At last count, LP‘s breakthrough single, ‘Lost On You’ had been streamed over 500 million times. That’s a lot...and thankfully no fluke. Having also previously written hits for Xtina and ‘Cheers (Drink To That)’ for Rihanna, it’s no surprise that LP has a bunch more bops on her latest album Heart To Mouth. Loverboy catches up with her mid-tour to discuss flirting in Spanish, yoga and how listening to a Mariah Carey record is like taking drugs for the first time…
Hey LP, you’ve just finished a bunch of gigs in Russia! How was that, from an LGBT perspective?!
Russia was amazing. There were rainbow flags in the crowd, I got to speak with fans after the show. It’s not an easy time, being gay there. People are being really brave. I mean, I’m clearly gay as fuck, I don’t hide it. But people in Russia didn’t care about my sexual orientation. I feel very lucky not to have experienced any kind of conflict. Politics is not really my thing, but I do want to bring people together though my music. I’m all about inclusion. Music is universal. Russia is embracing Western artists. It’s really encouraging that we’re beginning to break down those boundaries.
And when it comes to different languages, do you find audiences in different countries respond to your music differently?
I’m amazed by how much they understand just through the emotions in the delivery. I have such an emotional voice that when I was starting out…it didn’t hinder me, but it was definitely too intense for some people. But when it comes to singing in non-English speaking countries, I actually think that intensity is one of the things that has helped me, because I believe my music is hitting them in that place.
I am learning Spanish and saw you posted a video of ‘Girls Go Wild’ with Spanish subtitles…
I wish I knew Spanish better. You tell me! How was the translation?!
Well, even after three years, my Spanish is still intermediate!
Are you able to use humour yet? I think it must be thrilling when you’re able to be funny in another language!
Fuck jokes, I just want to be able to flirt! Haha…
Fucking up flirting in another language must be the worst! I mean, you can come home from a night out and think, ‘I can’t believe I fucking said that!’ and that’s when you’re speaking English! Painful! I cannot imagine the things you might accidentally say to people in another language!
Right? ‘Chicken’ and ‘dick’ are very similar in Spanish so I have to be extremely careful what I’m asking for!
Especially if you’re a vegetarian!
Speaking of food, what do you have on your tour rider?
I just try to order as much healthy shit as I can, otherwise I feel like I’m going to get fucking scurvy!
What else do you do on the road?
Performing is a physical thing so staying active is really important. I do yoga every day because when you’re travelling, you’re sitting down all the time. You can touch your toes and feel like your hamstrings are going to completely snap!
I have epilepsy and keep being told yoga would help!
Yeah, I imagine so. It soothes the central nervous system. I’ve been doing it for about thirteen years. It’s life-changing.
The reviews for Heart To Mouth have been fantastic. Do you have a favourite review?
I think the best thing is that people have been like, ‘Shit. Ok. It’s a body of work. It’s a complete album.’ I also love that this album doesn’t sound like I am chasing ‘Lost on You.’ As a songwriter, that would really bum me out if people thought I was just trying to repeat that.
‘Lost on You’ has over 250 millions views on YouTube. That’s insane. I can imagine the label would love it if you made ‘Lost On You’ 2.0! Did they say anything like that?
Well, when I was making the album before Lost On You, I was signed to Warner Bros and they crushed all the fucking spontaneity in that record. So we said, ‘OK, fuck you’ and then went on to make Lost On You on our own. So now I am in an enviable position where I don’t really have a label telling me what to do….we tell them!
And, finally, Loverboy is named after the infamous Mariah Carey record. What is your favourite Mariah Carey song?
‘Vision of Love.’ Hearing that as her first single was like doing drugs for the first time! I was like, ‘What. The. Fuck?!!!!’ A gift from God.
LP’s latest album, Heart to Mouth, is out now.
Listen to ‘Girls Go Wild’ (James Krausse Mix) on Spotify.
You can also see her on tour in the UK this month.
London, Roundhouse – 17th May
Manchester, O2 Ritz – 18th May
Birmingham, O2 Institute – 19th May
Dublin, Olympia Theatre – 21st May
Glasgow, SWG3 Galvanizers – 23rd May
