To stumble upon Elliot Lee’s music videos or Instagram page is to enter into a dreamy world where everything is pink. While that makes for a great aesthetic, the up and coming pop singer wants you to know it’s not just a look. We chatted with Elliot about her recent release Pink Freak and more.
What is Pink Freak about and what was the process like of writing and creating it?
Elliot Lee: Pink freak is about how alienated I’ve felt my whole life because it seems like everything I do is outside of the boxes I’m supposed to be existing in. Even my thought process seems wrong when compared to expectations. The songwriting process started with the guitar line, my iPhone voice recorder app, and a head full of frustrations, and it just evolved from there.
How did the color pink become a core part of your identity and music?
Elliot Lee: I grew up thinking I had to reject the color pink in order to portray myself in a way that was understandable to other people—a way that showed the pain and darkness I was going through. When I did a 180 in my life to start my music career, I decided to start over in my journey to self acceptance and to allow myself to unapologetically love what I love and dress how I want to dress.
You mention a lot of pop culture influences. How have those shaped your music or you as a person?
Elliot Lee: I could talk about Mr. Rogers’ impact on my life for hours, but in a general sense he has helped me shape my interactions with everyone (including myself) into something I’m deeply proud of.
Sailor Moon has felt like an idealized version of myself in a way that helped me through a tumultuous childhood, and seeing her succeed in such a world changing way despite our shared shortcomings might be part of why I feel so strongly about my own path now.
Living near (and spending a lot of time in) Korea Town inspired me to start learning the language, and now many of my friends are language exchange pen pals from Korea; I feel like this international connection helps me be a more open minded and worldly person.
How did you come up with your look and your Instagram aesthetic?
Elliot Lee: My look isn’t manufactured and it doesn’t follow any rules. These are the most important factors of the way I dress, because it allows me to mirror my heart on the outside without any external limits. The same goes for my Instagram aesthetic; I decided early in my career that I’m going to be completely genuine in everything I do so I’ll never feel detached from what I’m putting into the world.
If you could collab with anyone, who would it be?
Elliot Lee: I would love to collaborate with a game developer so I can make a mini game about what’s going on in my head. I think I could help to design something cute and comfy but also brutally honest about the world at the same time.
Where do you hope to see yourself in 5 years as an artist?
Elliot Lee: I want to be able to look back and recognize the person I was when I started this whole thing, without being jealous of her.
What do you have in store for fans for the rest of this year?
Elliot Lee: I have so much new stuff for your eyes and ears!! I’m gonna push the boundaries a lot, and I promise I won’t let you down.
Keep up with the latest from Elliot on Instagram at @elliotleeofficial
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