Amelia Moore: music’s emboldened strike of lighting. An absolute powerhouse persona with a fiery discography to match, the multi-instrumentalist is a whirlwind of alt-pop bliss. With over 150 million global streams, Moore is single-handedly breaking down pop music as we know it and rebuilding the genre in an aesthetic all her own. Vulnerable, zealous, and unabashedly spunky, she’s the ultimate musical antidote to a day’s mundanity.
Find the songstress on social media with the handle @icryatwork–a nod to the very same raw honesty proudly woven into her lyrics. Moore’s cup overflows with energy, but just beneath the exterior surface of her grungy aesthetic presence online is a charismatic, rising starlet with a contagiously bubbly outlook on the world–and to this, she’s very self-aware. Tracks like 2021’s “sweet and sour” touch on her dynamic ability to activate firecracker mode. “For the most part I’m a total angel and super-sweet,” the rising starlet previously shared in a press junket, “but the second you mess with me or any of my friends, that’s all over.”
Two years later, Moore continues the music industry ablaze, largely by the hand of 2022’s strongest debut EPs: teaching a robot to love (2022). Success for the star, however, was essentially fated. After posting original material to TikTok, the singer managed to amass a vastly impressive 100,000 followers in one week alone; frankly, that speaks for itself. Moore’s ability to capture an audience with sonic euphoria is indisputable; she’s a contagious force that demands to be listened to.
On the brink of a new era and following the release of her latest singles “FUMD” with online icon jxdn, and “name everywhere,” Moore dives into the complex inner workings of what it means to be Amelia Moore, pop music’s ultimate disruptor.
Let’s kick off with one of the last singles you released, “FUMD” with jxdn. If this is the first and only question people read from this interview, why should they listen to it? What’s its story?
Yeah! You should listen to “FUMD” by Amelia More and jxdn because it’s a great depiction of both of our artist projects in one song. The combination of my dreaminess and his rage is something that’s really unexpected that you will either love or hate.
I loved it! It sounds so different than the pop music we’ve heard recently. It almost brought me back to 2000s radio when pop stations were wildly diverse–it got me excited to hear something so unexpected. With that in mind and more music from you on the horizon, would you say ‘FUMD’ is a tease into your future music? Or a standalone?
That song is definitely one of the more left songs that I’ve put out or even ever made. It’s very loud, kind of a little hyper-pop-inspired as well, and that’s not really a direction that I’m going to go further down. This was a little side quest to be like, ‘Oh my God, this is really fire. I can do something like this. My fans are going to go absolutely crazy over it because it’s so different for me and hopefully they’ll love it.’ The response so far has been really, really positive and that’s so exciting.
For me, one of the things about being an artist is being able to experiment and throw different things at the wall to see what works and what doesn’t. “FUMD” was something that we threw at the wall, and it worked really well. As far as music to follow this song, you can definitely expect me to reel it in a little bit. I wanted to kick off with something super high energy and really loud just to get people to pay attention.
Peeling back your layers as an artist seems like an amazing way to approach your newest era. I know you debuted “FUMD’” first at a live show–a great decision considering how high energy that chorus is–so I was wondering how does a good crowd fuel your performances and songwriting? Are you thinking about how people will receive a song while you’re making it?
Playing that song live for the first time was really, really special because the hook just comes out of nowhere and it’s so unexpected. So in videos, you can hear people audibly saying ‘Oh my God!’ Like they gasp and react to it, which is really cool. How they will sound live is really important, but that’s not something I’m too focused on. While writing a song, I think I’m way more focused on an idea or a lyric. I have an awesome music director that I work with who will beef up the songs and give it those live elements that will make people react, but in the studio, I’m typically in my shell. I’m working on my little baby [songs] with my ideas.
Totally. Putting the ideas you feel the most passionate about at the forefront of your music is definitely something you do best! To get your tracks to feel authentically you, you’ve worked with Pinkslip quite a few times. What’s that creative partnership like?
We’re best friends. He’s like my older brother. So we’re super, super connected on a friendship level and the music level. Working with him is so seamless and easy, and he is so much fun to be in the studio with because he’s okay with trying crazy ideas. Sometimes one of those ideas is like the cherry on the cake and what the whole entire song needs. He’s super inspiring and so talented to me. I think this year’s going to be a really big year for him. We’ve been able to get really close and grow together over the past four years and I’m just really proud of him and proud to have him on my project.
And it was definitely a musical match made in heaven. You released your EP teaching a robot to love just last year and now have an entirely new era on the horizon. What did you learn while making the project that you’ll take with you to the next?
A lot. Making teaching a robot to love was so emotionally draining, painful, and just a roller coaster because I was literally in the middle of getting my heart broken by somebody ugly. And that is so embarrassing, right? So painful and annoying. But at the same time, I was making really amazing songs I connected with so heavily. So making the songs at the same time that I was processing the emotions was invaluable and such an amazing experience, with my best friends too. It was so special, and I think …in other ways [the EP’s counterpart] was another way for me to breathe the last little bit of life into these songs but reimagined and stripped down. I love when a song can hold its own with one instrument, and that’s what I wanted to do. I wanted to see if it would still carry itself if she was just trapped down a guitar or piano. And I think it did!
I 100% did! I think you’ve really become a master at diversifying your discography since jumping on the scene in 2021. With that in mind, how do you make sure each project you create makes sense in this greater musical tapestry of yours?
For this next era of music, for the next year, it’s way more lighthearted and bouncy and fun. And I’m not a heartbroken girl anymore, so I’m letting a lot more of my personality shine through in my music. I’m really excited for fans to get to know that part of me.
And not only is your music special, but you’ve produced an aesthetic that’s super different from what we’re used to seeing in pop music. You previously said in a press release, ‘How can I make a song feel the way it looks when you’re walking in a museum?’ On that note, I’m wondering how you work to make your music such an immersive physical experience at live shows, for example.
Man, playing shows is just so, so, so, so much fun and there’s so much hard work that goes into making a really, really great show. I have a lot of great people around me helping me get ready right now. The dynamics of my show are something that I’m really proud of because there are moments that are so high energy that will get people moving and then we’ll shift the dynamic completely–giving something people to gasp over is something that’s really important to me. Whenever I’m the world’s biggest pop star and I’m selling out arenas, the production for those shows is going to be the craziest thing anyone has ever seen.
My goal for my tour is to be captivating and to make people fall in love with me, so I’m really excited.
While we’re on the idea of speaking about who you are as a pop star, I want to touch on how you’ve made everything happen for yourself. When your parents questioned your career path, you didn’t take no for an answer and saved every penny to chase your dreams. Now on the triumphant end, what would you say to anyone who may be in that ‘stuck’ type of feeling?
Wow. I would say read The War of Art by Steven Pressfield and read The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron. Those two books completely changed my life and allowed me to have the confidence to believe in myself without having anybody else believe in me. If you grew up as a small-town girl like I did, people are so closed-minded. They’re trained to grow up, go to high school, go to college, get a degree, get a job, get married, and have kids. And the little things that you’re interested in pursuing more will just be a hobby.
As soon as you start becoming a better version of yourself, people around you should react in a supportive, positive way–which reveals that they are secure in their own dreams and their own passions. But if you’re becoming closer to the version of yourself that you want to be and people around you feel threatened, that is just a sign that you’re in the right direction. And that you need some new friends!
You’re even getting me in my feels! That’s amazing and exactly the advice the world needs. Thinking about shaping who you were not only as a person but as an artist, I know you’ve previously stated that one of your main goals is to elevate what we expect from pop artists. From your perspective, what is it that you deliver to achieve this?
I think coming out of the gate for my first EP, the production, the visuals, and the brand were so incredible for it being my first project. I feel like I set the bar really high for myself, so I definitely want to continue to deliver with the fashion, the sound, the cohesiveness of the visuals, and the music. The little Easter eggs–I really want to start incorporating some little secret things.
I want to create a universe for people to be able to dive into. I really like pushing myself to be the best writer that I can be, and I’ve even started getting into producing myself. It’s a goal of mine on my debut album, whenever that happens, wink wink, to write and produce an entire song by myself. That makes me really excited. One thing that I’m trying to stick to do is stick to my artistry, keep my head down, and stay focused on who I am and what I’ve wanted to do since the beginning.
While we wait for the aforementioned album, take a listen to Moore on streaming platforms everywhere, including her latest release, “name everywhere,” which is now available worldwide.