Baby Queen on ‘Quarter Life Crisis’, The 1975 and Heartstopper Season Two - video Dailymotion

NME

The pop star caught up with NME backstage at Reading Festival 2023 to discuss her debut album and recent cameo in Heartstopper Season Two

Transcript

00:00 (crowd cheering)

00:02 - Hi, I'm Sophie from NME,

00:07 and I'm joined by the wonderful baby queen

00:09 at Randon Festival, Bella, how are we?

00:11 - I'm good, how are you?

00:13 - I'm good, thank you.

00:14 So you're fresh off stage,

00:15 winding hands. - Fresh off stage.

00:16 - How are we feeling?

00:17 - That was like, I've been through a lot.

00:23 I walked straight off the stage,

00:25 went to the BBC Radio 1 photo booth,

00:28 so I just feel like I've been through a tsunami.

00:31 - It's all happening. - And I've just landed

00:32 right here on this couch with you.

00:36 - Where you're meant to be.

00:37 - This is where I belong right now, for real.

00:38 - Exactly, and I'm loving these friendship bracelets,

00:40 are they from fans?

00:42 - These are from fans.

00:44 People always bring a bracelet to a show,

00:48 and then when I go out to the front, I collect them.

00:51 - That's so cute.

00:53 - But then they get recycled, and I lose them.

00:57 - Sustainable.

00:58 - But I love them, for how long they're on my arm,

01:01 I love them.

01:02 - Yeah, and what's the maddest gift

01:04 you've ever had from a fan?

01:06 I see on socials, they always bring in flowers

01:08 and fun things to shows,

01:10 but have you ever had something quite weird?

01:12 - The weirdest gift?

01:14 Well, there was a period of time

01:16 where I would only get, from fans,

01:18 I'd only get Jodie Comer-themed merch.

01:20 - Of course.

01:21 - And it would be a Jodie Comer pillow.

01:27 For a while, I was like, wow, am I insane?

01:30 My whole flat was just filled with Jodie Comer memorabilia.

01:34 But that was a weird time of my life.

01:37 They've stopped, they've chilled out a little bit.

01:39 - Just a little bit.

01:40 - They've chilled out a bit, yeah.

01:42 - And speaking of your fan base,

01:43 in recent years, obviously, you've adopted

01:45 a whole new wave of fans through the friendship

01:48 that you have with the Heartstopper cast

01:49 and featuring in that.

01:50 What has that new relationship and fan base meant to you?

01:54 - It's been amazing.

01:55 It's something that I had no idea

01:59 when I stepped into Heartstopper

02:01 what it would ultimately become

02:04 and just how many fans there were.

02:07 So it was a real surprise and rollercoaster.

02:11 They're really amazing, accepting people.

02:15 So I kind of feel like it's just been another step

02:18 towards me being able to accept myself more.

02:23 It's a really good group of people

02:25 to surround yourself with.

02:27 - And they've played a huge part

02:28 in your forthcoming debut album as well.

02:30 I mean, Alice Oseman, right?

02:31 She designed an alternative cover to your album.

02:34 What was that like for you

02:35 and sort of the relationship that you've built

02:37 with the team there?

02:38 - It's just been this very sort of natural thing

02:43 where they found my music, they found Internet Religion.

02:47 - The classic.

02:49 - Didn't we all?

02:52 - That's it for me.

02:53 I wrote it.

02:54 Yeah, they found Patrick, the producer of the show,

02:59 found Internet Religion.

03:01 And they just felt like Baby Queen,

03:04 the sound of Baby Queen,

03:05 became sort of synonymous with the show in a way.

03:10 And since then, it's just been this really natural

03:14 relationship that it just makes sense.

03:19 If we're doing an illustrated version of my album,

03:22 like who else is gonna do it, you know?

03:23 So it's been amazing.

03:24 I'm very lucky.

03:26 - Obviously, we're at Redding today,

03:28 the 1975, one of your favorite bands ever,

03:30 headlining tonight. - Hell yeah.

03:31 - And they'll be playing their debut album in full.

03:33 What does that album mean to you

03:35 and how has it inspired you as an artist?

03:37 - I was 17 years old and I was in South Africa

03:42 and this was like the first time I started

03:44 to go off the rails in a way.

03:47 It was the first time I ever stepped into,

03:51 I don't know, being a teenager.

03:58 It was this really late sort of progression for me.

04:01 And I discovered that album

04:03 and that was just in my ears permanently.

04:06 And I had this dream of moving to London

04:08 and being a musician and that song,

04:11 ♪ If you wanna find love ♪

04:12 ♪ Then you know where the city is ♪

04:14 And I was like, I'm going to the city, you know?

04:16 And I felt like I was coming from this really small place

04:20 and that album represented the beacon

04:24 of what London was to me.

04:26 And I feel like it was,

04:28 I don't know if I would have made the move without,

04:32 you know, I mean, I can't imagine it any differently.

04:34 It was a really, really influential album.

04:39 - That's beautiful.

04:40 Are there any other tracks on there

04:41 that you still go back to quite often,

04:43 still mean a lot to you?

04:46 - So many.

04:47 I mean, like, there's the bangers,

04:50 there's girls and chocolate, you know what I mean?

04:54 - Yeah, yeah.

04:55 - I mean, everything.

04:55 I really like "Money."

04:57 ♪ Has she got enough money to spend ♪

05:00 ♪ Do you really mean it ♪

05:03 And I really like,

05:04 ♪ Oh, she way out, never seen you ♪

05:08 ♪ Don't you move, don't you like she way out ♪

05:11 And, and,

05:13 ♪ We're changing pressure ♪

05:15 ♪ I'm never gonna lie to you ♪

05:17 - You could sing it instead of Matti Healy on stage tonight.

05:20 - Seriously, if there was a problem with Matti,

05:23 and he couldn't get on the stage tonight,

05:26 I could do it.

05:28 I could do the dance moves.

05:30 I know what he does, bro.

05:32 I know how he moves.

05:33 Seriously, I could do it.

05:34 It's just, I've just listened to those albums a lot.

05:37 A lot.

05:38 So, Matti, you know what I mean?

05:42 If you ever need someone to step in.

05:46 - You're right here.

05:48 Just to wrap things up,

05:51 obviously, like you said,

05:52 you're sharing the stage with 1975 today,

05:54 but this summer also marks two years

05:55 since you started performing live yourself.

05:58 How far do you think you've come as a performer,

06:00 and how proud do you feel of that?

06:02 - It's so weird, because I was thinking about this today,

06:04 and I was thinking back to the first festival show

06:07 I ever played, and my manager took a video of me,

06:11 and she was like, "How are you feeling?"

06:13 And I was like, "I feel like I wanna die.

06:15 "This is the worst feeling in the world.

06:17 "I hate this.

06:18 "I don't wanna go on the stage."

06:19 And to get to a place where you're playing the main stage

06:23 at this festival, that's just like,

06:25 it's a really big deal for me.

06:27 And to be on that stage and have a sense of calm,

06:31 and of like, I know what I'm doing,

06:33 'cause I've done it so many times,

06:35 it was really special, and it was, yeah,

06:40 it was an amazing, I think I probably will never forget

06:45 that moment, you know?

06:47 So, it was dope.

06:48 - Well, congratulations.

06:49 You smashed it. - Thank you.

06:50 Thank you, I appreciate it.

06:52 - And enjoy the rest of your Reading Festival.

06:53 - You too.

06:54 - Thank you. - Let's go wasted.

06:55 (laughing)

06:57 [BLANK_AUDIO]

Baby Queen on ‘Quarter Life Crisis’, The 1975 and Heartstopper Season Two

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