CLIP is never one to hide her emotions. The NY-based internet rap princess popped on the scene with her 2020 smash “Sad B!tch” and has since dominated her lane of genre-fluid alt-pop. Since then, she’s graced a 2022 PAPER cover, released a trove of music that expanded her sonic universe and became a fashion darling.

The staggering heights of her rising star status were clarified on the road this summer when she toured with Montell Fish and Homixide Gang. She played packed stages and shared her truth for fans and new converts alike. But even with the glitz of all those flashy lights, she still had moments of insecurity and exhaustion. The highs and lows of touring mayhem provided a moment for her to reflect on her music career, and to see how far she’s come.

“I’m really grateful that I got the opportunity to not only go on tour, but go on two tours back to back. I met so many different types of people and saw, like, all of America,” CLIP tells PAPER. “I did a tour with Rico Nasty when I was first starting out, but I was so disassociated and depressed, and I couldn’t really experience it and be in the moment because I was worried about so much shit,” she reflects. “These tours — I was so anxious and scared. But I got the best advice ever before I got on my flight: ‘Have fun, rock out.’ And that’s literally what I did.”

CLIP took PAPER behind the scenes of her whirlwind summer of touring. From an emotional return to Texas, to a friend-filled stint in Los Angeles, to a hometown hero moment in NYC, it was a time to remember. Where better to take a walk down memory lane than PAPER Magazine?

My first date on tour with Montell Fish. I was really nervous because it was a complete vibe change, because I was just on tour with Homixide Gang, and I didn’t know what to expect. I didn’t really know what his audience would fuck with, but they ended up really vibing with me. So I got really happy, and I just got off the stage and started dancing with them. It was a really intimate, cute moment. They set the tone for the rest of the tour with Montell.

On the Homixide Gang tour, I was mosh-pitting and turning up. But this one (the Montell tour), I was able to be intimate and sing my emo songs and really just vibe with the audience.

This was at a Homixide Gang show. I was actually in Texas, and it’s crazy because I never thought I’d go back to Texas — ever — after I ran away when I was 16. I used to live there for a bit. But this picture was actually in Houston. I love Houston. The crowd was amazing, and I had a rockstar moment there. That was the first Homixide Gang show where I really, really, really felt the love. So many people in the crowd knew my lyrics. The guys were being so nice to me. The whole tour they were being nice to me, but this show specifically. So I had to go down there and bond with them. There’s a girl in the background screaming my lyrics, and I didn’t even notice until I saw the picture. It’s crazy.

I didn’t even think I was going to make this show. We drove in really late. I was tired and sad — something had happened earlier. I didn’t really have my clothes. My hair wasn’t done, I was all bummy. I just threw on glasses and a hoodie. But it was a vibe, honestly. I ended up having fun because the audience cheered me up. Someone screamed, “You look so beautiful!” randomly, and that was this moment in the picture actually. It’s so funny that someone captured it. I thought I was so bummy — I felt so bad — and I wanted to give a good show, but I wasn’t feeling myself. It was just one of those days, and everyone was just being so nice. I don’t know, I just felt important and loved.

This was my LA show. I used to live there. I was so nervous to come back, but I did it. It was the first show where I had my visuals. Me and my friend DIY’ed my cover and my visuals, and it ended up being really cool, just to see it in real life like that. It was a really important show for me, because the friends I made in LA popped out for me and surprised me, and my friend styled me. It was a full-circle moment as fuck. This was the first time I stage dove, and it was so amazing.

This is from Montell Fish’s last show. Like sold-out, huge as fuck. We’d just drove in that day too, and as soon as I got there there were amazing vibes. I completely forgot that I was going through anything. That picture is so cute, because that girl knew all my words, and she was singing back to me. That made my whole life. It was a good way to end the tour.

The picture after is me and Montell from that night, and I was talking to his family, and we got to bond. It was beautiful — that night was iconic. It was in a church, and I’d never performed in a church before. Me and my friends drove six hours to Pittsburgh for that show, and then we drove back to New York the next day.

This was in New York, my hometown show. I had my little cat ears. I just had my cat ears and a dream. I was performing one of my favorite songs and they made the vibe really intimate for me. Anytime I played “NEEDMYFIX,” the crowds ate it up. They made it dark for me, brought their lights up, and just let me be in my zone, and they would sing along with me. It was really beautiful.

This was in Chicago. She’s wearing a shirt underneath her jacket something from my first merch drop ever that’s not available anymore. So she made her own version of it and brought it to Summer Smash. It was my first ever Summer Smash, and I was so scared. And she was front row, and it was amazing. She even got bruised from the pit, because everyone was moshing. It was so fun. She told me her car broke down and she couldn’t make it to my show because she had to pay for her car, so I added her to the guest list. And it was really nice to see her, and she drew me something really cute, and she gave me the sweetest words of encouragement. I love her so much.

Photos courtesy of CLIP

Judeline logs on for our interview from the back of a cab as it winds through the streets of Madrid. It’s All Saints Day and she is en route to meet her mother for brunch. The 21-year-old Spanish pop artist listens through earbuds as she gazes, relaxed, into her phone. The contrast between her present nonchalance and the ethereal mystery of her debut album, Bodhiria, is a little startling.

“Ethereal” is a term that has been over-applied to music made by women, but this album is exactly that. The songs are sung from the point of view of a protagonist separated from her lover by death, or, possibly, something stranger. Languishing in metaphysical exile, she calls out to her love. Judeline sings in a clear, rippling voice filtered through curtains of autotune, somehow conveying both fragility and more duende than one human body should be able to carry.

Part of Bodhiria’s otherworldliness comes from its inherently liminal nature. It’s made up of spaces between things: the soul and the senses, digital and analog, Europe, Africa and the Middle East. Judeline and her collaborators, young Spanish producers including Tuiste, Mayo, Rusowsky, Ralphie Choo and DRUMMIE, don’t seem to recognize these boundaries. They drift across them, gliding through underground dance music, flamenco, Latin American folklore, hip-hop and R&B like restless spirits trying to communicate by twisting a radio dial. Beat-driven and grounded by plenty of low-end, these moody experiments coalesce into one solid collection of visionary pop. Listening to the album feels like getting passed a mixtape leaked from the future — though Spain and the rest of the world are quickly getting up to speed.

When Judeline speaks with PAPER, it’s at the tail end of Bodhiria’s release week, which was heralded by an electronic billboard in Times Square, courtesy of Spotify. Her tracks stream in the millions on the platform. Two weeks later, the star performed a stripped-back Color Studios set, followed by the announcement that she’ll be playing next year’s Coachella. Below, PAPER chats with Judeline about the different boundary lines in her music, as well as some of the more material spaces between in her life, such as the gap between Los Caños de Meca, the small coastal village in southern Spain where she grew up, and her present burgeoning fame.

How has your week been?

It was intense. A lot of different feelings, but I’m very happy. I think people loved [the album]. Honestly, I feel like the reception has been very good. People in Spain are really loving it and the tour is almost sold out. Joe Jonas posted a photo with my song. That was crazy to me. How did he discover my album? He was my crush when I was little.

Have people started to recognize you in Madrid?

They do. That started to happen a little bit about a year and a half ago, when I dropped “Canijo.” In the street, in certain places where young people live, where students live, I will see this type of young person dressed in a certain way and I know they are going to ask for a photo or something. I call them Las Modernas. You know, queer, fashion, young — girls with an alternative look. I don’t know. I can say it in Spanish, which is Las Modernas.

What is the music scene like in Madrid?

A lot of cool things are happening now. Rusowsky, Ralphie Choo, me. There are a few people that are making this new sound, a new Spanish pop, a new alternative. We are kind of making a movement, not only in music, but in aesthetic things. There is a little circle. We all knew each other from the start and now we have grown up together and people are becoming fans of the whole movement. I met Ralphie Choo when I was 17, when I arrived here in Madrid.

Did you come to Madrid for college?

I needed to do the last two years of high school in Madrid. You can choose to study arts, science, or letters. I wanted to do arts and there was no way to do it in my village.

Did you stay with family?

No, I worked for a whole summer and I rented a room. I think it was 300 euros a month in a weird neighborhood. It was a full experience. Then I was very lucky to start working in music, and I was, like, “Okay, I’m quitting. I’m quitting my studies.” I finished secondary school, but I didn’t finish the last year that you need to go to university.

What was it like being in the city on your own as a teenager?

It was hard, honestly. I was becoming an adult and getting used to being in this new world and getting used to a lot of people. I am from a very small village, and I was used to knowing every single person that I saw on the street and being very close to everyone, and then I moved to Madrid. Everyone goes so fast. No one says hello to anyone. They don’t say good morning in the stores. I felt like people were so rude to me.

I was going back home, and I was so sad, but also I was the weird kid in my village and everyone was staring at me a lot, and criticizing me sometimes because I dressed a certain way and my hair was purple. When I moved to the city, I was so free. I could do whatever I wanted. I could dress however I want. Nobody cared what I was doing and that was so good to me. It really helped me to feel more secure and discover who I wanted to be.

Were you already writing songs before that, in your hometown?

I was, but I didn’t have anyone to make music with me. I used to grab beats from YouTube. I would type in “XXXTentacion type beat.” I used to release music on Soundcloud, because I didn’t have money to pay for the beats. Then, during quarantine, this producer, Alizzz, who worked with C. Tangana and other Spanish artists did a contest. He was releasing beats and you could do your song on a beat. The best one would win and he would release that. So, I won the contest and I met people on social media who were producers in Madrid. So, that’s why, when I moved to Madrid, I had the chance to meet and connect with a lot of people that were doing music.

How did you connect with the people you work with now?

During quarantine, I started talking to Tuiste and we became internet friends. He was living in a city near mine. He’s Andalusian too. That September, both of us moved to Madrid at the same time. He moved into a house with Mayo, the other producer that I work with. I was always going to that house and making music with them. I almost lived in that house. We were always together there, smoking joints, watching movies and making music. It was a very crazy year for us. We had literally no money. We didn’t go out.

The mix of sounds on the album is really interesting. There’s hip-hop and R&B and underground electronic music and avant-garde pop and flamenco and Latin American folkloric music and Arabic influences. Am I missing anything? How did that come about?

When they ask me if I have a genre, or what kind of music I make, I don’t know what to say. I really like to mix different vibes on different songs, but I don’t do it on purpose. It comes pretty organically. We just flow with the creative process. We don’t look for it, but it ends up like that. Andalusian people have a lot of mixed roots and a mix of cultures, and then we have the influence of what is happening in the US or what’s happening in France.

What kind of music did you like growing up?

I listened to what my parents were listening to, honestly. My dad was a huge fan of The Beatles and bossa nova. He liked The Doors. He had a lot of Talking Heads. My mom loved flamenco. She loved The Police. They had similar taste. There was a lot of flamenco and also traditional Venezuelan music in my house growing up.

Right, your father is originally from Venezuela. I read that you learned to play the cuatro from him growing up and that “JOROPO” on the album is a Venezuelan-style song.

Yeah. I did that song with my dad. It was very cute to bring him into the studio and share time with him. He was so emotional because he didn’t have much of a chance to go to the studio and express his talent. It was really cool.

Did he encourage you to do music?

I don’t know what I would do without him. He taught me to write songs. So, he really inspired me. He didn’t sit with me and say, “Hey, you need to do this, this, and this.” I just watched how he did things. I think he really influenced me in the creative process. He was really creative. Of course, when I started making music, he told me to be careful and people in the industry are only looking for money, but I was in this teenage moment and I didn’t want to hear that.

There’s a lot of material on Bodhiria, and in the music videos for it, where you’re exploring both spirituality and sensuality, and you mix mysticism into these love songs. How did those themes emerge on the album?

I’m very curious about spiritual experiences or different religions — how each person feels faith or connects with the spiritual part of themselves, and I love to bring that to my music. My village had this huge hippie movement when I was growing up. In the ’90s, a lot of hippie people went there to live and now there is like this spiritual culture in our village. Everyone meditates. Everyone feels connected to nature. So, that was my education, too. And then Andalusia is a very religious place. Catholicism is very important. We have our Holy Week, like Semana Santa, the Easter. And it’s very, very strong and important in Andalucia. People cry and go crazy for the saints that get carried in the street. That really moves something in me.

How does that connect to the romantic parts of Bodhiria?

Bodhiria tells the story of this girl who is stuck in this limbo, this no place, and she can only have a connection with the guy she loves and god. So, that’s why the religious part and love are the two important things on the album.

Is this girl the same as the figure credited on the album as Angel A? Is this character like a part of you, or is it more like you are telling her story?

I’m telling her story, but also I have a lot of things in common with her. I didn’t want to say it in my words. It was easier for me to put it in someone else’s words.

Photography: JP Bonino

Kanii was only a senior in high school when his track “I Know” blew up on TikTok. “It was stressful trying to battle doing press and all these other things surrounding the music while still being in high school,” he tells PAPER.

When he walked across the stage at his high school graduation, the DC-born singer and rapper says that the whole crowd started singing the chorus of “I Know,” a surreal moment for a kid thrust into the fast-paced lifestyle that comes with TikTok virality — the very thing that every up-and-coming music artist and record label aims for nowadays.

Like many young artists, Kanii got his start in his bedroom, having released his very first track, “So Long,” on SoundCloud in 2018. “Honestly, it was me going through puberty,” he says. “I couldn’t even sing at my full potential.” That first song showcases his prepubescent vocal tone, an endearing statement from a then-preteen that musters up visions of a young Michael Jackson or other R&B vocal prodigies.

In 2020, the then 15-year-old got his first taste of TikTok traction with “attachment (she wanna love).” The track featured a vocally assured version of Kanii, with a beat that mixed hints of Jersey Club with hyperpop and melodic rap. It instantly carved out an identity that listeners could grab onto. Since then, he’s grown his career primarily through the platform and by just being himself — cultivating a sound and identity that is emotional and effervescent.

Now that he’s past that phase of his career, the 19-year-old is focused on the future. “I’m very persistent in what I want,” he says. After a string of solo and collaborative EPs, Kanii is finally ready to create a complete body of work that builds a world for the listener, not just an ephemeral viral sound. “I’m no longer looking for that as satisfaction in my eyes.”

Below, we catch up with the budding star to chat about his new single “young n turnt,” being endlessly inspired by the King of Pop, and his creation process.

Hi Kanii! Where are you at right now?

I’m in Williamsburg, Brooklyn right now. I moved here in December.

You’re from DC, right?

Yeah, I was born and raised in DC.

Congrats on the “young n turnt” video. Was that shot on Howard Street?

Yeah, it was in front of the Maison Margiela store.

I can recognize that block in an instant.

It’s maybe the most recognizable block in SoHo, honestly.

Tell me about creating that song.

Creating that song was pretty simple. My producer friend Luv sent me a beat through messages, and the beat grabbed my attention instantly. I was like, Let me just rap on it. Let me just speak how I’m feeling on it right now. That’s how the song came about. With the video, I was like, How can I translate the energy from this song in video form? The song is called “young n turnt,” and I’m just talking my shit in the song. So let’s have all the people pull up and we just turn up for it.

What is your songwriting process like? Do you have any rituals?

It definitely depends on the type of stuff I’m making. So when I’m doing rap stuff, it usually is a lot of low effort. Picking a beat and just going at it full force, just seeing where it takes me. But with the more recent pop and melodic stuff I’ve been doing, that stuff is built from scratch. From square one. All the instruments and the writing are way more meticulous. We’re just nitpicking everything.

What was it like for you when “I Know” blew up on TikTok?

Since I was still in school, it was stressful trying to battle doing press and all these other things surrounding the music while still being in high school, and having kids be kids in high school. So it’s you having a song that’s popular and then going to school with a bunch of children and then them having the reaction to that success, you know what I’m saying? It was definitely stressful, but it wasn’t the worst thing in the world, honestly. It was neutral. It could’ve been a lot worse. For me, it was pretty controllable. I could deal with it.

Were there any crazy moments that came with being so popular?

Yeah, it was when I graduated high school. When I walked across the stage. I was second to last to walk across the stage because of my name and my major. So when I walked across the stage, they all just started singing my song. I actually dropped a documentary about that whole graduation, and it has that clip. It’s on my YouTube.

That must’ve been surreal.

It was. It was crazy. I didn’t expect that at all, especially not being the most popular person in school and I wasn’t the most talkative person in school either. So having them show that they really fucked with me without having really talked to me as much was crazy.

Was it a private or public school?

It was a public school, but you had to audition into it. It was an art school.

I think the immediate thing that listeners may connect to with you is your vocals. At least that’s what stood out to me. The obvious reference that comes to mind is Michael Jackson.

Yeah.

How did you come into your voice and discover your sound?

I was always inspired by Michael Jackson. I feel like that has gone unnoticed until recently when I started pushing the sound that I’m going for now. The pop and the ‘80s wave. But I’ve always been inspired by that. Honestly, it was me going through puberty. When I was going through puberty, I couldn’t even sing at my full potential, my full ability. My voice was in that weird phase of being high and being deep and raspy, you know? So it was just going through that, and then as I matured into my voice, all of it kind of came together.

What’s your favorite Michael Jackson song?

My personal favorite? It’s hard to pick one, but right now it’s probably “Tabloid Junkie.” It’s a sleeper, but that’s one of my favorites.

Who are some of your other inspirations, both musically and visually?

I’m inspired a lot by The Weeknd and the way he presents his projects. Aesthetically, I think what he’s doing is really cool. I’m also inspired by Brent Faiyaz. He’s one of the hometown GOATs, in my eyes. I’ve always been inspired by him and his sound selection, his artistry.

Are there any specific music videos that formed you as a kid?

Yeah, going back to Michael Jackson, my mom used to play a lot of his music videos on TV. I remember one of the first music videos I had ever seen was the “Remember the Time” video. Following that was the “The Way You Make Me Feel” video. Just it being a full production for every video, that inspires me to shoot for that instead of it just being short clips.

How do you approach your visuals?

Usually, I watch a lot of old commercials or old films. I recently watched Edward Scissorhands for the first time, and I was like, Yo, the way that this is shot is fire. It’s amazing. I just consume a lot of content to draw inspiration from. That’s really what I do.

What is your greatest strength as an artist?

As an artist, I think I’m very persistent in what I want. I don’t stoop myself lower than the standard to satisfy someone else, if that makes sense. If there are people around me saying that something that I’m doing is creatively not for their ear but it is for mine, then I’m gonna keep what my idea is because I make the music for myself. I feel like I’m a perfectionist, even though some people may say it doesn’t seem like it or some may say it does. There’s no satisfaction in my creation. I feel like there’s always more that can be done. Even when songs are out and finished, I’ll be like, dang I wish I could’ve added something.

What does the future look like for you? Are you working on a project right now?

I’m working on a project. It’s speculated to be called Blue, but I’m keeping it lowkey where we’re going direction-wise. The appeal for it is not to have a viral moment. I’m no longer looking for that as satisfaction in my eyes. I don’t want the appeal for it to be one viral song or one dance associated with the music. I want the appeal to be the quality of the music and the effort that I put into the songs. I want to create a world for the listener.

Are you gonna tour?

Yes, actually I’ve been on three tours and I’m going on my fourth tour next month. It’s a European tour. I had a smaller European tour earlier this year, and that was pretty dope. London was pretty fire. Everywhere was pretty fire, honestly.

Photography: Lauren Davis
Styling: Dylan Andrews
Styling assistant: Daviel Castaneda

Editor-in-chief: Justin Moran
Managing editor: Matt Wille
Editorial producer: Angelina Cantú
Music editor: Erica Campbell
Story: Ivan Guzman

Cat Cohen, fresh off the release of her raucous album Overdressed, wants to make it clear that it isn’t okay to get Gatorade delivered from CVS — a new year’s resolution half of New York City should also jot down for ourselves.

The fashion savant and recent star of her own comedy special, Come For Me, caught up with PAPER to chat about the new album, which she worked on with producer Couros in London, who’s previously worked with artists like Zayn Malik and Bebe Rexha. “Working with Couros was a total dream, he’s such a talent,” she says. “We had the best time giggling and deciding what to eat for lunch. It feels so normal and natural to be connected to Zayn and Bebe Rexha. I hope they come to my next standup comedy show!”

As for the aforementioned Gatorade, I asked Cohen if she has any New Year’s resolutions of her own, considering the holiday-adjacent album skewers resolutions on a song of the same name. The answer, of course, came in all-caps. “I HAVE TO STOP ACCEPTING POSTMATES AS A PART OF MY LIFE. IT ISN’T OKAY TO HAVE GATORADE DELIVERED FROM CVS. IT ISN’T OKAY!”

Me too, Cat Cohen. Me too.

Read below for the rest of our chat on the new album, holiday office parties and more.

What inspired you to make a pop-comedy album?

I’ve been doing cabaret songs for years as part of my standup act, but always dreamt of making slutty pop versions of them to release into the wild. The Spice Girls raised me so I’ve always secretly aspired to pop stardom.

On the topic of the song “Plus One,” do you remember the last office Christmas party you attended?

I famously worked at the Casper mattress showroom in 2015, so I did get to attend the Casper holiday party one year. It was uneventful but if memory serves there was a seafood tower, so shoutout to that!

The album art plays on the holiday themes of the album, but I’m particularly fixated on the green dress. Silly question, but can I ask if you know who the designer is? Likewise, what was your inspiration for the cover art?

Asking about outfits is never silly! Clothes are everything to me. The dress is Selkie. We wanted to play with the idea of a deranged holiday hostess. The shot was inspired by an old pic I found of Debbie Harry in a kitchen holding a pan that’s on fire. Queen.

The album is called Overdressed, as in overdressed for the function. Is that usually the case when you’re going out or performing?

It’s always better to be overdressed than underdressed. People need to move on from athleisure. It’s sucking my life force.

You’re also coming off the release of your comedy special, Come For Me, as well as roles in Only Murders in the Building, Girls5eva and The French Italian. Do you have any other acting opportunities in the works you can share?

Nothing I can share at the moment, but there’s always more exciting things around the corner, XOXO.

Photography: Dev Bowman

Molly Santana makes it all look so effortless. The Japanese-American pop/rap princess exudes confidence and swag in all she does, including her recent single “Windows Up,” from her latest project Masonic Musik.

The 20-year-old’s unique sound stems from a cross-cultural upbringing between Los Angeles and Tokyo, where she attended fashion school and developed a distinct identity that blends sonics and style. With co-signs by Lil Uzi Vert and Bryson Tiller, Santana is clearly carving out a lane all her own with music that incorporates genre mixes from punk and rage aesthetics that are still bubblegum-trap and flirty at the same time.

“The power of music never fails to amaze me,” she tells PAPER in an exclusive tour diary. “Look at all the people it can bring together.” After working a job at Little Caesars, Santana went from rags to riches by uploading her songs to SoundCloud and quickly became a noteworthy rising star in the underground internet rap universe.

Fast forward to today, and she is playing stadiums across the country. After opening up for Ski Mask The Slump God this summer, Santana took it a step further by landing an opening gig for Don Toliver on his massive North American ‘PSYCHO’ tour. Santana took PAPER backstage at one of her biggest career highlights thus far — performing at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

On my way to soundcheck, got my Topicals Faded under eye masks on.

Getting cozy next to the pyrotechnics. Fun fact: I’m always freezing cold before every show.

Who would’ve ever thought lil’ old me would be performing at the Barclays Center?

Laying around in the cables, nothing to see here.

All my little tingz. My favorite pierced Balenciaga handbag with my matching white Goyard backpack, the most cutest and comfortable Givenchy slides, my new fave spiked Doublet sneakers and the I <3 NY teddy bear backpack I wore on stage.

Everything is pink and cheetah print! I am simply just a girl 😜.

More cheetah print, plus my favorite lotion from Byredo and the only necklace I ever wear from No Mass Production (duh!)

Smokin’ in the bathroom pre show with my favorite girl in the world, Mya <3 Life doesn’t get any better than this.

I really wish there was two of me!

On my way to the stage, bouta go crazy as per usual.

This photo was taken a minute before my set. I think you can see the anxiousness on my face lol.

Truly a beautiful sight. The power of music never fails to amaze me. Look at all the people it can bring together.

Post show post up in the laundry room that I still haven’t utilized.

I really do! Thank you for such a beautiful night, New York ❤️.

Photography: Tasmin Meyer Ersahin

Blame it on the natural thermal pools, ample wine, native soup dishes, or the fact that the land of ice happens to be the home of the kindest people on earth, but Iceland, for all its rumored coldness, is indeed a place of extreme warmth and all-encompassing cool.

PAPER witnessed this first-hand in Reykjavík earlier this month for the 25th anniversary of Iceland Airwaves. The festival was a convergence of all the energetic magic of Iceland met with the wealth of imaginative music that only the small Nordic island could offer. During our three-day stint we heard, saw and felt some of the best music from around the globe and even got to speak to a few Iceland-based artists that won’t be able to keep their secret talents to their home country from much longer.

While running in layers to a colorful performance from Magdalena Bay on night one (they played Imaginal Disk from start to finish, chills), dancing in scarves during a raucous takeover from Lambrini Girls (the Brighton duo left the crowd smiling from ear to ear with their angsty punk songs, and riotous “fuck the patriarchy” chants) and swaying in tights during a nostalgia-inducing performance for The Vaccines (“Post Break-Up Sex” will forever be a bop), we got a real taste of what makes Iceland Airwaves an incomparable musical showcase (and we’re not just talking about the Kjötsúpa).

From venues that are actually art museums and protestant churches, to a community of musicians who play together, grew up together and encourage one another, to once-in-a-lifetime experiences like hearing Kjartan Sveinsson of Sigur Rós discuss each track of ( ) in the same studio it was recorded in (people cried, not saying who, but there was crying), this year’s festival left an indelible mark.

But the biggest impression we walked away with was the knowledge that Iceland is still fertile ground for some of the most inspired music and song-making on earth. In between festivities — like sampling scents at Fischersund, taking the seven-step ritual at Sky Lagoon, and crying (again) in public — PAPER sat down with Icelandic artists Elín Hall, Sunna Margrét and Lúpína to talk about their music, what they’re excited to share next and how their Icelandic roots impact their creative pursuits.

Lúpína

Scandi pop artist Lúpína is an enigmatic, whimsically dressed singer with a voice that pulls you into different dimensions, with jellyfish stage props and sea-themed makeup in tow. During the Iceland Airwaves weekend, she played at least one show a day — sharing tracks from her debut album, 2023’s ringluð, and recently released sophomore album marglytta. “It’s been really fun, I really like it,” she says of the festival. “Every time I perform I want to do it again ’cause it’s easier, this is perfect.”

After the release of her second album, Lúpína decided to imagine her live set. “I used to be solo, but now I have more live elements. He plays bass and drum samples and I’m playing more synths with loops. The vocal looping is something people seem to resonate with,” she says. At a recent showcase in Seattle, Lúpína’s live looping grabbed the attention of the audience, as well as their real-time collaboration. “I really enjoyed that moment,” she says of the ambient sounds in the room becoming part of her music. “I started the song while the audience was clapping for the previous song, then the echo for the claps got into the loops. It played in the beginning of every bar, like a ‘woo,’ and then I sang on top of that. It was like we did the performance together.”

For Lúpína, it’s important that each live set feels unique. “That’s the thing about my old set, it was just me, and that felt limiting,” she says. “Also I like to have big sounds. And when you play a gig and you see the same people you know they’ve seen you before, it felt like I can give more and make it special.”

When asked about Iceland and how artists and why it feels like such fertile ground for creativity, she shares her theory. “I feel like Icelandic people always want to do something different,” she says. “We always want to stand out in some way. We think in a more creative way. It’s also [pride]; we don’t want to be basic,” she laughs. “For some people, it’s like, ‘we’re not gonna make pop music, we’re better than that, I’m gonna make something different.’ Like Sigur Rós, it’s so cool but it’s so hard to put a genre on that. Also with Björk, she sings in a way that no one has song before,” she adds, with a smile. “We tend to think out of the box more than following the rules.”

Elìn Hall

Elín Hall is not only an award-winning actress and chart-topping pop star in Iceland but a singer-songwriter with cutting lyricism, beckoning her to the world stage. “It’s very exciting and terrifying at the same time,” she says when asked about her plans to pursue a global career. “It’s not something that I could’ve guessed would happen in a million years,” she adds. “Even the opportunities that I’ve gotten here locally have surpassed my expectations in every way.”

Growing up, Hall had no plans to build her creative pursuits outside of Iceland. “I was just thinking about the scene here and getting on the charts locally,” she says. Despite that, she recently picked up the Best Female Performance award at the Chicago Film Festival for her performance in When The Light Breaks, a look at where her talent could take her next. “I’ve gotten so many opportunities [in Iceland] because it’s such a small space,” she says. “It’s also very encouraged to take partake in art, music and dance. I feel like this is a paradise for that. You have a lot of freedom, also as a woman to do whatever you want.”

Still, even with the amount of success she’s gained in her career, she still has a tendency to “underestimate” herself. “When I won this award in Chicago, for a week I was waiting for that phone call, like the La La Land moment, when they read [the Best Actress award] wrong. I much rather live my life underestimating where I can go because I’m always pleasantly surprised,” she says. Hall also shares that she’s not interested in fame, not in the typical sense anyway. “That’s part of Icelandic culture,” she says. “As well I have experienced being prominent in the scene here and I have been doing acting and films that everyone has seen in this small country, and I know what it’s like for people to not see you as a person. I do crave to be accepted from the right people, a green light or a thumbs-up from the right person means the world to me, but I know from the experience of this small place, this testing ground that fame is something I will only tolerate,” she laughs.

Now her sights are set on releasing her third album, the follow-up to heyrist í mér (can you hear me) which was released earlier this year. “It’s almost ready,” she says. “I’m going to be debuting some of the songs tonight.” It’s Hall’s first time writing songs in English, a challenge she’s excited to take on. “What I truly wanted was to still be me and for it to transcend with me. That was the biggest goal — to not leave myself behind and everything I’ve created.”

Sunna Margrét​

Sunna Margrét recently released her debut album Finger on Tongue, her voice crystalline over staggering percussion and dizzying spirals of sound. It’s a trajectory she’s been on for years, since joining electro-pop act Bloodgroup in 2010 when she was just 18. Coming from a family of celebrated musicians, Iceland’s artist community has been at the nucleus of Sunna’s creative endeavors. “The collaboration between bands and musicians, that’s at the heart of it,” she says, when asked what makes Reykjavík such a unique place for artists. “It’s a small place, you’re constantly bumping into each other, your friends of friends of friends. Everyone knows each other. That’s what everyone is constantly doing, working on each other’s music.”

Sunna’s music, which combines glitter trip-hop, lo-fi beats and her haunting vocals, has been leaving a lasting effect on listeners, who’ve been able to watch her music transform in real-time, live. “There is one song I’ve been doing live for a few years that always seems to make an impression,” she says. “It’s an acapella song I wrote called ‘Amma,’ which means grandmother. Now, for my live version, I use a vocal looper. I loop everything live. The vocal and the simplicity, I transform that energy and integrate the whole band and it emerges into the end of the song. Then we bridge into another one, which is more built up with time. It ends in this really big power. That’s really fun to play.” She adds that she’s played it so many times but she’s still nervous. That sensation came up for her at a recent show in Seattle aimed at sharing Icelandic artists: “I had this moment towards the end of the song and… because they had cameras [for radio station KEXP live sessions] and I got nervous, I was like ‘I’m gonna break, I’m just gonna fall apart.’ But I managed to turn that energy in a split second into ‘Don’t freak out, go into bliss,’ and I just completely managed to go into full bliss mode. That does not happen all the time.”

A month before our conversation, Sunna released an echoing, staccato-paced indie-pop track called “Fern.” “You know like the plant, people are always asking me that it means… it’s just the plant,” she laughs. “We’re playing it for the first time live tonight. It’s always special when we play for the first time live. I’m really excited.” It’s a special track for Sunna, one of the first times she had the strong feeling to say something “direct” with her music. “Sometimes, when things aren’t going how you want, when people are abusing their power you just let it happen,” she says. “This is the opposite of that. This is when you say, ‘This is not okay; I’m gonna put my foot down.’ It’s a plea to say just listen to me. Listen to us. Can’t you this perspective? That’s what this song is about.”

Photography: Joana Fontinha, Julie Van Den Bergh, Jackson Ducasse

It’s impossible to be across all the new music out each Friday. Luckily, PAPER is here to help you out: each week, we round up 10 of our favorite new songs from artists — emerging and established — to soundtrack your life. From the surreal to the sublime, these songs cover every corner of the music world. The only criteria: they all have to absolutely rip.

Subscribe to our Sound Off Spotify playlist here and check out this week’s tracks, below.

ROSÉ – “number one girl”

ROSÉ’s second single from Rosie is an emotional, heartfelt ballad about insecurity and vulnerability co-written and produced by Bruno Mars.

Jack Harlow – “Hello Miss Johnson”

Jack Harlow returns with this slick, laid-back new song — an OutKast response track, of sorts — that finds him returning to his trademark cheekiness.

Tyla – “Tears”

Didn’t expect this one — Tyla has shifted away from Afrobeats on her new single, instead throwing it back to the wounded radio guitar ballads of the early 2000s.

Wizkid – “Bend”

Wizkid’s new single is a slippery one, finding the Nigerian superstar effortlessly gliding over a snakelike beat.

Moses Sumney, ANOHNI – “Is It Cold In The Water?”

Two of modern indie’s most gorgeous voices link for this warm, magnificent take on a Sophie classic.

Oklou – “choke enough”

Oklou’s new single feels like a trance song turned into a ringtone or a lullaby, but its supreme sense of hush doesn’t diminish its impact.

untitled (halo) – “emo is good”

One of the best new LA bands returns with this ragged, raw take on a classic ’90s shoegaze ballad.

Hovvdy – “Forever – Julie’s Version”

This stripped-back take on “Forever” highlights the song’s sheer durability, a common thread across the band’s new Live at Julie’s EP.

Lil Nas X – need dat boy”

Plagiarism scandal aside, we haven’t heard much from Lil Nas X in a while; “need dat boy” feels like a little taste ahead of something bigger.

Benét, Faye Webster – “Make ’em Laugh”

This highlight from Red Hot’s new Transa comp finds Faye Webster and Benét linking their voices in a way that’s rich and anthemic, despite how quiet the track is.

Photography: Adam Alonzo

Julia Michaels is blasting off towards heaven. The multi-diamond and platinum-certified artist has been in the zeitgeist since she came into our orbit with 2017’s “Issues” and was nominated for a Grammy for Best New Artist. Since then she’s released multiple projects and penned some of pop music’s most memorable hits by the likes of Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez. But even with all that industry-backed success, Michaels isn’t afraid to strike out on her own and go independent. “It’s been beautiful,” Michaels tells PAPER of her new indie era. “I’ve built the sweetest smallest team of spectacular people that I believe in and vice versa.”

Our first look into her new chapter as an independent artist is “Heaven II,” a fittingly otherworldy ode to pleasure and transcendence. “You can get it all night, baby/ Love you, crazy/ Take you to heaven sayin’/ ‘Save me’/ Take you to heaven on the daily,” she sings in a slinky falsetto. Her winding voice, buoyed by synth pads and acoustic guitar, moves with grace amid a rising chorus of strings and horns. The video mirrors the song’s themes of love and acceptance as Michaels, dressed in a Valentine’s Day red, rides in her own Vegas-style parade float down the Los Angeles river with a crew of couples.

PAPER spoke with Michaels on the heels of her new release about going indie, “Heaven II,” and to get a behind-the-scenes look at the song’s visuals.

What was your creative head space like going into this new era of work?

I really want to capture how fun, free and liberated I feel. There’s so many parts of my personality I never felt like I had the opportunity to showcase through my music. And now being independent and having full control over my own narrative makes, it feel like I have the freedom to do so.

What’s the journey of going independent been like for you?

Honestly, it’s been beautiful. I’ve built the sweetest smallest team of spectacular people that I believe in and vice versa. The fans especially have been amazing. They waited so long for songs and I’m so glad to be able to give them that finally. They’ve been extra supportive.

“Heaven II” has a really uplifting sound and message. Tell me about the process of putting it together?

I wrote “Heaven II” the week I left my label. I just wanted to write something fun and sexy. I wanted to have a song about where I was at in my life … and gratefully where I still am.

The video for “Heaven II” shows a diverse set of couples and characters in a mini parade. It’s so fun. Tell me about that day of shooting.

It was incredible. Blythe Thomas the director of “Heaven II” is so inspiring. I’ve worked with her for a few years now and I absolutely love watching her on set. That day just felt so special. It was in the air that we were doing this on our own and that just brought on such a sense of pride. And relief. Everyone was lovely and we had the best, best time.

What do you hope people will take away from “Heaven II”?

I just hope people will have fun and feel sexy and carefree when they hear Heaven II. That it just feels like a good time to them.

Photography: Blythe Thomas

Oklou’s first solo track in nearly three years, “family and friends,” is disarmingly honest and lyrical — as we’ve come to expect from the French artist, born Marylou Mayniel. “Let me lie forever in bed,” she sings in the chorus, “Blessed by family and friends/ Starting life at the end/ Is it even real?” The single is an indicative taste of what listeners can expect from the artist’s forthcoming debut album called choke enough, out in February via True Panther.

The song’s sense of unreality is haunting; its accompanying video, directed by Gil Gharbi, only serves to amp up the intensity of that feeling. The video — filmed in her mother’s neighborhood — depicts Oklou and her friends running away from something in the suburbs. What, exactly, they’re running from, though — that we’ll likely never understand. “You’re not supposed to know,” Oklou says. “It’s about the feeling.”

The visual idea came about only once the single had been finished; the concept was suggested by Gharbi (who is actually Oklou’s boyfriend, too) and brought to life in Oklou’s mother’s neighborhood. The quest for meaning is one that carries through the entirety of choke enough.

Oklou has been working on the album for years now — a significantly longer marinating period than previous projects. This long process, she reflects, made the task of choosing a final tracklist a difficult task. “So much had happened during the writing,” she tells PAPER. “I had changed, things had changed in my life. I had to really cut it down.”

The final project comes in at 13 tracks, co-produced by Oklou’s friend and longtime collaborator Casey MQ, alongside heavy hitters like Danny L Harle and A.G. Cook. In discussing the ethos of the album as a whole, Oklou tells PAPER it’s not so much about one meaning as about searching for that meaning — running towards meaning, running away from it and reflecting on meaning-finding as a whole. In classic Oklou fashion, all this meaning-making is handled over a mix of ambient and club sounds that will appeal to both long-time fans and new listeners.

The latest single from the album, “choke enough,” is available for streaming now, and the full project releases on February 7, 2025. Oklou will be touring choke enough in February and March of next year, with stops around Europe, Canada and the US.

Photography: Gil Gharbi

Fashion FanFic is back at PAPER! This month, the 2025 Grammy Award nominees were announced, and one of the most exciting categories is “Best New Artist.” Among the eight artists nominated, four of them are divas with a strong sense of fashion and image: Chappell Roan, Doechii, Raye and Sabrina Carpenter. But what if they shook things up just a bit in Sabato De Sarno’s Gucci with pieces both that are both off the runway and available to buy now?

In honor of the girls and the most recent Gucci collections, here are the four female artists who would steal the spotlight in these looks on the street, red carpet and everywhere else in between.

Chappell Roan

As her career skyrocketed, Chappell Roan has become known for her campy, girly and draggy looks. She’s usually in some iteration of a showgirl bodysuit or flouncy dress. However, at this year’s VMAs red carpet, she wore a Joan of Arc-inspired gown that leaned more gothic than “Femininomenon.” Why not lean even more into the darkness and then go one step further by playing with masculinity? With Alan Cumming’s flamboyant version of the Emcee in Cabaret in mind, imagine her in Gucci tailoring with a sexy tank top and a goth version of her drag makeup. Good, right?

Get the Rib Silk Tank Top via Gucci.

Get the Double-Breasted Long Wool Coat via Gucci.

Doechii

No stranger to playing with masculinity is Doechii, who also did drag for PAPER‘s 40th anniversary cover. She’s either fully covered up in suiting with a tie or, for instance, wearing underwear on the streets of New York. If anyone has the confidence to pull of a head-to-toe Gucci-printed suit, that even has gloves and a silk scarf and shoes to match, it’s her. She’d look like the villain counterpart to an overly-optimistic heroine that everyone ends up sympathizing more with in the end.

Get the Wool Jacket with GG Shadow via Gucci.

Get the Wool Pants with GG Shadow via Gucci.

Raye

Raye knows what she does best, which is channeling all of the crooning divas of the 1960s with their up-do’s and busty and corseted cocktail dresses. It would be refreshing to see her do a kitschy yet sexy take on the era with a floral skirt and sheer black top. Trade the creepers for some slingback pumps, and voila!

Get the Blondie Small Top Handle Bag via Gucci.

Get the Silk Chiffon Shirt via Gucci.

Get the Mid-Length Floral Crêpe Skirt via Gucci.

Sabrina Carpenter

Each of the ladies on this list have strong images that they’ve stuck to during this era of their careers. Sabrina Carpenter has done the flirty and sexy 1960s, Brigitte Bardot and Nancy Sinatra-inspired thing very well, which is why it’s exciting to see her do a sort of widower version of the aesthetic (a bit more in line with how she appeared on the cover of PAPER). It’s like all was fine and dandy in her ’60s life until she found her husband cheating with his secretary so she poisoned him, and now she only wears black. See the vision?

Get the Slim Horsebit Knee-High Boot via Gucci.

Get the Wool Crêpe Jacket via Gucci.

Get the Wool Crêpe Short via Gucci.

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