“I know you’re not supposed to say it / But I’m not like other girls,” strikes the opening line of ‘is it my face?’, the irreverent new single from Juliet Ivy.

‘is it my face?’ is another stellar addition to a singular collection of tunes that sits at the perfect intersection of whimsy and wisdom, with Ivy’s youthful glimmer sprinkled like fairy dust over introspective stream-of-consciousness reflections. The music video, co-edited by Ivy herself, welcomes us into that world in her mind as she takes on personas from Olympic gymnast to Carrie White, depicting the highs and lows and ever-changing multitudes of girlhood, contradictions Ivy contains within herself.

She has an honest sense of curiosity and willingness to be messy, afraid of everything, yet fearless all at once. In person, adorned with red satin ribbons twice the length of her height, there’s a charm about the way she speaks softly of Minions and dying with the same reverence. Although her manner is self-deprecating, that opening line rings true in such a delightful way. Juliet Ivy is not like other girls. Juliet Ivy is a breath of fresh air.

We caught up with the lovely Ivy ahead of her set at Head In The Clouds to chat new single, her artistry, and what’s to come in 2024.

‍

Congratulations on your first headlining tour! How has it been?

It’s been so fun. It’s really been a dream come true, and everything is new about it, so I’m really learning so much about me as a person, me as a performer, and it just feels surreal. I’m so grateful to anyone who buys a ticket, it’s really magical.

You have a cool relationship with your fans, and “Ivy League” is the best fandom name I’ve ever heard. I love that you’ve given everyone a dress code for the tour and you’re reposting pictures. What do that relationship and those interactions mean for you? 

Thank you! It’s been super important to me to have a fan relationship that just feels like friendship. I’m just in the Discord talking to them, and it really feels like they’re my friends. It’s been so fun on the tour because there’s people I recognize from online who I know are coming. I’m genuinely excited to see them as if I’m meeting my internet friends in real life. I feel like I can be myself around them and we can make jokes: I talk about how I really like Minions from Despicable Me and they totally bounce back with me on it and send funny little Minion memes to me. We just have so much fun, it’s special to see them in real life too.

Every aspect of your artistry has this sort of whimsical playfulness to it. playpen is such an apt name for that EP. How do you decide to juxtapose things like introspective thoughts with specific imagery and existentialism over fun, bouncy beats? How has your artistry come together?

I think it’s come together super naturally and authentically because it’s my personality put into music. I am really bubbly and youthful and fun. I wear these ribbons, but I also have these weirder, more existential or introspective thoughts that are the most inspiring thing for me to write music about. Being able to communicate those darker thoughts in my silly, girly way is the perfect juxtaposition of me as an artist, but also as a person. It just feels natural. I’m really happy that it comes across like that because it feels really authentic.

It does come across as authentic, yeah. In the bedroom indie pop landscape, your music feels fresh and unique.

Thank you! Thank you so much.

Let’s talk about ‘is it my face?’ We’ve all had experiences with wanting to be liked or feel beautiful. And your take on it, it almost gave me a Japanese Breakfast ‘Boyish’ energy. There’s that theme, but an added nuance. Forgive me if I’m projecting, but I relate to it through the cultural aspect of not feeling like the beauty standard. 

Totally. Oh, one hundred percent. I love that you say that because that really is what it is, and I’m happy that you see it that way.

Can we talk about how that came together?

In a general sense, it is like, “Yeah, I’m a girl and I’m insecure and I wanna be liked.” But there are these layers to it that are all the ever-changing complicated feelings of being a girl, and being a mixed-race girl, too. How when I go out, sometimes I’ll feel like I just don’t look like the rest of these girls: nobody approaches me, or I don’t look this certain way. So yeah, I’m glad that that bleeds into it, because that’s a really big part of where that inspiration came from, that real experience.

And then also, there’s other fun little emotions thrown in there. There’s some cheekiness and sassiness because I really want it to feel like it’s an internal monologue in your head. Those verses are relatable: you’re in this social setting and you feel insecure, but you also feel like you’re worth something. You feel both at the same time. It was really special for me to communicate that in a song for the first time.

With that, I would be remiss not to ask how it feels to be playing Head In The Clouds specifically, especially since it’s a hometown show for you.

Yeah, I grew up a few blocks from here! Literally in the heart of Forest Hills, so this is my childhood venue, my dream venue, so it’s crazy. I can’t believe I’m sitting here.

Oh wow!

Yeah, and this festival, I’ve admired it for so long. Having a space that’s so full of energy and light for Asian-American artists, it’s so magical. I’m just honored to be here, I’m really excited.

We’re so excited to see you play later!

Aw, thank you!

Lastly, what are your general plans for the year? What’s on the horizon, after the single, another EP?

Yeah, so ‘is it my face?’ is gonna come out, and that’s the beginning of the rollout for my next EP which will come out this summer. We have a lot of visuals in the works for it as well that I’m so excited for. We’re filming music videos for the other songs too. I’m just so excited about this next project, it feels like an elevated version of my first project:the B-side, the right next step.

‍playpen is very existential and external, about how I see the world, and this next project is more internal, how I see myself. It’s welcoming people who have found me from playpen into my brain, my room. It feels more personal. And then more shows of course! Because now that I’m on a first tour, I’m gonna be addicted to it.

Juliet Ivy can be found on Instagram here and on all streaming platforms.