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Now that comic book fans have gotten their first sneak peak at James Gunn’s DC Universe with the release of the trailer for his Superman film, the rebooted films are getting another boost with its latest addition, and fans are rejoicing.
According to Variety, Jason Momoa has officially been tapped to play Superman villain Lobo in DC’s upcoming Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow film. For years, rumors have been running rampant that Momoa would be taking on the role once his ill-fated stint as Aquaman was over. Now, it’s coming to fruition, as aesthcallym the man is basically a carbon copy of the DC villain. Starring Milly Alcock (House Of The Dragon) as the titular character, the film is set to release after Gunn’s Superman: Legacy hits theaters in 2025.
Per Variety:
Craig Gillespie is directing the film, which also features Matthias Schoenaerts as villain Krem of the Yellow Hill and Eve Ridley as Ruthye Mary Knolle. Ana Nogueira (“The Vampire Diaries”) wrote the screenplay based on the run of DC comics by Tom King and Bilquis Evely.
Momoa confirmed the casting news on Instagram by sharing a quote from an interview with Fandango during the press tour for “Aquaman 2” where he discussed his longtime fandom of the character — an anithero known for his violent and irreverent personality.
“I collect comics, and I don’t do so much anymore, but he was always my favorite, and I always wanted to play Lobo, because I’m like, ‘Hello? It’s the perfect role,” he said in the interview. “I mean, listen. If they call and ask me to play him, it’s a fuck yeah. I haven’t received that call, so I don’t want to put any fake news out there, but if they ever call me and ask me to play, or ask me to audition, I’m there.”
Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow is set to release a year after Superman: Legacy, on July 26, 2026. James Gunn promises it’ll be much different than what they have in store for the Man of Steel come July 11, 2025.
“We see the difference between Superman, who was sent to Earth and raised by loving parents from the time he’s an infant, versus Supergirl, who was raised on a rock chip off of Krypton, and watched everyone around her die and be killed in terrible ways for the first 14 years of her life,” Gunn said last year as he and Safran previewed the first 10 film and TV titles for the new DC Universe.
Looks like DC is finally ready to give Marvel a run for their movie money.
What do y’all think of Jason Momoa taking on Lobo in the DC Universe? Let us know in the comments section below.
In the six-and-a-half years since Avicii’s death, many of the late artist’s colleagues, critics, fans and friends have tried making sense of his suicide and legacy.
A new documentary is now letting the artist speak for himself. Out tomorrow (Dec. 31) on Netflix, I’m Tim follows the producer born Tim Bergling from his childhood and adolescence in Stockholm to the global fame he achieved as Avicii, with the film narrated by Bergling himself.
“When I determined that he’d be the one who’d narrate this story, I thought that maybe it was how I could be close to him,” says the film’s director Henrik Burman. “Maybe that’s how I can meet him.”
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Burman began work on the project in 2019 — shortly after the pioneering artist’s death at age 28 earlier that year — where he initially planned to make an hour-long program for Swedish National Television about the final, posthumous Avicii album, 2019’s Tim. A longtime musician and music journalist in Sweden, Burman had completed the 2020 Yung Lean documentary Yung Lean: In My Head and was ready to take on another music-related project.
Working with the blessing of Bergling’s parents, Burman had full access to the sprawling Avicii archives. He found hours of interviews with the producer conducted during different periods of his career, including some in the later part of his life, when he was able to reflect on quitting touring in 2016, his problems with alcohol abuse, his approach to making music and more.
“There were moments in these interviews where he’d say, ‘This really describes me as a person, so if there’s ever a documentary made about me, you should use this to tell the story,” Burman says of the moments he discovered amid the archival footage. “He’d say things like, ‘If there’s a documentary, we need to talk about alcohol; we need to talk about the bad things in my life.’ I’ve been looking for clues like this — I’ve listened to Tim for hours and hours trying to understand him and put together the puzzle of who he was as a person and who Avicii was as this amazing artist.”
Beyond the material culled from the archive, Burman scoured the internet for other Avicii interviews, finding a bounty of clips on YouTube and other platforms “that are like, five or four or three minutes long,” says Burman. He and his team pieced together these tiny segments into the larger puzzle they were “working like maniacs” to construct.
Simultaneously, Burman and his small team from Stockholm were traveling between the U.S. and Europe to interview many of the key figures in Bergling’s life and career. I’m Tim features Neil Jacobson, who was the A&R for Avicii while president at Geffen Records; Aloe Blacc and Dan Tyminski, who worked on Avicii’s 2013 country crossover album True; Per Sundin, who signed Avicii’s breakout tracks “Seek Bromance” and “Levels” to Universal Music Sweden; Ash Pournouri, the manager who architected Avicii’s rise; fellow EDM pillar David Guetta; Nile Rodgers; Coldplay’s Chris Martin, who worked with Avicii on music including the 2014 hit “Sky Full of Stars”; longtime friend and early collaborator Filip “Philgood” Åkesson; close friend Jesse Waits; and Bergling’s parents, Anki Lidén and Klas Bergling. (Editor’s note: the writer of this article also appears in the documentary.) Burman’s “super long interviews” with each of these subjects allowed him to research his subject at the same time he captured footage for the film.
“We had thousands of hours of video by the end,” he says. But he had a guiding theme in trying to penetrate the superstar DJ world of Avicii and show who Tim Bergling was as a person. “In the material from the early years there’s so much humor and so much warmth. It’s very personal, before it got really big and things got harder for him,” says Burman. “That’s the thing I was really drawn to and how I started thinking about it as ‘Okay, who was Tim as an artist and a musician, and who was Avicii?’”
It took years for Burman and his team to edit down their thousands of hours into the 90-minute film, which debuted at the Tribeca Film Festival in June and is nominated for Guldbagge Award, the biggest Swedish film award, for editing. (Winners will be announced on Jan. 13.)
The non-linear storyline goes from a sonogram image of Bergling in the womb, to lo-fi footage of the artist as a baby dancing with his dad in the family home, to him as a pimply-faced teenager, to his developing an interest in electronic music production and subsequent rise. In one sequence, Universal Music’s Per Sundin tells the story of manager Ash Pournouri asking for €500,000 to sign Avicii’s “Levels,” a number Sundin first balked at, but eventually paid. The song recouped the entire €500,000 within six weeks of its release.
The film also presents loads of studio footage, highlighting Bergling’s approach to making music and his special gift with melody. (Check the look of supreme satisfaction on his face while he and singer Audra Mae are in the studio recording vocals for 2013’s “Addicted to You.”) See additional unreleased footage from I’m Tim focused on Bergling’s studio process below.
But of course, given that viewers know how this story ends, the film is also laced with darkness. Bergling talks about developing a dependance on alcohol, saying the “magical cure of having a few drinks before going on stage” helped him loosen up before performances. His drinking ultimately led to pancreatitis and a general downturn in his health, which is apparent in scenes where he appears gaunt and haunted looking. Other interviews in the film discuss his later opiate addiction.
“I saw complexity from early on,” Burman says of tracing the lines of Bergling’s physical, emotional and spiritual health. “I didn’t want to point fingers or speculate. I wanted to listen in and see layers.”
The film is, of course, stacked with Avicii music, with the documentary being released alongside My Last Show, a 30-minute performance film from Avicii’s final live show at Ushuaïa Ibiza on August 28, 2016 that’s meant to function as a companion piece. “When you’ve seen this film, you want to also feel who Avicii was on stage,” Burman says. “It’s his last show, but it’s such a happy feel around it.”
I’m Tim comes amid a broader shoring up of the Avicii legacy, with the Avicii Experience museum opening in Stockholm in 2022, a biography, Tim― The Official Biography of Avicii, also coming out in 2022, and an official photobook being released earlier this year, around the same time as an auction of Bergling’s personal effects that raised $750,000 for charity. These projects have been done in collaboration with Bergling’s parents and the Tim Bergling Foundation, which his parents founded after their son’s death. The Foundation focuses on suicide prevention among young people, with Bergling’s parents focusing their work on the mental health crisis and the core factors leading to suicide among young people.
Burman says the thought of Bergling’s parents seeing the film was “hard because I was of course so nervous.” But seeing it months after its Tribeca premiere, they texted Burman to say, he recalls, that “they liked the warmth and honest perspectives. They also said it kind of felt like being able to get Tim back for 90 minutes.”
If you or anyone you know is in distress or experiencing suicidal thoughts, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255. Free confidential support is available 24/7.
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Source: Jonathan Olley™ & © DC Comics / The Batman
Bad news for The Batman fans as it seems like we’ll have to wait an extra year for the follow-up to Matt Reeves’ surprisingly pleasant 2022 film.
According to USA Today, DC Studios show runner, James Gunn took to Threads to break the news to the comic book world that The Batman 2 will now be releasing in 2027 instead of 2026 as director/writer, Matt Reeves fights off a vicious bout with writers block. Yes, writers block. Taking to the social media website, Gunn confirmed a report that the film was being pushed back writing “Sure. Yes, it is true. The only reason for the delay is there isn’t a full script (those of you who follow me here probably know that already). Matt is committed to making the best film he possibly can, and no one can accurately guess exactly how long a script will take to write. Once there is a finished script, there is around two years for pre-production, shooting and post-production on big films. TheBatman2.”
With the way HBO Max’s The Penguin series had Batman fans amped up for what was next in Matt Reeve’s Batman universe, this is a big step back.
News of the pushback comes weeks after it was confirmed that DC Studios was moving forward with a Clayface film which would serve to expand Reeve’s Batman rogue of villains and possibly make The Batman 2 (or 3) that much more epic.
As for what we already know about what’s going on in the current Gotham City that Robert Pattinson’s Dark Knight oversees, it’s pretty darn interesting.
Per USA Today:
Paul Dano’s Riddler is locked away in Arkham Prison after the first movie. But Gotham has not recovered from the catastrophic flood The Riddler brought on the city’s ravaged seawall, according to Reeves.
“There’s a lot of unrest and there’s a lot of clamoring because of the revelations of what we find out at the end of the movie,” Reeves said in a Dec. 25 interview with Digital Spy. “As we enter into the next movie, there’s a lot more grey. There are more people at odds and more division in the city. It’s a lot more like our world is now; there’s a lot of turmoil because people are in their camps and not communicating.”
We’re still not feeling Barry Keoghan’s iteration of The Joker though. Just sayin.’
What do y’all think about The Batman 2 being pushed back to 2027? Too far away? Let us know in the comments section below.
When Cuban actor Héctor Medina read the script for Los Frikis, he immediately knew he wanted the leading role of Paco. Initially contacted as a sort of consultant for the film, Medina was familiar with the story about a group of punk rockers in early ’90s Cuba who, in search of freedom, deliberately injected themselves with HIV to live in a government-administered rural treatment retreat and create their own utopia.
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“I was born in 1989. It was the year the socialist wall fell and in 1990, what is called in modern Cuban history the Special Period, began, which is a deep energetic, economic food crisis,” explains the actor in an interview with Billboard Español. Additionally, it was forbidden to listen to rock and roll and having long hair could get you arrested, he adds. “So, the Frikis were very marginalized. It’s a story that even in Cuba is very little known.”
Written and directed by American filmmakers Tyler Nilson and Michael Schwartz, Los Frikis, an independent film inspired by true events, arrives this week in theaters in the United States after making the rounds in the festival circuit, where it has received a variety of awards.
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Medina, who left the island about eight years ago and lives in Miami with his wife and two children, not only ended up landing his dream role, but also a credit as a co-producer thanks to his contributions to the film, which was shot in the Dominican Republic (as it could not be done in Cuba).
The movie also stars Eros de la Puente as Gustavo, Paco’s younger brother; and Adria Arjona (daughter of Guatemalan singer-songwriter Ricardo Arjona) as María, the sweet caretaker at the retreat. The cast also includes Luis Alberto García and Jorge Perugorría, among others.
Produced by Academy Award winners Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, Los Frikis received an R rating from the Motion Picture Association of America for language, sexual content, some graphic nudity and drug use. It premieres on Friday, Dec. 20 in New York and Los Angeles, and on Dec. 25 in markets including Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, San Francisco and Miami.
Below, Medina details his rigorous physical and emotional transformation process to bring Paco to life, the role music plays in the film and the reception this work has had so far.
Los Frikis
Courtesy of Wayward/Range
How did this project come to you?
The project came to me through producer Rebecca Karch Tomlinson, who contacted me to ask some questions about the dialogues and some events that happen in the script. It was more or less something like a review. Of course, I read the script and I [was] totally impressed by how two Americans have written a script about Cuba, such a believable story about my country, and how they want[ed] to do it — and also want to do it with Cubans. And of course, I also fell in love with the story and my character, Paco. From there, I said: “I want to be here, and I want to be Paco.”
Did you have to audition for the role?
Well, yes. They told me, “If you want to be Paco, you have to fight like everyone else and do the casting.” I remember that I did the last scene in the movie, and as soon as they saw the scene, they called me and said, “Are you ready? You’re going to be Paco.” From there began a very tough process of character construction and transformation that was truly a most beautiful experience, because Michael and Taylor have a very particular and very strong method of working with the actors and creating this atmosphere, and get to the point that you are not trying to play the character, but you are the character. And that allows you, once you are on set, to feel confident, to be able to improvise, because they also give you that freedom. It is a very substantial work process; there are many scenes in the film that were not in the script.
You completely disappear into the role, to the point that at the beginning of the film I was looking for you, I didn’t recognize you. How was your transformation, physically and emotionally, into this character? I know you lost weight, you have the mohawk, you lose a tooth in a scene…
It was a very intense, rigorous process. From the first day I had to give up everything gluten and sugar; I only had seltzer water as a reward and one meal a day, which was a little bit of chicken and a little bit of spinach. It included heavy training, running and walking more than four or five miles a day. Then came the process of learning to play music. Mike and Taylor are so specific that they knew every detail. For example, at that time in Cuba there were no American electric guitars, there were only Japanese guitars, Russian amplifiers, Russian basses, and the drums were made with what was found, sometimes even drawers, and they had those specific types of instruments sent to us so we [could] learn how to play them. We got to a point where we even started playing our own music and putting lyrics to it and giving concerts, like in the movie.
Music plays a fundamental role in this story, with Paco as the guitarist in his rock band. Did you play before or did you have to learn for the film?
I played acoustic guitar, but I remembered like two or three chords that they taught me in my neighborhood, back in Cuba, when I was a child, so I didn’t remember very well. In other words, working with the guitar was the most difficult for me, because on top of that, I have no musical ear, I admit. What I do have is a rock and roller spirit and being bold. And also this thing [where] I don’t like to give up, I like obstacles and I like to transform and work hard. I like a challenge.
Did you know about the real Frikis story before getting involved in this project?
Yes, I knew vaguely. I was born in 1989. It was the year the socialist wall fell and in 1990, what is called in modern Cuban history the Special Period, began, which is a deep energetic, economic food crisis. There were shortages of all types of products. In addition, there were also prohibitions: listening to rock and roll music was frowned upon, and for having long hair you could be imprisoned. So, the Frikis were very marginalized. It’s a story that even in Cuba is very little known.
I had an uncle who was a rock and roll lover, and when I was a teenager he took me to a place called Pista Rita, where they played exclusively rock and roll. Going to those places with him at 13, 14 years old, I was able to see Nelson, who was like an urban legend that we had in that town, of course with the spiked mohawk, black boots, tattoos — a very transgressive image. And yet, when I got to know him well, I remember that he handed me a cigarette and he had a great sense of protection with all the boys there. In other words, he greatly encouraged that family spirit, not a gang spirit, but music and family spirit. There was nothing illicit or illegal. It was a feeling that united us with a passion for music, for rock and roll.
From what you say, he sounds a lot like Paco, doesn’t he?
Yes. Paco’s character is not specifically based on a real character, but on several, like all the characters in the film. Paco has a lot of Papo La Bala, one of the leaders and singers of the punk rock band Eskoria in Cuba, who has since died; and he has a lot of that from my personal side, having known him [Papo La Bala].
What made you say “this role has to be mine” when you read the script?
First, the transformation I had to undergo. Second, that he was a difficult character and had a lot of energy; I wanted to do something like that, different. And also, perhaps most importantly, that as a Cuban artist I wanted to say many things that Paco also says — and feels. Feeling that almost kamikaze spirit of freedom above all else, I wanted to share that. I think that was what drove me the most.
You’re not only the leading actor, you are also credited as co-producer. What was your role in that regard?
I think what I did the most was contribute. I mean, I wanted this movie to happen so badly, I wanted this dream to come true so much, that without realizing it I began to contribute to the casting, to writing the lyrics of the songs, changing them and a little bit [of] the scenes. I got involved a lot. In fact, I even designed the logo that appears at the beginning, the Lord Miller logo. I have done so many things. And I feel so grateful and so good that I have always done that. Every time I go into a project I give my all, but the truth is that it is the first time that they have recognized me not only for doing my job as an actor. I think it says a lot about the producers and directors of this film. I am very grateful to them.
Now that Los Frikis will reach a wider audience after its festival run, what do you hope people take away from it?
I really don’t expect anything. I have a very nice feeling about this film through the different screenings we have been to. It is a tremendous delight to turn around and see people’s faces. I believe that it is not an educational film or one that has a specific verbal message for people, but rather a management of a bundle of emotions, a journey of various emotions that in the end stirs your soul and leaves you thinking and perhaps doing what I call the movie after the movie. I think that is the greatest achievement of this film. More important than a verbal message, is that of an emotion, and it shows.
Héctor Medina
Carlos Eric Lopez
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When it comes to superhero flicks and the DCEU, their track record is spotty. But the teaser trailer for James Gunn’s highly anticipated turn at the helm of’ Superman is going to get the fanboys salivating.
Krypto, Superman’s pet dog of Kryptonian ancestry, makes an early appearance, so you already know it’s going to be lit. Besides Kal-El (portrayed by David Corenswet) being bloodied after catching a fade, we get images of Clark Kent, Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan) Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult) and even Mr. Terrific (Edi Gathegi). It’s not like DC ever lacked in characters, it’s about getting the most out of them on the big screen.
Did we mention Jimmy Olsen makes an appearance, too.
Gunn directed Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy and the same sense style looks, at least initially, like it will translate well for the Big Blue Boy Scout. Here’s hoping. And yeah, that’s electric guitar version of John Williams’ classic “Superman Theme” heard throughout,
Superman is due in theaters July 11, 2025. Watch the teaser trailer below.
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The legendary “Iron” Mike Tyson might’ve taken a weird loss to Jake Paul this past November, but that hasn’t diminished interest in the boxing legend’s life story a single bit.
With all the biopic films and series centered around the iconic fighter, the hits just keep on coming, as Netflix has announced it is currently working on a docuseries based on the life and times of one Mike Tyson. According to Deadline, Netflix is prepping to drop a three-part hourlong docuseries that promises to take a deep dive into the highs and lows of Mike Tyson’s life and boxing career. And if you know anything about Mike, you know he’s had quite the eventful life before, during, and after his illustrious boxing career.
Luckily for us, Mike Tyson himself will be a part of the creation of the series and seems more excited than nervous about getting into the nitty-gritty aspects of his personal life for all to indulge in.
Per Deadline:
“Having an opportunity to share my story through the reflective lens of my growth and maturity in a multi-part documentary on Netflix will be a challenging journey, yet a very welcoming one,” said Tyson. “Most people are too scared to look at their lives objectively, wanting to paint themselves as the hero of their own story. But if we are truly objective, we know we can never be the hero in our own story. We have to be able to face the man in the mirror, taking the good with the bad to give a full account of our contributions in this life. Netflix is the perfect platform to tell my story because of their global reach.”
We imagine that the “big fight” with Jake Paul will be a part of the series, so we’ll be interested to hear Mike’s take on what was going through his mind while going toe-to-toe with someone decades his junior. It wasn’t pretty, man.
The untitled Mike Tyson docuseries will be directed and executive produced by Floyd Russ and has yet to be given a release date, but we’ll be waiting.
Will you be checking out Netflix’s docuseries on The Champ? Let us know in the comments section below.
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Source: YouTube / Sony
With the surprising success of Netflix’s Cobra Kai series, The Karate Kid is finding new life in a new generation and is now returning to the big screen as it first did back in 1984.
Looking to capitalize off the hype of Cobra Kai, Sony Pictures just dropped their first trailer to their upcoming Karate Kid: Legends starring Ralph Macchio and Jackie Chan who starred alongside Jaden Smith in the 2010 remake of the classic film. Linking up two generations of Karate Kid characters, the film centers around Daniel LaRusso (Macchio) and Mr. Han (Chan) taking a new student under their wing (Ben Wang) and showing him the ropes in the world of martial arts.
Looking more like a Street Fighter film than anything, it seems like the tournaments and competitions will be taking place on rooftops and underground garages as LaRusso and Chan also get into some fisticuffs along the way.
Real talk, this joint looks entertaining as hell. We lowkey hope that Jaden Smith pops out with a jump kick at some point cause that’ll really set the audience on fire. Just sayin.’
Check out the trailer for Karate Kid: Legends below and let us know if you’ll be checking for this when it hits theaters on May 30, 2025.
Bluey is coming to a movie theater near you. Don’t tell your kids just yet — you’ll have to wait a couple years to see it.
A CG-animated feature film based on the hit series is slated for a 2027 release from The Walt Disney Company and BBC Studios, according to The Hollywood Reporter. It’ll stream on Disney+, and it will air on ABC iview and ABC Kids in Australia, after the global theatrical run of the movie.
The feature is set to “continue the adventures of Bluey, a loveable, inexhaustible, blue heeler dog, who lives with her Mum, Dad and her little sister, Bingo,” reads a description from a statement announcing the film.
Vocal talent families already know — including Melanie Zanetti and David McCormack (as Bluey’s mum and dad, Chilli and Bandit Heeler) — are on board for the film, as well as the series’ music composer, Joff Bush.
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BBC Studios will finance and license the Bluey movie for distribution, while Disney will release it in theaters worldwide. Bluey creator Joe Brumm is writing and directing, and Ludo Studio is producing in collaboration with BBC Studios.
Series creator Brumm said, “I really enjoyed the experience of working with a longer format on ‘The Sign’ in Series 3, so going even further with a feature film feels like a natural extension of that. I’ve always thought Bluey deserved a theatrical movie. I want this to be an experiential event for the whole family to enjoy together.”
Last month the Bluey franchise’s latest soundtrack, Bluey: Rug Island, debuted at No. 1 on Billboard‘s Kid Albums chart. Available on vinyl (in a sunset orange edition, or as a picture disc), on CD and as a digital download, almost 60% of the Oct. 25 releases’s 3,000 first-week sales came from vinyl purchases.
Bluey: Rug Island is the third soundtrack album from the series, following Bluey: The Album (2021) and Dance Mode! (2023). At press time, Bluey: Rug Island ranks at No. 7 on the Kid Albums chart — the chart is currently led by the Vince Guaraldi Trio’s classic A Charlie Brown Christmas soundtrack as the holiday nears.
Charli XCX, who hosted SNL last month, has another acting credit in the pipeline. The Brat hitmaker joins the cast of the upcoming film The Gallerist, directed by Cathy Yan. Natalie Portman and Jenna Ortega were previously announced as stars of the movie, which is in pre-production and expected to begin shooting at the end […]
Last week, Sky Ferreira revealed she was releasing her first song as an independent artist in conjunction with the upcoming A24 drama Babygirl. The reaction was instant, with fans, fellow artists and critics welcoming the news. The new song, “Leash,” serves as a return for the singer-songwriter, whose last album, the acclaimed Night Time, My Time, dropped way back in 2013. “I was already so excited for babygirl but now we get babygirl + a new song from Sky,” tweeted friend and collaborator Charli XCX. “Omg stan mode activated.”
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The fervent reaction — and her involvement in the Nicole Kidman-starring awards season favorite – comes after an admittedly dark time for the artist, during which she endured an acrimonious split with Capitol Records. “There’s a lot of people who are starting to understand the extent of what happened,” she told IndieWire of the period.
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Now, Ferreira finally feels free, and her new song speaks as much to the plot of Babygirl as it does her own career. The singer-songwriter spoke to Billboard about reactions to her song, her creative inspirations and how she’s taken back her professional and creative power.
When all this was announced, the internet went ballistic. What did you make of the reaction?
I’m excited that my fans like it, you know? I always feel weird being like “My fans!” (Laughs) But you know, people that listen to my music often or whatever. But I’m glad that it’s just out now. It was just this thing that I was anticipating. Now I’ve been doing all these interviews and stuff like that, and I haven’t been doing that in quite a while, so I’m kind of adapting to that again. But I’m glad that it has positive feedback, for the most part, from what I’m aware of because (coming out with this song) wasn’t the most conventional choice. I wasn’t really sure how people were going to take it or if they were going to accept it as much.
I think your fans were clamoring for this comeback, redemption arc, or whatever you want to call it. Especially in an era when people are taking charge of their own stuff, whether Taylor Swift or Kesha, artists who are reclaiming their power in their own ways.
Definitely, definitely, and I mean, it does seem like maybe there’s finally some progress in that sense where people are starting to feel more comfortable talking about this without all the repercussions of doing so. I mean, I feel those repercussions a little bit — not as much as I used to years ago talking about it. I don’t feel like I’m just yelling into a void or something.
What do you think changed?
Well, I can’t pretend that misogyny still isn’t rampant by any means, because it definitely is. There’s even moments with this when I’ve noticed it. But for the most part, I feel like people are more aware of this thing, that it happens. It’s not just something that happened in the ‘90s, 80s or ‘70s. I think younger people too, especially artists, maybe are more aware that they’re supposed to have more ownership of not just of their music but their career. They’re aware of the importance of it. I think that makes a big difference. It’s holding some space (for the fact that) the music industry might have to be more accountable for these things now. And someone like Taylor Swift definitely has made a huge impact in a sense, because she’s the biggest pop star on earth. So I think that brought a lot of awareness.
Have you spoken to other artists who have been in vaguely similar situations?
I’ve talked to some people that were older that have been in deals, maybe they were married to someone that they were signed to, stuff like that. But that was a long time ago, that sort of thing. But no, I actually haven’t. And obviously I would like to. I don’t really know that many people. I’ve known people that have been buried for other art, like, other artists, but they weren’t held captive by their label for such a long period of time. I know that happened to JoJo, right? I think she was stuck in her deal forever. But I’ve never really come across anyone that’s had it to the extent where I have, where they just kind of sit on you for years, because I think that’s why a lot of people seem to not believe certain artists or me even. I feel like the common thing is people ask, “Well, why won’t they just drop them?” And it’s not a wise business decision on their part. I think they don’t want you to do better elsewhere. So it’s better to just keep you there, because they don’t want to lose their jobs or something. At least that’s one way of trying to think about it. I’ve gone through so many of the motions of trying to understand why it happened and to the extent that it happened and there’s really no answer that I can think of that makes it seem reasonable.
It’s incredible to think with your own body of work that your last album was released before streaming really kicked into gear. Are you seeing new audiences discover you now that “Leash” is out?
You know, it’s so weird when people are like, “I was the fifth grade when your album came out!” Like, I’m that old. Like, f–k! It is funny though because there’s young people who don’t realize I’m 32. They see the album cover and think I’m a teenager or something.
Let’s talk about “Leash” which is adventurous, provocative, creative — all of these things you’re known for. Where’d the title come from? Did you feel you were inserting your own experiences in at least the title of the song?
I mean, yes and no. It’s funny; the song was due and it was like, “What do we name this song?” We’re going through titles and “Leash” was the one I liked the most that I wrote down. There were different ones that didn’t capture the energy of the song. I didn’t want it to be too tragic sounding. The title definitely tied in with — I don’t know if you’ve watched the film — but it tied in with this dog that’s kind of like a symbol in the film.
I know you said the song got you out of your comfort zone while you were creating it. How so?
I felt responsible to make something for other people besides me. I don’t make creative decisions based off of other people, like what they would want. And this actually wasn’t a challenge because they gave me a lot more trust and freedom that I didn’t expect. But I was hired to do this thing and serve the film, so I wanted to be in line with whatever the director, the music supervisor and A24 envisioned for it. So I felt responsible to do that while trying to create something that is memorable, but also captures something within the film without being on the nose. I’m not describing anything that actually happens in the film or any of the plot — it’s more of a feeling.
I know you started the song fresh. Why not just get inspiration from your own archives? I’d assume you have a mountain of unreleased material right now.
I think for me, I’m trying to move forward. I wanted to show myself and try new things and I didn’t want to answer to anyone. I didn’t want to have to deal with any of that. It was definitely a therapeutic experience for me, a learning experience. I knew how to do all this and I have been doing it but it was validating. My self-esteem was pretty low after the last year. I had a pretty rough year. I’ve had a pretty rough year for like five years. But it showed that I’m capable of doing this without having to listen to the outside world telling me what I can do, what I can’t do, and what I’m capable of, or worrying what people will think of me. Because when people are saying things already, what more could they say? What more could they do at this point, you know? And it kind of allowed me to kind of deal with a few things to write about, that I subconsciously didn’t realize I was doing at that time. It showed that I don’t have to fully be stuck in my past. Though, I’ve never felt stuck in my past. Like, “Oh, the good old days!” or something like that. I’ve always been trying to make something new and challenge myself in some way. But I wanted something that didn’t carry all the weight because I already carry that.
The idea of putting a countdown in the song before that switch up I thought was really interesting. It reminded me of Madonna. Where did the idea of putting that countdown in there come from?
Well, there were a few things. How I developed writing pop songs and the stuff I generally tend to lean toward pop-wise are definitely more ‘80s and ‘90s music. In a way that’s kind of just where my mind goes. I’m a big Madonna fan and I’m a big Janet Jackson fan. I didn’t do it on purpose. I didn’t think of Janet Jackson on purpose, but after I did it I was like, “Oh, it doesn’t sound like Janet Jackson, but she I feel like she counts a lot in all of her songs, right?” But also I thought it would be fun to kind of have a little nod to Nicole Kidman somewhere in there. And I was originally trying to find scenes from Eyes Wide Shut, just little clips and distort it and do something like hidden within it and turn it into almost like an instrument within itself. What we ended up with was the counting from the film; I mean, I jumped over it because apparently I could probably get in trouble for that, so it’s my voice counting. I just kind of sat there for like 30 minutes trying to sound like Nicole Kidman. And I actually got pretty close. It was funny. I was like, “Oh, this is what I would sound like if I was more womanly and less, I don’t know, West Side L.A. girl sounding.”
I know you know one of your most vocal supporters has been Charli XCX. She tweeted about the song and you’ve collaborated in the past. What do you make of her success with Brat, from your perspective?
Well, I wasn’t necessarily surprised by it by any means. The only thing I’m surprised by is that it didn’t happen sooner. I’m so proud of her, I’m so happy for her, and it shows that hard work and talent does matter. It’s not just based off of who knows who or whatever. I think she had such a huge following to begin with before this, with her diehard fans and a great body of work. I mean, I can’t really think of anyone else I’d rather see that happen to. She’s always been so kind since I’ve known her for the past 12 or 13 years. I was always expecting it.