Latest / Delulu with Ryan Lu / Bonnie McKee on Writing Teenage Dream by Katy Perry + Hot City | Delulu with Ryan Lu #105

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Bonnie McKee on Writing Teenage Dream by Katy Perry + Hot City | Delulu with Ryan Lu #105 · Delulu with Ryan Lu

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When I was in my darkest moment, Lana Del Rey appeared.
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I thank her. You actually.
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Manifested. That I thanked her in the liner
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notes of Hot City because I was like, she was like, you're an
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artist. And I needed that.
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I needed someone to tell me that.
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Bought myself a dagger. Went to the CE OS house in the
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middle of the night and I took the CD and I stabbed it into the
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tree that was right in front of his front door.
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And then I went to his car and I wrote in lipstick, platinum
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baby. And Needless to say, I got
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dropped. Hello besties and welcome back
0:44
to Delulu. And today's guesty is actually a
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literal manifestation come true of mine.
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Before I even started this podcast y'all I've been wanting
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to interview her for so long because I feel like no one could
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do her justice. Like I know I can do her justice
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and I've been manifesting this. So let's start off with that
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manifestation is real, but I'm going to talk my shit and flex
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for her for a second. Today's guest is the iconic,
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legendary Bonnie McKee. Bonnie McKee, thank you so much
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for joining us. Thank you for having me.
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I'm. Going to go down your little
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resume real quick. OK OK, I'm going to have to read
1:16
it off this list, y'all, because it is an extensive, extensive,
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extensive list of roles that she takes and she deserves to be
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recognized for every single one of them.
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So Bonnie McKee is a director and actress, a producer, an
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engineer, a songwriter, a creative director, a dancer in
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her own right, ADIY Queen, an eBay connoisseur, heartbreaker,
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empath and a super Nova. The list goes on and on and on.
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And we do not have enough time to go down the list, but we will
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be getting into everything. Bonnie McKee.
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She has written 10 number one singles.
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That is double digits y'all, 10 number one singles from
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California Girls Teenage Dream last Friday night, Dynamite with
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Tyra Cruz, Hold It Against Me with Britney Spears, and of
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course so much more that we can't even get into.
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And my personal favorite, she has written the national anthem
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for her own solo artist project, American Girl Funny.
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Welcome to Delulu. Thank.
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You thank you for having me. Well, I'm going to start this by
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telling you, and I'm going to say it now.
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This is going to be the ultimate Bonnie McKee interview.
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I believe you. It's going to I'm going to bring
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it. I'm going to bring it so.
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Hard. I believe you.
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You know why? Because you have been here from
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the beginning and I feel like you know all the lore, you know
2:24
all the songs, you know all the alternate lyrics, you know it
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all. So I know you're going to give a
2:28
great interview. Thank you and I'm going to give
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you so justice. And you know what, Bonnie
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clocked it already. I have been a massive, massive,
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massive Bonnie McKee fan for over a decade now.
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Literally over a decade now. I want to say since American
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Girl 2013 when she released her debut single American Girl under
2:46
Epic Records. And I have been following her
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career ever since. I love all her music.
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She is literally my favorite artist.
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I was telling our producer Brett before we started filming, I was
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like, Brett, have you ever looked around my apartment?
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There are pictures of Bonnie everywhere and every room and
3:00
everything we've ever done. But Bonnie?
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We actually met a decade ago, and this is such a fond memory
3:06
for me. We met for the first time a
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decade ago, in 2015. I don't know if you remember
3:10
this. I do.
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I do remember. Yes.
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OK, I'm excited. So Bonnie was suing.
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Bonnie was doing a show at a bar, a rooftop bar in Hollywood,
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the Bradbury Hotel. Actually, that was my first time
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there. I was 19 and I couldn't attend
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the show. It was a 21 plus show.
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I was at a bar, but that did not stop me.
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I still showed up with a hopeful heart, naive as fuck, and I
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really was hoping that I can get in while I was not granted entry
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and I was waiting in the lobby. I tried.
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Bonnie and her drummer actually came down and I ran into Bonnie
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and I was so starstruck and I couldn't believe it.
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And it was the most incredible experience.
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And Bonnie, I actually did try to sneak me into that show.
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I tried. I tried.
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You tried, you did a great job. She brought me in, pretty much
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holding my hand to the show. They let us in and everything.
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The second Bonnie left my side they swooped in on my ass and
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kicked me. Out.
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I'm sorry. It's OK because I still heard
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the show from the lobby and I was living and I was having my
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own little acoustic dance party to that show.
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And you were promoting the bombastic EP at the time, which
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is an incredible project. But you guys, I've had this
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Polaroid. If you're not watching on the
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video version of the show, please check it out.
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I've had this Polaroid of Bonnie and I for the past ten years on
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every night stand in every apartment I've ever lived in.
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And this is when we met for the first time.
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I look like garbage, y'all, but oh, I do, I do, but I don't
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care. It's what it represents to me.
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It's just like a dream come true.
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I made my birthday wish that year.
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This was September 5th, 2015 and I had to turn 19 on August the
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week prior that my birthday wish for that year was to meet Bonnie
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and yeah. And it worked.
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It worked. Manifestation is real, period.
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Sorry, my birthday wish. I met you and it was so lovely
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and it was the best time and you introduced me to your entire
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team and you were so welcoming and I was like a child.
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It's like I can't believe how sweet and nice you were.
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And I would like rattled off so much to you because I had so
5:01
many questions, which we're about to do again.
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I appreciate people that really believe in the music and follow
5:07
me and I had seen you online and it means a lot to me.
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My fans mean the world to me and that's why I make the music that
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I make. And honestly, it's why I even do
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what I do now. And I, I, I will definitely get
5:18
into that. But you make such great music.
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But that's actually where we met for the first time.
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So there's a lot to get into the Bonnie lore.
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We're about to enter the BMCU, the Bonnie McKee Cinematic
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Universe, and to start we have to start from the top.
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Bonnie McKee. How did you start your artist
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journey? How did you know you wanted to
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be an artist? Well, as a as a child, I was
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raised by a television, if you will.
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Period. We have one of her parents right
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here. Actually, we one of her parents.
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I grew up watching MTV and like, those are my earliest memories
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of media or watching music videos.
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And I remember seeing the the Thriller video and Madonna stuff
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and Prince and all of the early MTV stuff.
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And I was just fascinated by it. And I just remember thinking, I
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want to do that. And it was less like, oh, I want
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to play music. It was like, I want to play a
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character. I want to act.
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I want to wear a costume. You want to.
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Yeah, I want to dance. I want to sing, I want to do the
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whole thing. And so, yeah, I got into
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singing. I always love to sing.
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And I would also write poetry. And I like, won a local poetry
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contest in like, you know, third grade or whatever, I mean, And I
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would write my own lyrics to the songs that I heard on the radio.
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So I was like, I guess that's like early songwriting stuff,
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right? But I didn't realize that, like,
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songwriting was really a thing until later, until adolescence.
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But I was in choirs. I was in the Seattle Girls
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Choir. I was classically trained.
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I learned piano, all of that. And then I remember I made a
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demo of covers. I did.
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Well, they were cover songs. I did Fiona Apple songs.
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I did Bette Midler. I we did Carole King and Carole
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King was the first icon that I was like, oh, she wrote songs
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for other people first. So that was the first time I was
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really aware that that was like a job it.
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Wasn't even under scope at that point, we were just watching the
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pop stars being pop stars in their videos.
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Yeah, I had no idea that, like, someone else wrote those songs.
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Everyone just always assumes that the pop stars write the
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songs, right? And some of them do and some of
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them don't, right. And then I made a demo of these
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covers. And my mom knew one guy in
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Seattle, where I'm from, that was in the music industry.
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And so she gave him the demo. And he said, that's great.
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You can sing, kid, but can you write?
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And I took that as a challenge because I have been secretly
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writing poetry. And I went home and I started
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writing songs. And then I made a demo for a
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high school project. I gave it to everyone I knew.
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And it ended up in the hands of someone who I knew who knew
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someone who babysat for someone who was like fringe in the
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industry. Very Hollywood.
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Very Hollywood. It really plucked from
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obscurity, like I had no connections to the industry.
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Not an Apple baby over here. Y'all definitely not.
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And yeah, my demo ended up on on NPR randomly on Mornings
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Eclectic and there was a big bidding war and I ended up
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moving to Los Angeles when I was 16 years old by myself, got a
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record deal, did the whole thing, put out an album.
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And yeah, that's that's how I got into it.
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Well, you abridged it quite a bit.
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But yes, you have had such a journey, especially moving out
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to LA when you were 16. That's crazy and you did it all
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by yourself. But you, honestly, you were
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always like a rebel like that. Yes, yes.
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So. That was definitely on brand for
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you. Just to like, I'm just going to
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go, I'm going to be a pop star now.
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I mean, I got kicked out of high school, so there was really
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nothing left for me in Seattle. I was like, I'm out of here.
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And you got the opportunity and you never looked back.
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That's right, you just took off. Still standing.
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So Bonnie signed her first record deal at 16 with Reprise
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Records, right, Reprise. And this is where you started
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putting out. Well, you started working on
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what would have been what is your first album trouble.
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And at the time you were doing everything by yourself.
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You weren't Co writing. You weren't.
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Correct. Actually when I signed I had
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already written the album. So I wrote that first album,
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which I am very embarrassed by and I like have thought about
9:08
taking it off of Spotify because I'm like, oh God, this is, I
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didn't know what I was doing yet.
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But I wrote them all when I was like 14/15/16.
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And so yeah, I signed and I just recorded them professionally and
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not just like shitty demos and yeah, but I didn't know anything
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about songwriting. I just was like doing what came
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to me. And The thing is like, I wanted
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to be Madonna. I wanted to be Britney.
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You are Madonna. You are Britney Spears.
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Thank you. But like all I had was a piano.
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Like I didn't even know what a producer was.
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And so all of the songs on the first album are very like
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singer-songwriter. And I kind of got pigeonholed
9:43
into that on my first deal where they were like, we want you to
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be Vanessa Carlton. We want you to be the girl
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behind the piano. And I was like, you wanted to
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go. Up and dance.
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I want to take my clothes off and dance around.
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Period. And you're doing it now.
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And you manifested that. So they kind of like, put you in
9:56
the position where it's like, OK, we're marketing you as
9:59
singer-songwriter. But also you were a teenage girl
10:02
at the time. And your peers would have been
10:04
like, Christina Aguilera, Britney Spears, the pop girlies.
10:06
Yes. And you mentioned before that
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you were secretly A closeted fan of the pop girlies.
10:11
You love Britney when you thought you're too alt to be
10:13
into pop. Music.
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That's right, yes, I was very alt.
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I was into, I was a raver, first of all, so I liked to dance
10:22
music. So I knew I liked to dance
10:23
music. But I also loved like Radiohead
10:26
and like all the classic rock stuff.
10:28
And I wasn't like super in a grunge, to be honest, but I
10:32
really liked weirdo stuff. I love Bjork, I love Fiona
10:35
Apple. It was all kind of like, you
10:37
know, Seattle leave feeling stuff.
10:39
And that's probably where my influence came from as far as
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like, doing sort of cryptic lyrics and stuff on my first
10:45
album. And I didn't know anything about
10:47
like the pop formula of how to write a pop song.
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But you still knew you wanted to make pop music though.
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Yes, yes. I just, I didn't really even
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know the difference, you know, I was so young.
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Album, did you like recognize that?
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I was like, this is not Britney Spears.
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This is like very different than that.
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Yeah, I I knew that it didn't feel right, but I didn't have
11:04
the language or the experience to explain what I wanted it to
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be. OK, but it's not off to you.
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Yeah, I was like, I mean, these are the songs I wrote, but I
11:12
don't love this. I don't know that this is what I
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would listen to, you know? And back then, you were so
11:16
precious about your writing and just the entire journey that you
11:19
had with that. So where are they offering you
11:21
other people to write with? Or were you just like, no, I'm
11:23
gonna, I'm gonna have these songs that I wrote?
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I mean, not really. And I wish they had because I
11:28
work with a lot of young artists now that I'm like, oh wow, I I
11:32
wish that I had someone like me to work with.
11:34
Well, now you're doing it for them.
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Yeah. And I love it.
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I really love mentoring and working with young artists and
11:39
everything else because I've been through that experience.
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And I know there's kind of like an ego death that happens when
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you Co write for the first time where you're like, oh, someone
11:46
else has an idea and you kind of there's resistance, you know?
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But I try to make it as comfortable as possible.
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And yeah. Because you didn't necessarily
11:54
have that when you were working on your own project.
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I did not, no. Well, let's talk about that
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album and how you ended up leaving the label.
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It was very dramatic. It was your first little brush
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with being delulu derogatory out of that deal.
12:10
Yes. So the first album came out.
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I was really disappointed because I thought that all of my
12:16
dreams were coming true. I was like, I got this huge
12:18
record deal and everything's going to be great and all of my
12:21
troubles are over. Because I had already had like a
12:23
pretty troubled past. Like I had problems with drugs
12:25
and alcohol when I was living in Seattle.
12:27
I got kicked out of school. I had a whole like traumatic
12:30
life already behind me. And I was like, great, now my
12:32
real life can begin. You thought you were saved.
12:34
When you got signed, yes, I did like that was always my North
12:38
Star. Like, everything's dark and
12:39
crazy, but like, as long as I can, you know, make it, then
12:42
everything's going to be OK. I thought I was going to solve
12:43
all my problems. So when the first album flopped,
12:46
I was like, devastated because I really believed in my bones.
12:50
Like this is mine and I am going to be the biggest culture in the
12:53
world, not understanding that the music I was making was not
12:56
worthy of that yet. It was a journey that you're
12:59
still going on. Yes, for sure.
13:00
I was still finding out who I was and like learning even just
13:03
like the language of the music industry.
13:05
So I got OK. Yeah.
13:08
So I, I, the album flopped and then the label is like, OK, you
13:12
got to start writing new stuff. And so I was getting better, you
13:15
know, I was, I was like starting to understand pop melodies a
13:18
little better and like how to simplify my Co.
13:20
Writing at this time, but the new music.
13:22
Not yet. Really.
13:23
So you're still like just natural talent doing your own?
13:25
Thing I was just. Getting better on your.
13:27
Own, yeah, and then. Support you of giving you like
13:29
any writers or. Producers.
13:30
I mean, they put me in with producers, yeah.
13:32
OK but not other Co writers. Correct.
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Yeah. And so I was still just trying
13:35
to figure it out on my own and, and they were not responding to
13:40
me anymore. I think that they had blown a
13:42
lot of money on me and they were all so disappointed that it
13:44
didn't work out. And so I went from being like
13:48
industry darling to like nobody answering my phone calls.
13:50
And so I was frustrated. And I was like, I, I want to get
13:53
out of here or like, put it out. I wanted someone to pay
13:55
attention to me. I was also like, really in the
13:57
throes of alcoholism. I was like really a sloppy mess.
14:00
You really needed like that attention validation from them.
14:02
Either like hey someone answer my call or fucking put out the.
14:05
Music. Yeah.
14:06
Do something right, Yeah. Anything a reaction?
14:09
So I had like this new batch of demos and I burned them on ACD
14:14
because that was the technology of the time.
14:16
And I went down to Hollywood Blvd. and I bought myself a
14:20
dagger that had a tiger on the handle with a jewel in its eye.
14:23
And I went to the CEO's house in the middle of the night and I
14:27
took the CD and I stabbed it into the tree that was right in
14:30
front of his front door. And then I went to his car and I
14:33
wrote in lipstick Platinum baby. And I was like, this will get
14:37
his attention. Oh, it sure did it.
14:39
Sure did. So the next day was the kids
14:41
first day of school. Of course, apparently everyone
14:43
was completely out of their minds, afraid because they
14:46
thought a maniac could come in the middle of.
14:48
Like they had come to pie. Yes, and they're not wrong.
14:51
And Needless to say I got dropped.
14:53
So mission accomplished. It was something I was just, I
14:56
had been in purgatory for like 6 years at this label and like put
14:59
out one album. So I was devastated to be
15:02
dropped. But also like, well, it's a new
15:04
chapter, you know? And you know what?
15:06
That was and is an artist rite of passage.
15:08
You talk about that all the time.
15:09
Like the greatest artists they are never.
15:12
Often times not even with their first label.
15:13
You know what? I.
15:14
Mean. Oh yeah, all the greats have
15:15
been signed and dropped. Lady Gaga, Pink, Bruno Mars,
15:19
Katy Perry, you name them. But you weren't keen to it at
15:21
the time, so you were. Dropped.
15:22
I did not know that. And I thought that, yeah, I
15:23
really thought that like everything was over and I was
15:26
never going to work in this town again.
15:27
And what am I going to do? Do I have to get a job at a
15:29
retail store? I don't have any experience.
15:31
I don't have a high school diploma.
15:32
Did you think about going back to Seattle?
15:34
I thought about it, but actually, you know what I talked
15:39
to. So my mother is really into
15:41
Ayurvedic stuff. She had an Ayurvedic astrologer
15:47
that she had been going to since I was born.
15:50
And so I was having a crisis and my mom was like, go talk to
15:54
Chakrapani. And I was like, OK, so he
15:56
happened to live in Los Angeles. So I went to this old wise
15:59
Indian man and he read my chart and he was like, I was like,
16:04
what do I do? Do I go home?
16:06
And he was like pen to paper, pen to paper, write.
16:09
Write. And I was like, what?
16:12
I was like, what do you mean? Like, I don't want to write.
16:13
I want to be a pop star. Like, what are you talking
16:15
about? He was like pen to paper.
16:17
And then on this particular date, everything's going to work
16:20
for you. And it was like 4 years away.
16:23
And I was like, fuck you. I was so mad.
16:27
I was like, I was devastated. I was like, Oh my God.
16:29
And so I thought it for a while. And I was finally like, OK, well
16:32
I guess I got to do that. And then guess what, to the date
16:37
that was the day the California girls went #1.
16:40
That is great. And you remember that date too.
16:42
Did you reflect or did you, were you anticipating, was it like
16:44
marks on your calendar like OK this?
16:45
Is the no I had, I had forgotten about it, where I was like
16:47
whatever, he didn't know what he's talking.
16:48
About. Oh, so you just wrote it off?
16:49
Yeah. And then I have a cassette tape
16:51
of that reading, actually. And then I like, went back and
16:53
listened to it. I haven't in a while but I went
16:55
back and listened to it and was like holy shit these dates are
16:58
exactly on point. Oh my God, I need to see this
17:00
man. We, we need to look
17:03
unemployment. Yeah.
17:04
OK, Well, that's crazy because honestly.
17:07
So you're in a position where you get dropped and you're
17:09
devastated. Your world's over.
17:10
Now you don't want to write. You want to be a pop star.
17:13
But now it's about survival. Yes.
17:15
You're doing demos. You're singing demos for other
17:18
artists just to make some money. And you started getting into
17:21
songwriting. So how does one accidentally,
17:23
unintentionally become one of the greatest, most successful
17:26
songwriters of our generation? Which you are?
17:29
Well, when I was still signed to Warner, they put me in the one
17:33
thing they did, I did have a great like Junior and our guy
17:35
that was like on my side and he was like, fuck these guys,
17:37
whatever. But he put me in with a producer
17:40
named Oliver and I met him. It was instant chemistry.
17:44
We ended up dating for like 8 years.
17:46
But either way, he really, he was the first person that I
17:48
really collaborated with and I learned so much from him.
17:52
And he was just about to sign a publishing deal and I was like,
17:54
what's that like? I had no idea, didn't know
17:57
anything. And, and, and Josh Abraham, who
18:00
was starting a small boutique publishing company, and he was
18:04
signing Ollie. And I was like, hey, like, let
18:06
me in there. Like, I can write, too.
18:07
And I was like, OK, I see him writing for other people and
18:09
like, maybe that's something that I can do.
18:11
But it was really just like, OK, maybe I can make some money.
18:14
Maybe I can survive. Maybe I can pay my rent.
18:16
Yeah. So I started writing with him,
18:19
and people took notice. And so they ended up signing me
18:22
to a publishing deal there. And I had met Katy Perry just
18:26
out in the wild randomly. We were both broke artists who
18:29
had been dropped from our labels, and we were selling our
18:31
clothes at a thrift store in Los Angeles called Wasteland, and
18:34
they're very snobby there. And so they were turning us both
18:36
away. And so we bonded in line where I
18:38
was like, oh, you're cute. Both being rejected.
18:40
Yes, both being rejected. Katy Perry actually recognized
18:42
you. She did, yeah.
18:43
She came up and was just like, are you Bonnie McKee?
18:46
And I was literally, I'd never been recognized in public ever
18:48
in my life. And I was like.
18:49
And. The first person to recognize
18:50
you was Katy Perry. Yes, that's.
18:52
Correct. And I was like cuz.
18:53
She was OK on your first album. Yeah, so she knew my my work.
18:56
And so I checked out her Myspace that day and I was like, oh,
18:59
shit. Like she's really good.
19:00
And we have a lot in common. Like I feel like we had a really
19:02
similar writing style. And so, yeah, we were fast
19:06
friends. And so she was working with
19:09
Doctor Luke and he was the biggest guy in the world at the
19:12
time. Or he was about to be, anyway,
19:13
but he was like up and coming still.
19:15
So was she. And so they put out one of the
19:18
boys that blew up, and then they brought me on for the second
19:22
Teenage Dream. Yeah.
19:24
And like Katie and I, had a falling out.
19:26
Prior to the album coming out. Prior to working on the album.
19:28
Yes. And so when Luke wanted to sign
19:31
me, he was like, OK, I'm going to sign you as an artist and as
19:33
a writer, but first I want you to write on the Katy Perry
19:37
album. And I was like, hell no like.
19:39
No kicking and screaming. No, I'm not doing.
19:40
That I don't want to do that. And then she was like fuck that
19:43
bitch. I don't want to hear like they
19:44
we did not want to work together, OK, But I was like, I
19:48
didn't really have a choice. And so I was like, OK, well,
19:50
here we go. And I came in and I worked with
19:53
her and it was like we just had a magic.
19:55
We had a magic. You guys started with Part of
19:57
Me. That was the first song that you
19:58
both wrote together, which is inevitably becomes one of Katy
20:02
Perry's number ones and also one of your number ones as well.
20:05
But that song didn't even come out till.
20:07
The late latter last part of the Teenage Dream campaign.
20:10
Yeah. Originally we thought that was
20:11
going to be the first single, and then we just kept beating
20:14
ourselves. We kept getting better, yeah.
20:16
And so it ended up being on the deluxe years later.
20:19
So when you started writing with Katie for Teenage Dream, what
20:22
was going to become Teenage Dream, you guys had a falling
20:24
out. You start writing, you do Part
20:25
of Me. It's magic, and you guys
20:27
continue. Was it like you had to build up
20:29
to being able to be with each other again, working with each
20:32
other? Or just after you wrote Part of
20:34
Me? It's like, OK, we're good.
20:35
Honestly, like it had been a couple years because like one of
20:38
the boys blew up and then she was touring and I hadn't really
20:40
seen her and that was resentful. And we like, you know, we had
20:43
beef, but it was like once we got in the room, it was like.
20:45
Water under the bridge. Didn't care, it was all good.
20:47
And you guys were making magic. Yeah.
20:50
And we were pushing each other to be the best we could be.
20:53
And so there was a lot of like, you know, sort of butting heads
20:56
where we were just, you know, I don't know.
20:58
We just wanted to make the absolute best music that we can
21:01
make. And you did.
21:02
Thank you. Yeah, and you know what?
21:04
I feel like this goes uncredited for you, but Teenage Dream, the
21:07
album, the song, the title actually comes from Bonnie
21:10
McKee. So that song title that wouldn't
21:13
even exist, that album title for that iconic album wouldn't even
21:16
exist with Bonnie. And you do not give yourself
21:18
enough credit for it because Bonnie was the one who came in
21:20
with the concept for A Teenage Dream.
21:23
You guys have famously rewritten the Teenage Dream song so many
21:27
times and it was done by Benny Blanco and you guys really kept
21:30
going at it. You had different variations,
21:32
you had different versions of it and you talk about it in your
21:35
videos and your content, your Tik Toks, but it was a
21:37
different, difficult song for you to write.
21:39
And you brought in the Teenage Dream concept and you nailed it.
21:41
Thank you very much. Yeah.
21:43
That. That's that's maybe my proudest
21:44
moment. Yeah.
21:45
And then when I heard they were naming the album after that
21:48
song, I was like, Oh my, because like, I mean, blown away.
21:52
Like the first thing that I was just like, okay, this this
21:54
title, like really actually was mine, you know, like I really
21:58
brought. That too, because you have a
21:59
running theme in all of your music, even from your debut
22:02
album Trouble of Youth, and just the, you know, being young and
22:07
debauchery and all of that. So that was something you had to
22:09
part ways with that. You kind of recognize that
22:11
you're never going to be able to use that word again.
22:13
Teenage, right? Yeah, yeah.
22:15
But it paid off. It paid off and honestly I if I
22:19
had put out Teenage Dream as like an up and coming artist,
22:21
like it would not have made a mark.
22:23
So it was like the perfect artist at the perfect time.
22:27
And also obviously I Co wrote that with Kate.
22:29
I did not write that 100% but like the title was the one that
22:32
came in and saved the day. But Kitty and I Co wrote that
22:35
song. She's an amazing songwriter in
22:36
her own right. So I don't I can't take all the
22:39
credit for that. Also, we were in the room with
22:41
Max Martin and Benny Blanco and Doctor, you know, the best
22:44
producers and songwriters in the world, so no shit is going to be
22:48
good. You know you.
22:48
Know what Bonnie Like if you weren't in said room with all
22:51
those people, it wouldn't even be Teenage Dream.
22:53
That song would be completely different.
22:55
It would be something else and we wouldn't have such a massive
22:57
part of pop culture history. Like give yourself more credit.
23:01
Like really, it's such a massive part of everything.
23:03
And everyone knows that album. Everyone knows those songs and
23:06
California Girls TGIF Wide Awake part of me.
23:08
You've been a part of that legacy so deeply.
23:12
Thank you and. It's incredible and this was
23:13
your eight mile moment. It was, yeah, I really had a
23:16
moment because we had finally settled on the lyric of Teenage
23:19
Dream that was like subpar. It was kind of like, OK, good
23:23
enough. And Max was mad at us because we
23:26
had been rewriting it so many times.
23:27
And he was like, look, this is fine.
23:29
We have a whole album to make, so we're done.
23:31
This is done. I don't want to hear about it.
23:33
And then they went up to Santa Barbara and I wasn't even sure
23:36
if I was going to be invited yet.
23:37
And I just was like, I know he said not to work on it anymore,
23:40
but I know I can beat it. I know I can beat it.
23:43
And so I just, I dug deep and I thought about like the first
23:47
time that I fell in love because it felt nostalgic.
23:49
It felt young. But some of the lyrics that we
23:51
had done before felt too young. Like one of them was like, you
23:54
make me feel like I'm born again all brand new.
23:58
Come on, Peter Pan. And I was like, it's not sexy
24:01
enough. It's not, you know, yeah, it's a
24:03
little childish. Yeah.
24:04
And so we, we wanted it to be cooler, you know, so I had my
24:07
moment where I just thought about like, what was it like the
24:09
first time I fell in love? What was it like to be really
24:12
vulnerable, vulnerable with somebody for the first time?
24:15
And, and feel, I feel comfortable because like when
24:17
you first start dating, it's like very nerve wracking.
24:19
You're nervous around people and you can't really be yourself.
24:21
And I remember, I remember the first guy that I dated and, and
24:24
like the first time I was like, oh, like I can not wear makeup
24:28
around you. And you still think I'm pretty
24:30
and you still like me and, and just like the little inside
24:34
jokes, you think I'm funny when I tell the punchline wrong.
24:36
I don't know. So and then.
24:38
Universally relatable. Yeah, I mean, I think we've all,
24:40
we all like find that moment where it's like, oh wow, I like
24:43
found my person, you know? Yeah.
24:45
And then it manifested into Teenage Dream, which was the
24:48
second number one off of that album.
24:50
Yeah. You guys started with California
24:51
Girls, and that was the very obvious surefire hit.
24:54
You obviously knew Teenage Dream was magic.
24:56
And then, you know, you and Katie are both California Girls.
24:59
True to true. Yes, we are, yeah.
25:01
And then you made a giant hit out of.
25:02
It yeah, so we had teenager and we knew it was magic, but I
25:06
think everyone felt like OK, this is like the the sophomore
25:09
album. We want this song to shine so we
25:12
need like a banger no brainer dumb Dumber song that's not as
25:17
emotional. Yeah, not Dumber, but you know,
25:20
like just more, more like pop radio obvious, you know, like.
25:24
Hit. You're over the head.
25:25
This is a hit. Yes, yes.
25:26
And so that's when we wrote California Girls and Katie came
25:29
in with that concept and she had so many great ideas for the
25:32
lyrics. And like, I remember when she
25:35
suggested Daisy Dukes bikinis on top, I was like, why didn't I
25:38
think of that? Like I literally that's my,
25:40
that's my uniform so. It was inspired by you.
25:44
She was looking at you when she wrote that.
25:47
And then you would return the favor with, hold it against me
25:49
with. Britney Spears, Yes.
25:51
Yeah. So I was also working on the
25:52
Femme Fatale album with Britney Spears at the same time I was
25:54
working on the Teenage Stream album.
25:56
And I had the melody for Hold It Against me and I was working on
26:00
that. And Max and Luca kind of put me
26:01
in a room to do my thing. And then Katie walked in and
26:04
like a little latex dress and she was like bang and bod.
26:07
And I said, damn, Katie, I told you you had a nice body.
26:10
Would you hold it against me? And I was like, wait, I gotta
26:13
go. And then a number, another
26:16
number one hit, was born from that.
26:17
Yes, you have such a prolific songwriting repertoire with so
26:20
many classics under your belt, but I actually wanna talk to you
26:22
about a song that you wrote. It's actually a deep cut and I
26:25
wanna know the lore behind it. Okay.
26:27
Okay, so we're gonna be talking about Turn Me Up by Carly Rae
26:31
Jepsen off of her 2012 Kiss album.
26:35
Yes. I have a question.
26:36
Yeah, go ahead, go ahead. Well, my first question is, you
26:39
actually featured 3 seconds of that in your Breaking Bonnie
26:42
series and I. Did.
26:44
You did. You were singing and Turn Me On
26:47
and then you they pan to the camera of the lyrics of Turn Me
26:50
Up being written in your notebook, which Bonnie only
26:53
writes songs. In notebooks, I mean, look, I
26:55
don't go back and like watch my own YouTube, so like, I don't
26:58
remember. I do.
27:00
I screenshot, I remember even a decade ago because I'm a huge
27:02
Carly Rae Jobs, a fan. I screenshot that and I was
27:04
like, Oh my God, Bonnie McKee, who's writing Turn Me Up, which
27:06
is one of my favorite songs on Kiss.
27:08
Oh my. Gosh, thank you.
27:09
Thank you. Was that song originally for
27:11
you? No, that song Carly brought in
27:15
like half of that melody, really.
27:17
So, yeah, she was so humble and she was so cool.
27:19
And Call Me Maybe was like the biggest song in the world at the
27:23
time. And she came in and she was just
27:25
very, she was such a realist where she was like, look, I
27:28
don't know if I'm ever going to have a hit again.
27:30
Like, we're just going to try. We're just going to do what we
27:33
love and see what happens. And I was like, I love your
27:35
attitude. That's great.
27:36
I think you are going to be a star, but OK.
27:39
And yeah. And so she brought in this
27:41
little melody and I just built off of that with her.
27:45
So I cannot take credit for that.
27:48
That was mostly her magic. It's such an incredible song.
27:52
Thank you. And then you guys also went on
27:54
to work again on her follow up album Emotion.
27:57
Unfortunately, it was not cut by Carly herself, but it's an
28:01
unreleased song which actually got cut by an international girl
28:05
group. FX.
28:05
But it was when I'm alone, yes, which is such a great song as
28:10
well. Can we talk about when I'm alone
28:12
by? Carly Rae Jepsen.
28:13
So, so Carly was obviously like America's sweetheart, like, even
28:17
though she's Canadian, but, you know, she was just, she was very
28:19
sweet girl next door Carly maybe is so, so sweet and so cute.
28:25
Yeah. And I was like, I think we
28:27
should do something a little racier.
28:29
Like picture this. Carly Rae Jepsen masturbatory
28:33
anthem. And that was the headline, Yeah,
28:35
where? I was like, I think you should
28:37
write a song word. I think you should write a song
28:39
about. Your idea?
28:41
Yes. And so she was like, Oh my God,
28:43
love it. So we wrote this whole song.
28:44
We all did it. We did it.
28:46
We wrote this whole song. And then she was like, you know
28:48
what? I just and then I heard her on
28:50
like a radio show talking about it.
28:52
Yeah, Zach singing the gang. Where she was just like, you
28:54
know, like Bonnie McKee, like love her and everything, but she
28:57
wanted me to do a song about masturbating.
28:58
And I was like, I'm not going to do that.
29:00
And I was like, well, I didn't just say so, but guess what?
29:02
Got cut by this other group. That's great.
29:05
And then she went on her next single, like on the next album,
29:08
artist song about masturbating. And I was like Carly.
29:12
Did she ever apologize to you for that?
29:14
I think so, yeah. Actually, I think I have a
29:15
voicemail from her somewhere where she was like, I'm sorry.
29:18
She clocked it, she remembered that y'all, y'all did it first.
29:21
Well, when I'm alone is so great.
29:23
And FXS version is also really great and I'm it's so exciting
29:26
that you've been working with so many different artists.
29:28
I noticed that a lot of the artists you work with are
29:30
largely female or queer artists, and you really bring that tone
29:34
and voice into it. Yeah, I mean, like, obviously
29:36
I've lived my whole life as as a girl and so that's relatable.
29:40
I do like writing for for guys too, I mean.
29:43
You did dynamite with Tyra Cruz. Massive.
29:45
Hit, yes, yes, he's a great songwriter.
29:48
But yeah, I mean, I feel like I am good at the female
29:51
perspective, obviously, but I think it works for anyone.
29:54
I I try to write songs that anyone can sing.
29:57
They're very universal and they're very timeless.
29:59
Thank you, and I would love to get into that.
30:01
But before we do, I wanted to talk to you about how you don't
30:04
even write anything outside of a notebook.
30:07
Very classic. To this day, do you still use a
30:08
notebook? Yes, I do.
30:09
Yeah, Yeah. Just like when I need to
30:12
memorize something, like earlier we were trying to do something
30:14
and I was like, I have to look at it.
30:16
I have to see it. Would it?
30:17
Help if you wrote it down. Yeah, usually.
30:20
Like if I have to do a cover song, which I don't, I don't
30:22
very often, but like I cannot remember lyrics to save my life.
30:25
Like I if I write it down. Huh.
30:27
What about your own lyrics? My lyrics are fine because they
30:30
came out of me and because I already wrote them down.
30:33
But like, if I want to remember something, or if I have to
30:35
remember a script or anything like that, you have to
30:37
physically write. Yeah, I write it down.
30:39
And then there's like some connection, mind, body
30:41
connection where I'm like, OK, it's like ingrained to me now.
30:44
You have an incredible series on TikTok where you go through your
30:46
journals and these are pop music archives of the making of some
30:52
of our favorite songs. And you show us a road map of
30:54
how we get to the final lyric. And it's it's like you're able
30:58
to see that because you wrote it in a physical journal.
31:01
Yeah. And the other thing is when I
31:02
write on my phone or on a computer or whatever, I have a
31:05
tendency to erase things because I'm like, I know it's sloppy or
31:07
I'm not using that or whatever. But when I write it down, it's
31:10
there. It's there forever.
31:11
So all of my stupid ideas, yeah, everything is saved and I'm so
31:15
glad, but. It's a part of the process.
31:16
Exactly, yes. OK, well, that makes a lot of
31:18
sense. And especially writing in a
31:20
journal and I think even having those pieces of pop culture,
31:23
like in your home, how crazy. I saw the one where you were
31:26
talking about right? Writing Wide Awake and the
31:29
journey to get to where Wide Awake ended up.
31:31
Yes, yeah. And.
31:32
I went through a lot of changes too.
31:34
Yes, it did. That one was not nearly as that
31:37
was. It's a pretty easy one to be
31:38
honest. But originally it was no matter
31:40
what because I heard like something that like Max does
31:45
these. Like a gibberish.
31:46
Yeah, like a gibberish melody. And it sounded like he was
31:50
saying no matter what. And I was like, oh, I like that.
31:52
Like no matter what, I'll be there no matter what, whatever
31:54
it is. Absolutely.
31:56
And then I don't know, I don't remember where.
31:59
Maybe I talked about it before. I don't remember why.
32:01
Why? You did in the TikTok, Yeah.
32:03
And then you end up going in the direction of coming on the
32:06
lion's den. This was the closing chapter of
32:08
Teenage Dream, the campaign and also Teenage Dream as a whole.
32:12
We're waking up from the Teenage Dream wide awake.
32:14
Yeah, it ended up being kind of like a sister song to Teenage
32:17
Dream, so. When perfect perfect book ends.
32:19
Yes. When we wrote Teenage Dream,
32:21
Katie was engaged. She was very happy.
32:24
She was on Cloud 9. And that is what's reflected in
32:26
the artwork as well, where she's on a pink cloud, you know, And
32:29
then by the time she had done this whole world tour and we
32:32
were working on the deluxe, she was facing divorce and she was
32:35
in a very different place. And so Wide Awake was about
32:38
waking up from the Teenage Dream, waking up from, you know,
32:41
the fantasy of the love that she thought it was going to be.
32:45
And also, I think, you know, escaping A narcissist, you know?
32:49
And we'll get into that. And yeah, so I it's a really
32:53
special, unique opportunity to be able to go through a journey
32:58
with an artist like that and to be.
32:59
Able to full campaign, yeah. Yeah.
33:02
Do you still write in physical journals of your music today and
33:05
everything that you do today? Yes, always, yeah.
33:07
Still do never going to go to a computer Google doc type in a
33:11
notes. No, I mean I've definitely had
33:12
to and I hate it. You must be filling up these
33:15
journals. Yes, I have hundreds of
33:16
journals. Well, you know what, Bonnie?
33:18
You have another one. I'll try to transition into
33:21
that. We have a new journal for you to
33:23
write your next hit song. It's a Lulu journal, so.
33:27
Cute. Thank you and I absolutely will.
33:29
OK. Please do, I hope you write the
33:31
next slay in it. I will.
33:33
OK, period. I hope the next album is good.
33:36
Period. I'm manifesting that too.
33:37
I want to see it. And when you do your little tik
33:39
toks of the road map, you got it.
33:41
I'm going to see the Dululu Journal.
33:43
You got it, OK. Well, I'm so excited for the
33:46
next hit song that you write in that journal.
33:47
Oh, thank you so much. And I know it's going to be a
33:49
giant smash, as everything that you do, you have such a hold on
33:52
pop music, especially with this resurgence of 2010's pop.
33:57
People were so nostalgic for it, and you came back swinging at
34:01
the right time. So you have your first record
34:03
deal. You got dropped from it.
34:05
You're devastated. You start songwriting as a
34:07
necessity. And now we move on to signing
34:10
your second record deal with Epic Records.
34:12
So what happens with Epic Records?
34:14
You put out an incredible first single, American Girl.
34:18
Thank you it in my personal opinion it would have gone all
34:23
the way if it had more of a push and more of a life.
34:25
But that's neither here nor there.
34:27
I agree. Yeah, I was really devastated
34:30
because I was like, guys, we're like #22 on the Hot 100, like
34:34
we're close. Like, let's just keep putting
34:36
some gasoline on the fire. Like, what are we doing?
34:38
But I think it was like the holidays happened, and so there
34:41
was a lull and they were like, oh, it's over.
34:42
And I was like, no, right. And so, yeah.
34:46
So they were like, right, we're moving on the next single.
34:48
And I was like, and so I had written a bunch of these songs
34:50
for the Hot City album, but they didn't think that there was a
34:53
single in there. You were writing this
34:56
simultaneously while working on the Prism Project for Katy Perry
35:00
and Britney Spears Femme Fatale album as well.
35:03
Femme Fatale was happening while I was doing Teenage Dream and
35:06
then you were doing Prism. I was simultaneously doing my
35:08
own album. This was your best work.
35:10
Yes. And when American Girl was on
35:12
the radio, I was competing with myself with Roll, which I'm
35:15
like, I'm never going to be that one, but.
35:17
Do you feel like the label was like having these high
35:20
expectations for you? Absolutely.
35:22
So many number ones next to your name, but you're essentially a
35:24
brand new artist. Absolutely.
35:25
That's the thing. Yeah.
35:26
If I had been just like Jane Doe, yeah, just Jane Doe coming
35:30
from Ohio or whatever, and my first debut song charted at #22
35:35
on the chart or whatever. Like who the fuck is?
35:37
This, yeah, they would have been like throw more money at it, but
35:39
because I'm competing with myself with these huge number
35:42
one global hits, they're like, oh, it's a flop.
35:45
And that's unfair because like, you were competing with yourself
35:48
on the radio at the time, not even just with American Girl and
35:50
Roar, but just in general with the accolades that you had
35:52
racked up. By the time American Girl had
35:54
even been released, Bonnie has had eight number one hits, which
35:57
doesn't even total her final tally.
36:00
I mean, not even final. We're getting more.
36:01
But at the time, there were eight number ones to your name
36:04
when you released American Girl. And that was like their
36:05
expectation of you to have another #1 for yourself.
36:08
Did they like, manage that expectation?
36:10
Do you talk to them like, hey, I am a new artist.
36:12
I'm being introduced to the public right now.
36:15
I don't know, I don't know what happened.
36:16
I just was like, I was also working so hard because it's
36:20
like working on an album, like a Katy Perry album for a major
36:24
artist. Like that is a full time job.
36:26
Like that really requires your full attention and also working
36:29
on my own stuff. So you know, I would I trusted
36:32
that. I didn't trust actually, because
36:33
I already knew, because I had already been in a shitty deal.
36:36
And I was like, I don't think that these people know what
36:38
they're doing, but like, I'm going to trust that they.
36:41
So then we might figure it. Out like I don't have the
36:42
answer, but they stopped throwing money at it and yeah
36:46
and it went away. Can I ask you, before you signed
36:48
an epic, were there other labels that you were considering or
36:51
were there other options that you could have explored?
36:54
Yeah, I was talking to Interscope, which was also I
36:58
I've turned on 2 record deals from Jim, Jimmy, Ivine.
37:02
Really. Which is insane.
37:05
When you reflect on that, do you feel like it was the right
37:07
choice still? No, really.
37:09
No. I wish I had time with Jimmy.
37:11
I mean, sorry, Jimmy, like I mean.
37:13
I know plenty of Interscope artists who were not developed,
37:15
so I feel like it's, it's hard to say.
37:17
It's easy to look back and reflect and be like, I should
37:19
have done this, I could have done this.
37:20
I feel that way all the time about myself but really like it
37:24
might not have been like. I mean, this, this was supposed
37:27
to be my journey and I've accepted that.
37:29
But like, it's weird to think that Jimmy, I've been trying to
37:31
decide me twice and I had to turn it down both times.
37:33
And both times that I turned it down was because I was like,
37:36
listening to the people around me and like, I feel like maybe I
37:38
should have just trusted my gut. OK, yeah I I feel bad.
37:41
The journey of the Hot City was not an easy path.
37:43
And Hot City was actually an album a decade in the making,
37:46
which is insane. But leading up to Hot City you
37:49
put out American Girl. It honestly does incredibly well
37:52
and it would have gone even further if they continue to
37:54
support it and push it. And you're gearing up for your
37:56
second single now, which you already decided was going to be
38:00
slay. Yes, well, they were like, you
38:02
got to write a new single real quick.
38:04
And I was like, OK, well, everyone's looking at me right
38:08
now. My song is on the radio.
38:09
I already have all these other songs.
38:10
Are you sure that these are not good enough?
38:11
And they were like, Nope. So I was like, guess I've got to
38:14
ride a hit real quick. So I got in the studio and I
38:18
started working on Slay on what would become Slay.
38:20
And I was so under the gun. I was so nervous.
38:23
I was under so much pressure. And so there are so many writers
38:26
on that because I was like, OK, I was like the pre chorus is
38:29
great. Like I need help with the verse.
38:31
I need help with it. And so I just called all my
38:32
friends so that that that song probably has the most writers on
38:35
it I've ever done because I was like, I need help.
38:37
I'm just calling. All of my friends Best Song
38:39
personally. Thank you.
38:40
Thank you. And so I wrote it and and then
38:44
LA Reid was like, OK, great, smash, let's go.
38:47
And I was. Like so he was on board
38:48
initially. Yes, and then I booked a tour
38:52
opening for the Jonas Brothers. Which is a massive opportunity
38:55
that would have been. Arenas.
38:56
That would have been arenas and that probably would have
38:59
launched everything for me. So I'm like freaking out.
39:03
I'm so excited. I love the Jonas Brothers.
39:05
I've met them. I've, you know, written with
39:07
them. They're amazing.
39:08
And then I got my band together. I was rehearsing for like 6
39:11
weeks. We got an amazing tight show
39:13
together and we were, the night before we celebrated, we were
39:19
all going to go out to the first stop in Phoenix.
39:21
Everything was shipped to Phoenix.
39:23
The flights were booked, everything was shipped and then
39:26
I got a call the day before the tour started from their manager
39:30
and he was like, the Jonas Brothers have broken up.
39:34
And the tour was done. Tour was cancelled.
39:36
Tour was cancelled day before. No one was on this tour.
39:39
The Jonas Brothers were not on this tour.
39:41
I had T-shirts made for the Jonas Brothers tour.
39:44
Everything was ready to go, but yeah, wasn't.
39:46
Meant to be so fucking crazy. What are the odds?
39:50
That would happen. No, it was terrible luck.
39:51
And you know, I've had, I have really extreme luck where it's
39:54
like I either have like the most amazing, unbelievable things
39:58
happen to me, or I get like the one in a million chance that
40:01
like something is going to go terribly wrong because.
40:03
You had a summer with like 3 number one hits, right?
40:06
And then now you're doing your artist, you're reintroducing
40:09
yourself and besties. Bonnie's journey has always been
40:14
to be an artist. She was not trying to be a
40:16
songwriter. Obviously that was an accident
40:18
and you were reintroducing yourself as an artist.
40:20
This was your time. You put in the work, you put in
40:22
the years, you honed your craft. You made all these hit songs and
40:25
it was time to hear your voice on the radio.
40:27
You booked the tour with Jonas Brothers, ends up not working
40:30
out. Yeah, so I OK, first of all,
40:33
when they first told me that they were going to stop paying
40:35
for American Girl on the radio, I was once again devastated.
40:38
It was the same moment that I had when I got dropped from my
40:41
first deal where I was like, I it's over, it's over.
40:43
It was just this. I really thought that, yeah, I
40:46
really was like, OK, everything's going to be OK.
40:48
I had a moment of like, joy and peace and I could relax and the
40:52
anxiety went away where I was like, I'm going to be OK.
40:54
I'm finally going to have a hit for myself.
40:56
And then when I got that call, I was devastated.
40:59
And then it was like, OK, write a new song.
41:01
And so I went in, I went back to work, and I then that's when I
41:05
wrote Slay. And that was like a song that I
41:08
really needed to write for myself.
41:10
And for me, it was like what I needed to hear because I was
41:13
like, OK, motherfuckers, let's go.
41:15
Yes, it's a very like pick me up, you can do this.
41:19
And that's such a running theme in all of your music.
41:21
Perseverance and making sure that you can still land on your
41:25
feet. So you write the song, you are
41:29
doing promo for it. At this point you are.
41:31
Yeah, so I had already been, you know, prepared for that.
41:33
And when the Jonas Brothers thing fell through, I was like,
41:36
OK, well, I guess I'm going to have to find myself a tour
41:39
because, like, they are just like, oh, well, the second
41:41
signal ain't going to happen. And like, Jonas Brothers fell
41:43
through. So I was like, I'm about to just
41:46
get dropped again. Like everything is just going to
41:47
fall apart all over again. I can't let that happen.
41:49
I want to get dropped. No, I was like, OK, they're
41:51
funding everything like it's working.
41:52
So I'm like, OK, I got to keep them believing me.
41:54
I got to keep the momentum alive.
41:55
They're paying for radio. I know I was dying.
41:58
And so I was like, OK, I have these friends.
42:01
This duo called Carmen Queen Herbie now.
42:04
And I called her up and was like, she was also an epic.
42:07
And I heard they were going on tour.
42:09
And I was like, let me open for you.
42:11
And she was like, all right, let's go.
42:13
So I booked the tour. I like they didn't even think
42:16
about. I'm like they're literally on
42:17
the same label. Like, it would have been natural
42:20
to like, put you on the tour. Yeah, So anyways, she brought me
42:24
on tour. They brought me on tour.
42:25
I was so grateful. And I had this whole album.
42:28
It wasn't even finished yet, though.
42:29
I was still working on it. I was still working on it, but I
42:31
played all of these songs that from the album that eventually
42:34
ended up being Hot City, and I met so many fans.
42:38
I had so much fun. I love playing these songs live.
42:41
It was incredible. Slay was like starting.
42:44
It was on the radio, like we were getting some radio play.
42:47
Yeah, I was doing promo and it was getting a good response.
42:50
And then in the middle of the tour, LA Reid called me and was
42:53
like, yeah, we don't think it's a hit.
42:55
So he changed his mind. Yeah.
42:56
And I was like, well, I fronted the money for this tour.
42:59
I already. I already paid for this.
43:01
Yeah. He's like, yeah, well.
43:03
So what happens at that point? They say they don't believe in
43:05
anymore. Did they ask you to give in?
43:07
Give another single. No, I mean, as soon as he was
43:10
like, Slay's not a hit, I was like, I went out.
43:13
You didn't even think like, oh, maybe I should make another one.
43:15
I should turn into something else.
43:16
There was nothing. Else in Hot City I was like,
43:18
I've been here. I cannot live like this.
43:21
It's too devastating. I cannot be shelved again.
43:24
I want out. You're going through a lot at
43:26
the time too, because then you thought it was the end of the
43:28
world when American Girl was pulled, and then now you're
43:30
gearing up for the second single.
43:32
You believe in it so much. You're touring the songs, you're
43:34
getting a great reaction from radio, you're getting a great
43:37
reaction from fans from the tour, and then the head of the
43:40
label tells you we're done. Yeah, basically like Royals came
43:44
out, which by the way, I've, I've talked about this before,
43:48
I'm a huge Lord fan. When that first, when that first
43:51
album came out, I listened to it.
43:52
It was like this little girl is a genius.
43:55
What an incredible lyricist. What a beautiful, interesting
43:58
voice, all the harmonies. I am a fan OK, but it changed
44:02
things. For the landscape of pop music
44:05
in general. Yes, it changed things in pop
44:07
music. They wanted you to have a royal
44:09
ask song. They never said that, but it was
44:11
kind of like, OK, Slay is a maximalist, sparkly pop song.
44:16
Roar was kind of the last of those, you know, Roar in
44:19
America. It was like the tail end of this
44:21
era. And so they were like, yeah, no,
44:23
that's not going to work anymore.
44:24
And I'm like, I just got here. I just got here.
44:27
You just started putting out the music and you're making that
44:29
music, and this is the music that you've been wanting to make
44:31
your entire life because you started making the
44:33
singer-songwriter type music, the Fiona Apples, the NASA
44:37
Carlton types, and then you never knew how to find your
44:40
sound until you met Oliver and you guys perfected it.
44:44
This is the classic Bonnie McKee sound and it is sparkly, it's
44:47
maximalist, it's big anthems, and it was exactly what the
44:51
early twenty 10's pop music was. Yeah.
44:52
And I was finally like, OK, I know what I sound like.
44:55
I know who I am as an artist. I know what this is.
44:58
And so, yeah. So when he was like, we don't
45:01
get it. I was like, then I got to go.
45:04
Well, Royals also took your Grammy.
45:08
Yes, yeah, which is a devastating story.
45:12
So there I am at the Grammys. We were nominated for song of
45:15
the year, which is the only Grammy, by the way, at the time
45:18
where a songwriter would actually get a Grammy.
45:20
You get the little statue. Yeah, Which every other thing,
45:23
even if you don't, you know, you get record of the year or
45:25
whatever. The songwriters are not
45:26
acknowledged. They don't get a Grammy.
45:28
You get nothing. So I'm sitting like second row
45:32
at the Grammys with Katie in front of me.
45:34
The cameras are all on me. And like, we had this was the
45:37
biggest song of the year. Absolutely.
45:39
And I was like, it's a. Diamond Certified Single.
45:42
And I was like, I think we might actually win this, right?
45:45
And the person giving away the Grammy was my idol, Carole King.
45:49
And I was like, this is so fitting.
45:52
My whole life has LED up to this moment.
45:54
I'm going to fucking win a Grammy right now.
45:56
And she says, and the winner is. Which sounds just like Roar.
46:04
It was a big controversy online, yes.
46:07
It was literally for like 1 second, one single second in my
46:12
life. I had won a Grammy and my idol
46:15
was going to give it to me and I was finally going to be like, I
46:18
made it. I made.
46:19
It right and then Laura took it and.
46:22
Then Laura took it. You know you had your name on
46:24
the screen and they said your name when they were doing the
46:27
nominations and then they were about to say your name as the
46:31
winner. Wasn't me, wasn't me.
46:33
But look, Royals is a great song, right?
46:35
I it also won like four other Grammys that year.
46:37
I think she probably could have done without that one.
46:39
And we maybe. I feel like Roy was definitely
46:42
very deserving of it. It was such a big song, but.
46:44
Sometimes when songs have SO and movies too, and they have so
46:47
much commercial success, they don't win the awards because
46:51
everyone's like NFU. Like the awards are really
46:53
tricky with that. Like sometimes they're like,
46:55
let's give it to the underdog this time.
46:56
And then the year the underdog is like very deserving of it.
46:58
It's like actually, let's give it to the biggest commercial
47:00
one. And then when it's the biggest
47:01
commercial song, it's like, actually, let's give it an
47:03
underdog, yeah. They all, they just like to keep
47:05
you guessing you. Know they do, yes.
47:07
But by the way, I, I am proud to be a Grammy nominated songwriter
47:10
that's still very proud of that you.
47:11
Gotta hold on that for the rest of your.
47:13
Life. Exactly.
47:13
Yeah. And honestly, you still are very
47:15
capable of winning a Grammy. Thank you.
47:17
I will be personally speaking to the Grammy committee about Hot
47:20
City after this. I will let them know.
47:22
I'll submit them myself for, you know.
47:24
So this album, Hot City, that we're talking about now, it took
47:29
a decade to finally come out. You were making these songs
47:32
simultaneously with Prism. This is some of your best work.
47:36
And what happens after you decide that you want out of the
47:41
second record deal with Epic Records?
47:43
Well, I didn't realize that when I left, I couldn't take the
47:47
songs with me, or I couldn't. I couldn't.
47:49
If you knew that you couldn't take it, would you have stayed?
47:51
Maybe. I mean, I was also just like
47:53
would. They have released it though.
47:55
I don't know. I don't know.
47:57
But here's the other thing At this time, I'm stressed, OK?
48:02
I was just getting sober for the first time.
48:05
I was breaking up with Oliver, who had been my boyfriend for
48:09
eight years. And you guys were making the
48:11
album together, by the way. Yes.
48:14
And I was, things were going weird with sideways with the
48:18
record label. Like there was all of the major
48:20
pillars in my life were crumbling.
48:23
And I was like, I just like can't deal with this.
48:26
And I went out and I didn't really think it through.
48:29
So do you feel like it's an impulsive thing?
48:31
Like, a little bit, yeah. But I mean, I'm glad I did it.
48:34
Yeah. But I was, I was also like, I
48:37
had been convinced by the LA reads around me that like, OK,
48:40
this kind of music's over, nobody wants this anymore.
48:44
And so that had kind of tainted it for me too, where I was like,
48:46
oh, this like, isn't cool. And I'm not.
48:48
Like spoiled it for you and you're so proud of the work
48:50
you're doing. Yeah, And I was just like, OK,
48:52
well, nobody wants it, so I guess whatever.
48:55
Next, let's go. Oh, no.
48:56
So I left. Yeah.
48:58
And I made Bombastic. And Bombastic is really a song
49:02
that was like my middle finger to the industry.
49:04
I was like, fuck all, y'all, I'm going indie.
49:08
And then it debuted in the top 10 on iTunes.
49:12
Hot City, that album that you're making of Epic records.
49:14
It was untitled at the time, but it eventually manifested to Hot
49:17
City. And the journey to Hot City was
49:19
a decade long one. Obviously it had its Rd. bumps
49:22
and moments where you felt doubtful of yourself, but you
49:24
know what? This album finally came out.
49:28
Yes. And so after I had toured with
49:30
it, right, So all the fans knew these songs and I had abandoned
49:33
it. And it was.
49:34
Broke my heart and I was like, I was a personal fan who
49:38
downloaded MP3's of your live performances of Hot City and
49:41
would listen to it because it was just so motivational and
49:44
affirmational and so powerful and it made me feel every type
49:47
of way. And I had the shittiest little
49:48
live recordings of her on the pulses tour on like taking on
49:52
like, I don't know, a fucking potato.
49:54
All I could work with. Thankfully, you had one thing of
49:57
I want to call you with Yahoo. That was actually pretty decent.
50:00
It was still a live performance, which is incredible, thank you.
50:03
But it was not the studio quality girl now.
50:05
I know, I know. And then I was like bootlegging
50:07
these songs for the longest time.
50:08
Yeah, and I, I kept over the years, I would, I would run into
50:11
people or I would talk to people online like you, like Emily,
50:14
like you know, all all of the, the fans that were there from
50:16
the beginning. And everyone was like, we love
50:19
Hot City and we love Forever 21 and we love, you know, all these
50:22
songs. And I was like, how do you guys
50:23
even know these? And then I was like, oh, all
50:26
these demos leaked. I had a quote following too.
50:29
Yeah, and I was like, how? What?
50:32
How does that happen Feel when that album ended up leaking?
50:34
I was devastated. What did?
50:36
You think like, you think you were like, OK, then that's it.
50:39
It's ruined. Nothing's happening.
50:40
That was the other thing is I was like, OK, they leaked.
50:42
Well, cool, the fans can just enjoy the leaked versions.
50:45
And like, I'm really, really bummed because I thought that
50:47
that meant they couldn't have a life, you know?
50:50
And so I had given up on Hot City.
50:52
I was, I had moved on to Bombastic and and then I just
50:57
well, look, there's like a lot of years in there.
51:00
Hot City didn't take 10 years to make.
51:02
I made it 10 years ago and then I abandoned it the.
51:05
Journey to Hot City was 10 years.
51:07
Yes. And then over those 10 years, I
51:10
kept meeting fans that were talking about those songs.
51:13
And it would. We never gave up on that.
51:15
Album, It would break my heart a little more every time because I
51:17
was like, I know I love it too. I'm so devastated, but like,
51:20
Sony owns it. There's nothing I can do.
51:22
Nobody wants that kind of music anymore.
51:24
Then a few years ago, I got on TikTok and people were talking
51:28
about these songs and I was introduced to a forum that was
51:32
like 500 pages long of all of these super fans talking about
51:36
these unreleased songs. And there were people that had
51:38
tattoos of the lyrics. And, you know, you would come to
51:42
anything that I ever did, any show that I played, you would
51:44
show up and you would keep talking about it.
51:46
And you know what, just those little affirmations of of you
51:49
guys telling me that you wanted it was enough for me to be like,
51:51
you know what, like maybe, maybe I can make it happen.
51:54
And. You start considering maybe
51:55
putting it out, or trying to put it out, sort of exploring the
51:57
options too. Yeah, And I was like, I don't
51:59
care if it's not trendy. I don't care if this kind of
52:01
music isn't relevant anymore. There's people that are rooting
52:05
for me that want to hear it, and I just want to share that with
52:08
this small group of fans. So I went through the whole
52:12
legal rigmarole of going back to Sony, figuring out the licenses
52:16
for the masters, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.
52:18
I ended up rerecording everything so that I now own the
52:20
masters. And then all of a sudden, pop
52:23
music started shifting and then everybody wanted recession pop
52:26
again. And I was like the perfect
52:28
timing. Well, what do you know?
52:29
That happens to be exactly what I'm doing, and I have an album
52:32
that I made in that era. Yeah, and it was nostalgic for
52:36
that. Yeah, And everyone could just
52:37
kept saying, oh, we miss Teenage Dream, we miss this, we miss
52:40
that. Like bring it back.
52:41
And I'm like, OK. And I want to talk about Hot
52:43
City. So, Brett, let's go to Hot City.
52:50
Oh my God, yes. Welcome to Hot City.
52:52
Bonnie, thank you. I'm also excited for that.
52:58
And you killed her, Brad. Thank you.
53:00
We rehearsed that like 3 times. I love it.
53:02
I love. It Well, welcome to Hot City.
53:04
It has been a long time coming and we are finally here.
53:08
Hot City is more than just an album.
53:10
It is a timeless Evergreen body of work and it is a full world
53:14
that you built in the BMCU Bonnie McKee Cinematic Universe.
53:18
It is Miami Skylines. It is Palm Tree, it is sunsets,
53:22
it is everything and we escape to Hot City.
53:27
This is true paradise for us, especially any pop music fans.
53:31
So I want to talk about Hot City with you.
53:34
So during the Hot City was a long one and you had to rerecord
53:37
the entire album? Of course, yes.
53:39
So going through the process of rerecording it, revisiting these
53:41
songs, did you spend a couple years or a time not listening to
53:44
the songs? Yeah, no, I avoided them because
53:46
it broke my heart every time I heard them.
53:48
Of course. Because I loved them so much and
53:50
I was like, they're never going to see the light of day.
53:51
They leaked and they don't have a chance.
53:54
We have Hot City here, it matches our background.
53:58
So this is Hot City Besties. If you're not watching on the
54:00
video version of the show, this is the vinyl version of Bonnie
54:04
Mckee's second album. Hot City is incredible and we're
54:06
all going to check it out of course, and we're going to
54:08
manifest with it later. But I want to talk about Hot
54:10
City. So re recording the songs,
54:12
revisiting the songs and you did a little bit of facelifts for
54:15
some of those music too. Yeah, for sure.
54:17
Because when I first toured these songs, they weren't
54:21
finished. Like I was still writing them,
54:23
so there was some temporary lyrics and then I was like, oh
54:26
man, these fans have been listening to these bootleg
54:28
versions and I'm like, they weren't even finished.
54:30
Like don't get too attached. I was.
54:32
Very attached. So I didn't want to like change
54:35
them too much because I knew that you guys wanted them to be
54:37
like in their purest form or whatever.
54:39
But I was like, you know what? I think that I can beat it.
54:41
I think I can. This isn't saying exactly what I
54:43
wanted to say. So I gave them little facelifts.
54:46
Obviously the production I think is a million times better than
54:48
it would have been. And then it was back.
54:50
Because they were essentially just demos too.
54:51
Yeah, you're just touring with demos.
54:53
Yeah, like some of them didn't have bridges.
54:54
Some of them I didn't have final vocals and like filler lyrics,
54:59
so I was glad to have the opportunity to really Polish.
55:04
One of the songs that you did the biggest changes to is
55:07
actually fan favorite Everything But You.
55:09
Yes, it opened previously with I put on my boots, my red leather
55:14
coat, the one with the silver spikes, the one that you liked
55:16
the most. And then you changed it to I put
55:18
on my boots, my big leopard coat, the one with the sweet
55:21
perfume, the one that you said you liked the most.
55:23
So what was the reason for those those opening lyric changes?
55:27
Honestly, like, I am such a visual person.
55:29
And like, when I heard the lyric, like, I put on my boots,
55:33
my red leather coat, the one with the silver spike, like a
55:35
red leather coat with silver spikes.
55:36
I don't really wear red, OK, because I'm a redhead.
55:39
And so like, you can't compete. Yeah.
55:41
And also, like, really made me think of like, Michael Jackson
55:44
thriller look, which is cool, which like, look, Michael's like
55:47
probably my #1 fave. But I was like, this just like,
55:50
doesn't reflect who I am anymore.
55:52
And like, it was also very of the air.
55:53
I was wearing a lot of spikes, a lot of leather, and I was like,
55:55
I don't know, I feel like me and a big leopard coat is more me,
56:00
like more you. That's like always.
56:01
Something that you would probably wear, right?
56:03
Yes, and I do all the time and I have been for my whole life and
56:05
I was like that. It's like a buying key staple
56:07
because leopard is a neutral. OK, so I always have a leopard
56:11
coat. You have a leopard print closet.
56:14
At all times, you really do. And then, yeah, so the song ends
56:17
up evolving from the original demo.
56:19
You change it from the red leather coat to the big leopard
56:22
coat. And you made this change in the
56:24
recent years in the 2020 20s when you're revisiting re
56:27
recording. I have a question to ask you
56:30
about everything but you. I was doing my research on the
56:33
song and there's not a lot out there on the song and you know,
56:36
you don't talk about it enough, which we're going to talk about
56:38
right now. But I have a theory about the
56:41
song. You can tell me if I'm wrong or
56:43
not. Be delicate about it.
56:45
But is everything but you actually about me because I met
56:52
you when you're wearing a big leopard?
56:54
Coat my God and. I actually told you I was like,
56:57
I like that sweet perfume you're wearing, Bonnie.
56:59
It's the one I like the most. Do you?
57:02
Remember this in there. I don't remember that, but that
57:06
is amazing. That is amazing.
57:07
See, I always have a leopard coat.
57:09
Leopard is a neutral. When that song came out when you
57:13
released Hot City, I was like, I remember a big leopard coat on
57:17
the key. Wore 1.
57:19
But have you ever seen me wear a red leather coat with silver
57:22
spikes? I can visualize.
57:23
It you can, but have you seen it?
57:25
No. We have yet to find the truth of
57:27
that. We'll ask Emily to to discover
57:29
if that does exist. So is everything but you
57:31
actually about me? Yes, yes, every word of it.
57:34
Well, Bonnie, I need you to know you do have me, so you have
57:38
everything. And Ryan I.
57:39
Have everything and more. Exactly.
57:41
And that's all manifestation. Oh my gosh.
57:43
Well I also love the new lyrics for Everything but you.
57:46
You also changed the chorus. So instead of saying, I know
57:49
I'll be all right because time is on my side, you changed it to
57:52
the stars are on my side. And obviously, here at the Lulu,
57:55
we really do believe in the stars and the cosmos and
57:57
tomorrow and we'll get into it. But yeah, you change the lyrics,
58:01
too. And then you also change a
58:02
little bit more of the lyrics. As long as the song goes on
58:04
instead of like my phone starts ringing melody, everyone's
58:06
singing my melodies, this song becomes more deeply personal to
58:09
you. Yes, definitely.
58:10
It was unintentional. Yes.
58:12
So time is on my side. I'll be all right because I know
58:15
time is on my side. I don't feel like time is on my
58:19
side. Interesting.
58:21
And so that always rubbed me the wrong way where I was just like,
58:24
it's not though. And are the stars on your side
58:26
though. The stars are on my side and
58:28
that's something that like that is in my sort of like
58:31
manifestation practice and my little like witchy stuff is like
58:34
I, I believe the universe is on my side and the stars are
58:37
looking out for me. You have this journey of
58:39
incredible highs and incredible lows, and it's honestly like
58:43
whiplash the way it goes up and down.
58:45
But when you look back at your career in your life thus far,
58:48
and you mentioned that the stars are on your side now and
58:51
everything but you, do you feel like the divine timing?
58:53
Everything does make sense when you reflect.
58:56
Yes. And I think that one big shift
58:59
that has happened since I was signed to Epic is I realized
59:02
that I was putting all of myself worth and my value in my
59:06
success. And that's a really dangerous
59:08
place to be. I feel like I do that right now.
59:10
When you make success your higher power, you're destined to
59:14
fail. Oh God, then I don't do that
59:16
right now. I mean, success is obviously, I
59:19
mean, that's been the driving force in my life.
59:21
I'm very ambitious. I have things I want to do.
59:23
I want to change the world. I want to help people.
59:25
Let's do it. I realized that like I don't
59:27
need to be #1 to make an impact. And honestly, talking to people
59:31
like you and talking to the Super fans and seeing the forum
59:35
and interacting with my fans online and meeting people at
59:37
shows, people will come up to me and cry and hug me and say that
59:43
they songs help them through their divorce or their weight
59:45
loss journey or their battle with cancer or whatever.
59:48
Like that's and I realized that that's really why I do this.
59:51
I really do this because I want to make a human connection and
59:55
it doesn't matter as much to me now with how many people I do
59:59
that. If I just reach one person, then
1:00:01
I feel like I've done my job. And you know, I might be one of
1:00:05
those artists that everybody discovers after I'm dead.
1:00:07
I don't know, but not. Letting that happen.
1:00:10
I mean, of course I want to succeed.
1:00:12
Of course. Like, yeah, that's the goal.
1:00:14
I want to be the pop star, right?
1:00:15
But. Sure, why not?
1:00:19
But you know, I'm just, I'm just happy to have a stage to stand
1:00:22
on, you know, I'm happy to have the connection with the fans.
1:00:24
And that has really, like, given me so much peace and really
1:00:28
brought me back to the reason that I started doing this in the
1:00:31
1st place. And and yeah, just not making
1:00:34
success. My higher power has really
1:00:35
changed my life. And also I think open doors.
1:00:38
Like I feel like the universe has rewarded me for that, where
1:00:41
I'm like, if my intentions are good and if I'm in it for the
1:00:44
right reasons, then I feel like the universe rewards me.
1:00:48
I mean, it's the universe has been responding incredibly well
1:00:50
to you and you have had such success in the recent years as
1:00:55
well. But you know what?
1:00:57
And when you mentioned speaking to the fans and having them tell
1:01:00
you their stories, I tell you this literally every single time
1:01:03
I've seen you probably for a decade straight now.
1:01:05
But your song Slay, which was originally the second single for
1:01:09
this Hot City album and it still was the second single actually,
1:01:12
but the originally the second single under Epic Records.
1:01:14
That song has absolutely changed my life.
1:01:18
And I'm going to say it. I'm going to talk about it here
1:01:20
because I have to. All my friends know this about
1:01:22
Slay and my relationship with Slay, but that song has gone me
1:01:26
through every point in my life, my career.
1:01:29
I listen to it before meetings, I listen to it before big
1:01:31
projects. I listen to it when I'm nervous,
1:01:33
I listen to it when I'm not nervous.
1:01:34
I listen to it every day. And it's changed my life.
1:01:37
It's, it's honestly, honest to God why I think I'm where I am
1:01:41
today and even able to have this podcast and beyond that have
1:01:46
this audience and my besties and people I can connect to.
1:01:48
And it's because Slay gave me that motivation and I, I don't
1:01:51
know what I would have done. Even before you officially
1:01:53
released it in 2023, I was listening to an MP3 version of
1:01:58
you performing it on the Carmen Pulses tour.
1:02:01
And that was what I would just listen to every day.
1:02:03
It was a shitty little recording of it, but I would listen to it
1:02:06
every day. I lived the lyrics.
1:02:08
That means so much to me and that is literally why I do what
1:02:11
I do. And I tend to write a lot of of
1:02:14
songs about perseverance because it's what I need to hear.
1:02:17
I'm writing songs that I want to put myself up and I want to keep
1:02:21
believing, you know, I want to stay delulu, okay.
1:02:23
I want to like, I want to stay in my delulu and.
1:02:27
Well, your delulus are true, Lulu.
1:02:28
Genuinely, yeah. Yeah, yeah.
1:02:30
I mean, you have to, yeah, you really have to believe.
1:02:34
I feel like that reverberates through the energy in the
1:02:37
universe and it. Reflects across your music
1:02:39
everywhere. So not only is Slay such an
1:02:42
powerful affirmation song, but you have so many powerful songs
1:02:45
that are just so motivating so you can do it.
1:02:47
So empowering, such as American Girls, another really
1:02:51
motivational song, Waking Up Diagonal, which is another deep
1:02:54
cut for Bonnie. That's such an empowering one.
1:02:56
Don't get mad, get famous. I say that every day.
1:02:59
And bombastic, of course. And those are just a few songs
1:03:02
that are in your discography, and it's just so powerful.
1:03:05
You make very strong affirmation music.
1:03:07
Thank you. Well, I mean, yeah, I feel like
1:03:09
the reason that it does connect with the people that it connects
1:03:12
with is because I have struggled and I, I am living these words,
1:03:16
you know, and I'm, I'm writing them as like a powerful spell
1:03:19
for myself. It works like Slay has made me a
1:03:21
huge star, yes. Baby.
1:03:24
Both of us a huge star and that's what I love about Slay.
1:03:27
But I have an entire segment on the show dedicated to Slay.
1:03:30
That's how much I love this song, and there's not enough
1:03:32
lore behind the song for me to feel satisfied.
1:03:36
Can you take us back to writing this song?
1:03:38
The year is 20/13/2014. You're writing under the Gun.
1:03:41
Epic is pressuring you to follow up American Girl.
1:03:44
You bring in writers to help you write the song.
1:03:47
Where did Slay come from? Well, originally actually the
1:03:51
track Ollie made the track and the track was magic.
1:03:55
And it was when I, when I first first met him, when I was still
1:03:58
in my like singing demos phase, I heard this track and was like,
1:04:01
this is there is something here like this is really special.
1:04:05
And I remember there was another artist like at this shitty
1:04:07
studio we were working at who like wrote a song over it.
1:04:09
And I was like, no, I threw a fit.
1:04:11
I was like, that's mine. But you cannot have that so.
1:04:15
You fought for this. I fought for that track and then
1:04:17
I like sat on it and like, originally it was called
1:04:20
cinematic suicide, which is like.
1:04:22
Was that yours you wrote cinematic?
1:04:24
Yes, I wrote it that was. Originally.
1:04:25
That was the original title. It was a different melody, it
1:04:28
was a different everything, but it really like what?
1:04:30
Was that one about same production?
1:04:32
Yeah, same production. What?
1:04:33
Was that one about? It was like I'd die by your
1:04:37
side. A cinematic suicide.
1:04:39
Interesting. Die by your side, cinematic
1:04:43
suicide. But it was like, you know, it
1:04:46
was like weird and kind of cryptic, but it was, you know,
1:04:48
about just like being there with someone and like, I'd do
1:04:50
anything for you. Yeah, like an unconditional love
1:04:52
type. Song.
1:04:53
But then at the moment when I was like, fuck, I need a second
1:04:57
single, I was like, that track has always.
1:04:59
I love that track so much and I love I always had the bridge
1:05:02
melody, but I knew it, Yeah. And I was like, don't make me
1:05:07
sing it. It's so high.
1:05:10
And so, but that felt like to like, I knew I wanted to keep
1:05:13
that melody, but I wanted something a little more
1:05:15
rhythmic. And so I wrote the melody for
1:05:19
the chorus as it is now. And I remember Ollie being like,
1:05:22
because I was like, I need something to kick off the
1:05:24
chorus, like, and I was like trying to come up with something
1:05:28
really clever. And he's like, what if it's just
1:05:30
like, come on, everybody, let's go.
1:05:31
And I was like, you know what? Brilliant.
1:05:35
And Bonnie makes music. No, he really taught me a lot.
1:05:39
Like, Ollie is not traditionally A lyricist, but like, the
1:05:43
simplicity of his ideas are great, where I'm just like, you
1:05:47
know what? I learned a lot from him about
1:05:49
that because I was really. Yeah.
1:05:50
I was like overwriting, you know, I was like getting too
1:05:53
flowery, getting too like, you know, esoteric.
1:05:57
And the sleigh thing I was like very self-conscious about
1:06:00
because I had heard people had just started using the word
1:06:03
sleigh and I was like, I really like that.
1:06:06
Like, and I want to like spell it out like what's it called?
1:06:09
The The safety song, the. Safety song I don't.
1:06:11
Know, is that the it's like a it's like we can dance, isn't
1:06:17
it? We can dance if we want to.
1:06:19
We can leave y'all friends. But hey, is that what it's
1:06:21
called safety dance? Yeah, I believe you.
1:06:23
Yeah. It's like a song from the 80s.
1:06:25
It's like a ridiculous like Down Under song, but I love this
1:06:28
spelling out. And I was like, OK, I want to
1:06:30
spell it out. And I was like, I know this is
1:06:32
weird, but I want to spell sleigh.
1:06:34
Like what do you think? And everyone's kind of like, and
1:06:36
I was like, I don't care. I like it.
1:06:37
I think it's really. And then that was the other
1:06:39
thing 10 years later or whatever where I was like.
1:06:42
Not really popular. I was like, I already wrote a
1:06:44
song called Sleigh 10 years ago. You were a tastemaker.
1:06:47
You were a trendsetter. You were the original.
1:06:48
You were the OG. Ahead of my time way.
1:06:51
Ahead of your time. The OG redhead to pop star will
1:06:53
get into it later. That's incredible.
1:06:55
So then you really believe you did not word and you wrote Slay
1:07:00
with your writers. Well, also like because I was
1:07:02
under so much pressure and like this was my moment to shine.
1:07:05
I was like, okay, I've got everyone's attention, everyone's
1:07:07
looking at me. I need to step up and slay.
1:07:10
And I always, like, in my mind, when I heard the track, I saw,
1:07:13
like, Shira, like, with a sword. And I saw, like, Sailor Moon,
1:07:17
like, blasting through space. I was like, I want to be like
1:07:20
space goddess. Yeah.
1:07:22
I was like, And I feel like Slay.
1:07:24
Like, I see the sword, you know? And like, this is a song about
1:07:27
like, OK, I'm going to step up. This is another, like, eight
1:07:30
mile moment for me, you know, Of course.
1:07:31
And so that's how Slay was born. You guys, if you haven't seen
1:07:34
the slay music video yet, please look it up Bonnie mckee's slay
1:07:37
it is such an incredible music video.
1:07:39
She begins by paying homage to the 2013 American Girl era and
1:07:42
the generation that she was raising at the the time.
1:07:45
And it's such an incredible fucking video.
1:07:47
It's vibrant, it's bright, it's very classic Bonnie McKee.
1:07:50
Thank you. I also built that vault.
1:07:51
Yeah, you did. I built that vault in my living
1:07:53
room. And it looked good as hell.
1:07:55
Thank you. I wouldn't have guessed that it
1:07:57
was a DIY project. Of course, like you're, you're
1:07:59
an indie artist, so you're finding all of this all by
1:08:01
yourself. And it looks incredible.
1:08:02
It's coming out incredible. The music sounds incredible.
1:08:03
You would never guess. Thank you.
1:08:05
I mean, I think a lot of people assume because I have had all
1:08:08
this success with these other things that I'm like, funded.
1:08:11
I'm not funded. You're self funded.
1:08:14
I'm self funded, I have like 3 people on my team that help me
1:08:17
out right? And we do everything ourselves
1:08:19
and we are just like getting our hands dirty and I like being
1:08:22
really hands on. I learned so much, but you know,
1:08:26
it's Hard Out Here. Be an indie.
1:08:28
I think that. I think because, like the final
1:08:29
result looks expensive. People are just kind of like,
1:08:32
oh, whatever. Like there she, there she goes.
1:08:34
I'm like, no. Much work that goes in behind
1:08:36
the scenes to make it. You went on to say before that
1:08:39
you feel like a song really isn't completed until there's a
1:08:42
video for it. That's kind of how I feel, but I
1:08:44
mean, that's just for me. A lot of people are more just
1:08:46
like they really listen to the music.
1:08:48
I really like to watch music I like.
1:08:50
I like to have a visual experience to go with it.
1:08:53
Absolutely. And you know what?
1:08:54
You were a manifestation queen because you grew up watching
1:08:57
MTV, VH1, and looking at all these pop stars in their music
1:09:00
videos, and now you were doing that.
1:09:03
You visualize that. You put yourself in those
1:09:04
videos. It was your first stroke with
1:09:06
the Lulu and now you're doing it.
1:09:09
I mean, it's one of those things where it's like where there's a
1:09:12
will, there's a way, you know, I think I spent a lot of years
1:09:15
waiting for someone else to do it for me.
1:09:17
And then once you know, I didn't, there wasn't a white
1:09:20
knight that was going to come along and solve all of my
1:09:21
problems and do all the work for.
1:09:22
Me to save yourself. Like exactly.
1:09:24
Your own. Your own hero.
1:09:26
Exactly. Oh my gosh.
1:09:27
Well, I'm so thankful for that song.
1:09:29
Thank you for that lore. Oh my gosh, the slay lore.
1:09:33
I'm I'm going to sleep with a smile on my face tonight.
1:09:35
I'm. So glad I.
1:09:36
Just love that song so much and I love hearing about it.
1:09:39
Thank you. What an incredible song.
1:09:40
So I want to talk about another song that's on Hot City.
1:09:43
Another fan favorite, and not only a fan favorite, but widely
1:09:46
recognized and critically acclaimed song and video.
1:09:50
We're going to talk about Forever 21.
1:09:52
OK, yes. So Forever 21 is a kiss off to
1:09:55
your party girl days when you were indulging in drugs,
1:09:59
alcohol, escapism and whatever means you can.
1:10:02
And it is a sparkly, bright, classic Bonnie McKee pop song.
1:10:05
But y'all, if you listen to the lyrics and really truly listen
1:10:07
to it, or even listen to the stripped down acoustic version
1:10:10
which is out on the Forever 21 EP, it is a haunting, dark song.
1:10:14
It is dark. When I did the acoustic broken
1:10:16
down version of it I was like fuck this is depressing.
1:10:19
It's. Dark, you know, the bridge, even
1:10:22
in the fully produced, maximalist, beautiful, sparkly,
1:10:26
original version of it, every single time gives me full body
1:10:30
chills when I'm driving and I listen to it and I get to the
1:10:32
bridge, I'm like, Oh my God, I'm really scared I'm going to crash
1:10:33
right now because I'm like physically affected.
1:10:35
It is a dark song and I want to get into Forever 21.
1:10:38
So your music follows the hero's journey.
1:10:41
We just talked about Slay. This is probably one of the only
1:10:44
songs you have released right now that I'm aware of that it
1:10:47
doesn't follow the hero's journey.
1:10:49
No one wins in the song. Yeah, This is like the dark
1:10:51
night of the soul, right? This is, this is the low point,
1:10:54
but it's disguised. And because it's kind of what's
1:10:57
the word, I'm looking for it. It's sort of satirical.
1:11:00
I'm sort of poking fun at my darkest moments, you know,
1:11:04
because I love like a deep, dark song that's disguised as a
1:11:07
sparkly pop song that's like, that's like my favorite, you
1:11:09
know? It's your favorite.
1:11:11
It's your music. Yeah.
1:11:12
So like at the time I was making this, I was still drinking, but
1:11:16
I was like trying to get it under control and I hadn't like
1:11:20
fully accepted that I was an alcoholic yet.
1:11:22
And but by the time it was finished, I was like, OK, I'm
1:11:26
here, it's time. You're writing the song in a
1:11:28
moment of self reflection and you're acknowledging of really
1:11:31
hard truth, Yes, that you have a problem.
1:11:33
Definitely. And then this song was born out
1:11:35
of it. Yeah, and but I wanted it to
1:11:37
also to be like, cuz I never want to be.
1:11:39
So I'm 13 years sober, but I thank you.
1:11:42
But I never want to be preachy. Like that's my journey.
1:11:45
Like everyone else can do you know what?
1:11:46
Have a chat for me. Like I that's totally your
1:11:48
business. I am not judgmental and I
1:11:51
certainly don't think that like a song about being sober or
1:11:55
whatever, it's going to be super popular, make people feel good.
1:11:59
And I wanted it to be something that people could still party to
1:12:02
because it's also like it wasn't all bad, you know, Like I had a
1:12:05
lot of fun when I was drinking what I was using, you know, it's
1:12:08
just like it got dark and it needed to stop.
1:12:11
But it was just kind of like, yeah, acknowledging that and
1:12:14
like sort of have giving it a moment of just like that was
1:12:17
fun. But also I was a train wreck.
1:12:19
Absolutely. It's a dark moment on the album,
1:12:21
like genuinely lyrically, because again, a lot of the
1:12:24
music on the album is the hero's journey.
1:12:26
It's you're the champion, you come out on top, you win.
1:12:29
And then this is like a true vulnerable space where you're
1:12:31
like, man, like, Oh my God, the bridge, you know, forever young
1:12:35
and dumb, forever unafraid, forever in the sun for everyone
1:12:39
shades just going into acknowledging like, you don't
1:12:42
want to let go of that experience of that.
1:12:44
Life, no, it's hard and you know when people get sober like,
1:12:47
well, that's it's like it's saying goodbye to a chapter of
1:12:51
your life and it's scary and everyone like, I can't have like
1:12:54
a glass of champagne at my wedding and it's like, does it
1:12:57
is that really going to make your life that much better to be
1:13:00
able to have Yeah, everyone's personal thing and.
1:13:02
Then you you were able to write about it in Forever 21, which is
1:13:05
incredible. And then the music video for
1:13:06
Forever 21. It's so fun guys.
1:13:08
Look it up. Bonnie McKee, Forever 21, do it
1:13:11
right now. You play a sloppy bridesmaid.
1:13:14
Yes, yes. So when I was thinking about
1:13:17
making this video, I was like, OK, I know I wanted to be bright
1:13:19
and colorful, whatever. But I need it to be set in a
1:13:22
place where there are really obvious social norms to follow,
1:13:26
etiquette that you follow. And also when you're when you're
1:13:30
directing a music video, you have to tell a narrative without
1:13:33
the crutch of dialogue, right? So you have to be able to see
1:13:36
it. Yeah, it.
1:13:36
Has to be flashy. It has to make sense.
1:13:38
Yes, you have to be able to see the story and understand what's
1:13:41
going on without somebody spelling it out for you or
1:13:43
having subtitles or whatever, right.
1:13:45
So a wedding seemed like a perfect place to do that.
1:13:49
And I loved being, you know, always a bridesmaid, never the
1:13:52
bride. I enlisted all of my friends,
1:13:56
everyone in that video. I think we had like 30 extras is
1:13:58
something. They're all my friends.
1:14:00
They all came out for free. And I just paid them in Buca di
1:14:03
Beppo. And I was like, who wants to go
1:14:06
to an 80s wedding? And I'll feed you?
1:14:09
And they were like, hell yeah. So I had Molly Tarlov, who's one
1:14:13
of my best friends of awkward fame, and she's an incredible
1:14:18
actress and comedian. She's so funny.
1:14:20
So she was the bridezilla, although she wasn't really a
1:14:23
bridezilla, she was absolutely in her.
1:14:25
Right, absolutely messy Bonnie character was in this music
1:14:29
video. And then my rival Eden, who is
1:14:31
also another pop star, she was the the maid of honor and we get
1:14:36
in a big catfight it she's. Trying to wrangle you in girl.
1:14:39
Yes, she's just trying to, yeah, put a 10 on that circus and
1:14:44
everything goes horribly wrong. And it was really fun and I
1:14:47
directed it. I Co directed it with my friend
1:14:49
David Richardson, who is incredible.
1:14:51
We also did the bombastic Stars in Your Heart easy.
1:14:56
We've done a bunch of stuff together.
1:14:58
Jenny's got a boyfriend and we just serve simpatico.
1:15:02
We're on the same wavelength with this kind of like retro
1:15:05
future kind of stuff. And it ended up getting into
1:15:09
Tribeca Film Festival. Isn't that incredible?
1:15:11
Which is a big deal if you don't know about film festivals,
1:15:13
Tribeca is like one of the big ones.
1:15:16
It was started by Robert De Niro back in the day and and I feel
1:15:20
so validated. And I was just, I was just with
1:15:23
a Tribeca last week and thank you.
1:15:25
I was just so full of joy and it was so validating to.
1:15:29
I feel like my music videos being seen as a piece of art and
1:15:32
not just a piece of content. Absolutely.
1:15:35
Because to me, everyone's always like, why do you make music
1:15:37
videos? Like it's just like there's no
1:15:38
return on investment. And I'm like, well, bitch, I got
1:15:40
me to Tribeca, so. Very good.
1:15:42
And do you ever reflect that when you think about it?
1:15:44
Like let's say Forever 21 came out a decade ago.
1:15:46
Let's say Hot City came out a decade ago as the original album
1:15:49
under Epic. Would it have been recognized
1:15:50
like that? Like, do you think it would have
1:15:52
gone the flowers that it's getting?
1:15:53
Rightfully so. No, I wouldn't have been
1:15:55
directing it. I wouldn't have had all of the
1:15:57
experience that I have now because I it.
1:16:00
Needed to happen like. This yeah, I needed I made a
1:16:02
short film in the pandemic. I directed the slave video, I
1:16:06
directed Duncan Maggie famous. I Co directed the Jennings
1:16:09
boyfriend. Like I I really, I finally had
1:16:11
experience. And so I think by the time,
1:16:13
yeah, by the time I arrived at Forever 21, I was like, OK, I'm
1:16:15
like an actual director. And you got your flowers for it.
1:16:18
Congratulations. Thank you and.
1:16:19
You also won an award for it as well.
1:16:22
Yes, it's one a few words in the Film Festival circuit.
1:16:24
I didn't win at Rebecca, sadly lost to LL Cool J, but it's
1:16:27
fine. But but I'm just happy to be
1:16:30
there. I'm really, really honored to be
1:16:31
there. Well, can I tell you something
1:16:32
about Forever 21? So the music video, the outro of
1:16:36
the music video, when you're being dragged out making some
1:16:39
mess, you're a disaster. And it's slow MO cinematic
1:16:42
motherfucking masterpiece. Thank you.
1:16:44
I cannot believe it. Every time I watch it, I'm like,
1:16:47
Oh my God, this is this is literally a movie.
1:16:49
It is insane. And it's comical too, by the
1:16:52
way. Like she's thrown out.
1:16:53
Yeah, she's quite literally thrown out.
1:16:55
Yeah, at the end of the video. But it's heartbreaking.
1:16:57
Yeah, it is heartbreaking, sad, and it's funny and it's dark and
1:17:00
it's hilarious at the same time. That's my favorite.
1:17:03
It's your brand. It really is.
1:17:04
It's everything that you love wrapped up into a video, and it
1:17:06
really encapsulated that well. Congratulations on all the
1:17:08
successful Forever 21. Like exactly we said.
1:17:11
It must be so fulfilling to know that like your art is being
1:17:14
seen. Yeah, like, I was, I ran into
1:17:16
some guy in the elevator at Tribeca and he was like, so how
1:17:19
was it? And I was like, honestly, like,
1:17:21
one of the highlights of my life.
1:17:22
And he was like, really? And I was like, why, bitch, if
1:17:25
you knew, yeah, what I had to go through to get to the fucking
1:17:28
festival. Listen to the Lulu Ryan Lulu,
1:17:31
the Bonnie McKee episode, and then you'll understand why it's
1:17:34
a big deal and it's a big deal regardless.
1:17:35
So even if you didn't have that journey, Tribeca Premiere,
1:17:38
Taylor Swift and Beyoncé's. And Miley Cyrus just did a full
1:17:42
was something a visual. Album, it's a big deal, it
1:17:45
really is a big deal and you're just there to be celebrated for
1:17:47
that. So congratulations, that is
1:17:49
incredible for our 21's, like a giant favorite of mine and it's
1:17:52
a huge fan favorite. It was one of the ones that
1:17:53
you're being spammed in the comments for when?
1:17:55
You're. Deciding if you're going to do
1:17:58
hot city. OK so Bonnie, I have to address
1:18:01
this, right? I have to.
1:18:03
I bring it up every time I talk to you, too.
1:18:04
Don't be nervous. Be a little nervous.
1:18:06
OK Ready. Here's my campaign.
1:18:08
Justice for waking up diagonal. So Waking Up Diagonal is a song
1:18:15
that Bonnie had written for herself for this project and she
1:18:19
was being a team player for her Co writers and gave it to Cheryl
1:18:23
Cole in the UK and guess what it went #1 it.
1:18:26
Went #1. How was that experience,
1:18:29
especially knowing that this was for you, This was going to be
1:18:32
your song. It's your story.
1:18:33
Yeah. Someone else sings it.
1:18:34
It goes number one. Yeah.
1:18:36
I was really, it's a mix of emotions.
1:18:38
I was really bummed to give it away because I loved it so much.
1:18:41
And it was like, you know, me going through this breakup with
1:18:45
my like 8 year long boyfriend and then he like moved on really
1:18:49
fast and I was like losing my shit, you know.
1:18:52
So it came from a really personal place.
1:18:54
And also I loved the track. My Co writer Jocko who was in
1:18:58
the teddy bears, he's amazing Swedish.
1:18:59
I wanna call you right? Yeah, Yes, I think so.
1:19:02
Yeah. Incredible.
1:19:03
Thank you. And my friend Johnny Newman and
1:19:05
I all wrote it together. We did a bunch of stuff together
1:19:08
and we. I did everything but you with
1:19:09
him as well. And I was like, this is so good.
1:19:13
I love it. It's so different.
1:19:15
It's so uplifting, but it's still got that bittersweet
1:19:18
thing. It's an.
1:19:18
Empowering song, and there's something so empowering to
1:19:20
scream I don't care, bitch, I don't fucking care and I love
1:19:24
that song. Thank you.
1:19:25
Well yes, it ended up being called I don't care which I was
1:19:28
so bummed about because the opening line is waking up
1:19:30
diagonal like an animal in a cold and empty.
1:19:33
Bed. And I was like, this song is
1:19:35
called Waking up Diagonal. I love that, which is like would
1:19:38
stand out And I feel like, I mean, look, it went #1 So I'm
1:19:41
not complaining. I.
1:19:42
Think it was your 10th #1. I think it was, yeah.
1:19:45
Yeah. Oh my gosh.
1:19:47
I. Think so.
1:19:48
I think so. I think so.
1:19:49
It was, it was a later one in that 2010 era.
1:19:52
So with Waking Up Diagonal, like Yuri wrote Co wrote so many #1
1:19:57
songs for different artists. And now this is your own song
1:20:00
and now it goes number one too. But it's not your voice, it's
1:20:03
not you as an artist who's singing it, right?
1:20:05
How's that feel? How do you reconcile with that?
1:20:07
You know what, I was actually really proud of it because it
1:20:11
was the first. Well, actually it was the
1:20:13
second. It was the second number one I'd
1:20:15
had without it being with Max Martin and Doctor Luke.
1:20:20
Yeah, and these are the producers on Hot City.
1:20:22
Yes. And I really felt like I had
1:20:25
such imposter syndrome, like when everything first started
1:20:28
blowing up, everyone's like, Oh my God, congratulations.
1:20:31
Like you're killing it. And I was like, I just am in the
1:20:33
right room. I'm with the best in the world.
1:20:36
Of course it's going to be a hit.
1:20:38
I don't know how much I really had to do with it.
1:20:40
Even though I knew that I had done the work.
1:20:41
I was just like, whatever, I there.
1:20:43
Are big parts of the songs like I understand the imposter
1:20:46
syndrome? Yeah, I was just like, I, I
1:20:47
don't feel like I've done anything because I was just like
1:20:51
with the best in the world, right.
1:20:52
And so when I don't care what number one and when how we do
1:20:56
when number one, I was like, OK, OK, I have my own number ones
1:21:00
where I'm not with the biggest person in the world and they're
1:21:03
like unlikely artists to have a number one.
1:21:06
You know what? I.
1:21:06
Mean so validating. So I was like, OK, I did that
1:21:09
one all by myself. Not all by myself.
1:21:12
Obviously I have my Co writers, but you know, you didn't have,
1:21:14
not with Max Martin, the biggest pop producers at the time.
1:21:18
Yeah. So I'm so I'm really proud of
1:21:19
that and I'm proud of that too. Yeah, I'm happy that it's like
1:21:23
it's, it's, I mean to me, it's always going to be yourself.
1:21:26
Thank you. And I love waking up Dag.
1:21:28
I have to ask, are we going to get Bonnie's version of it?
1:21:31
I I mean, it would, it would feel like a cover, wouldn't it?
1:21:36
No, to be honest, Bonnie, it's your literal story and it's you.
1:21:41
And like, even let's go, let's get into it.
1:21:43
Let's get into like the bridge, right?
1:21:45
Like I can see the Milky Way and it seems so far away.
1:21:48
You sing about the cosmos of the universe in so much of your
1:21:51
music. It has such a through line.
1:21:52
It is so definitively Bonnie McKee colorful visual lyrics.
1:21:56
It wouldn't seem like a cover. Cheryl's seems like a cover to
1:21:59
me. Oh come on, she's great.
1:22:01
She's great. I like said something in an
1:22:04
interview about it when it came out where I was like, oh, they
1:22:06
changed it. They changed some lyrics.
1:22:08
And I like wasn't happy about it.
1:22:09
And the headline was like, Bonnie McKee hates what Cheryl
1:22:12
Cole did. I'm like, no, no, no.
1:22:13
I just like because it was so personal to me.
1:22:15
But I love what she did. Like she killed it.
1:22:18
And I'm like, and I was like, thank you so much.
1:22:20
Like I was so grateful to have that number one with her, you
1:22:22
know, like that was, that was like a big moment for me too.
1:22:25
Where they didn't have a number one at the time, by the way.
1:22:27
Yeah, that was their first number one.
1:22:29
So I want to talk about this is a song you actually very rarely
1:22:33
talk about. So I want to talk about Electric
1:22:35
Heaven. Yes, this is the current single
1:22:37
for Hot City Deluxe. Tell us about Electric Heaven.
1:22:40
Where did this one come from? I always think it's like it's
1:22:43
your most Britney song. Wow.
1:22:45
Thank you. When you're singing it, it's
1:22:46
giving Britney to me. Thank you so much.
1:22:48
Thank you. Yeah, Electric Heaven is a song
1:22:51
I did with, again, Jocko and Johnny Newman, who are amazing.
1:22:54
I did a lot of stuff with them on the Hot City album and they I
1:22:57
went out to Sweden and Jocko had this really cool track started.
1:23:02
Insane. And I was like, this is rad.
1:23:05
And it felt like, it felt. Like.
1:23:09
Yeah, it felt like, I don't know, in my head, the story is
1:23:13
kind of like when you're having a wild night and like maybe you
1:23:16
take some mushrooms or something and they're just kicking in and
1:23:18
you're like, oh. And that's electric, Kevin.
1:23:20
You're like, I got to find my person.
1:23:22
OK. You're like on the journey to be
1:23:24
like, I have to find the one person that's going to be like.
1:23:26
And I feel like it's kind of like that in life too.
1:23:28
Like it. Or if you're at a party and
1:23:30
you're starting to panic and you're like, I need my like home
1:23:32
base person. Like, I need to find my person.
1:23:35
And also just like, living in chaos with someone because,
1:23:39
like, that was kind of my relationship with Ollie for a
1:23:41
long time, where we were like both partying and it was wild.
1:23:45
And it's part of like what I did miss in my Forever 21 song,
1:23:49
where I'm just like, yeah, it used to be fun.
1:23:51
It was fun for a minute, you know so.
1:23:52
This comes after Forever 21. Yes, I think so.
1:23:57
At this point, you're already sober.
1:23:59
No. Not yet.
1:24:00
You're getting there. So, yeah, but what I mean is
1:24:02
that they both are kind of like reflecting fondly on like the
1:24:05
chaotic years. So yeah, just like having a
1:24:09
partner in crime. And, you know, we talk about
1:24:12
like, get in the shot, let's make a movie, be the star, I'll
1:24:15
be the groupies. A little bit of a sex tape.
1:24:17
It's a little bit of a, you know.
1:24:19
It goes there everywhere. No, it's definitely like one of
1:24:23
the sexier songs. Yeah, and it's a little darker.
1:24:26
I don't know. I really love a song.
1:24:27
And I love that song. And I have a very special guest
1:24:31
on the new version of it. And the music video, you
1:24:33
actually just shot it this week, which is crazy.
1:24:35
Do you ever sleep? No, you don't sleep.
1:24:38
No, no, not really. OK, me neither.
1:24:40
I actually spent so many sleepless nights working on this
1:24:42
episode, so I. You get it.
1:24:44
You get it there with you. OK, well we have another fan
1:24:47
favorite from Hot City. They're all fan.
1:24:48
Favorite Wait, hold on, I have to say who the special guest is
1:24:51
which I I might be out by the time this comes out it.
1:24:53
Probably will. Who's our special guest special?
1:24:55
Guest The feature on the new version of Electric Kevin is
1:24:59
Kaisa, the one and only Kaisa. We aren't you touring with her
1:25:02
this summer? Touring with Kaisa this summer
1:25:04
in August, baby. I know we all gonna see them in
1:25:08
LA at the El Rey in September. Come and see us.
1:25:11
Oh my God, we that's so exciting.
1:25:12
You just found the music. Video Yeah, we just shot the
1:25:14
music video. What's different about the the
1:25:16
feature? There's a bunch of really fun ad
1:25:19
libs, like we get to playoff each other because she can sing
1:25:21
OK Guys is an incredible singer and so she just, I don't know,
1:25:25
she brought a whole new vibe to it.
1:25:26
It's been really fun getting features on these songs like
1:25:28
Don't get Mad, Get Famous, I got Sophie Powers, I got Kaisa, I
1:25:32
have another one that I haven't announced.
1:25:34
Girl, you're going to tell me? I will.
1:25:36
I'll tell you. I'll tell you, I'm going to.
1:25:39
But it's because this album was written 10 years ago, and I was.
1:25:43
Just kind of too. I was no features.
1:25:45
Yes, I did. Yeah.
1:25:47
So I so bringing in features was really nice and it made me
1:25:51
realize how lonely I had been in the creative process because all
1:25:55
the songs were already written so I didn't have any Co writers
1:25:57
to play with. So like bringing in other
1:25:59
artists I was like yay like I love I love having a new voice
1:26:02
on it. I love doing ad libs with them.
1:26:04
So it. Brings a new life to those.
1:26:06
Songs. Totally.
1:26:06
Yeah, it it was really fun. I'm really excited for everyone
1:26:09
to hear. Oh my God, Well, I'm so excited
1:26:11
too. And for the music video, I
1:26:12
already know what's going to be sticking.
1:26:13
Yes, Oh my gosh. Yay.
1:26:15
OK, well we're looking forward to that on the Hot City Deluxe.
1:26:19
So we are going to talk about Jenny's Got a Boyfriend.
1:26:23
This is Bonnie's true delulu fantasy.
1:26:26
Y'all truly truly, truly truly delulu.
1:26:28
So the music video is so out there and wacky classic Bonnie
1:26:32
McKee, but let's talk about Jenny's got a boyfriend.
1:26:35
How did this song come about? You're sampling an an iconic
1:26:38
rift from it too. Yes, yeah, I originally did the
1:26:41
track with DD name Switch and I did one day with him.
1:26:45
This was maybe the fastest song that I ever wrote on the album
1:26:48
or really kind of ever. He came up with this track.
1:26:51
I didn't know it was a sample. And I was just like, this is
1:26:54
fire. This is like 80s sparkle,
1:26:56
everything that I want in a track.
1:26:58
And at the time, me and my my little group of girlfriends, one
1:27:03
of our friends had a boyfriend who was just such a flirt.
1:27:06
Oh my God, He was shameless. And like each of us individually
1:27:11
were like privately, like I think I think he's like got a
1:27:14
thing for like, I think there's something.
1:27:15
And the other one be like, no, no, no, like I think he likes me
1:27:18
actually. And so it was just like kind of
1:27:20
an ode to that where we were all just like jokingly, like he
1:27:23
would never actually do anything about it.
1:27:24
But it was just like, I don't know, he's sitting pretty close
1:27:27
to me. Like what's it going to happen?
1:27:28
In the back of the cow. Yeah.
1:27:30
And I also, I love songs with names in them, and I feel like
1:27:33
there's not enough of them in the world.
1:27:35
Like, you know, Billie Jean, Jesse's girl.
1:27:38
And this is also kind of like a reverse of Jesse's girl because
1:27:40
like, we've heard that from the man's perspective, but we
1:27:42
haven't heard it from a woman's perspective.
1:27:43
So yeah, I don't know. It's such.
1:27:46
A fun one. Thank you, I really love.
1:27:48
So Jenny is a real person. Denny's real.
1:27:50
Her name is not Jenny, but. She know Denny's got a boyfriend
1:27:53
about her, so this day she doesn't know.
1:27:56
That's crazy. Would you ever tell her no, she
1:28:00
wouldn't listen to it and be like familiar?
1:28:02
I don't think so. She was like kind of peripheral,
1:28:04
you know what I mean? Totally.
1:28:06
But like they were. Girlfriends know.
1:28:08
Oh yeah, they know. Oh they know.
1:28:09
And we would all joke about it and then we would just like
1:28:11
blast the demo and art in my car back in the day and drive around
1:28:13
and like we would know and no one else it.
1:28:14
Was like an inside joke and now it is a pop banger that is so
1:28:18
funny. And the music video was so fun
1:28:19
and silly. It was filmed in a roller rink.
1:28:21
You actually learned how to roller skate for this music
1:28:23
video. Well, I knew how to roller
1:28:25
skate, but I didn't know how to skate backwards and I didn't
1:28:27
know how to spin. And so I definitely got better
1:28:30
and I got more graceful so I could like stomp around in some
1:28:33
roller skates and like I love going to roller rink and stuff,
1:28:35
but I got a lot better so. You know, Bonnie, you love a
1:28:39
laser tit. I do love a laser tit, I really
1:28:41
do. Let's name it bombastic stars in
1:28:44
your heart. Denny's got a boyfriend.
1:28:47
I just realized that there's three music videos where my tits
1:28:49
like right now. Yeah, just now I've done my
1:28:51
research and it's about before with electric having.
1:28:55
Just kidding, I don't. Know sadly no light up tits, but
1:28:59
actually, well, we'll see. And you know what?
1:29:00
Let's give it to sleigh because the light reflecting off of your
1:29:03
tits true Yes, we'll give it to sleigh too.
1:29:04
Yes, I so. Let's do four.
1:29:05
I wanted to be a a human disco ball for Sleigh, and I was.
1:29:10
So fucking iconic. Thank you.
1:29:12
Well that's so crazy. I love the Jenny lore.
1:29:14
I'm so happy to hear that. Yay.
1:29:16
OK. So we already talked a little
1:29:17
bit about Hot City Deluxe. I want to know more about Hot
1:29:20
City Deluxe. What can we expect?
1:29:22
Well, I have a bunch of really exciting remixes.
1:29:27
I have features on a couple of the songs.
1:29:30
I have 5 new songs. Well I have 5 new songs from the
1:29:35
vault. From that era.
1:29:37
Yes, from the era. The original cut.
1:29:38
Correct. Yes, which has been difficult
1:29:42
because there's a reason why I didn't make it on the first
1:29:44
version of Hot City because they were songs that I was like,
1:29:47
there's something here, this is great, but it's like it's broken
1:29:50
and it's going to be too much work to like pull it apart and
1:29:52
put it back together. Honestly, that's been like the
1:29:55
biggest delay because I'm like, Oh my God.
1:29:57
Like I'm just like, it's not right.
1:29:58
It's not right. I'm just such a perfectionist.
1:30:00
I'm a huge perfectionist too. Oh my God, yes.
1:30:02
So I'm just like, y'all, you're just going to have to wait.
1:30:04
Sorry, you're going to have to wait till it's right.
1:30:06
When we're ready, Whenever you're ready.
1:30:08
Yes. So we've got somebody's going to
1:30:11
get hurt. Obviously you're going to ask
1:30:12
about that. 1 And I actually just made a TikTok that I'm
1:30:15
going to post soon about. I wrote three different bridges
1:30:18
for it because I was like the bridge isn't good enough.
1:30:21
So there's new bridges that I think are far superior.
1:30:24
The lock on the phone. I don't like it.
1:30:26
No. Why?
1:30:28
It doesn't sing well fanatically, OK, but still
1:30:30
you've got that locked up on yo cell phone.
1:30:34
I don't like it. Same LED though.
1:30:36
No, no, you changed. It I changed it, I changed the
1:30:38
chords, I changed the map. It's great.
1:30:40
You'll like. It gosh, well, I really love.
1:30:41
It it's better. Of course it always is, but so
1:30:45
somebody's gonna get hurt. Yay.
1:30:47
What else we got? We got Outlaw.
1:30:52
Classic A deep cut. A deep cut.
1:30:55
They've been asking for that one.
1:30:56
Yep, which was originally written for Britney Spears, that
1:31:00
Yep, I had her in line and then in mind.
1:31:03
And then I remember I heard Criminal because it was like on
1:31:08
that album. And I was like, this is like
1:31:11
kind of the same sort of outlaw, like a little bit of Wild West.
1:31:14
Yeah, totally. And so I was like, oh, shit.
1:31:16
But I loved it so much for myself.
1:31:18
And the track is so good. The track is it's all Oliver.
1:31:21
I've actually have never heard that one.
1:31:22
What? I respect you Bonnie.
1:31:26
I would never listen to a leak. Oh my God, you're so kind of
1:31:30
course I'm. Excited here for the first time?
1:31:34
Now the track is really sick and I didn't really change that much
1:31:36
about it 'cause I was like, this is just perfect.
1:31:37
I don't know, I love it. Oh my gosh.
1:31:39
Yeah. So yeah, that one dashboard
1:31:42
which you may not have. Heard also have not heard.
1:31:44
Yeah, there's. So I think some of these are
1:31:46
sort of deep cut ones that people didn't necessarily know.
1:31:49
Well, you know what, for me personally, and this is really
1:31:52
just me, because these song titles that you're saying, I
1:31:54
have seen them in your comments, I've seen them like people
1:31:57
discussing the music, right? So I know they exist.
1:31:59
I personally haven't listened to them because for me, Hot City
1:32:01
was always the album you toured with Carmen.
1:32:04
So if you did not perform it live, I never heard it.
1:32:07
I didn't look for it. So it was just Hot City,
1:32:10
everything but you Forever 21, I want to call you, you know, of
1:32:13
course I am. I'm oh, I'm a big fan of bodies
1:32:17
of works and albums, and that was the album, you know what I
1:32:21
mean? So I didn't explore other
1:32:23
possibilities. Even fun fact, Lulu show you
1:32:27
mine was originally titled show Me your love and it was on the
1:32:29
whiteboard that you showed to JoJo.
1:32:32
I also that was all actually I think that was something that
1:32:35
never leaked. By the way, I think you're
1:32:37
right. It was like really not finished
1:32:39
at all. Wow Oh my God it's one of my
1:32:40
favorite on Hot City. Oh, thank you, I feel like that
1:32:42
does not. It doesn't get a lot of.
1:32:44
Love. Oh, we didn't get the love here.
1:32:45
The albums on Show You Mine are. So sick.
1:32:50
Like I'm like, oh, it's so good. I love Show You Mine.
1:32:53
It's such a good one too. That was such a treat for me
1:32:55
because it was like a truly, truly, truly new one.
1:32:57
Of course, in Snatch on the Hot City album.
1:33:01
But yeah, that was one of the ones that didn't leak.
1:33:03
And the album, to me, like in its pure form, is what you
1:33:06
toured with Carmen. So I don't know about all these
1:33:09
other ones. I'm excited to hear it.
1:33:10
This is actually going to be a new project for me now too.
1:33:12
Great. I love that.
1:33:13
I love that. Yeah.
1:33:13
I figure a lot of people haven't heard it unless they're really
1:33:15
digging for it. They're digging.
1:33:17
So it is. It is new.
1:33:19
Yeah, we're excited. And then when's Hot City Deluxe
1:33:21
coming out? When do we, When can we expect
1:33:22
it? What do we think?
1:33:23
We're thinking summer. Yay and we're ready whenever and
1:33:27
we're going to be streaming at everyone.
1:33:30
OK, well we're so excited for Hot City Deluxe and we're going
1:33:33
to get into a little manifestation exercise right
1:33:36
now, a little manifestation practice with Bonnie.
1:33:38
So besties, if you have been, I'm just subtly turning on a
1:33:42
speaker. So if we could do this, ignore
1:33:45
her. So so besties if you have been
1:33:49
trying to manifest a text or a call from a specific person,
1:33:52
This is literally exactly how I do it successfully.
1:33:55
This is my trade secret. You're getting it here
1:33:57
exclusively on the Lulu of Ryan Liu with the creator of this
1:34:02
trend herself, Bonnie McKee. But this is exactly how you're
1:34:05
going to get them to call you. We're going to play Bonnie's
1:34:07
song I Want to Call You, which is featured on Hot City and also
1:34:11
Hot City Deluxe, of course. And in the bridge she has this
1:34:14
little bit and she literally manifests a text from this man.
1:34:19
It's true and. We're going to do it together
1:34:21
right now. Let's go.
1:34:22
Let's do it, you guys. Yes, Bonnie, don't let me text
1:34:28
him, OK? Do not let me text.
1:34:31
Him OK. Oh my God, it's him.
1:34:34
Yeah. I mean, really.
1:34:36
It hasn't been like 2 days yet bro.
1:34:39
Relax. I want to.
1:34:41
Fucking call, you take my phone away.
1:34:45
Bessie's visualized this. They just called you.
1:34:48
Even if I want to. Even if I want.
1:34:51
To I got away. I got away.
1:34:54
I don't want to wait. Oh my God, wait.
1:34:58
I'm living. I love it.
1:35:00
You know the ad libs. I love it so.
1:35:01
Every break you take on Hot city.
1:35:02
I know, ohh. My God, I love you, thank you
1:35:05
and that. Was you too?
1:35:06
Because when you updated the song when you produced it to
1:35:10
what it is on Hot City out of the ad libs?
1:35:12
Yes, because you didn't perform them originally when you did it.
1:35:14
That's the thing, a lot of the original songs from back in the
1:35:16
day on the Carmen tour didn't have the ad libs and so I was
1:35:19
like, yes, I finally get to like complete them because I love an
1:35:21
ad Lib, y'all. And then you added the ad libs
1:35:23
to everything about you, and of course, I want to call you.
1:35:26
Yay. OK, bestie.
1:35:27
So whenever you need someone to text you, whenever you need
1:35:29
someone to call you, that's exactly what you're gonna do.
1:35:31
You're gonna pull up Bonnie McKee, I want to call you, and
1:35:34
you're gonna listen to song all the way through.
1:35:35
But when you get to the bridge, start feeling and visualizing
1:35:39
and texting you, being excited about it.
1:35:40
She literally manifests it for you right there in the song.
1:35:43
And that's your secrets of manifesting.
1:35:45
That's right. That's X Congrats.
1:35:46
Let me know what they said. I'm nosey.
1:35:49
Well, Bonnie, we have talked about Hot City.
1:35:51
I am thrilled as a fan to know the lore behind Hot City.
1:35:54
But now we are going to play a little game with you, OK?
1:35:56
We're going to be putting you in the Hot City hot seat.
1:36:00
OK. These are deep cut questions OK
1:36:03
that have never been answered that I am dying to know about
1:36:06
this album and I want to get through them with you OK with
1:36:09
Miss Bonnie McKee here herself to answer it so.
1:36:12
Are you ready? I'm ready.
1:36:14
OK. So our first question is, is the
1:36:17
person that you fell in love with on American Girl in a 711
1:36:20
parking lot? Ke$ha?
1:36:24
So on Ke$ha's album Warrior, she sings on Only Want to Dance with
1:36:29
You, drinking wine on the cement fell in love on accident outside
1:36:34
711 which Bonnie also Co wrote 2 songs on warrior by the way come
1:36:37
on and supernatural and an American girl Bonnie sings I
1:36:42
fell in love in a 711 parking lot drinking slurpees we mixed
1:36:45
sat on the curb drinking slurpees we mixed up alcohol Was
1:36:48
this Ke$ha were you singing about each other I'll.
1:36:51
Never tell. Oh, so it is about Cash Out.
1:36:56
OK, that's T Lulu. I'm going to listen to both
1:37:00
songs very differently now. Well, actually I've always
1:37:02
listened to it like that. Thank you for that.
1:37:05
So when you're under Epic Records, you said before in an
1:37:09
interview that you had two songs that you made with essentially
1:37:13
the Dream Team. It was Doctor Luke and Max
1:37:14
Martin, and the label felt like American Girl was actually the
1:37:18
strongest lead single choice. Those two songs didn't have the
1:37:21
time that they needed to really shine and be fleshed out.
1:37:24
So I wanted to ask you, was Everything About You?
1:37:27
One of the Max Martin songs? He's registered as a writer on
1:37:30
the BMI repertoire. OK, it's, I don't know why he's
1:37:34
registered on that one because he didn't write on it.
1:37:37
He did come in like because I was working with him while I was
1:37:41
making my own album and I was like, can you just come in and
1:37:43
listen and like, tell me what you think, Right.
1:37:46
I mean, if anything I would think he would be an American
1:37:48
girl because I remember I played an American girl and on the the
1:37:51
pre chorus was like, I'll just keep moving my body.
1:37:54
And then he was like, yeah. Love it, yes.
1:37:57
And I was like, and guess what? When I play it live, that's the
1:38:00
part everyone sings. I'll just keep moving my body.
1:38:03
Oh my God. Yeah, to you, Lulu.
1:38:06
Oh my God, I'm just shook because I'm like, what the fuck?
1:38:08
Max Martin, touch that. He, he, he didn't.
1:38:12
I don't know what happened there.
1:38:13
For everything but you. Like he had no involvement.
1:38:15
No. Did you know he was a writer?
1:38:18
I. Saw that it was registered
1:38:19
somewhere and I always get everyone always gets that one
1:38:22
and electric have been mixed up because of the titles are
1:38:25
similar. OK.
1:38:25
And I'm like, I don't know if he, I think that he just like
1:38:28
came in and like listen to it, but and then like I, I don't
1:38:32
think he contributed any. Max like your album when you're
1:38:35
first making it and you're playing it.
1:38:37
I I guess. I mean, of course he liked it.
1:38:39
It's a pop masterpiece and he has taste.
1:38:42
Well, can I ask you what those two songs were?
1:38:44
I know one of them was with Doctor Luke and it's called
1:38:46
Right now, Yes. Do you have the title the the
1:38:49
other one that you worked on? Do you know it?
1:38:52
What happened to that? Oh, it was called.
1:38:53
It was called Summer fever. Interesting.
1:38:56
Yeah. Oh.
1:38:56
My gosh, which I always loved summertime.
1:38:58
Hey, it's it's. My season.
1:38:59
Oh, my God. You own summer.
1:39:01
You are summertime, girl. Oh, my God.
1:39:03
Thank you for that tea. Yeah.
1:39:04
Thank you so much for playing. Thank you.
1:39:06
The Hot City hot seat. We're going to do a little
1:39:08
manifestation exercise right now.
1:39:10
Love it. So close out the Hot City era
1:39:13
until we arrive in Hot City Deluxe.
1:39:15
So Bonnie McKee, welcome to the part of the show where we fake
1:39:19
it till we make it. I'm here for it.
1:39:22
Well, you deserve so many flowers for Hot City and
1:39:25
everything you've ever done, and I'm here to give that to you.
1:39:28
Ready. Yes.
1:39:29
OK, girl. So Bonnie McKee,
1:39:33
congratulations. You just won album of the year.
1:39:37
Oh my God. AVMA, if you're not watching the
1:39:39
video version of the show, I'm awarding Bonnie McKee with VMA.
1:39:43
And it is deeply my honor to present you with this VMA for
1:39:47
Hot City. This is for all the videos on
1:39:50
Hot City. This is AVMA Video Music Award.
1:39:51
Thank you. Can you give us a little speech
1:39:53
for the folks at home, please? Thank you so much to everyone
1:39:59
that made this possible, especially Ryan.
1:40:02
I am so proud of this album and I put all of my heart and soul
1:40:06
into it. I love visuals, I love music
1:40:09
videos. This is the reason that I got
1:40:10
into music and this just means the world to me.
1:40:13
I'm just so happy to be recognized as an artist.
1:40:17
You are truly an artist and that's what this show is like.
1:40:20
I really wanted to make it about your art.
1:40:22
We're so proud of you. You deserve that VMA and more.
1:40:25
And fun fact, Lulu, this is actually Bonnie's second VMA.
1:40:29
That's right, I have another one that just made an appearance in
1:40:31
a video. I loved it, I lived for it, I
1:40:33
absolutely did. I was like Oh my God.
1:40:34
And it's also in the background of your sub stack stuff.
1:40:36
So I'm like Oh my God. I awarded Bonnie a much deserved
1:40:40
VMA for Sleigh. Thank you.
1:40:42
And now you got one for the Hot City album.
1:40:45
This one's a Gold 1. Thank you.
1:40:46
This is the Vanguard award. You deserve it.
1:40:48
Thank you. Congratulations.
1:40:50
Thank you so much. Well, I don't want to leave Hot
1:40:53
City, but we'll come back, of course.
1:40:55
OK? Wow, Brett, are you feeling
1:40:59
fucking fantastic? Oh, OK, bombastic.
1:41:06
Let's go. We're going back in time right
1:41:09
now, more so to Bombastic. Bombastic.
1:41:13
This is 2025, the 10 year anniversary of Bombastic.
1:41:17
It's. Wild.
1:41:18
We just made the studio Bombastic Pink.
1:41:20
If you're not watching the video version of the show, welcome to
1:41:23
the Bombastic era. Welcome back.
1:41:25
Well, 10 years of bombastic. Tell us about this era this
1:41:31
time. This was after you left Epic
1:41:33
Records. You were so fed up, jaded with
1:41:36
the music industry, and you just made a brand new project.
1:41:40
No songs on Bombastic, I want it all, Bombastic, Wasted Youth and
1:41:45
Easy were originally slated for the Epic album.
1:41:48
These are all brand new songs. Correct.
1:41:50
Yes. I left Epic and I wanted to do
1:41:53
it myself and I learned so much. I learned the importance of of
1:41:56
owning my masters. So I got a big sink.
1:41:59
I got a bunch of big sinks on this one.
1:42:01
And when? So this day.
1:42:04
Yeah, I just got one like a couple weeks ago.
1:42:06
Big one. Congratulations.
1:42:07
Thank you very much. It's a gift that keeps on
1:42:09
giving, period. And so I want to give back.
1:42:11
And so we did a bunch of remixes for this new bombastic Play Hard
1:42:16
version. Oh my gosh yes so bombastic EP
1:42:21
play hard version. That's right, play Hard Edition.
1:42:23
It's coming out on the 4th of July or it came out on the 4th
1:42:26
of July. It sure did and we've been
1:42:27
streaming it and we love the remixes.
1:42:29
Tell us about making the 10 year anniversary version of
1:42:31
Bombastic, which is also available on CD.
1:42:34
Thank you. Yes, yes, yes.
1:42:36
We put out the vinyl. It's sold out in under.
1:42:38
We need a repressing, by the way.
1:42:40
Yes, yes, I just yes, we're going to do vinyl.
1:42:43
Yeah, but yeah, I wanted to to. It's so funny that the bombastic
1:42:48
EP did so well because it's only four songs.
1:42:50
But they're incredible songs. 10 out of 10.
1:42:52
Songs, little songs. And I'm so sorry.
1:42:54
I'd like to apologize to my fans for giving you so little for so
1:42:57
long because I was sitting on this whole, you know, I was
1:43:02
sitting on a whole wealth of music and fun stuff I wanted to
1:43:05
share. And I just, I needed to, I
1:43:08
needed to find the stars in my heart.
1:43:11
Well, you know what? It made the experience so much
1:43:13
sweeter to have Hot City now finally being out.
1:43:16
And then honestly, I lived on Bombastic.
1:43:18
I still live on Bombastic. Because.
1:43:20
That was all you gave us. But Bombastic was so incredible.
1:43:23
Like the title track Bombastic. It is a fuck you to the music
1:43:26
industry. That's right, you have been
1:43:27
jaded, you have been hurt. You have been through the entire
1:43:30
machine with the music industry for so long and now you lead to
1:43:35
Bombastic. Tell us about writing Bombastic
1:43:37
Co written by Charlie Booth. Yes, I Co wrote it with Charlie
1:43:39
Booth before he had blown up. He was just like a really
1:43:42
talented kid that I was like, holy shit, this guy really knows
1:43:45
what he's doing. He's doing that in the beginning
1:43:48
that. Started.
1:43:48
Really. That's him.
1:43:49
Yeah, damn. Yeah.
1:43:52
So I just, I don't know, I had just left Epic and I was just
1:43:55
like, I wanted to fuck you to the music industry and I wanted
1:43:58
to try it indie. And this was kind of before
1:44:00
everyone was indie, you know, So it was really a risk.
1:44:03
This is your first project that you did without any label
1:44:06
support too. Yeah, yes.
1:44:07
And so it was a huge learning experience.
1:44:10
I learned the importance of my masters.
1:44:11
I got a bunch of sinks and it was twice the money.
1:44:13
And I was like, what? I was like, wait, what a
1:44:16
blessing. Holy shit.
1:44:18
So I'm really grateful for it. And it did really well.
1:44:21
It charted. It's gotten a million sinks.
1:44:23
Oh, and it's still so timeless. Thank you.
1:44:25
It is a classic Bonnie McKee record, honestly.
1:44:27
It's a great, like, it's great for movie trailers because it
1:44:30
really feels like somebody like walking away from something in
1:44:32
slow motion and then the building blows up and they like
1:44:35
put on their sunglasses and it's like badass, you know?
1:44:37
The bombastic EP is sonically so much darker than Hot City.
1:44:41
What you're doing at the time, the songs you're writing at the
1:44:43
time. And maybe it wasn't intentional,
1:44:44
maybe it was how you're feeling at the time.
1:44:45
But you know, I think the darkest song on Bombastic is I
1:44:49
Want It All. Which, by the way, is one of my
1:44:51
favorite not even songs on that EP of all time by you Oh my.
1:44:54
God, thank you so much. I love I Want it All.
1:44:55
It's dark. It's pretty sonically and
1:44:57
lyrically it goes there. Thank you.
1:44:59
So you mentioned in an interview before that I Want It All is
1:45:02
essentially a love letter to your fans.
1:45:04
It's saying that you would be willing to do anything to get to
1:45:06
your audience. Definitely, yeah.
1:45:08
And I think the more kind of rock leaning sound at the time I
1:45:11
was really trying to like step into my power.
1:45:13
So bombastic is like kicking in the doors, taking names and I
1:45:16
want it all as a continuation of that.
1:45:18
And really like when I say I want it all, it's like I would
1:45:21
do anything to get to my fans like.
1:45:25
And I felt that. I mean, yeah, I would make a
1:45:26
deal of the devil signing blood on the paper, like, and I did
1:45:29
that, OK. And so it's really, yeah, it's
1:45:32
about how I would do anything to reach my audience.
1:45:35
So it is a love letter to them. Love that fucking song.
1:45:37
And it's so it really, like I said, it really fucking goes
1:45:40
there. And the bridge is so good.
1:45:42
And visually, even before the music video came out where you
1:45:44
bring him to his knees. So like, that's what that does
1:45:47
for me. It's so powerful.
1:45:49
Thank you. I want it all deserves all its
1:45:51
flowers. And I also feel like it's a
1:45:52
really good empowerment affirmation song because like,
1:45:54
yeah, I want it all too. I want it all.
1:45:56
I'm going to have it all. You want it all and you deserve
1:45:57
it all. Period.
1:45:58
I'm going to have it all. And that's how if you want to
1:45:59
listen to that song too, like sonically, even just with the
1:46:02
guitars and how greedy it is, that's empowering.
1:46:04
Thank you. It really is empowering.
1:46:06
Thank you. I fucking love I want it all and
1:46:07
deserves more flowers. Y'all stream?
1:46:10
I want to also watch the music video.
1:46:11
Another song on this EP is the definitive classic Bonnie McKee
1:46:15
song Wasted Youth. Wasted Youth.
1:46:17
You've explored this theme of adolescence.
1:46:20
You've, you know, obviously you have Teenage Dream.
1:46:23
You've explored this theme throughout your music, even on
1:46:25
your first album Confessions of a Teenage Girl.
1:46:27
So now we land on Wasted Youth on the bombastic EP.
1:46:30
Where did this song come from? Tell us about Wasted Youth.
1:46:32
Well, actually my good friend Johnny Newman came up with this
1:46:36
hook. He did it with Sean Walsh.
1:46:37
She produced the whole bombastic EP.
1:46:39
And when I first heard it, I was like, I love this melody.
1:46:42
I love this concept. But like, I was 28 at the time.
1:46:45
I was like, am I like admitting that I'm old?
1:46:48
Like I had kind of a weird. Hand, which is, by the way, very
1:46:50
young. I'm 28 right now.
1:46:52
I mean, yeah, but in pop star years, OK, that's like ancient.
1:46:55
We're throwing that out the door.
1:46:57
And so I was like feeling kind of insecure about it, but there
1:47:01
was something just so powerful and magical about it.
1:47:03
And there is something about adolescence that has always
1:47:05
inspired me because like, your emotions are so much bigger.
1:47:09
Everything is magnified because it's the first time you're
1:47:11
feeling. Yeah.
1:47:12
Yeah. And those are like the moments
1:47:14
that sort of like define your whole emotional tapestry for the
1:47:17
rest of your life where it's like that's.
1:47:20
Great at coming of age music. Thank you.
1:47:22
Yeah. And I think that's maybe some of
1:47:23
my favorite. Oh my God, absolutely.
1:47:25
Wait, so they came in with the the hook already with like the?
1:47:29
Not the whole thing, but just the concept of wasted youth and
1:47:33
the opening melody. And I was like, this is fire.
1:47:36
But I was like a little hesitant.
1:47:37
I tried to change it and I was like, no, you know what?
1:47:39
This is great. This is great.
1:47:40
Johnny's a genius. Oh, the classic Bonnie Mccurry
1:47:43
lyric to visual colorful. You can feel it.
1:47:46
You can see I Oh my God, when it came out in 2015, I was 19.
1:47:51
I would roll it on the windows and fucking scream my head off
1:47:54
to wasted you because I felt like I was in a movie.
1:47:56
Thank you. I felt like I was in a coming of
1:47:57
age movie. I feel like it's like one of
1:47:59
those songs, one of those songs that could be a thing on TikTok
1:48:02
where I'm like, this is like your summertime.
1:48:04
It's going to be, I mean like it just.
1:48:05
Graduated or whatever, and it's like, you know, I feel like I
1:48:08
got to do that. Besties, we're making it happen.
1:48:10
OK, Well, I really love Bombastic.
1:48:13
It's such a special project to me.
1:48:14
And thank you, Bombastic 10 year anniversary play hard, play hard
1:48:19
edition, Forgive Me is so incredible in the remixes.
1:48:22
Thank you. We love that era.
1:48:24
Thank you. I just want to ask you one last
1:48:25
question about this era. So if we take us back to
1:48:28
Bombastic, you were in a place where you're feeling, you know,
1:48:30
jaded, upset with the music industry.
1:48:32
Was it only these four songs, or was there any other songs from
1:48:35
that era that you made that didn't make the cut?
1:48:37
No, it was just these four songs because I was like, I just need
1:48:39
to get something out quick and I can only really afford to do 4
1:48:43
right now because I don't know what where this is going or
1:48:45
what's going to happen. I wish that I had just put out a
1:48:48
full album, but I was just like, I just want to get it out quick.
1:48:50
Before everybody forgets. That I exist.
1:48:52
Yeah. Oh.
1:48:53
My God, I would love that we can still make it happen.
1:48:56
There are no rules anymore with the music industry has changed
1:48:58
so much. Time is just a construct, yeah.
1:49:00
Exactly. And you know what, Bonnie McKee
1:49:02
Time is on our side. I'm claiming that and the stars
1:49:05
and everything in between. I.
1:49:06
Love it. Well, Bonnie, I want to talk
1:49:08
about what is coming next, but of course we are going to have
1:49:12
to change the color of the studio for.
1:49:13
You OK? Let's go.
1:49:14
What is the color of this next era for Bonnie McKee?
1:49:17
You teased a dark album in 2020. What do we?
1:49:22
Think I'd say maybe like a dark teal maybe?
1:49:26
OK, we got that. Yeah, like a dark teal
1:49:31
turquoise. Turquoise.
1:49:33
Like blue? Like blue-green, blue.
1:49:34
Green, blueish. Greenish.
1:49:36
Like leaning more green. Yeah.
1:49:38
Well, welcome to Bonnie Mckee's Next Era, your first step into
1:49:42
this world. What's coming next?
1:49:44
You teased a 2020 album. Yeah.
1:49:46
A dark album. Yes, I made a whole album.
1:49:49
I mean it's it's like 75% done and it is about getting out of a
1:49:55
narcissistic relationship. It's definitely my most raw and
1:49:59
vulnerable and like dark insane music yet.
1:50:03
Are we talking lyrically? Sonically.
1:50:05
Lyrically, I'd say sonically it's darker too.
1:50:09
It leans more in like the Gustafelstein, kind of like, you
1:50:12
know, I can't feel my face sort of stuff.
1:50:16
Yeah. So it's very, it's electronic.
1:50:19
It's dark. There's some really vulnerable
1:50:21
moments, and there's some really like, cutthroat moments.
1:50:25
I'm really proud of this album. It is really raw.
1:50:28
It's kind of like embarrassingly raw and like going through me
1:50:31
basically losing my mind. Don't feel insane, breakup.
1:50:34
With everything you described, with all your music thus far,
1:50:37
right? Obviously Trouble was very raw
1:50:39
and it was just you and your diary and writing the first
1:50:41
songs you've ever wrote moving into a very polished hot city
1:50:44
and then obviously bombastic. It sounds like the way you're
1:50:47
describing is accumulation of all your projects.
1:50:49
Yeah, I'd say so. Incredible.
1:50:51
Yeah, it's it's Yeah, it's something.
1:50:55
When do you think we can expect to hear it?
1:50:58
Probably next year, yeah, because we're going to do Hot
1:51:00
City Deluxe. We're going to be living in Hot
1:51:03
Cities still for a minute forever.
1:51:05
And then she going to be a woman gone mad.
1:51:07
Oh. OK, so this is a darker album
1:51:10
that's coming next and you wrote this coming out of an intense
1:51:13
break up. This was happening, I want you
1:51:15
said around twenty 20s. When you made this.
1:51:17
That's when you started teasing this album.
1:51:18
No, I started making it in like 2018, OK, 2019.
1:51:21
And then I started doing some visuals and stuff, like right at
1:51:25
the end of 2019, actually. I was on set.
1:51:27
I was on location scout the day that they shut down LA for the
1:51:31
pandemic. Yeah, I was on site doing a
1:51:34
location scout and they're like, I think we're supposed to wear
1:51:36
masks or something. And that was like, OK, this
1:51:38
ain't happening right now. That is so crazy because, you
1:51:41
know, the world didn't need the more darkness at the time.
1:51:43
Yeah, right. And I mean no more natural sense
1:51:46
to. Yeah, it was just like, this is
1:51:48
not a time for me to be telling my, like, deeply personal sad
1:51:51
stories. So I'm going to just take a step
1:51:53
back and think about what I want to do next.
1:51:56
And then that was when I got on TikTok and I saw everybody
1:51:58
looking for hot City and everyone was ready for recession
1:52:00
pop so. We made a stop at Hot City first
1:52:03
before we get to this next album.
1:52:05
Exactly. So you said it's about 75% time?
1:52:08
Yeah, it says so. Yeah.
1:52:09
I think I still have a couple more songs to write for it.
1:52:12
How do you get in that mindset? Like, it's been so long since,
1:52:14
you know, that entire thing happened and you've been working
1:52:16
on Hot City. Yeah, but it's honestly, this
1:52:21
was like such a life changing experience, getting out of this
1:52:23
insane relationship with a narcissist that it really
1:52:27
changed me. It really was like a life
1:52:29
changing experience for me. And I see it everywhere now.
1:52:33
Once you've had a narcissist, you can spot them from a mile
1:52:36
away and. You have so much more to say
1:52:38
now. Yeah, definitely.
1:52:39
And I feel like I meet so many people that I'm like, I see it,
1:52:42
I see what you're going through. I see it like he checks all the
1:52:45
boxes, whatever. Yeah.
1:52:47
And so I feel like it's really important to me to be able to
1:52:50
share that because somebody shared that with me and that was
1:52:54
what kind of opened my eyes and helped me through it.
1:52:57
And I want to be able to do that for other people that are going
1:52:59
through the same experience. And you know what, You're
1:53:00
absolutely right. Because like thinking about like
1:53:02
with Hot City, those powerful songs that I take as
1:53:05
affirmations, how much it's helped me, just hearing that,
1:53:07
that you can do it. Like, you know, people going
1:53:09
through anything similar are probably going to be able to
1:53:11
relate. Yeah.
1:53:11
And you know, if you save one person, that's.
1:53:14
Exactly. Exactly.
1:53:16
Yes. Well, we're so excited for this
1:53:17
album. Do you think it's going to be
1:53:19
It's not going to be sparkly anymore?
1:53:22
It's sparkly in a dark way, OK. Like dark glitter?
1:53:25
Yeah. Dark glitter.
1:53:25
We'll take it. We'll take any music.
1:53:27
Bonnie McKee, please keep them coming.
1:53:29
It's still danceable and it's still pop.
1:53:32
We love to hear it. You know what we want.
1:53:34
So Bonnie, do you feel like, does it cross your mind that the
1:53:38
person that this is about was is going to hear it?
1:53:40
They're going to know it's about them.
1:53:43
Oh, he knows. Oh, there we know.
1:53:45
He knows I was threatening him when I was writing it, where I
1:53:47
was like, this is going to come out, I'm going to expose you.
1:53:49
Holy shit girl. And then the pandemic happened
1:53:52
and I was like, alright, you got a little bit of time, but I'm
1:53:54
coming for you. Oh, it's.
1:53:55
Still happening? It's still happening.
1:53:56
Well, watch out, Sir. Oh my God.
1:53:59
OK, thank you. What else do you have coming up
1:54:02
outside of this dark album? Well, what I really want to do
1:54:05
with this album is make a visual album.
1:54:07
I'm going to Tribeca Film Festival was so inspiring for me
1:54:10
and seeing Miley Cyrus do a visual album and like seeing the
1:54:14
way that it works in the movie industry where people get
1:54:16
funding, you know, they have people invest in them.
1:54:19
And I, that's, I mean, I, I, I'm not opposed to a label, but it
1:54:25
would be great to get funding that's not going to just own my
1:54:28
masters forever, you know what I mean?
1:54:30
Cuz, you know, essentially you just want to make the videos.
1:54:32
Yeah. And so I want to make a visual
1:54:34
album, but I want to make it like a film.
1:54:36
And so I've started a script for that.
1:54:38
And I have a whole beautiful deck.
1:54:40
And that was what I was going to shoot before the pandemic was I
1:54:44
was like going to do a sizzle reel so I could hopefully get
1:54:46
funding for that. So I would really love to make
1:54:48
it into an actual film. We're manifesting that and you
1:54:51
really don't sleep this and what you're working.
1:54:53
I know so many things. That's crazy.
1:54:55
I really want to get into the film and TV world because, like
1:54:57
I said, it's so nice to be the new kid in town, you know, so.
1:55:00
Oh my God, especially it's very refreshing.
1:55:02
Bonnie, I want to talk about your manifestation journey.
1:55:04
You are a powerful manifester. You have manifested so much in
1:55:07
your career and honestly in ways that you weren't even expecting.
1:55:10
Playing arenas, doing Coachella, writing these massive hits,
1:55:15
hearing your own voice on the radio, making music videos.
1:55:18
This is these are things that you always wanted for yourself
1:55:19
when you lived in your delulu, which is not your true Lulu,
1:55:22
right? Like you're such a powerful
1:55:23
manifester. Thank you.
1:55:24
I want to. Talk about your manifestation
1:55:26
journey, yes, So go ahead, yes. Sir Well, I think it started out
1:55:30
with just like being delulu from birth, where I just like
1:55:33
believed that there was some someone up there looking out for
1:55:36
me and that I was destined to do something with myself.
1:55:40
And but then I fell on my face so many times that I really,
1:55:44
like, lost my faith for a minute, you know, And I think
1:55:48
that was important because I needed to have an ego death and
1:55:50
I needed to be humbled because I really came in swinging and was
1:55:53
just like, I deserve this. But I hadn't really earned it
1:55:56
yet. Got it.
1:55:57
Yeah. And so I think that through my
1:55:59
humbling ego death experience, which I've had several love, I
1:56:05
really kind of learned to hand it over to the universe.
1:56:08
Yeah, like over control. Yeah, you can't control
1:56:10
everything. Yeah.
1:56:11
And I think that like, surrender is a powerful thing, but with
1:56:16
intention. And I I do believe that making
1:56:18
art for the right reasons gets me where I want to go if I know
1:56:22
that my intentions are pure. It's actually working.
1:56:25
You. See it happening in front of
1:56:26
you? Well, it's also just like a much
1:56:27
more pleasant experience than trying to force something.
1:56:30
And I think also, I mean, specificity is important when
1:56:33
you're manifesting, but it's also like you have to be open to
1:56:36
whatever bread crumbs the universe is going to throw out
1:56:39
for you when. You just got.
1:56:40
To follow the trail, yeah. Exactly.
1:56:43
And it wasn't as you headlining Error as an artist, you didn't
1:56:47
get to do the Jonas Brothers arena tour.
1:56:49
I did not but. You still ended up going under
1:56:50
Marina. Tour.
1:56:51
I still ended up going on tour with Kygo.
1:56:52
Yeah, I got to do a world tour, play all over the world, see all
1:56:56
these different countries and eat all these different food.
1:56:58
And they're using their shoot over you.
1:57:00
It was so much fun. So but yeah, I never would have
1:57:02
seen that. And also I didn't know that I
1:57:04
was going to be a songwriter. That was not my plan.
1:57:07
But when it presented itself, I I took it because I was like,
1:57:10
OK, like I may not be getting there.
1:57:13
The on the path that I thought what I was going to take, but
1:57:15
I'm getting there. Yeah, and you're still going
1:57:17
right now, too. You know, your entire story
1:57:19
about surrender reminds me of a gospel.
1:57:22
I'm deeply religious. There was this hymn in the Bible
1:57:26
and it basically goes I throw my hands up in the air, but only
1:57:31
sometimes so. Yes, I wrote a song called
1:57:36
Dynamite for Tao Cruise. Which and what number one?
1:57:39
It went #1 and everybody's like, why do you only throw your hands
1:57:43
up in the air sometimes? I throw my hands up in the air
1:57:46
sometimes. And the truth is it was around
1:57:49
the time that I was starting to get sober, and I was like, it's
1:57:53
about surrender. It's a song about surrender.
1:57:55
Yeah. It's deeper meaning.
1:57:57
You love hiding. Those I do, I love AI, love a
1:57:59
hidden message in the sparkly pop song.
1:58:01
That's my favorite. And people are partying to it at
1:58:03
weddings. Yes, and it is.
1:58:06
It is about you surrendering, you letting go.
1:58:08
You're giving it to God. Yeah, it's like sometimes you
1:58:10
just got to throw your hands up in the air and just let it, let
1:58:13
it go it. Was actually one of your first
1:58:14
number ones. Too.
1:58:15
Yeah, it was. Yeah.
1:58:16
I was shocked that that one, number one, and that it's like
1:58:18
stood the test of time. Like that's like every wedding,
1:58:21
every bar mitzvah, every ball game, you hear that song.
1:58:24
So I'm I'm. Really.
1:58:25
About every church service. Yes, yes.
1:58:28
And I love that people. I think that people can hear
1:58:31
that there's heart behind that and that it's not just a party
1:58:33
song. Well, that's why a lot of your
1:58:34
songs do well, you know what I mean?
1:58:36
Like, you infuse that heart into it.
1:58:38
You make it real. You make it relatable.
1:58:39
And it's not just fluff that's on the radio.
1:58:41
Well, I feel like when I'm writing my lyrics, I really am
1:58:44
channeling something and there is like a there's a beam of
1:58:48
light that comes from the sky into me and I feel a connection
1:58:52
when there's something real there.
1:58:53
And when I'm just like riding, fluff usually doesn't go
1:58:55
anywhere because I'm not, you know?
1:58:57
You're shaking gold in my opinion, really.
1:58:59
And it really has proven to be true.
1:59:01
Thank you. Well, Bonnie, you used to want
1:59:04
to be the number one pop star in the world.
1:59:06
I mean, sure, why not? You still do.
1:59:08
But when you had a different journey with this.
1:59:11
So what is your version of success now?
1:59:14
What is your relationship with that thought?
1:59:17
I think that my idea of success is reaching people, touching
1:59:23
people, and it doesn't really, it doesn't really matter how
1:59:25
many people I get to do what I love.
1:59:28
I get to show up and create every day.
1:59:31
And if I can feed myself with that and I can feed other
1:59:34
people, then I feel like I am successful.
1:59:37
And. Also, you know what I think?
1:59:39
The fact that I'm still standing after everything that I've been
1:59:41
through. It's a testament to like
1:59:43
perseverance and resiliency. Yeah, it's one of those things
1:59:47
where I like, I realized it's a while back where I was like, OK,
1:59:49
God, I get it. Like my purpose is to be the
1:59:52
poster child for perseverance. And when you fall down, you get
1:59:55
back up and I'm like, OK, but do I ever get to just stay up?
1:59:58
And you do. You do and you will.
2:00:00
And honestly, I feel like that's why I relate to so much of your
2:00:02
music because I truly me as Ryan feels like, I feel like it's
2:00:04
such an underdog. So when I listen to your music
2:00:07
and it's so empowering and it really makes me feel like I can.
2:00:09
Yeah, come on, everybody. Let's fucking go.
2:00:11
We can't do anything. You know what I mean?
2:00:13
Yeah, I completely agree with that.
2:00:14
I feel it. I feel it's my core.
2:00:16
You know, so you know, you making music for the people like
2:00:20
us and. I appreciate it.
2:00:21
No, I do. I mean, I know you look at my
2:00:24
career and whatever and it's like, how can you call yourself
2:00:25
an underdog? And it's like nothing was handed
2:00:28
to me. Nothing was handed to.
2:00:29
Me, you really had to fight for it.
2:00:31
I did, and I'm so glad because honestly, if my first record
2:00:34
deal had worked out, I would be probably dead because I probably
2:00:37
wouldn't have gotten sober. I probably wouldn't have.
2:00:39
I wouldn't have been humbled. I wouldn't have had to have
2:00:41
these sort of eye opening epiphanies of like what my real
2:00:44
purpose is because I was serving just my ego.
2:00:47
And now I understand that my purpose is to serve others.
2:00:50
Do you feel like everything had to happen exactly how it
2:00:52
happened and do you feel peaceful?
2:00:53
Do you feel satisfied? I do.
2:00:55
More is coming. But I do, I mean, I think once I
2:00:57
accepted that, like that is that is kind of my role to be just
2:01:01
like a, a pillar of strength. It's it's given me more strength
2:01:07
and motivation. Because when I feel like giving
2:01:09
up, I think about the people that look up to me, the people
2:01:12
that have seen my journey and see me keep getting back up and
2:01:15
I'm like, I got to get back up again for them.
2:01:17
But Bonnie, you're also a story of success because when I look
2:01:20
at you, it's not even just like she's been through so much for a
2:01:23
girl. Oh my God, I'm going to get
2:01:24
through this too. I look at you and I'm like, she
2:01:26
has climbed mountains and she's done so much and I see the
2:01:29
future of you and I know you're going to be continuing to do
2:01:32
incredible massive things. And at the end of the day, like
2:01:36
your true heart calling, especially when you were younger
2:01:38
and you were thinking about what you want in your life and you're
2:01:40
visualizing, you're living your fantasy, making videos, making
2:01:42
music videos, performing, you're doing all that and you got to do
2:01:45
all that. And it's it means something to
2:01:47
me, absolutely. And it means something to
2:01:50
everyone. Thanks.
2:01:51
Well, I feel like, you know, ending up at Tribeca Film
2:01:53
Festival was a big manifestation moment for me because like I
2:01:56
said, people for years have been like, why are you still still
2:01:59
making music videos? This does it cost too much
2:02:01
money? It doesn't move the needle.
2:02:03
There's no return on investment. Why are you doing this?
2:02:05
And I just like in my heart and soul and was like, I'm doing
2:02:08
this because I love it. This brings me joy and that's
2:02:10
why I'm fucking doing it. And that is what got me to
2:02:13
Tribeca. The universe rewarded you for
2:02:15
that. I really feel that.
2:02:17
No, I agree, and also we love it as fans too.
2:02:20
You're giving to us and like it creates more of a deeper story
2:02:23
into the lore, you know? Like I want to know every little
2:02:25
nitty gritty detail of every one of these songs, and you give us
2:02:27
a peek into your mind about it. I like the forever 20 music
2:02:30
video, genius. You know what I mean.
2:02:31
Everything. Well, congratulations on all of
2:02:33
that. You're still a massive believer
2:02:35
in the universe. You speak about the universe on
2:02:37
this hot city project. You say in everything but you,
2:02:40
the stars are on my side. Slay believing in tomorrow in
2:02:43
the cosmos. Of course we still believe.
2:02:45
And in deep cut justice for waking of diagonal waking by the
2:02:47
guy in antagonal, you say I can see in the Milky Way.
2:02:50
You've always had this thread of this higher power in your music.
2:02:54
Yes, absolutely. Really subscribing to that.
2:02:56
Definitely, yeah. Because I think that.
2:02:59
But I I recognize that I am not the one creating it.
2:03:02
I am like letting my higher power move through me.
2:03:06
And any successes that I've had have been from me opening up and
2:03:09
channeling that. And it's just going through the
2:03:12
filter and the lens of me. But all of that magic comes from
2:03:18
the stars, I think. I don't know.
2:03:19
And inside you, and we love it and we appreciate it.
2:03:22
Well, I'm really like that. You feel like you're such a
2:03:24
believer in the universe still because to be honest, like being
2:03:28
knocked down, being disappointed, it could really
2:03:30
break someone. Yeah.
2:03:31
And again, your story to me is much more than just really
2:03:34
resiliency and perseverance. You're a champion.
2:03:36
You are the true champion that you sing in your music.
2:03:40
Thank you to me to like the world, obviously.
2:03:41
And you're going to continue to be rewarded.
2:03:43
So we're looking forward to that.
2:03:44
Thank you. Yeah, I think it's really
2:03:46
important to keep the faith. Good.
2:03:48
Me too, because there was a time when I lost it and that was the
2:03:50
darkest time of my life. Oh my gosh.
2:03:52
Did you write music during that? Yeah, and it's dark, it's dark.
2:03:57
But also part of that will be on this this next to dark album
2:04:00
that I'm doing. But, and that is also comes with
2:04:04
the surrender thing where I was just like I, I have to just have
2:04:07
blind faith. I have to just believe.
2:04:10
And believing I think is what gets you there.
2:04:12
Because if you don't believe, it's not going to happen.
2:04:15
What you need to do is slay. That's right.
2:04:18
Absolutely. And we're slaying.
2:04:20
Come on everybody, let's go. We're fucking going.
2:04:22
It's 1999. Let's do it.
2:04:23
Period. Well, Bonnie, I wanted to play a
2:04:25
really fun game with you. OK, this is our game.
2:04:28
Claim or rebuke. OK, Claim is you accept.
2:04:31
Rebuke is you Reject. OK, I'm going to wrap a fire
2:04:34
some topics for you. You can give context if you
2:04:36
like, or you could just let me know if you're claiming or
2:04:38
rebuking it. OK, you're ready.
2:04:40
OK, so we're going to start with signing with a record label
2:04:43
again. I claim.
2:04:46
Claim. I claim that, yeah, that could
2:04:48
be great. Let's do it.
2:04:50
Let's do it, Interscope. Great.
2:04:53
So are you claiming or rebuking starting your own label?
2:04:56
Claim. Heavy claim.
2:04:58
Yes, I would love to have an imprint, Yeah.
2:05:01
Yeah, OK, Call Bonnie. OK, this one might be hard.
2:05:05
That's hard for me. Claim your favorite song on Taut
2:05:08
City. Hard to say.
2:05:13
I do love. I love Hot City.
2:05:16
I just love Hot City. Yeah, I feel like.
2:05:18
It's a magnum opus. It's just one of the songs that
2:05:20
I feel like will be around in 50 years and people will still like
2:05:23
it. Absolutely.
2:05:24
And I just really want people to hear it because I'm like come on
2:05:26
y'all, let's. Get everyone to hear it.
2:05:28
OK so are we claiming rebuking breaking Bonnie 2 point?
2:05:34
Oh yeah, I'll claim that. So Bestie Lulu's, if you don't
2:05:37
know of Breaking Bonnie, please look it up.
2:05:39
Look it up on YouTube. Lana Del Rey is actually a huge
2:05:41
fan of it. And it is a mini series that
2:05:43
Bonnie did pre Epic Records or maybe during the time that
2:05:46
you're signing Epic Records where she was talking about her
2:05:48
journey of being a pop star in training.
2:05:50
And it's an incredible journey, and Lana Del Rey is a fan of it.
2:05:53
Yeah, actually Lana Del Rey is a big manifestation moment for me.
2:05:57
I I'm a huge fan. And I had just been saying to
2:06:01
myself, I was going through this insane breakup.
2:06:03
I was lost. I didn't know what I wanted to
2:06:05
do. This is after after Epic.
2:06:07
Yeah, this is after Epic, long after epic.
2:06:09
And I just in my head, I was like, you know what?
2:06:11
I just really feel like I would be happy to have the kind of fan
2:06:13
base that Lana has where it's not like, I mean, obviously
2:06:17
she's huge now. She's bigger now than she was
2:06:19
back then, too, where I was like, she had like a great cult
2:06:21
following. She's a tastemaker.
2:06:22
Everyone respects her, but it's not like, you know, unsafe, you
2:06:26
know what I mean? Right.
2:06:27
She wasn't like like the Katy Perry's at the.
2:06:30
Time yeah, it wasn't like you have to watch everything that
2:06:32
you say and every tweet that you want on that, you know what I
2:06:34
mean? I was like, I like her level of
2:06:36
fame. I feel like that's.
2:06:37
And I respect her so much. And I just was thinking a lot
2:06:39
about Lana and I was doing a lot of like witchy ceremonies in the
2:06:42
privacy of my little den period. And she was just on my mind.
2:06:47
And then I was like kind of going through it.
2:06:48
And I ran into her at a party and she was like, you're Bonnie
2:06:53
McKee. And I was like.
2:06:55
Oh, she recognized you. And she's like, I watched all of
2:06:57
breaking Bonnie and she's like, look at what I was listening to
2:07:00
on my way here. Holds up her phone.
2:07:02
Bombastic The. Gift that keeps on giving.
2:07:03
And I was like what? And she was like I really think
2:07:06
we should talk. I was like OK And I gave her my
2:07:09
number and she called me and we talked for like 2 hours.
2:07:12
Oh my gosh, about what? She was like, listen bitch, you
2:07:16
need to be a redhead again. Go back to red.
2:07:19
You need to be an artist like you are an incredible songwriter
2:07:23
and we want to hear your voice, like your lyrics, blah, blah,
2:07:26
blah. She knew the deep cuts and I was
2:07:28
like, what the hell is going on? Damn.
2:07:32
She was. It was like literally she fell
2:07:34
from the sky. Lil Angel.
2:07:35
Right in the moment when I needed it, when I was in my
2:07:37
darkest moment, Lana Del Rey appeared.
2:07:40
I thank her. You actually.
2:07:41
Manifested. That I thanked her in the liner
2:07:43
notes of Hot City because I was like, she was like, you're an
2:07:45
artist. And I needed that.
2:07:47
I needed someone to tell me that.
2:07:48
Yeah, especially someone that you respected and you were
2:07:50
manifesting like a career similar to her, you know, like
2:07:53
what you were saying. Yeah, that's so validating.
2:07:56
No, it was like it changed. It changed my.
2:07:58
Your redhead again. Yes, I was like, you're right,
2:08:00
right, You're right. A hot city came out.
2:08:04
Yep. Oh my gosh, I love that.
2:08:05
Well, thank you so much. Lana's already from me.
2:08:08
Oh my God. Seriously.
2:08:09
Well, how impactful was that? Like hearing that conversation,
2:08:11
that pep talk, did it really kick things into gear for you?
2:08:13
It absolutely did because I was really lost and feeling so alone
2:08:16
and like nobody wanted me and I didn't know where I belonged
2:08:19
anymore. And she was like, you're an
2:08:21
artist. You are an artist.
2:08:22
And I just, and she just fell out of the sky out of nowhere.
2:08:25
And I was like, Lana Del Rey just told me I'm an artist.
2:08:28
And I believe her. OK, I believe her too.
2:08:30
We all believe her. And you know what?
2:08:33
Claiming Lana Del Rey, claiming Heavy, claiming on Lana Del Rey.
2:08:37
So are we claiming or rebuking LA Reid and Epic Records?
2:08:43
We're claiming, we're claiming because like, I got me where I
2:08:46
am today. So he's been really cool about
2:08:49
me sampling these songs and they're letting me do my thing.
2:08:53
And look, they put me on the radio with American Girl.
2:08:55
Like, I'm really grateful for that whole experience.
2:08:57
And I needed, I needed to have all that.
2:09:00
Everything happens for a reason. That's so introspective.
2:09:02
You better than me, girl. Well, I have a different answer.
2:09:05
Well, Bonnie, thank you so much for playing and this has been
2:09:08
literally such an incredible episode for me.
2:09:10
Like honestly, I hate to admit it y'all, but this was for me.
2:09:14
This episode was for me. I am so sorry.
2:09:16
I really try to make as much about manifestation as I can,
2:09:19
but this was for me. Thank you, thank you.
2:09:21
So happy you're here. This was I'm happy.
2:09:24
To be here you. Truly have changed my life and I
2:09:26
hope, I hope all of you. Hey, and by the way, you changed
2:09:29
mine because you told me what manifesting with Slay and don't
2:09:33
get mad at famous what all these things did for you.
2:09:35
And I was like, OK, well that's why I'm here.
2:09:38
Yeah, that's why I'm here is to help people.
2:09:40
So you believing in it is why I put out Hot City.
2:09:43
So I do owe this to you. Stop.
2:09:45
No, no, literally I do thank you because the shitty little MP
2:09:48
threes of slay I had and I had every version.
2:09:51
She performed it many times. And I, I had every fucking
2:09:54
version. I titled every single version
2:09:55
that was. And it, it really did get me
2:09:57
where I am. Like 2020 was when I started my
2:09:59
TikTok and then everything started blowing up for me
2:10:01
because I wanted more for myself, you know what I mean?
2:10:03
I didn't want to just, you know, live in the shadows.
2:10:06
It was cold there personally. So I didn't like it.
2:10:09
And you know, those songs really gave me the motivation in life
2:10:13
to just do it, to fucking slay. That's it.
2:10:15
You know what I mean? It feels so simple and like,
2:10:19
obvious, but it's really not. And hearing it and connecting to
2:10:21
it and sonically, it's also like, I feel slay in my veins.
2:10:25
Besties. I hate to say it, but I do.
2:10:27
But Bonnie, seriously, thank you so, so, so much.
2:10:31
We close out every show by manifesting together.
2:10:33
We speak things into existence. Could be anything silly,
2:10:36
serious, career, personal, anything.
2:10:38
But the universe is listening, especially here on Delulu.
2:10:40
So I want to manifest with you. What are we manifesting right
2:10:43
now? What do we want to speak into
2:10:44
existence? I'm manifesting.
2:10:49
I want to say I'm manifesting you becoming the biggest pop
2:10:51
star in the world, but you simply are.
2:10:53
So that's just true, Lulu. Reality.
2:10:55
Reality Lulu. No, you know what I would love
2:10:58
for? I would love for the world to
2:11:00
discover the Hot City album and really connect with that.
2:11:04
I would love for Hot City to have a moment, like a real
2:11:07
moment. Well, if you were a bestie of
2:11:08
mine, you were going to listen to Hot City because honestly,
2:11:11
you know, a lot of the, the fun fact Lulu besties, a lot of the
2:11:14
music I have in the tarot videos are songs from Hot City.
2:11:18
So when you're feeling empowered, when you're feeling
2:11:20
motivated, when you're watching those videos is Hot City you're
2:11:22
listening to and I'm infusing it.
2:11:24
It's like a subliminal for me. It's all powerful, very, very
2:11:27
powerful. So you don't even know how many
2:11:29
people are fans of Hot City without even knowing yet?
2:11:31
I love it, I love it. Well, we're manifesting that.
2:11:34
I want everyone to discover Hot City and also just really get
2:11:37
into the world of Hot City. It's true escapism.
2:11:39
It is. It's escapism and it's
2:11:41
empowering. And I mean, look, all kinds of
2:11:44
things have happened because I believed in myself and because I
2:11:47
I didn't let these songs die, you know what I mean?
2:11:49
And I feel grateful for look, it's what it's done for you.
2:11:52
Thank you. Seriously, you changed my life.
2:11:54
I wouldn't even be here. I wouldn't even be interviewing
2:11:57
you. I was praying last night before
2:11:58
bed. I was like, wow, God, 10 years
2:11:59
ago I was like getting kicked out or trying to see her in
2:12:02
concert. And I'm about to interview her
2:12:04
on my own show, which is. Manifestation is real.
2:12:07
Manifestation is real, you're a living proof of it.
2:12:10
Thank you. We're so proud of you.
2:12:11
Thank you. I'm proud of you.
2:12:12
Thank. You, well, that means a lot
2:12:14
coming from you. Well, thank you so much, Bonnie.
2:12:17
We spoke that into existence. We're manifesting that.
2:12:20
Please listen to Hot City, everyone.
2:12:21
Well, besties, thank you so much for joining us on this very long
2:12:25
episode of Delulu. I'm so grateful that you
2:12:28
listened and watch. This was your healthy dose of
2:12:30
delulu. So now you can go live your true
2:12:33
Lulu. Bonnie McKee, thank you so much
2:12:35
for being here. Thank you for having me.
2:12:36
Where can the besties find you? You can find me on Twitter on
2:12:40
this is Twitter. Stop it.
2:12:43
Get rid of that. We'll do Instagram.
2:12:45
You can you can find me on Instagram and TikTok and YouTube
2:12:48
and sub stack. So come on down.
2:12:50
It's just my name, just at Bonnie McKee.
2:12:52
And besties, you can also find Bonnie on Spotify.
2:12:54
Wherever you stream music, please listen to Hot City.
2:12:56
It's such an incredible album and it truly is an affirmation
2:12:59
album. You want to feel good.
2:13:00
You want to feel like you're manifesting your best life.
2:13:02
You truly want lucky girl syndrome on crack.
2:13:04
It is in hot city. Check out the deluxe and also
2:13:07
check out bombastic, the original EP and the 10 year
2:13:10
anniversary EP Bombastic play hard.
2:13:12
If you guys love this episode, please follow the show on
2:13:15
Spotify and hit the bell by and to be notified every time you
2:13:17
ever so drops every Dilulu Thursday and besties.
2:13:20
If you could be so kind and rate the show 5 stars.
2:13:22
Bonnie and I will personally write a song about you so please
2:13:26
rate the show. Do it right now.
2:13:27
It takes 10 seconds. Thank you thank you, thank you
2:13:30
and besties. If you want more of this
2:13:31
podcast, please join my pastors besties community at the top of
2:13:34
my page and you could be a part of next week's WADG.
2:13:37
We didn't get to do it this episode, but you can do in the
2:13:39
next episode. And of course, you can always
2:13:40
find me out of motions E period demo period TRS across all my
2:13:43
platforms and the exclusive podcast account at delulu BFF.
2:13:47
Thank you so much for watching besties stay Delulu stream
2:13:49
Bonnie McKee love you. Thank you.