Peach PRC

Every now and then a pop star comes along and instantly captures your attention for reasons sometimes you’re unsure about. With rising singer Peach PRC, one can only assume that her ability to blend strong, eye-catching aesthetics with cleverly crafted pop songs has a lot to do with her immediate appeal and is something we’ve missed from our pop girlies. (Think: Katy Perry’s Teenage Dream and Gwen Stefani’s Love. Angel. Music. Baby. eras). In a world where everyone can be easily compared to one another, Peach PRC has been marching to the beat of her own drum and it’s evidently been paying off!

Her first release of the year, the insanely catchy “Perfect For You,” not only samples Paris Hilton’s “Stars Are Blind,” but also received a co-sign from the icon herself. The track is taken from her new EP, Manic Dream Pixie, a project that was so anticipated, it debuted at the top spot of the album chart in her native Australia.

It seems the rest of the universe is on board and wants to take a dive into the world of Peach PRC. Can we blame them? Following a nationwide sold-out tour down under, she very recently performed a bunch of shows in the US. Where next? The UK, of course! On July 2, she will open up for BLACKPINK at Hyde Park for this year’s BST Festival. The next day, she will headline her first London show at Heaven after being left no choice but to upgrade the venue due to high demand. 

But, before any of that madness takes place, we spoke to Peach PRC about the new EP she will be performing, Paris Hilton singing her song, and the next thing she’s already working on.

Your EP, Manic Dream Pixie, is finally out after months of anticipation. Has the reception been everything you’d hoped it would be?

Yeah, the reception has been beyond what I’d hoped for. It’s been so beautiful that I got to tour right after doing it and seeing everybody sort of embody that vision that I had for the EP in person. I feel really lucky and really blessed.

It went straight in at number one in your native Australia. Was that something you could have ever anticipated? 

No, not at all! That was so surreal and such a shock. I didn’t even realize EPs could do that! I’ve never had a number one or anything, so that was really unreal to experience. That whole day was just such a blur.

The aesthetic for the whole project is very ethereal and fairytale-like. What made you want to create a fantasy around yourself?

I think for me it feels like my reality. As much as it is this fantasy realm that I’ve created for myself, this is what my internal-like world feels like. A lot of it is inspired by Shirley Barber’s illustrations and my love for fairies and childhood. It really just kind of came about naturally.

Paris Hilton ended up giving her seal of approval for “Perfect For You” by sharing a TikTok of her singing the song. Where were you when that all happened? That must have been a moment!

It was a moment! I was at home with my girlfriend, who I had written the song for. I wrote it before she was my girlfriend. I was like – “No way, no!”. I first noticed that Paris had followed me back, and then I saw that she’d duetted it. From there she’s been so openly supportive, sharing my music on her stories and she sends me really encouraging messages. She’s just been an all-around huge supporter of my whole project in general. And the song, it’s been so, so crazy, and I’m so grateful.

Out of the six songs on the project, which was the most challenging to write and why?

It’s interesting that the harder ones for me to write are the more pop ones because I want them to be catchy.  It’s sort of more like “song math” rather than “Here’s just a diary entry of my feelings.” Funnily enough, those ones are the easy ones for me to write where I’m just pouring my soul out like “Dear Inner Child” and “Favourite Person.” “Kinda Famous” is really anthemic and a party, I really wanted it to be something that was catchy and fun and makes people want to dance. That was maybe the hardest one. Weirdly enough, it’s the most simple, but it was the hardest one.

TikTok is a platform where you’ve really built yourself a loyal following and connected with your fans. What is it about that platform you enjoy so much?

It’s just a nice place for me to talk shit. I like to have a space where I don’t have to take myself so seriously and I can be not like a character, I can share a bit of who I am and who I’ve always been. I think that helps me feel more grounded and more, you know, just like everyone else.

Listening to the EP, it appears that the early 2000 and maybe the late ‘90s have had a big influence on your own music. Who were your favorite stars growing up?

Definitely, the early 2000s and early 2010s are a big influence on my music. My favorite stars growing up, I was a huge Avril Lavigne fan as a kid and I thought she was the coolest edgiest person ever. And then as I got a bit older, I loved Miley Cyrus, Katy Perry, and Kesha, just all of the big pop girls on the scene at the time.

Your cover of “Teenage Dirtbag” is SO good! I love it just as much as the original, maybe even more! If Spotify asked you to cover another song for them to put your own spin on, what would you choose this time around? 

I reckon “What Dreams Are Made Of” from the Lizzie McGuire Movie because I’ve been covering that in my shows and it’s so much fun. It’s just another one of those songs that I think most people in the Gen Z and Millennial generations, everybody knows it and it’s so fun to sing along to. Everybody just has this sort of nostalgic feeling like you get when you listen to “Teenage Dirtbag.” I’d love to do a cover of that!

See also

COVERS

Little Mix

You’ve been making and releasing music for a hot minute. What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learned / or the best piece of advice that’s really stuck with you along the way?

I’ve picked up so many little different tips and tricks, and things about pop music from working with really incredible, talented writers like Bonnie McKee. She is somebody that I’ve turned to sometimes for advice with music because she’s written some huge hits like “Teenage Dream” and a lot of Katy Perry stuff that I really loved. I also love Bonnie’s own project. One thing that she taught me that really stuck with me is to sometimes have to, she calls it “killing your darlings,” sort of sacrificing some super wordy, intricate thing to make the song easy to listen to and easy to sing along to. That was one of the best pieces of advice.

Is it too early to assume that you’re already working on what’s next? Do you already have an idea of the look/sound you might delve into?

I’ve got everything planned out to a T. It’s weird because I’m not organized with anything else in my life, but this one thing, I’m writing a whole book so that just for myself I can get in the mind of this character that I want to go with next. I won’t give too much away about the story just yet, but I think it’s going to be really exciting and fun and I’ve got the visuals planned out and sonically a lot of inspiration building. I’m really excited.

Peach PRC’s ‘Manic Dream Pixie’ is out now. She supports BLACKPINK at BST Hyde Park on July 2 and headlines Heaven on July 3.