Can you tell us about the inspiration behind your latest album, and what themes or stories you aimed to convey through your music?

So my latest album is actually my debut, so I chose songs that I felt were the most representative of all the different sides of me. There’s “Twenty One Night Stands” which is sexy and sensual but deceptively wholesome if you listen closely, there’s “Don’t Wanna Be Strong” which is full of angst. “What About” is really introspective and “Cuz I’m in Luv” harkens back to my island roots. And then there is “Spin” which is just plain fun. I feel like each song hits on a different angle of who I am. And so, when trying to figure out what to name it, “Mischievous” just seemed perfect, because if you had to describe me in a single word, I feel like that’s what it would be.

Music often has the power to transport people to different places and times. Can you describe a moment in your life when a particular song or album had a profound impact on you?

“American Idiot” by Green Day had a really intense impact on me. I was 13 and angsting hard when I got into it, and traveling through Arizona in the wintertime-there was just something about the electric guitar power chords mixed with the desert and the biting cold that was just really…fitting. I almost didn’t have words for what I was feeling, so the outrageous lyrics and riffs were perfect.

Many artists have rituals or routines they follow before performing or recording. Do you have any unique or quirky pre-show or pre-recording rituals that you find help you get in the zone?

Before I do any serious singing I do some pretty extensive Classical Italian style warmups. I actually studied opera for 7 years, and it is so excellent for your voice, so I could probably do half an hour of those if I had the time. It really gets my voice nice and malleable and lines up my technique.

Your lyrics often tell a story or convey a message. Can you share the story behind one of your songs and the inspiration that led to its creation?

“What About” had an interesting journey. I wrote the beginning of the song when I was 16, and I used to kind of hate it. I was hanging out with a group of girls who became really cliquey-the friendships started out with substance but morphed into a weird group dynamic where it became all about looking hot and talking to guys and I remember just feeling so…empty. Like, there was so much more to me than how I was being seen and I just really resented not being taken seriously. I wanted to write a song that made people stop and question how they perceived women-even when they look put together-maybe there was more going on beneath the surface, but I couldn’t figure out how to verbalize it because I’d never heard it talked about. And the last thing I wanted was to come across as some girl complaining about being pretty. I just couldn’t figure out how to balance the song, so it just sat. Flash forward to ten years later and I’m in LA in my apartment at 26 and all of a sudden it hit me, to balance it I needed to add some ugly, and the bridge just came to me. And now I love it.

If you could curate a music festival with a lineup of your dream artists, who would be the headliners, and what would the theme of the festival be?

I’m so biased, but my dream festival would be like an early 2000’s glory days. I really just feel like that time had the perfect balance between being sexy and fun, and also having lyrics that really had substance. So we’d probably have All-American Rejects, Fall Out Boy, and Evanescence on one end of the spectrum, and then Ashanti, T.I. and JoJo on the other.

Music can be a powerful tool for advocacy and change. Are there any social or political causes that you’re passionate about, and how does your music play a role in promoting these issues?

Fun fact I actually have a degree in Anthropology, and I’m really passionate about different places and cultures. So not so much on this album, but coming up I have several songs I’ve written while traveling that I’m looking forward to releasing in the future that incorporate that. I think intercultural music can leave a very subtle but lasting impression; it’s called the universal language for a reason.

The music industry has evolved significantly with technology. How do you see artificial intelligence and emerging technologies impacting the creation and distribution of music in the future?

I’m not gonna lie-it kind of scares me. You have to appreciate that getting good at what I do has been a lifetime process. I’ve been studying voice and writing lyrics since I was 10-I’ve spent literally over a decade honing my craft and earning the right to call myself a professional. When you listen to my songs, you’re listening to my soul. Music created by artificial intelligence almost feels…soulless. Like it was manufactured. Sure, it’s catchy, but does it actually mean anything? Is there a story behind it, or was it just designed to be a hit? And if computers can just manufacture art like that, then what’s the meaning behind our existence as artists?

Many recording artists evolve over time. How do you see your musical journey changing and growing in the next decade?

I think as I get older, I predict I’ll probably have less angst and more wisdom in my words. I imagine at some point I’ll write less about heartbreaks and breakups and more about growing together in a partnership, so my love songs will become happier. I just think that comes with maturity and age. As different music trends come out I’ll probably want to experiment with that as well. When I was a teenager 9 out of 10 songs I wrote were guitar inspired rock, now I’m definitely leaning more towards pop, so it’ll be really interesting to see what it morphs into from there. We’ll see.