques, music theory, and music history, ear training, some production classes, music for film classes, learning how to build a synth, really building stuff.

So how did you get into singing and songwriting?

I wasn't playing music when I was a little kid. I always played the piano and then I played viola and then guitar. And when I was 13, that's the first time I tried to write a song. And then I just fell in love. My voice sucked. I was really bad at singing. I remember I played in some bands and my friend's dad was like, "You guys need to get a new singer." But then I just stuck with it and kept writing songs and probably wrote, at this point, I've written thousands of songs.

How did you develop the voice you have now?

I did some vocal training, but I think it was about me ... I used to try to force my voice to be something that wasn't right. I wanted to sing, I wanted to belt super loud and like I was wrecking my voice. I think like once I started singing more in my head voice in Falsetto, I discovered a whole new side of my abilities and that's where I ended up finding my style.

I want to get back to music education a little bit because I feel like a lot of young people get into a major and then end up in working in a field that isn't related to it. Has your major helped you in any way with your singing and your songwriting?

Yeah, no, I think so. Just getting the experience of some of the more specific things like the music theory and the ear training and also just getting the opportunity to be studying something and honing all the technical parts as I was trying to find my own creative voice, I think it was a really good combination.

You've done songwriting for artists like Charlie XCX. How do you decide when a song is for you and when you're going to give it to somebody else?

That's a good question. I think it's just when I make a song and it and it feels like a song that I need to sing, meaning it's really truly about my life, then those are the songs that I just don't want to give away. But sometimes, because I can't really control the creative process, sometimes there's a song that I love but it doesn't feel like a song that I need to sing, if that makes sense. Yeah, that's the difference for me.

What are the different skills that you use, say, for producing versus songwriting?

Oh, that's a good question. No one's really ever asked me that. I guess production has just been all my years nerding out on my computer. The thing is for me, I would say I'm more of a songwriter than I am a producer. Even though I produce most of my own stuff, I feel like I always focus on the song; the lyrics and the melody and the chords, and the production really for me is just trying to support and not get in the way of the song. That's the way I think about it because it's so easy for producers to make something amazing, but it gets in the way of the song.

You own your own music. It took Tom Petty a huge battle to get his rights back. Going into music, were you always aware that you wanted to own your own music?

No. My whole dream was to get signed to a record label. It was always that when I was a kid.

So how did you get here? How did you decide, "I'm going to do this independent thing"?

Well, basically ... That's a really good question. The funny thing is before I started releasing music in 2015, I didn't really have that much traction. In that time, I met with some labels and people were always ... I always felt like I was trying to prove something to these label people, and I felt very intimidated. I think once stuff started to happen for me and really once I put out "I Like Me Better," I was like, wait a second. The tables are flipped. It's now possible for me to do this without the people that made me feel intimidated, to be honest. I could do this with my management that I love and build a team around me that feels like people that I genuinely feel connected to on. I have nothing against major labels. I think for a lot of artists that makes a lot of sense. But for me, I just have this weird complex where I feel intimidated by stuff like that for some reason.

So has it been a process where you're learning as you go about the business? Have you nerded out on books or how have you navigated it all?

I rarely read, sadly. Yeah, I think I've definitely been learning along the way, mostly conversations with my team and my attorney and stuff like that. We talk a lot. I definitely stay out of the details of the business because I just don't really have the bandwidth. I'm trying to focus on just making the album and so on and so forth. But as I go along the way, I'm definitely gleaning stuff.

So you released your own music, and I've noticed that you like to release some songs on Instagram. How come?

Yes. Because to be honest, I have so many songs. I can't even tell you how many songs I have. Right now, I'm trying to figure out which ones are going to be on the album. There's all this release strategy about when's the best time to put out songs and so on and so forth, timing. I'm always just like, f**k it. I want to give people music so if I have an idea. I just leak it and then that's it.

Tierra Whack released a mini album on IG. Do you think you'd ever do something like that?

That's f**king sick. I actually didn't know that. That would be sick. I would love to do something like that. I'm pretty sure my managers would kill me.

Do you feel like social media has been your greatest tool as an artist?

I think it's been probably. I think along with Spotify and Apple Music and just streaming in general. Social media has definitely been the best way for me to build an actual connection with my fans and not just be songs but be a real thing.

How did you find out about AWAL and why did you decide to use it?

I'm trying to remember how I originally found out about them. I think it's just something that came up through these people I knew in the industry as they were transitioning from just doing the AWAL deals to doing the more high profile full services deals. Around that time, I think someone on my team had worked with them in the past and said they were amazing. Then I met with them and then loved it.

How helpful has it been to you?

Really helpful. Yeah. No, it's been super helpful. They've been super amazing. I actually have a team there that puts in a lot of work around the world. So it's really cool that I get to do it in a way were I control everything and I own everything, but I have a team that's actually working really hard.

What is the most challenging thing about being an independent artist today?

I think honestly just getting people to take it seriously sometimes. I think sometimes people ... obviously there's Chance The Rapper, and he's a legend, but I think a lot of people ... there's all these associations between artists; these people in the public or these people are on whatever, whatever it might be. I know there's a lot of events to bring artists together and stuff. And I always feel like I'm on the outside looking in a little bit.

What about the greatest thing about being an independent artist?

Oh, the greatest thing? Getting to do whatever I want and yeah, owning my masters, for sure.

Your single "Sad Forever" continues the conversation you started in "Drugs And The Internet" about your journey with mental health and medication. How did you decide to seek medication?

That's a really good question. Honestly, I was super resistant towards it. One time when I was in college, I went through depression and they tried to prescribe me some meds and I never took them. I think I always felt like I was better than that or something. I had this idea in my head that started to change the way I thought. But after talking to my family, because there's some mental health stuff in my family, and also talking to my therapist and psychiatrist, I felt like I was at such a low point that I just didn't really have any other options because I was having such bad obsessive thoughts that I couldn't get out of and that I couldn't live my normal life. So I felt like I had no other option. Once I gave them a shot, it all clicked to me how important it was for me to be open to it. Some of the mental health stuff is really illogical. It's not just think more positively because sometimes chemically, you're lacking chemicals you need, so you really can't think positively. Everything feels negative no matter how positive it is. So I think for some people it's important to be open to medication, not for everybody, but for some people.

How are you doing now?

It's been good. Well, let's see. I won't bore you with too many details, but there's been some trial and error trying to find the right medication, but I'm currently, especially on a mood stabilizer. That's helped me not swing really high and then swing really low. I'm still always figuring it out and trying to get the dosage right and get to a place where I feel like my normal is a real good place, that I'm not sitting really low where I'm not sitting very high, but I'm just sitting at a normal place.

In "Sad Forever" there's a lyric that says, "Sometimes I just want to give up." Is that related to you personally?

Yeah, yeah. I'm just thankful to not be there right now. I've definitely felt that way and that's definitely just a story about my life, but I'm just thankful that I'm in a better place now.

What gives you hope?

God, what gives me hope? I think my friends, my family, my dog, and just knowing that ... I can actually have a real impact on other people's lives and not just make the music that they can party to, but make something that can help them get through something. I know that my favorite music always did that for me. I think just the thought of being able to do that for somebody is really special.

Is that why you've been so open with your journey?

Yes. I'm the type of person where I feel I have to be an open book or else I feel really weird. I don't know why.

Tell me about your latest single

Yes. Yeah. The song is called "F**k, I'm Lonely," and basically ... Well, actually it's the least deep song I put out. It's just a fun one because I'm so used to making songs that are so ... Obviously "Drugs And The Internet" and "Sad Forever" are one thing. It's basically about missing somebody. It's pretty straightforward. I did it with Anne Marie, who is an amazing artist and a massive pleasure to work with. 

You're also working on an album. Can we get any more details on that?

So it's called How I'm Feeling and basically all the songs that I've put out so far, like "Drugs and the Internet" and "Sad Forever" and "F**k, I'm Lonely" are all part of the album. Basically, I'm still working on it, but I want to keep writing some songs until the album's done and then I'll drop the rest of the album. And basically I'd say how it's different than my first project, which I mentioned was when I was 18, it's moreso just about everything in my life. It's not just about me in a relationship. I have songs about that my parents and my best friends and my dog and my favorite bar, literally everything.

You're starting a tour in October. Do you think the album will be out by then?

That would be amazing. But, I don't know.

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Up Close & Personal: Lizzo On The Essence Of 'Cuz I Love You,' Missy Elliott's Impact & More

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The Recording Academy gets Up Close & Personal with the flute-playing, powerhouse singer about her latest album, her idol Missy Elliott and more
Jennifer Velez
GRAMMYs
Jul 31, 2019 - 4:05 pm

By now, you've definetly heard Lizzo's "Tempo" featuring Missy Elliott. Or maybe it's "Truth Hurts" or "Juice" thats been blasting near you. Lizzo's feel-good, relatable pop songs are everywhere, and keeping them a secret during the making of her latest album, Cuz I Love You, wasn't easy for the Detroit native.

"When you write these songs you get really excited about them and mind you, I had a song like 'Juice' just under my armpit in the darkness and nobody knew what it sounded like," the singer and flute player told the Recording Academy. "Or keeping it a secret that I had Missy Elliott on a song, at that point you just want to explode and when the album was out, I was so excited to just share the songs with people and the world."

Lizzo On 'Cuz I Love You,' Missy Elliott & More

But it's not just Lizzo's songs that are addictive for their messages of self-love and positivity, it's who she is, too. The singer gets into how being naked on her album cover may have been the ultimate act of vulnerability, but it was also a moment of strength. "Vulnerability and strength is what this album is all about," she said. 

The singer's most recent single, "Tempo," features her now-trademark flute playing and a guest spot from one of her idols, Missy Elliott. "She represented something that made me believe in myself," she says about the iconic rapper's imapct on her when she was young. 

Watch the "Truth Hurts" singer talk more about the impact Missy Elliott left on her when she was younger, what excites her most about releasing Cuz I Love You, her remarkable album cover, vulnerability and more.

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