Queer Pop Star Zolita on Her New Album ‘Queen of Hearts,’ Practicing Queer Joy, and Her Upcoming Tour
Photo by Katia Temkin
[UNPUBLISHED:] To start, I know you have a background in film so I’m interested to hear how you went from film to music or vice versa.
[ZOLITA:] Both things were always a big part of my life. I grew up playing bluegrass and music was always a part of my life but it was never what I thought was gonna be my main thing. My career in visuals was always like my first love. Film was my first love and then photography. For context, I went to NYU to study film. I first thought I would be going on the feature filmmaking path but I became super obsessed with the medium of videos because the turnaround time was so much faster. It's also cheaper, you can actually just make little short films in a five minute video. At the time I was writing music anyways but just for myself and I was like why don't I pair the two things together and have this just be a full concept project. Then obviously the music videos became like the thing that set me apart and now I feel like I will be going back to film.
[UNPUBLISHED:] Do you have any filmmakers that inspire you?
[ZOLITA:] Rose Glass is amazing, obviously I love Love Lies Bleeding. I also love Sofia Coppola.
[UNPUBLISHED:] Going back to music, when you first started making it, did you ever shy away from using explicit pronouns in your songs or were you always very comfortable?
[ZOLITA:] I never shied away from using explicit pronouns and at the very beginning I was like this will be something that sets my music apart. I knew I was doing it to fill a void that I felt at that time where there were just not a lot of people using pronouns. I feel like a lot of Queer artists did not want to use specific pronouns because they wanted everybody to be able to relate to it but it was super important to me, right from the beginning.
[UNPUBLISHED:] Did you have any artists that you looked up to at the time?
[ZOLITA:] At the time, I felt like it was just Tegan and Sara, and Melissa Etheridge. I also remember Leisha Hailey was in a band, and then obviously Lady Gaga, she was super formative.
[UNPUBLISHED:] What about any Queer artists you’re loving now?
[ZOLITA:] We’re in a sapphic renaissance right now and it’s so exciting but obviously Chappell Roan, Kehlani, Reneé Rapp, Maddie Zahm, MUNA, boygenius, and Ella Jane. There are so many amazing Queer female artists right now.
[UNPUBLISHED:] Your music videos are extremely cinematic, do you have a favorite video you’re ever made?
[ZOLITA:] I am very influenced by public perception so “Someday I Fucked Once” is my favorite but also I am very proud of that video. It was really special.
[UNPUBLISHED:] Do you have a favorite video off of your new album?
[ZOLITA:] “Bloodstream” for sure.
[UNPUBLISHED:] Going into your new album, Queen of Hearts, what are some themes you explore and what do you want fans to take away from it?
[ZOLITA:] There are so many different kinds of themes on this album. It was interesting because when I first started writing it, I was in a really stable place in my life and in my relationship. So I was wondering what to write about because I had already written all of the love songs so it really allowed me to dig into themes I haven’t really before. For example “Grown Up” was about a situation I had with an older person and something I thought I’d never talk about. There’s a song about addiction and just things that were really hard for me to think about. There’s those vulnerable moments and there is also the side with the queer anthemic joyful songs. I just wanted to write some fun bops and my love for country music snuck its way into the album with “Small Town Scandal.”
[UNPUBLISHED:] Do you have a favorite song off of the album?
[ZOLITA:] “Grown Up” is the song I’m the most proud of, “Small Town Scandal” is the one I love the most, and “All Over Again” is also just super fun.
[UNPUBLISHED:] I know you talk a lot about Queer joy in this album, how do you prioritize queer joy?
[ZOLITA:] Just getting to be around all my Queer friends everyday. I feel like I live in this beautiful bubble where everybody around me is Queer and sometimes I forget it's not like that for everybody everywhere. I am super grateful for that. Also being with my Queer friends, listening to Queer music, being so gay online everyday, telling gay stories, making gay TikTok videos, and exercising queer joy everyday.
[UNPUBLISHED:] You’re going on tour this fall, what are you most excited about?
[ZOLITA:] I’m really excited for Nashville, I’ve never played there before. I’m most excited that it's going to be more of a theatrical show in comparison to the last tour. I’ll have dancers this time and one of my best friends is my choreographer and one of my dancers so I’ll be able to tour with a best friend.
