On the opening track of her second album, FLETCHER reveals that she's been called a sick, permanently numb, narcissistic crazy b—. And FLETCHER has one thing to say about that perception: "maybe I am."

It's a stark contrast to the narrative that opened the pop singer's debut LP, 2022's Girl of My Dreams ("Cause lately I've been feeling kinda lonely/ Kinda like nobody knows me anymore," she sings on "20 Something"). But it also highlights the growth evident on FLETCHER's new project, In Search of the Antidote.

While the freshly 30-year-old artist has never been afraid to pour her heart out and speak her mind (see her 2019 breakthrough "Undrunk" or her viral Girl of My Dreams hit, "Becky's So Hot"), In Search of the Antidote is FLETCHER at her most assured. Across 11 guitar-driven tracks, she embraces everything from the harsh realities of fame ("Doing Better"), to the pain of letting someone go ("Two Things Can Be True") and the rush of new love ("Joyride"). 

"It's the most f—ing unhinged and chaotic s— I've ever said, and also, the most healed," the singer, whose birth name is Cari Fletcher, tells GRAMMY.com of the album. "With growth and change comes evolution, both as a human being and as an artist. I've always, always, always sung from my heart, but every time it gets to be a deeper dive, because I get to know more of me. And the music just evolves with that." 

Below, FLETCHER details the personal deep dive that helped her create In Search of the Antidote, and why this album is "the bridge of where Cari meets FLETCHER."

"[In Search Of is] a beautiful integration of me as a human being and me as an artist."

The difference between Girl of My Dreams and In Search of the Antidote was the headspace that I was in. I had taken quite a bit of time off last year to navigate some things with my health, and it forced me to get still and get quiet — outside of, you know, the shows, and social media, and just this constant inundation of validation from an external world.

While I was on this healing journey with my health and with my body [FLETCHER was diagnosed with Lyme disease in 2023], I was creating this music at the same time. And because I didn't have the energy to be able to put on any sort of facade or any sort of character, I ended up getting the truest music from my heart.

Having that space allowed me to sonically go elsewhere, vocally go elsewhere, conceptually, thematically. Obviously with the through line of it always just being me, but this music came from a different place in my heart.

I think people can only meet you as deeply as you've met yourself. So the version of me that's existed on previous records was just the level of depth within myself that I was able to access at the time. But as we grow, and we evolve, and we have life experiences, we reach these new levels of our awareness, and our consciousness, and the depths of who we are and our own emotions. 

This album is, like, the bridge of where Cari meets FLETCHER. In the past, Cari's always been there, but there's just been more of a beautiful integration of me as a human being and me as an artist in this project.

"F—ing question absolutely everything."

I have a song on my album called "Doing Better." It's a deeper reflection into this idea of the notion of fame, and when you start to achieve some of the things that you've wanted for so long — and then looking at all the ways that it doesn't necessarily feel like you thought it was going to. And then, navigating things with your health and your mental health [on top of that].

When all of that is sort of just compiling into one moment, you are absolutely forced to really do a deep dive and look at yourself in the mirror, and f—ing question absolutely everything. This album is an answer to a lot of those beckoning, deeper questions that I was sort of in search of the answer to.

There's a song that opens my album and it's called "Maybe I Am," and that song was written as a response of, What if we believed what everybody else had to say about us? And then all the ways that that forces you deeper into yourself, like, Who am I? What is my intention? Where is my heart? Why do I do the things that I do? What place am I acting from? 

All of that pushed me deeper into myself and into exploring and knowing myself. All of it — the platform, everything that came from the last era — deeply informed the rest of how my journey has gone over the last year. And this record is a response to it.

"Chaos is feeling all your feelings."

I think people have this perception that once you embark on some sort of healing, transformational journey of working on yourself, that everything's all good, and it's all love and light. But actually, the magic in all of it is the integration of the messy feelings, the chaotic feelings — giving voice to all of the parts of you.

There were moments on this album where my ego really needed the microphone — even while knowing that some of these things that I'm saying are not coming from my healthiest, happiest, healed version of me. We have to let all of these other things arise [in order] to be to be felt and to be seen. 

The FLETCHER brand has become synonymous with the word chaos. And I would like a redefinition, folks. Please. [Laughs.] 

I don't know that I necessarily think [the "chaos" label] was a negative thing. It's a perception it's a lens that people have viewed me through. But I'm all of it, you know? That was the thing, even with "Maybe I Am" — like, "Yeah, maybe I am f—ing crazy b—, what would you say then?" 

To me, chaos is just, like, feeling all your feelings. It's both the beauty and the absolute heartbreak that it is to be living a human experience. We get to feel it all. 

I get to be the fullest expression of myself through my music. To have that, and then to be able to share that, and give someone else permission to just be in all of it, that's why I do it. 

"I just have more acceptance for the process."

On Girl of My Dreams, there's a lot of narratives about other people. And while there are on this record, too, it's me learning about myself through other experiences. With "Doing Better," I'm poking fun at myself in those verses, and even through that, I was able to find myself in a different way. That is the exploration of love in all of its infinite manifestations, which just shows up as every feeling. And when I say love, I don't just mean romantic love or self-love. It's a universal love, and the world just being in such a need of that. 

This is an album for little Cari to feel all the ways that she felt, like, not paid attention to, or her feelings were too big or too scary. FLETCHER gets to wear them on her sleeve now — through a reclamation of all of the parts of me that society wants to tell us are too much. Just being it all and not shying away from it. 

It f—ed me up for a minute, and then I was like, "Wait, wait, wait — who are we?" And that's the thing — you start to learn your own internal navigation system, and the truth of who you really are. And I just am like, "This is what I want to say, and this is how I want to show up." It's always a refinement. I get to show up in this way with this album, and who knows how I'll show up next.

I just have more acceptance for the process and knowing there's no end goal to reach. I think there was always this version of me in the past that was like, When I achieve this accolade, and this amount of money, I'll be good, I'll be happy, and everything that I've been stressed about will just go away. And that's just not true. 

When you really get to fall in love with the richness of you and who you are, then everything else just feels like an addition, and feels fun. I think that's where I'm at now. I feel excited to go play shows, and see my fans, and scream these songs together without an attachment on what it has to do or who I have to be. Just more of me loving me, and getting to be with this music in a way that feels really present.

Listen: GRAMMY.com's Women's History Month 2024 Playlist: Female Empowerment Anthems From Beyoncé, Ariana Grande, Jennie & More

It seems there's never a dull moment in pop music. But in 2021, the genre's rising stars and longtime greats all came out swinging, always giving fans something to be excited about.

Taylor Swift and her unofficial protege, Olivia Rodrigo, made for two of the biggest stories of the year: Swift began releasing her rerecorded albums, and Rodrigo had the world listening after she dropped her global phenomenon "driver's license."

Pop expanded its palette this year, too, with K-pop experiencing its biggest year yet and Nigeria proving that its Afropop stars have some serious promise.

On top of all of that, fans finally received some of pop's most-anticipated albums in 2021, making for a year that was truly monumental and memorable. Take a look at eight of the genre's most prominent trends below.

Teenage Angst Took Over

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From the moment 2021 began, there was no denying it was going to be the year of Olivia Rodrigo. With the runaway chart and streaming successes of her two biggest hits so far — the teenage heartbreak ballad "driver's license" and the angsty, Paramore-sampling "good 4 u," which both debuted atop the Billboard Hot 100 — the 18-year-old was at the helm of young stars who weren't afraid to get raw and real in 2021.

A sense of vulnerability was the through-line of pop's new wave this year, and it clearly resonated. In addition to Rodrigo's triumphs, Australian breakout The Kid LAROI landed a Top 10 hit with the gut-wrenching acoustic track "Without You" as well as a Hot 100 and pop radio No. 1 with the Justin Bieber-assisted bop "Stay." And if the honest lyrics of his hit singles aren't enough indication, just look at the title of its parent album: F--- Love.

Tate McRae, another 18-year-old, also hit a sweet spot with her peers with her anti-sympathetic breakup song, "you broke me first." The song has amassed more than one billion streams worldwide, also reaching No. 1 on pop radio.

Of course, Gen Z first got in their feelings thanks to Billie Eilish, and she continued to carry her torch in 2021 with the release of her second album, Happier Than Ever. Though the album's jazz-influenced, downtempo nature was a departure from the trap-led sound of her debut, When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?, it lyrically stayed right in line with the trenchant honesty that made her a star — and, seemingly, opened the floodgates for her teen successors.

"Taylor's Versions" Caused a Frenzy

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Nearly two years after Taylor Swift announced that she'd be re-recording her first six albums in order to regain artistic and financial control, the first two albums arrived in 2021. And boy, did Swifties have a field day.

The country starlet turned pop superstar knew exactly what her loyal legion of followers would want, releasing remakes of fan favorites Fearless and Red this year. Upon the April release of Fearless (Taylor's Version), the album had the biggest opening day for an album on Spotify in 2021, garnering 50 million global streams on its first day and subsequently debuting atop the Billboard 200.

Yet, it was Red (Taylor's Version) that became a phenomenon, becoming the most-streamed album in a day from a female artist on Spotify with nearly 91 million global first-day streams (breaking the record she previously set with 2020's Folklore). The album's immediate draw owed partial thanks to a 10-minute version of her beloved power ballad "All Too Well," which took on a life of its own. Along with becoming a short film that Swift debuted in New York City and earning the singer her eighth No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100, it also blew up the Twittersphere with scathing (yet amusing) tweets about the song's supposed subject, actor Jake Gyllenhaal.

Among Red (Taylor's Version)'s many other feats, the 10-minute, 13-second version of "All Too Well" also became the longest song to top the Hot 100. With four re-records still left to release, who knows what kind of records Swift will break next?

Black Women Took The Genre By Storm

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While 2021 wasn't necessarily a breakout year for Doja Cat or Normani, it was the year that both stars came into their own — and, ultimately, reinvented the pop star ideal.

After teasing her pop sensibility with her 2020 smash "Say So," Doja Cat struck pop gold again with the SZA-featuring "Kiss Me More." The disco-tinged hit was just one of the many A-list collaborations on Doja's hailed album Planet Her, which has accumulated more than 3 billion streams since its June release and debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200.

On the opposite end, Normani — who got her start in pop girl group Fifth Harmony and saw her first two solo hits (2018's "Love Lies" and 2019's "Dancing With a Stranger") take over pop radio — reminded listeners of her versatility in 2021. Following an empowered team-up with Megan Thee Stallion for the Birds of Prey soundtrack, Normani recruited Cardi B to help bring out her R&B side on the sexy slow jam "Wild Side," which earned the 25-year-old singer her first hit on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart (in the top 5, no less).

Two artists who did have breakout years were Beyoncé protegee Chloë and German singer/songwriter Zoe Wees. Chloë, one half of R&B duo Chloe x Halle, released her debut solo single "Have Mercy" to critical acclaim, putting on showstopping performances of the song at the MTV Video Music Awards and the American Music Awards. Wees closed out the AMAs with a powerful rendition of her poignant song, "Girls Like Us," the follow-up to her viral hit "Control."

Artists Loudly Proclaimed Their Sexuality

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As acceptance becomes more prominent within mainstream music, stars are latching on to the new era of being open about however they identify.

Though Lil Nas X came out as gay in 2019, his sonic proclamation came in controversial form with "Montero (Call Me By Your Name)." The video for the flamenco-dripped track — whose title references the 2017 gay romance film Call Me By Your Name — depicted biblical and Satanic scenes in racy fashion. Despite resulting in backlash from religious groups, the song and video's bold statement served as an impactful one for the LGBTQ+ community — as Lil Nas put it himself, pushing for "more acceptance, more open-mindedness amongst humanity as a whole."

Demi Lovato (who announced they are non-binary in May) featured a song about their sexual fluidity on their seventh album, Dancing With the Devil, released in April. The wavy "The Kind of Lover I Am" declares "Doesn't matter, you're a woman or a man/ That's the kind of lover I am" on its rolling chorus.

Bringing back one of pop's first sexual fluidity anthems, Fletcher interpolated Katy Perry's "I Kissed A Girl" for her own single "Girls Girls Girls," which marked "the freedom and the celebration I've been craving my whole life," she said in a press release. One month later, she teamed up with Hayley Kiyoko (who has been dubbed "Lesbian Jesus" by her fans) for "Cherry," a flirty sapphic jam.

K-Pop's English Infusion Blew Up

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Thanks to the likes of BTS and BLACKPINK — and now countless other groups — K-pop has made its way into the U.S. pop market in a major way in recent years. As it has continued to boom, more and more artists are releasing songs that are completely in English — and the genre is arguably bigger than ever.

Less than a year after BTS first dabbled in English-language singles with 2020's smash "Dynamite," they delivered the biggest hit of their career with the smooth sensation "Butter." The song debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, where it stayed for 10 non-consecutive weeks — a streak initially broken up by their third English-language hit, "Permission to Dance."

BLACKPINK saw two of its members go solo in 2021, Lisa and Rosé, who each issued English-language singles of their own. Lisa's "Money" and Rosé's "On The Ground" both landed on the Hot 100, respectively garnering more than 375 million and 255 million YouTube views alone.

Several other acts released notable English-language tracks, with SEVENTEEN and TWICE each putting out their first: "2 MINUS 1" features SEVENTEEN members Joshua and Vernon, and "The Feels" became TWICE's first top 20 hit on the Billboard Global 200, where it reached No. 12.

Read More: 5 K-Pop Songwriters & Producers Who Defined 2021: SUMIN, Teddy Park, ADORA, RM & SUGA

Pop Became More Global Than Ever Before

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South Korea isn't the only far-flung country having a moment. In fact, Nigeria is arguably one of the most fruitful geographical founts of music — particularly thanks to the recent Afropop explosion.

Wizkid — who first saw global success with his Drake collaboration, "One Dance," in 2016 — earned his first Billboard Hot 100 hit as a lead artist with the R&B-tinged single "Essence." The song features fellow Nigerian singer Tems, making history as the first Nigerian song to break the Hot 100 top 10. The sultry track caught the attention of Justin Bieber, who hopped on a remix and declared it the "song of the summer."

Bieber also enlisted Nigerian star Burna Boy for his widely praised LP, Justice, one of the singer/rapper's many pop-driven appearances in 2021, including Sia, Jon Bellion and John Legend. 

Two other rising Nigerian acts, Joeboy and Fireboy DML, saw their Afropop takes resonate this year, too. Joeboy's "Alcohol" inspired a viral TikTok craze, and the success of Fireboy's "Peru" landed a remix with Ed Sheeran in December.

Elsewhere, Latin still proves to have a profound impact in the pop world. Puerto Rican newcomer Rauw Alejandro's irresistibly catchy "Todo De Ti" made its way to mainstream radio, as did Maluma's global hit "Hawái," the latter thanks to a remix with The Weeknd. And Pop queens Christina Aguilera and Selena Gomez also honored their Latin roots: Aguilera dropped two singles, "Pas Mis Muchachas" and "Somos Nada"; Gomez released her first Spanish-language project, Revelación.

In the streaming world, Bad Bunny — Spotify's most-streamed artist for the second year in a row — and BTS (No. 3 on Spotify's year-end tally) proved that Latin and K-pop are equal contenders to pop powerhouses like Taylor Swift and Bieber, who were No. 2 and 5, respectively.

Superstars Joined Forces

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Sure, every year sees star-studded collaborations. But with artists having unprecedented downtime in 2020 and into 2021, some iconic pairings were born.

Ariana Grande and The Weeknd — no strangers to working together — scored their first Hot 100 No. 1 with a remix of The Weeknd's "Save Your Tears." Another Grande collaborator, Lizzo, teamed up with Cardi B for her latest single, "Rumors."

One of the most unexpected (and brilliant) partnerships came from Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak, who joined forces for the '70s funk-inspired duo Silk Sonic. The pair dropped their silky debut single, "Leave the Door Open," just one week after announcing their joint project in February, and unveiled An Evening With Silk Sonic in November.

Veterans recruited some of pop's newer voices, too. Australian icon Kylie Minogue dueted with British electropop star Years & Years on "A Second to Midnight," a track from her reissue album, Disco: Guest List Edition. She also featured Dua Lipa on the album on a song titled "Real Groove."

Lipa co-starred with another legend, Elton John, on the chart-topping (and "Rocket Man"-sampling) hit "Cold Heart (PNAU Remix)." The single was part of John's jam-packed collaborative album, The Lockdown Sessions, which also featured Charlie Puth, Stevie Nicks and Stevie Wonder, among many others.

Long-Awaited Albums Arrived

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Silk Sonic appeased those eagerly waiting for Bruno Mars to follow up his 2016 Album Of The Year-winning LP, 24K Magic, as the duo’s material featured plenty of signature Bruno power hooks and slinky melodies. But those still longing for a solo Bruno Mars record may have at least been satisfied by the other 2021 arrivals.

Six years in the making, Adele’s 30 finally landed in November — and, unsurprisingly, became the top-selling album of the year in just its first three days. The LP has now sold more than 1 million copies, and spawned the singer’s fifth Hot 100 No. 1 with the poignant lead single, “Easy on Me.” Beyond accolades, 30 sees Adele at her most vulnerable — as she's said herself, it centers around her divorce from entrepreneur Simon Konecki — which resulted in her most raw and powerful work yet.

Considering Ed Sheeran’s extensive touring schedule that had the singer/songwriter on the road until the end of August 2019, it was almost hard to believe it had been four years since his last album. Surely some Sheerios felt the agony, but it was worth the wait: =, Sheeran's fourth studio album, offered 14 new tracks that expand on the star's signature talents, from heartfelt falsetto to boot-stomping melodies.

In what felt like the day that may never come, Kanye West delivered his tenth album, Donda, in August. The project had seen multiple postponements since its originally scheduled release of July 2020, but perhaps that's because the final product has a whopping 27 songs. While the album leans more into West's hip-hop roots, its impressive roster of guest stars — from The Weeknd to Watch the Throne cohort JAY-Z — offered any kind of Kanye fan something to enjoy.

After such a whirlwind year, one big question stands out as we enter 2022: what's next?

2021 In Review: 8 Trends That Defined Latin Music

Despite the abundant darkness of 2020, Ingrid Andress had the biggest year of her life. Along with honors like inclusion on Forbes 30 Under 30 and big-time TV performances, including "Colbert" and "Today," the 29-year-old singer/songwriter celebrated a country radio No. 1 with the heartfelt breakup ballad "More Hearts Than Mine" and the release of her debut album, Lady Like. Both the single and the album earned Andress her first-ever GRAMMY nominations, for Best Country Song and Best Country Album, respectively, as well as a coveted Best New Artist nod, at the 2021 GRAMMY Awards show. (Ahead of GRAMMY night, Andress will participate in the Recording Academy's inaugural "Women In The Mix" virtual celebration on International Women's Day, Monday, March 8.)

Andress has already achieved so much, she's joked about retiring before she even turns 30. "Honestly, I do think I've peaked," Andress says with a laugh. "I've accomplished all the things that I've wanted to do, so it's kind of like, 'Should I get into the restaurant business? What is next for me?'"

Though she has been working on her cooking skills while in quarantine, Andress' success thus far proves that she's too good at songwriting to give it up just yet. Even before she had hits of her own, the singer/songwriter co-penned cuts for pop stars like Charli XCX, Fletcher and Bebe Rexha and landed in the studio with Alicia Keys and Sam Hunt. And as the only country act in the Best New Artist category this year, Andress has made a name for herself as an artist, too.

Ingrid Andress gave GRAMMY.com a call to talk about her beginnings, her transition from behind the scenes to center stage, and her hope for a female-driven future. (Don't worry, Ingrid fans: Her retirement isn't part of it).

How does it feel to be the only country artist in the Best New Artist category?

I still feel like that was an accident. [Laughs.] It's sort of a mindf--k because I'm still so new—like, new new—nobody knows who I am because I haven't been able to tour or anything. I feel honored that I am doing something that represents Nashville. 

I'm glad that I get to represent a part of country music that maybe people don't necessarily think of when they think of country—you know, a lot of people think of it as like, beer and trucks. I'm glad that people realize that I don't have to sing about beer and trucks for people to like it.

Although "More Hearts Than Mine" was released in 2019, last year felt like you established that you weren't going to be a one-hit-wonder with the release of your album Lady Like. What was it like to have your breakout year happen in a time when you could hardly even be face-to-face with people?

I'm probably one of the only people I know who can be like, "2020 was my year." But I feel like it might have been for the better. There's just so much hype that goes with all that celebration, and to me, it's about the music and how people are connecting to it. Last year was more about that authentic connection to the music. It was cool to hear people's stories of how they hear their own lives in whatever I was saying.

Your mom was a piano teacher, so I assume that's how you got started with it. But what ultimately made it feel like your instrument?

It was a love-hate relationship at the beginning. But when you live with your piano teacher, you don't have a choice. We made a deal where if I got to a certain level of piano, then I'd get to pick whatever instrument I wanted. 

Naturally, I picked drums because I was going through a punk and metal phase. I was like, "I just want to bang on some s--t." I got more into [playing] piano in high school. I was homeschooled for the majority of my education, so high school was confusing. Piano felt like therapy. It was just a great outlet emotionally.

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After getting your start writing for other artists, what made you decide to pursue being an artist yourself?

There was a song that I wrote that was very personal to me. I didn't want anybody to have it, but I still had to give it away. When I started writing about my personal feelings, it became harder to picture somebody else singing them. 

So I thought, "You know what, if I don't want to give these away, I probably need to sing them and put them out myself." I knew I wanted to be an artist, but I also didn't think I was [fit for it] because many of the artists I worked with didn't know what they wanted to say. It came out of the natural progression of me finding what I wanted to write about.

Read: Get Lost In The Best Country Song Nominees | 2021 GRAMMYs

So how did you find your sound after that?

I think it was going back and forth between Nashville and LA to write. I've been doing that for five years now. The writing process is so different for each city—writing country music in Nashville, you're all sitting in a room with guitars and talking about lyrics and how to set up the song. Whereas in LA, you go in, there's a track playing, it's on a loop, and you just have to sing melodies over it. 

Nobody's talking about lyrics. My sound came from learning how to combine those two things. I would write songs that would straddle the line, and people would say, "We can't pitch it to a country artist, but it also has smart storyteller lyrics. And it's not poppy enough for pop."

So the songs just sort of created their lane that nobody could cut except for me.

You're part of a groundbreaking GRAMMY year for women in country, as the Best Country Album category—which includes Lady Like—is all projects from solo women or female-fronted groups for the first time. Has it felt like there's been a shift in the way women are supported and recognized in the genre?

It's still kind of slow, but the female turnout in the GRAMMY [categories] this year was such a breath of fresh air. Then you look at country radio, and it's white dudes. It brought me a lot of joy to see the contrast and how opposite it is to what country radio is doing right now. But to see all these women validated for their great work is a huge statement. Even if it's not on the radio, it's still acknowledged as a beautiful piece of art.

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I feel like there's sort of a female movement and confident, feminine energy happening in every genre right now. Do you think that, too?

For sure. I hope more women start saying how they feel about things because chances are, we're all going to relate to it. Even if it's something that people feel is controversial, I'm like, please bring it on. The more controversy, the better. We've evolved so much, and I feel like it's our jobs as creatives to pull the mirror up to what's happening in society. It's going to happen eventually, so we might as well start coming out and being honest about how we feel. 

You hold true to that on Lady Like, and now you're being rewarded for it.

I'm just here to write about my feelings and hope people feel the same way. Especially in this past year, when everything was so divided and chaotic, I feel like the response to my music was a nice reminder that we all could come together by listening to music that is relatable to all of us.

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"Time is so valuable. One of the most amazing things that somebody can give you is their time." 

The wise words of 25-year-old pop artist Fletcher resonated throughout the Clive Davis Theater on Saturday morning where the GRAMMY Museum's 5th Annual Bulova Brunch began. The exclusive event, which honors the official partnership between The Recording Academy and Bulova, began with a lively introduction from Bulova Managing Director Michael Benavente, who disclosed some exciting new changes in this year’s programming. "We wanted to mix it up [with a young artist] this year because of the [new] Bulova ‘Tune of Time’ program," Benavente announced enthusiastically. He went on to explain how the ‘Tune Of Time’ program, which runs in conjunction with Universal Music Group, is about breaking young artists and reaching out to new audiences of the next generation. 

And mix it up they did, with fiery surprise guest artist Fletcher, taking the stage to wow the audience with her dynamic presence and compelling voice. Fletcher, who first gained attention in 2015 when her debut single “War Paint” topped Spotify charts, spent six weeks on Billboard’s ‘Hot 100’ in 2019 with her latest single "Undrunk."

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Scott Goldman, decade-long host of the GRAMMY Museum’s Public Programs Series, sat down with the Jersey-born star for a one-on-one conversation about how she got her start in the industry, the contrasting inspiration behind her two EPs, and her unique relationship to the company. "I have a very personal connection to Bulova," Fletcher shares. The inviting young artist, who warmly introduces herself as ‘Cari’ to attendees, went on to explain how she inherited a Bulova watch from her deceased Uncle Gary, whom she was named after. ”I have his watch, and it literally just comes with me everywhere I go.” 

Long before she got her start, Fletcher has been involved in music in one way or another. She began classical vocal training at age five, and by high school she was a Disney Princess and celebrity impersonator for kids’ birthday parties. “I had to go to pancake houses and be in a literal mermaid tail while people were eating bacon,” she disclosed with a smirk. Fletcher, who also had to impersonate Taylor Swift at these parties, shared her recent experience meeting Swift.  “[All I could think was] God, my wig didn’t look as good as your hair does right now.” 

Fletcher’s demeanor matched her music: raw, real, and expressive, with touches of unexpected dry humor scattered throughout her otherwise profound statements. When asked what makes her a good collaborator, Fletcher replied, “I think what makes anybody a good collaborator is being a good listener."  Fletcher shared how her first EP was created in collaboration with Nashville producer Jamie Kenney. “It is really where I found my legs as a songwriter."

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Fletcher draws inspiration from the audacity of artists like Madonna, David Bowie and Joan Jett, whom she describes as being "so boldly and unapologetically themselves." She explains that, as a queer woman in pop, she wants to color outside the lines of what it means to be a pop star and be the role model that so many girls need. “For the people who are lucky enough to have a platform…if you’re not using it to better the world in some capacity, what’s the point of even having it?”

Fletcher enchanted the audience with an acoustic performance of several singles, including "If You’re Gonna Lie" and "Undrunk." At the end of her set, English singer-songwriter and new Bulova ambassador Calum Scott joined Fletcher on stage to sing a duet cover of the 2020 GRAMMY-nominated hit “Someone You Loved” by current GRAMMY nominee Lewis Capaldi, with whom Fletcher is going on tour in the spring. 

After the performance, a sunny midday meal of mushroom tortellini and braised short rib was served on the GRAMMY Museum’s fifth-floor terrace where event-goers were invited to indulge in a decadent brunch amidst equally decadent views of Downtown L.A. On display in the terrace, the entryway was the GRAMMY-inspired watch collection by Bulova, which attendees took turns admiring well into the afternoon. Guests in attendance at this year’s Bulova brunch bash included Madame Gandhi, as well as representatives from multiple Bulova partnerships including Universal Music Group, Frank Sinatra Enterprises, Ultra Music, and Windows of Hip Hop. 

The iHeartRadio Music Festival, set for September 20–21 in Las Vegas, has announced its first set of performers for the Daytime Stage at the Las Vegas Festival Grounds on Sept. 21 with headliners Billie Eilish, Maren Morris and Juice WRLD.

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Eilish's debut LP WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO? is expected on March 29. Three of her singles broke into Billboard's Hot 100 last year with two more so far in 2019, making the album hotly anticipated.

Country artist Morris enjoyed her top-charting track so far with last year's GRAMMY-nominated dance hit "The Middle" with Zedd and Grey. Her upcoming album Girl is expected to be released on March 8.

Juice WRLD released his debut full-length Goodbye & Good Riddance last year and his follow-up A Death Race For Love is scheduled for release on March 8.

Supporting artists on the Daytime Stage are Cnco, Fletcher, Monsta X, Old Dominion, Brett Young, and Zara Larsson. Additional artists will be announced at a later date.

The iHeartRadio Music Festival will be broadcast live across iHeartRadio stations and will subsequently be aired on television's The CW Network. 

General sales for the complete fest will be available this summer, but a limited number of "special" festival tickets are currently at AXS. Tickets for the Daytime Stage on Sept. 21 are now available at Ticketmaster.

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