Encased in golden body armor with a vibrant plume of sky-blue feathers, King Creole crouches valiantly on the cover of Dawn Richard's sixth solo album, Second Line. Her eyes are fixed and steady as she prepares to lead the charge for Richard's newest era as an artist.

The illustrated character embodies the hope and tenacity that's carried the singer/songwriter through a career of more than 15 years. In that time, Richard has seen chart-topping success and an astonishing run of critically acclaimed albums as a solo act and as a member of Danity Kane and Dirty Money. The New Orleans native credits sobering personal and career challenges as vital to her growth as an artist and individual.

"The story I'm telling in King Creole is me. But I also feel like there are a lot of King Creoles. There are a lot of people who feel like they are worthless. They don't have a voice. They are the others," Richard told GRAMMY.com. "They've had a journey like mine, the unconventional journey, the journey that didn't have a blueprint. You had to be the blueprint."

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For her sixth outing as a solo artist, Richard continues to strike down the unspoken rules that often surround Black music artists regarding the narrow scope in which critics and audiences categorize their music. Second Line—which Richard describes as an "electro revival"—is built on a foundation of electronic productions blended with other sonic inspirations Richard has pulled from across her career, like R&B, dance-pop and jazz. 

"It is not a surprise that I would make an album full of so many different genres, so many different colors, so many different meanings," she says, "when I am from a city [and parents] who encompass all of that." Plus, Richard hopes the project will expand how the world views the city that continually informs her artistry. "New Orleans is the story, but it's not about brass horns and jazz and blues," she adds. "The story is about the journey. New Orleans is the journey. It's not in the sound."

In a chat with GRAMMY.com, Richard expounded on her inspirations behind Second Line, how she channeled her pain and promise into the creative narrative of the project and why she'll never stop speaking out for Black artists in the industry.

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This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

A major piece of your creative mandate around Second Line has been speaking out against the genre boxes Black artists are often placed in. Does continually having to speak out against those unspoken rules affect your creativity or headspace when you're going in to make a new record—seeing that you're always having to be, in a sense, a voice of representation for Black women and Black musical artists?

I would love to go in and not have to explain myself at all. The artist in me would just like to show my art and then become a recluse. That would be the dream. I would love to do what my peers do. 

I always speak about this because I appreciate Lady Gaga a lot. But I always talk about her journey because she never has to explain why she did a country album, why she did a jazz album, why she did a dance album and then went to electronic. She never explained it. Every album came out in a different genre, and we loved her for all of them. She didn't have to ever lead with anything but her art. I thought that was beautiful. 

Black women don't have that ability, or Black artists, period. When we do things, we have to have disclaimers. We have to explain who we are and why we're doing what we're doing because it isn't what traditionally people expect us to do. I always thought that was interesting. It was never a bad or good thing. I was just observant of it. 

I don't ever want to have to disclaim who I am. I don't want to have to say, "You know, Black women in electronic [music]..." I would just like to come in and be among my peers and make great music. But the truth is, if I don't speak on it, it'll never change.

One of my favorite notes about this project is that you worked on it while at home with your parents—who are key figures in your story as an artist. How did sharing space with them shape the project and how was their influence reflected in what you ended up making with Second Line?

It was everything. My parents have always been the inspiration behind all that I've ever done creatively. They and I have experienced some severe journeys. We lost together and we gained together. We went through severe homelessness when Katrina happened. So every time I'm able to be with them, I feel like I go back to a sense of peace. I get to know who I am. I get reacquainted with why I keep doing this thing and why I have my passions. 

With this album, when you hear records like "Perfect Storm" and "The Potter," [you hear] the influence of sometimes losing self-­worth because I have been through this so long. And I have been treated in all different types of crazy ways. I always find that when I'm with my mom and dad, I find my self-worth again a little bit. I find the strength in me to keep moving. 

My mom and dad have had severe loss, yet they dance in their joy of the possibility and the hope of what could be. They are a direct reflection of what Second Line embodies, and so is New Orleans.                      

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You even had your mom featured on the interludes on the album.

We would have sessions. She was getting a knee replacement, so she was immobile for a while. And it made us have these conversations that I hadn't ever thought about. I discovered things I had never known about my mom. And it became so much more about creating an album that represented what it means to be from New Orleans.

What I've realized is I didn't want to make an album that sonically sounded like New Orleans; I wanted to make New Orleans. The record emulates New Orleans—who I am, my mom, who she is. The energy that I put into the record became the actual narrative and the sonics behind it became the possibilities of what it could be.           

Do you have a track you'd call the foundation or heart of the project?

My favorite is the trio of "Le Petit Morte" to "Radio Free" to "The Potter." Those three just mean something to me. They speak to me. I wanted them to be one long record. But I just loved them better as a separate entity structurally when I was sequencing. 

Those three spoke to how I wanted to design the record. Because the record is broken up into two parts. The first half is the electronic, the process, the android, if you will, of King Creole. It's the android version of the album. So, even if the BPMs are at a certain time frame, the meter is at a specific place. Whereas after the "Voodoo" intermission, the human side of King Creole forms. You start to get more soul and vibration that is from a human aspect.

Dawn Richard. Photo: Petros Koy

An important part of any album's story is its album cover. And for you to take this concept of King Creole and make it into an actual illustration, I'm sitting here looking and saying, "Who is she, or he, or them?" Who is King Creole? What do they represent to you? 

King Creole has my eyes but she's not fully me. I want people to see themselves in this character. And it's important to me to always do that because I just want people to know they're never alone. I didn't realize when my albums would come out that for so many people, it affected them in ways when they had severe hard times.

Because that's what music was for me. That is the biggest compliment I could ever get. And I always want to make sure that when I make these albums, though I am on them and though I have these alter egos, they also reflect others who have also felt that way.

So instead of teasing Second Line through a music video, as most people would likely expect, you hit us with your animated short and then followed that up with the release of the "Bussifame" video. How did that short come to be and why did you choose to kick off the album rollout that way?

I always saw my city when I made this album. I saw New Orleans as so much more than just what we were being portrayed as. We are such a visual city. My city is so full of roots and heritage. That kind of diversity and movement is so ever-present in New Orleans. I thought it could be really cool to apply it to a post-apocalyptic Blade Runner­-like story when I was making the album.

The only way New Orleans is seen in animation is The Princess and the Frog—a very caricature-like idea. I thought it'd be cool to show New Orleans in a different way in animation. And because I was working with that, I wanted to highlight Black animators. I [worked with] Nurdin Momodu from Lotusfly Animation—he's from Nigeria. I had him animate the trailer to show an animated New Orleans that hadn't really been seen before. 

The I-­10 and having King Creole smoking a blunt in the middle of downtown New Orleans, just something that is completely different than the depiction of what New Orleans is when people think of it. Because it's so much more. We always see New Orleans as the past. I was trying to show New Orleans in a futuristic way.                                                                                                          

When did you start recording Second Line and when did you finish the project?

I started recording [Second Line] maybe seven months after I released New Breed in 2019. I started recording again while I was in LA and then I finished in New Orleans in the pandemic. My mom got her surgery in February of last year. So, literally around March or April 2020, I was like, "I don't know if I'm done."

I had the music, I had the plan, and then I met up with Merge Records. Because I haven't even been with Merge even a year yet. They heard everything. They loved it. They were like, "We need time 'cause this is dope and we want to do all of this stuff." And I was like, "Okay." So then they were like, "We're gonna release it next March."

So you've had all this done for a year?   

Yeah, I had a year just sitting on it. And that's hard for someone like me because I never feel like anything's finished! You know what I mean? I was trying to do more stuff and put more bells [on it] and I was trying to figure it out.

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Do you have any creative elements that you remember thinking out or sketching out very early on in the album creation process before they had turned into their final product?

"Bussifame," no question. I knew what I wanted it to sound like, I knew I wanted to pay tribute to the drill team and majorettes. I knew I wanted the Chef Menteur building. I also knew I wanted to do primary colors. Because for me colors play a strong role in all my albums because I dream in color. And if you guys check out my visuals, blue, red and yellow are very present in the story.

And how have you been able to find balance during your transition back into a label with Merge Records? You're used to having to handle so many aspects of a release on your own. Was it tough allowing members of your team to take on some of the responsibilities?

I handle every element of my project going out still. I talk to Merge daily. And I'll tell you; I've never had a PR team this dope. But I'm constantly on. It doesn't change. If anything, I'm even more on it because I do know what that feels like, and there are severe fears for me because I've had some really bad situations. I'm still with an independent label, so I'm still indie.

[Merge Records] moves good. My PR team at [Schure Media Group] moves good. But I'm still ever-present [with] it. For example, when I knew I would be on with Schure, I didn't take that for granted because that was a dream.

So I came to them with pictures already done. I did a whole photoshoot and had a folder. I was like, "No, we're in COVID. So because we're in COVID, and we may not get photoshoots for magazines, I'm gonna take all these pictures and give you guys a folder. So that'll make it easier for you to pitch."

I promise you that happened. Just because you get help don't mean you stop. It means you go harder because you've got people who believe in you. So I feel like I'm even more involved because I'm not taking for granted that extra help.

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There's energy sitting here right now, and it is very palpable. I can think of Goldenheart, Black Heart, Redemption, New Breed and all of those projects, but where does this project stand among those?

This is my best project, no question. I know that's hard for people because this project isn't as targeted into the industry. 

With my other projects, the story was so specific. This is broader. It's a bigger message. It's a blatant choice to say in the very beginning [of the album] that "I don't need a genre. I am the genre." I purposely tried to show that a Black woman can move any way she chooses, believe herself to be the royalty that she truly is, and never care how the structure or the blueprint is mapped out. 

This is the first album with that much versatility, and it doesn't take New Orleans so literally. It doesn't have to sound like the streets of New Orleans sonically. I'm showing you that the essence of what New Orleans is can be brought to the future. I feel like this could open doors for other Black female artists for Black women right now in music, especially in genres that they had never been seeing themselves. 

I would hope that this would be that because that's really what this is to me. It's an opportunity to have people start looking a little deeper at what we can do.

"A Louisiana GRAMMY Celebration" Honors the State's Musical Legacy With Special Performances & A Big Announcement

Between two award seasons, A Star Is Born received seven nominations — including Record Of The Year and two nods for Song Of The Year — and four wins for Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media, Best Song Written for Visual Media twice, and Best Pop/Duo Group Performance.

In this episode of GRAMMY Rewind, travel to 2019 to watch Lady Gaga accept one of the album's first GRAMMY wins for Best Pop/Duo Group Performance for "Shallow."

After thanking God and her family for their unwavering support, Lady Gaga expressed gratitude for her co-star, Bradley Cooper. "I wish Bradley was here with me right now," Gaga praised. "I know he wants to be here. Bradley, I loved singing this song with you."

Gaga went on to express how proud she was to be a part of a movie that addresses mental health. "A lot of artists deal with that. We've got to take care of each other. So, if you see somebody that's hurting, don't look away. And if you're hurting, even though it might be hard, try to find that bravery within yourself to dive deep, tell somebody, and take them up in your head with you."

Press play on the video above to hear Lady Gaga's complete acceptance speech for A Star Is Born's "Shallow" at the 2019 GRAMMY Awards, and check back to GRAMMY.com for more new episodes of GRAMMY Rewind.

Run The World: How Lady Gaga Changed The Music Industry With Dance-Pop & Unapologetic Feminism

As someone who has dedicated her life to being a performer, Dua Lipa's recent admission to Apple Music's Zane Lowe seems almost unfathomable: "I never thought of the idea of being famous."

Stardom may not have been on her mind as a kid, but Lipa is now, indeed, one of the most famous pop stars on the planet as she releases her highly anticipated third album, Radical Optimism. 

In the seven years since her acclaimed 2017 self-titled debut, Lipa has achieved several highs — like three GRAMMY wins, including Best New Artist in 2019 — as well as the subsequent lows that can often come with global stardom. And though the singer also admitted to Lowe that it "took me a while to find my voice," Radical Optimism is her most self-assured album yet — one that hinges on the title being not only the project's name, but also its defining approach to Lipa's present-day vision for her life.

"Radical Optimism and the way that I see it is this idea of rolling with the punches, of not letting anything get you down for too long. Of always seeing the positive side of things. Of being able to grow and move forward and change your perspective regardless of what's happening in your life…I think it's a big part of maturing and growing up."

The entire album was crafted in her native London over the course of a year-and-a-half, with Lipa enlisting a small band of collaborators — including her righthand co-writer Caroline Ailin, Kevin Parker of Tame Impala, Danny L. Harle and Tobias Jesso, Jr. — to create a cohesive, buoyant body of work tinged with disco, funk and bits of psychedelic pop.

Naturally, "radical optimism" is a core thread that runs through all eleven songs as Lipa reflects on falling in and out of love, grapples with her fame and confidently declares that everything that came before Radical Optimism was just a practice run. After all, as she brazenly declares on the LP's second single, "Training season's over." 

As you enter Dua's latest musical world, dive into four major takeaways from Radical Optimism below.

Radical Optimism Isn't Just A New Era — It's A Whole New Perspective

When Lipa accepted her GRAMMY for Best Pop Vocal Album in 2021, she declared she was officially done with the "sad music" that had fueled her breakout debut album. And if 2020's Future Nostalgia was, in context, a kind of clubby, '80s-driven turning point for the artist, she fully embraces the Radical Optimism promised by its follow-up's title. Lipa's newfound attitude is both clear-eyed and relentlessly positive across the album's 11 tracks, whether she's gushing over a new love on giddy opener "End of an Era," being kept up all night by thoughts of a seductive crush on "Whatcha Doing" or cutting her losses and ditching out early on the spellbinding "French Exit."

Even "These Walls," on which she watches a doomed relationship fade to black, is approached with a sense of inevitability laced with clarity and astute kindness. "But if these walls could talk/ They'd say enough, they'd say give up/ If these walls could talk/ They'd say/ You know you're f—ed/ It's not supposed to hurt this much/ Oh, if these walls could talk/ They tell us to break up," Lipa sings over gossamer production and a piano line by Andrew Wyatt.

You Can Still Find Her On The Dance Floor

The rollout for Radical Optimism was front-loaded with the release of three singles ahead of the full album in the form of "Houdini," "Training Season" and "Illusion." Between the three subsequent music videos and a thrilling live performance at the 2024 GRAMMYs in February, Lipa signaled that her third LP would be filled with her signature style of scintillating dance floor bangers.

The rest of the album more than delivers on that promise, with an overall BPM that rarely falls below what's needed for a full-blown aerobic workout — perfect for over-the-top choreography, of course. And in case the Service95 founder's commitment to the dance floor isn't already apparent, just look at the history-making hat trick she recently pulled off on the Billboard's Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart: as of press time, "Houdini," "Illusion" and "Training Season" occupied the top three spots, marking a first for any female artist in modern music history.

She's Redefining Love On Her Own Terms

If the litany of love songs on Radical Optimism are any indication, it's safe to say Lipa is head over heels these days (with boyfriend Callum Turner, perhaps?). Opening track "End of an Era" may mark the beginning of a new musical journey for the singer, but it's just as much about the thrill of a new relationship. Later on the track list, she uses album cut "Falling Forever" to grow an initial spark of infatuation into a red-hot love affair as she yearns, "How long, how long/ Can it just keep getting better?/ Can we keep falling forever" on the lovestruck chorus.

Lipa also makes it clear on the shapeshifting highlight "Anything For Love" that she's "not interested in a love that gives up so easily." As she refuses to accept the modern paradigm of ghosting, non-committal situationships and running away when things get hard, the song morphs from a tender piano ballad into danceable, mid-tempo groove, giving the listener just enough breathing room to wrestle with the questions of what kind of love they'll accept before dancing it out.

She's Putting Her Emotional Growth On Full Display

It's been almost seven years since Lipa spelled out her "New Rules" for a generation of pop lovers, and some of the most affecting cuts on Radical Optimism prove the British-Albanian star has accrued even more hard-won wisdom since her early days of "If you're under him, you ain't gettin' over him."

Penultimate track "Maria" finds Lipa thanking the ghost of her current lover's ex-girlfriend for making him a better man: "Never thought I could feel this way/ Grateful for all the love you gave/ Here's to the lovers that make you change/ Maria, Maria, Maria." 

Meanwhile, on album closer "Happy for You," the singer turns her attention not to a lover's ex-girlfriend, but to an ex who's moved on from her and found himself happier than ever. It's a complex, but decidedly mature feeling to realize you're genuinely happy for someone you used to love, but Lipa encapsulates the emotion perfectly. 

"Oh, I must've loved you more than I ever knew/ Didn't know I could ever feel/ 'Cause I'm happy for you," she sings on the chorus. "Now I know everything was real/ I'm not mad, I'm not hurt/ You got everything you deserve/ Oh, I must've loved you more than I ever knew/ I'm happy for you."

The grown-up sentiment finishes the album on a bittersweet emotional high — proving that no matter what life throws at her, Lipa will remain radically and unapologetically optimistic to the end. 

GRAMMY Rewind: Dua Lipa Champions Happiness As She Accepts Her GRAMMY For Best Pop Vocal Album In 2021

Long before Dua Lipa reached pop megastardom, she declared the mantra that would soon become the core of her art: "It has to be fun."

Whether in club-hopping evenings or tear-streaked mornings, Lipa has continuously found a way to bring catharsis and movement into every moment — and, subsequently, every song she's released. So when she announced that her new album would be called Radical Optimism, the second word seemed obvious. But what would radical mean for Dua Lipa, and how did she get there?

Considering her time as a model prior to her music career taking off, many found it easy to write off the London-born singer as by-the-books pop, all-image artist. But even before taking a listen to her self-titled debut, Lipa's upbringing reveals far more complex feelings and inspirations.

The daughter of Kosovo Albanian parents living in London, Lipa took notes from her musician father, digging deep on the likes of the Police, David Bowie and Radiohead, while dancing to Ciara and Missy Elliott with her classmates. After a four-year stint in Kosovo when her family relocated, the then 15-year-old Dua moved back to London to stay with a family friend and build towards an inevitable music-oriented life, which began with clubbing incessantly and posting covers of Alicia Keys and Christina Aguilera on YouTube.

Lipa was still working in restaurants when she first made contact with the music industry, burning the candle at both ends — as well as a third end unseen to mortals. "I'd finish work, then go out to whatever nightclub was happening until, like, 3 in the morning," she recently recalled to Elle. "Then I would wake up and go to the studio until I had my shift again at, like, 8 pm."

Warner Bros. Records caught wind of those sessions and signed her in 2014, leading to even more time in the studio (and, likely, less waitressing). Her debut single, 2015's "New Love," showcases everything that would lead to her eventual pop takeover: the resonant, sultry vocals, a propulsive beat, and a video full of effortless cool.

There would be seven more singles to follow from 2017's Dua Lipa, with the budding pop star co-writing a majority of the albums' tracks, alt R&B icon Miguel collaborating on a song, and Coldplay's Chris Martin providing additional vocals on the closer. While there are plenty of hits to take away ("Blow Your Mind (Mwah)" is a particular favorite in its grand and stompy disco sass), the true star here is "New Rules." Detailing the "rules" to avoid a problematic ex, the song could be cloying and twee, but Lipa's chill swagger sells the dance floor intensity and female empowerment in equal doses.

Listeners around the world agreed, as the song marked Lipa's first No. 1 in the UK and several other countries, as well as her first top 10 hit in the U.S. It also earned Lipa spots at festivals, a performance on Later… With Jools Holland, and five nominations at the 2018 Brit Awards — the most of any artist that year. She laid out a pretty clear manifesto after winning British Female Solo Artist: "Here's to more women on these stages, more women winning awards, and more women taking over the world."

As that year went on, Lipa solidified her own role in that mission. She became a hot collaboration commodity, first linking with Calvin Harris for the UK chart-topping "One Kiss"; then teaming with Mark Ronson and Diplo's Silk City for another club hit, "Electricity"; and even being recruited for Andrea Bocelli for "If Only," a track on his 2018 album, Sì. Her breakthrough was cemented in GRAMMY gold at the 2019 ceremony, too, as she won two golden gramophones: Best Dance Recording for "Electricity," and the coveted Best New Artist.

Early word of the Dua Lipa followup, Future Nostalgia, was that Lipa was amping the disco energy. "[The album] feels like a dancercise class," she hinted in July 2019 to the BBC, who also reported that the now full-fledged pop star was working with Pharrell, Nile Rodgers, Tove Lo, and Diplo.

Lead single "Don't Start Now" was co-written with the team behind "New Rules," and the hyper-elastic bass, MIDI strings, and honest-to-goodness cowbell more than lived up to her promise of disco domination. The track went platinum in five countries, a feat that would go on to be topped by multiple tracks on the album, including the smoldering "Physical" and the INXS-interpolating "Break My Heart."

The album's March 2020 release was a thing of anxious beauty. It could've been pure tragedy to release an album designed for sweaty, crowded clubs in the throes of the COVID-19 pandemic. And when the album leaked a full two weeks prior to its release, even Lipa wasn't sure if her timing was right. "I'm not sure if I'm even doing the right thing, but I think the thing we need the most at the moment is music, and we need joy and we need to be trying to see the light," she said in an Instagram Live days before the album's release.

True to that spirit, Lipa's openhearted enthusiasm and unadulterated fun made the album a staple of lockdown dance parties and wistful dancefloor daydreams. In a bit of chicken-and-egg magic, the album's runaway hit is the inescapable "Levitating." The song's buoyant synth pulse, clap-along disco groove, drippy strings and punchy hook add to something far greater than the sum of its parts. And DaBaby's in-the-cut remix verse helps fulfill Lipa's rap-meets-pop dreams. But it definitely didn't hurt to have the track basically overrun TikTok — and a video produced in partnership with the platform — at a time when we were all stuck at home, looking at our phones as a way to connect with the world.

That was only the beginning of the pop star's effort to make the most of the pandemic era; Lipa continued to find innovative ways to bring fans into her disco-fueled sonic universe for some joy and connection. For one, she evolved Future Nostalgia into a remix album: Club Future Nostalgia, featuring electronic minds like Moodymann and Yaeji, as well as high-profile guests like BLACKPINK, Madonna, and Missy Elliott. And while fans who had grown connected to the album were hungry for an event to attend, she developed Studio 2054. The technicolor, gleeful live-streamed event saw millions of viewers virtually join Lipa in an immaculately choreographed, star-studded dance party — one that further displayed her magnetic personality and in-the-moment attitude.

Through the entire Future Nostalgia era, Lipa's purpose further proved to be more than the music. Yet again, it was about the amount of fun and energy it was able to provide to fans, something that proved to resonate in an even bigger way than her first project.

"[Future Nostalgia] took on its own life. And that in itself showed me that everything is in its own way for its own specific purpose, for its own reason," she told Variety earlier this year. "As long as I'm being of service and the music is there and it's a soundtrack for a moment in time, or in someone's life, then I've done what I was supposed to do."

Before getting to work on her third LP, Lipa kept the dance party going with new and old collaborators. First, she scored another UK No. 1 and U.S. top 10 hit alongside Elton John with "Cold Heart (Pnau remix)"; later, she was enlisted for feel-good singles from Megan Thee Stallion and Calvin Harris' 2022 albums. Then, a reunion with Mark Ronson led to a summer 2023 detour in Barbie land, resulting in another disco-tinged smash, "Dance the Night," for the blockbuster film's soundtrack (as well as her acting debut!).

With the good vibes clearly not fading, Lipa was primed for her next musical venture. In November, she unveiled the lead single to her next project, "Houdini," a swirling track that features a trio of new collaborators — and a brilliant, if seemingly dissimilar, set of co-writers at that: former PC Music electronic experimentalist Danny Harle, Tame Impala frontman (and retro psychedelia mastermind) Kevin Parker, and breezy Canadian singer/songwriter Tobias Jesso Jr. But with her trusty songwriter pal Caroline Ailin also in tow, Lipa retained the same trademark dance pop pulse amid crunchy bass and stomping percussion — putting the Radical into the Optimism.

She kept the same team (and energy) for the album's subsequent singles, "Training Season" and "Illusion." The former thumps and jitters underneath Lipa opting for a willowy falsetto in the chorus, a song that can unite Tame Impala psych addicts and more traditional poptimists at the club. And where earlier Lipa tracks might have been more eager to get to a bright punch, "Illusion" smolders patiently, trusting that the vocalist's charisma can buoy even the subtler moments.

While the album's first three singles carry echoes of the propulsive, dance floor energy of Future Nostalgia, Lipa took more notes from a more modern pop era than the disco days on Radical Optimism. "I think the Britpop element that really came to me was the influences of Oasis and Massive Attack and Portishead and Primal Scream, and the freedom and the energy those records had," she told Variety. "I love the experimentation behind it."

But, she insists, that's not to say that she's produced the next "Wonderwall." This isn't Dua Lipa's Britpop turn, but rather her latest experiment in finding freedom and embracing the moment.

"When I hear 'Teardrop' by Massive Attack and I'm like, 'how did this song even come to be? It feels like it just happened in a moment of real freedom and writing and emotion," she continued in the Variety interview. "And I think that was just the feeling I was trying to convey more than anything."

And in her mind, that freedom needs to remain at the core of everything — whether working through a global pandemic or working on a new project. "I think it's important that we just learn to walk through the fire and not hide away from it, or shy away from it," she added. "That's just optimism. It's probably the most daring thing we can do."

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In her latest track "Off Switch," Australian dance-pop artist VASSY captures the exhilarating intensity of a budding romance. She loves the rush but, at the same time, wishes she could fight the feeling, even if only for a few seconds.

"There's something electric between you and I/ The way we connected I can't describe/ We're right on the edge of blurring the lines/ Don't know why I'm scared of this rush inside," she sings in the intro. "I wish my heart, it had an off switch/ 'Cause, boy, I don't know how to stop this."

In this episode of Global Spin, watch VASSY deliver an acoustic performance of her track, playing guitar and using a pair of castanets for added rhythm.

VASSY released "Off Switch" on Jan. 5 with an electrifying music video swirling with vibrant neon lights. 

Recently she wrapped a string of appearances supporting Aqua's United States leg of their world tour and earlier this month, performed a headlining show in San Diego. On May 18, she will take the stage at the BASSINTHEGRASS music festival in Darwin, Australia.

Press play on the video above to watch VASSY's lively performance of "Off Switch," and remember to check back to GRAMMY.com for more new episodes of Global Spin.

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