Clairo On Her Coachella Debut, New Music, and Upcoming Arena Tour With Khalid

By Kat Bein


Clairo broke out in late 2017 with the heartwarmingly DIY viral video “Pretty Girl,” and her lo-fi productions and raspy whisper have since captured a person's eye of elder tastemakers and Gen Z superfans alike. The 20-year-old singer-songwriter has the sharp mind of a woman and the warm soul of folk hero. She is a humble yet powerful presence, taking each chance to speak her mind, nurture her voice, support her peers, and stay open along the way.


Backstage at Coachella, Clairo was giggly and excited, gushing about how Rosalía is the perfect performer of our generation, yet as soon as she takes the stage or talks about female empowerment and trans rights, a calm inner wisdom shines through. Throughout her set, she stood strong and delighted, guitar in hand, in a shimmering beige suit with embroidered roses and rhinestones. Fans were treated to four new songs from Clairo's forthcoming project, which aims to push her production methods forward and dig deeper than the common love songs to tell a more complete human story. And she'll be sharing more soon on an arena tour in support of her friend Khalid, which kicks off in Phoenix on June 20. Ahead of her Coachella debut, we caught up with Clairo to hear more about her journey.


MTV News: We heard this is your first Coachella ever, both as fan plus a performer. What does this festival man to you?


Clairo: I didn't really know what to expect, nevertheless what I've found for now is that ladies have been dominating this year's festival. All of the performances from the females have been mind-blowing. Rosalía; Christine and the Queens was amazing; I loved Kacey Musgraves; I loved Billie [Eilish]; I loved Maggie Rogers. Each person killed it, and it's inspiring to be on a lineup with them and being able converse with them. Allocating support to other ladies on the lineup is the No. 1 thing I want to do at any festival play. I want to prepare ensure that every other female musician is getting positive energy from me if they want it.


MTV News: I believe it. I read that you're piece of an audience called Production Princesses.


Clairo: Yeah! This musician named Sophie Meyers began the categorize. She's excellent. There really are about 20 members from all over the world. It's a Twitter sort. All of the people involved are really sweet and wish to learn more about production, and Sophie is more than prepared to allocate that opinions, and same here. If anyone has questions about my journey or my experience, I'm more than happy to give them suggestions. Some days, I'll even go in there and I'll be like, I don't know why this is happening to me and just vent about my experience, and the ladies in that order are more than prepared to give me that emotional support that I'm not getting elsewhere.


Females are insanely astonishing any time it comes to emotional support, and I think it's essential that Sophie created this platform that lets ladies feel more comfortable in a production space. They're afraid to ask questions to guys about sidechaining or other things about production, little things that they would feel foolish for not knowing. No one deserves to feel foolish for not knowing something. No one deserves to be put down because they're attempting to learn.


MTV News: You're promising to play some new music in your set today.


Clairo: I am. Four new songs.


MTV News: That's a bold choice for your first Coachella.


Clairo: It just happened to be the time where we were supposed to do it. Landing on Coachella is a big moment, however it ended up happening that way. We played the songs for the opening time at the El Rey [Theatre] in Los Angeles on Thursday. People seem to like them, so I'll interested to be able to see how Coachella reacts, yet for now so good.





MTV News: You released a couple of songs already this year. You've got “Bubble Gum” and “Sis.”


Clairo: Those are songs I actually wrote around four years back and just determined to put on streaming recently.


MTV News: Did you change them at all?


Clairo: No, they're exactly the same. They were on SoundCloud for a long time, however my followers really wanted me to put them on streaming. It was a cool moment. Each person was really excited. Most of my older ones are on SoundCloud still.


MTV News: The newer songs that you're premiering, are they piece of a bigger project you're putting together?


Clairo: They are. I can't give also much away yet, yes, I certainly have a variety of songs. I've Been hiding away for a little. I feel like these new songs are talking a lot about my personalized experiences outdoor of relationships, like my sexuality, my arthritis – it's very strong. I have a weird mutation in my genes, I guess. I'm talking about things and diving deeper with my struggles and what I've Been going through in the last year, so I connect a lot with the music and it also feels a lot more like me as a person. And I'm working really hard on the production to create it reach its full potential and not just putting out songs because they sound like a good enough demo to post. I'm really taking my time, so I'm really gassed about it.


MTV News: You're about to go on tour with the good Khalid. What is that relationship like?


Clairo: It's wonderful. He is a good friend of mine. He's been an advocate since forever. He's someone I look up to, and he is a really, really positive person. It's going to be really nice to have him around and have the ability to get suggestions from him about this experience – at least have a close friend around that I can hang out with as soon as we're playing these huge arenas. It won't be so scary, because I'm very scared. It's really terrifying. [laughs]


MTV News: You've done a lot of work with the Transgender Law Center, also. You recently did a show with them and the ACLU. Why is that supply close to your heart?


Clairo: “Pretty Girl” was put out on a compilation tape called The Le Sigh Vol. III. We donated the proceeds to the Transgender Law Center, and I wanted to continue that support with the show Thursday. Some of my close companions are in that community, and I think it has to be spoke about. It's a needed conversation that someone with a platform needs to talk about. Trans ladies are killed all of the time, and I can't have a platform and not use it. I can't physically permit myself to have followers that aren't aware of those situations that are happening. Anything I can do to help other people and use my platform to lift other people up and make people aware of the world outdoor their own bubble – if I can get indoor those bubbles that people have in their small towns and bring to light things they probably wouldn't read about otherwise, that's all I can do.