PLAY LOUD with
Justine Skye
Follow along for an exclusive interview series with our campaign stars as we discuss everything from music, creativity, to identity and self-love. Tune in, get inspired, and turn up the volume!
Q. When do you feel most yourself?
A. I feel fully myself when I'm trying on clothes. Whenever I'm trying clothes on, I start dancing and getting ready—you see it, all my friends and my team. They're always like, Yep, there she goes. When I'm getting dressed and getting ready for something, I will transform. That's when I feel like all of the best parts of me start to pop out.
Q. So you’re pretty comfortable standing out.
A. I'm pretty much an extroverted person. I feel like if I had to weigh the scale, I’m more extroverted than introverted, but it depends on the energy that is around me. I know that being an artist, you don't really have the luxury of choosing sometimes. I mean, you do—but then most of the time, you don't. You always gotta be on and you always gotta be nice.
Q. What advice do you wish you’d gotten sooner?
A. If I could give advice to my former self, I would say that it's all going to be worth it. And I still tell myself that today, but I feel like the younger me was super sad and kind of discouraged. I didn't listen to myself enough. I would advise myself to just really listen to my gut. In the last year and a half, I really found myself and got a lot more comfortable with myself. I was in this space of doubting everything I did and not really sure. I knew that I wanted to be a singer. I knew I wanted to be an entertainer. I knew this is what I was made for. And in this very moment of my life, I've never been more confident and more proud of the things that I've been doing. I’m a force to be reckoned with.
Q. Do you feel like being female, more is expected of us?
Absolutely. Men are allowed to be stern and more aggressive and it's looked at as being a boss or powerful or whatever. And then when women do that, it's looked at as being the B-word. I even catch myself being like, ‘Well, I gotta be nice. I don't want people to think I'm a diva’, but I know what I deserve. Women are often looked at as being super emotional. And women in this field are very passionate and that can be misconstrued as being an emotional B-word.
I [also] feel like people might be surprised by my work ethic, when I’m in the studio. I’m excited about what I have coming soon because I think people will see that.
Q. How does performing feel for you?
A. The feeling of performing is honestly like no other. The feeling you get on stage, the connection that you have with your fans and them screaming your lyrics back at you — it's a feeling of euphoria. I always have the craziest nerves right before I get on stage. I try so hard not to acknowledge them, but they're there. I kind of love it because it makes me feel human. And then after the first 30 seconds of being on stage, I'm like, boom, let's do it.
Q. What’s something surprising about you?
A. Oh, I’m full of surprises.
