Hey, darlings. I know some of you might be recovering from Labor Day weekend activities, but today is the day to get into some trouble. (More trouble, you ask? Yes, lemme 'splain.) Natalia Kills, 27-year-old British-pop sensation, has been on the scene since her 2011 debut, the severely underrated Perfectionist, and her sound is an infectious blend of electronica, bratty hip-hop, and honest-to-goodness killer pop tunes. She has a new album out September 10, called, you guessed it:Trouble. Today she shares a track from the album just for us, called "Boys Don't Cry." Plus, the album is available exclusively on iTunes starting today, and everywhere next Tuesday. Get it here! I had the chance to chat with Natalia about the album's heart-stirring background, her early influences, and her inimitable style. But first, peep this. Isn't she stunning?
And hear "Boys Don't Cry," right this second. Spoiler: It's one of my absolute favorite tracks of the moment:
__Glamour: Hey, Natalia! I love Trouble. The first taste we all got from the album was "Controversy." What inspired that song? It has more of a political slant than your other work. __
Natalia Kills: Thank you! So I wrote "Controversy" around the same time as "Television" and "Daddy's Girl." And the whole feeling of it was: Don't you fu--ing judge me. Don't you dare police people; don't you dare, rich people; don't you dare, government. Don't you dare judge us. It doesn't make any sense. When I was really young, my parents and I lived in this really nice house, and we had all this cash money, and I went to a private school and wore a little uniform. I looked like Dionne from Clueless every single day, and my parents had two cars each. We were always othered on that side. Then, my dad got arrested and it was the whole thing of him going to trial and then prison. Then, the people I was a part of othered me in that way, like 'Oh, her dad's a criminal, he's this, he's that. They've got no money anymore.' Then I was told I couldn't work anywhere because I left school and didn't have a complete education. And then I'd flick on the TV and come across Jerry Springer,Girl, Interrupted, or Cops. To me, it was like, hang on a second: If this is what we all see every day, me included, and this is my normal—then why when I step out into the planet is it terrible and wrong, when we're all clapping and laughing and calling each other about it when it's entertainment? But then when it's translated into someone else's reality that you know, it's wrong. I put "Controversy" out first because it's a verbal collage of things we see on a daily basis that we turn a blind eye to, especially in the Internet age, where you can literally see anything and everything instantly. This is where the world is now: We all laugh and joke when it's someone else's suffering.
And what about social media? What role does it play in shaping perception?
Natalia: The funny thing about it is that stuff like Instagram, Facebook, etc. is that it's all about taking a picture when it's not a fat day. Or when you've redone your makeup or you're with certain friends. It's all about capturing the best moments. People don't turn the cameras on or announce when things are going really horribly. Trouble is a whole album that's the opposite of that. You want all of my worst moments? Here you go. All the controversy, the family trouble, the mistakes I've made.
What's interesting is that though you're talking about some serious stuff on the album that you've gone through, the overall sound maintains a certain sense of fun and lightness.
Natalia: I like that about pop music. I think that by making something rhyme, or by singing it a certain way, you can accomplish a mood of defiance. My album's not for victims; it's a middle finger to right and wrong, and almost me taking stock of my life and being like here it is.
Did you go back on old diaries when you were writing?
Natalia: No, it's all up here. There's just a collage of memories I pull from: What was the brand of cigar my dad used to smoke and what was the first color of roses a boy ever bought for me, for example. Stuff like that. Retrospectively, I look back and think, Whoa, I've had such a wild life, and I've learned from it. This is completely mind-blowing to have lived through it and even the stuff I considered fun. That's why it was important for me to inject the fun back into it because anyone could sing a sad, mournful ballad about what's happened in their lives. I wanted the opposite. Even "Daddy's Girl" is a love song to my dad in jail, and it's like, "I'll never let you down. They'll never keep us apart."
Who were some of your musical role models early on?
Natalia: I went to lots of Hole concerts. Say what you will about Courtney Love, but she's a badass. I was super into Marilyn Manson. I swore we were gonna get married, so I could occasionally cook him dinner and take our kids to goth school. Seriously, go back in time and ask 13-year-old me where I would've ended up, and that would've been my answer.
__Tell me about the "Problem" video. __
Natalia: That was really fun to shoot. I worked with this model named Adonis, who was so lovely. He's such a vision. I love looking at his face. I wanted a boy that looked like my boyfriend at the time I was in all that trouble. That also explains the cop cars.
Catch the high-stakes video for "Problem," below:
What are some common misconceptions about your style and how it fuses with your sound?
Natalia: Well, my life story is very backwards—from penthouse to pavement. So, for me, I saw this money at 12, had a fairy-tale life, then I had everything taken away. All of a sudden, I had nowhere to live. I had nowhere to work. I was messing everything up as a teenager and finding fun in all the wrong ways. For years after that, I was still really struggling. The documentary element of all that is in the lyrics, and that's how I make my sound. As far as style, for a time I lived in London, I slept on someone's floor, then Hollywood, in rundown by-the-hour motels. I now live on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. Now, in my neighborhood, I see the people I wanted to be when I was girl. There, you see these 80-year-old women on their eighth husband, with $8,000 diamonds and a mink coat, just walking along, with an eight-pound poodle. They have this really dreamy life, and I remember that this is still something I want. So, to be surrounded by that style, it's completely aspirational. I want my clothing to exude elements of luxury and sophistication, but with a playfulness. But the cleaner it can be, the better. My mother had all these beautiful things, so she is still an influence. She looked like Ginger from Casino. I couldn't have ever dreamed I'd have the things I have now. Having nothing, wanting everything, it's all completely connected. And I'm happy, which is what's most important.
Love her! What do you think of "Boys Don't Cry"? And will you be buying yourself some Trouble next week?
Photos by: G
