“I thought you wеre blocked. Fuck off, stop calling me, Josh” might just be one of the catchiest and most relatable break-up hooks of the year. Peach PRC has unveiled her official debut single to the world after signing with Republic Records and Island Records Australia, and it’s a hyper-pop song for anyone who has had an ex who just won’t leave them alone.
Airing his childish and manipulative ways, she uses this track to show him that they’re never getting back together, and that she’s not going to keep going back and helping him fix his mistakes. On top of all of that she even uses his real name, and honestly that is some huge main character energy that we all need to embody this year.
With over 1.1 million followers on TikTok, the Sydney based singer-songwriter has created this momentum that is unparalleled in the Australian music industry. With her videos going viral constantly due to their raw honesty and hilarious transparency, what fans have come to love is how real she is, and this song completely compliments that sentiment. With the DIY meets retro-pop production getting immediately stuck in your head along with that catchy hook, you will be singing this song for days and impatiently waiting for more new music to drop.
I recently chatted to Peach PRC about the early 2010’s retro-pop inspiration behind ‘Josh’, the very literal aspect of using the guy the song is about’s name as the main hook, and discuss one of her most viral TikTok videos and find out the other half of the story. Check it out BELOW;
THOMAS BLEACH: ’Josh’ is this big anthemic and very literal pop song that makes it really clear that you’re never getting back together with him. It lives in this hyper-pop space, so can you tell me about the creative process behind the song?
PEACH PRC: I wrote this song on acoustic guitar and filmed a video of me singing it. At first I just put it up on my spam account on TikTok because I was scared Josh was going to see it and thought it was less likely for him to see it if I put it on there. I then took it to a producer and we worked together and tried to make it sound like early 2010’s pop. Doing the vocoder in the chorus was really fun too which helped make it sound like a retro-pop vibe.
TB: To me it gave me Carly Rae Jepsen meets Avril Lavigne vibes.
P: Yeah! That’s exactly what we were going for *laughs*. Like early Katy Perry and Avril Lavigne with the guitars, but we also wanted to keep it very camp and pop still.
TB: I’ve seen you say online that you make music exclusively for girls and gays, which I love *laughs*
P: Absolutely! Everything I do is *laughs*
TB: Do you remember what songs you were referencing in the studio when you were doing the production.
P: ‘I Kissed A Girl is a big one. Katy does this really cool pop thing where she comes in with these guitars to make it sound a bit more edgier, but it’s very much still pop and not punk pop even though there are definitely elements of that. ‘The Middle’ by Zedd was another one we referenced on the day specifically with the vocoder in the chorus.
TB: I love how celebratory it feels, and I may have a few times screamed out the chorus and changed ‘Josh’ with my exes name. And I definitely would like to recommend that to people. Did you think of this song as a bit of a celebratory moment and reclaiming of your own narrative personally?
P: I love that *laughs*! I was really hoping people would do that with their own exes name. The song was meant to be really light hearted. It wasn’t meant to be a full on “fuck you” diss, but I really was pretty mad so that didn’t translate that well *laughs*.
TB: At the start of the song you say “he’s going to kill me, I said I’d change it to John, fuck it”. This is a creative decision that a lot of artists have to decide on when writing a song explicitly about someone. Why did you end up deciding to keep his name in the song?
P: I think because that was how I originally wrote the song, and that’s how I originally put it out into the world on TikTok. It obviously resonated with a lot of people, and he also heard it and wasn’t happy about it so I did feel bad at first. I asked him if he would like me to change it to “John” and he said “yes please”, so I agreed to do that. But then he started to act out again so I was like “you know what, I’m leaving it”.
Also when I tried to record it in the studio with “John”, it just just didn’t flow or sound the same so I decided to keep it as “Josh” and he’ll just have to deal with it.
TB: I guess it just didn’t feel authentic then to say “John”
P: Exactly! I also feel like John is an older guys name and didn’t have the same ring to it.
TB: Has Josh contacted you about the new version of the song now that it’s properly out and has gone VIRAL?
P: He is taking it pretty well actually! He’s been a good sport about it and is trying to see the funny side of it because it is a parody of a relationship and a shitty ex rather than a full slam diss track. So I think he’s come around to it, and is now bragging to people that it’s about him. At first he was like “I can’t have anybody know it was about me”, and now he’s like “yeah, it’s about me” *laughs*.
TB: The music video is this super fun affair that sees you taking over all of the channels on the TV to get your message through to Josh. So if you could choose one show, or movie to insert yourself into to ruin Josh’s life forever what would it be?
P: Oooh that would be a good one! I don’t know if there’s one show that I could join that would ruin his life forever, but if I could join one it would be Adventure Time. I feel like it’s completely an alternate universe and I could do whatever I want. I don’t know if it would ruin Josh’s life, but I would have a great time *laughs*. I also think I would have a lot of fun doing infomercials!
TB: The music video seemed like a lot of fun to film. So what was the funniest or weirdest thing that happened on set?
P: So the actor who played Josh in the music video is actually 7’4. When we casted him we just saw the head shots and no one checked his height until he rocked up on set. I saw him and was like “he’s a giant” *laughs*. So a lot of the shots I had to launch myself off the ground to get up to his ear. So that was crazy.
We filmed it over two days, and honestly it was just so much fun to film. It was awesome!
TB: Along with the video you’ve also launched a rejection hotline that people can give out that will trigger a pre-recorded rejection message when called as well as a link to see how many other people were rejected. I tried it before the interview and its over 3400 people now! Why was this something you really wanted to show?
P: I didn’t know that it’s that many people now, that’s crazy! But yeah it can sometimes be really scary to be in situations where someone is making you feel uncomfortable and won’t take a hint or take no for an answer. So if you have a fun little rejection number then you can just give that to them.
TB: Your fans have immediately embraced this song and there are thousands of videos to the song on TikTok already. So what is one of your favourite videos you’ve seen to the song?
P: Oh my god, there’s been so many! There’s been some cool transitions which I actually tried to do but it took me so long and was so frustrating *laughs*. There’s been some cool ones with makeup palettes, dancing and things which have been really fun to watch.
I also have seen two drag queens performing it which I absolutely love! I was so excited to hear a crowd singing along to it too as I haven’t been able to experience that yet.
TB: Your TikTok videos are honestly just hours of entertainment because your stories are so honest, hilarious and real. One video that lives rent free in mind is about the pedophile you brought home to meet your mum. What happened after he threw you against the bookshelf? I need more!
P: *Laughs*! So he did a cheeky launch into the bookshelf and then he kinda stumbled and my mum was like “get out”. He was like, “so we’re not going to get naked then?”. As a little kid I was like “did he really just ask my mum that? What have I done?”. My mum was like “excuse me!” and I just ran after that because I knew it wasn’t going to end well.
I vividly remember it as it was such a weird conversation to have with my mum, but I was like “so, do I just go back outside now and play or go to my room?”. But I wasn’t allowed out to play *laughs*. It was valid *laughs*.
TB: You explained that situation as your brain took stranger danger very literally with only them offering you sweets as the danger. Is it bad that I can totally understand that and made me think if I had ever trusted anyone I really shouldn’t have because it wasn’t so black and white?
P: Exactly! I think kids brains just work like it. We take everything so literal at that age. I was like, okay he’s not offering me candy or a puppy, it’s just a packet of Twisties so I’m all sweet *laughs*.
TB: Let’s play a quick game of rapid fire questions;
P: I’m ready, let’s do this!
TB: The emoji that best describes my new single ‘Josh’ is…
P: The red devil faced emoji.
TB: The strangest hobby or obsession I picked up during lockdown was…
P: Hyper fixating on particular foods like chicken burgers for days on days *laughs*.
TB: The colour of my toothbrush at the moment is…
P: Green, weirdly enough and not pink, even though everything else is.
TB: If I could have any superpower it would be to…
P: Fly! Travel on a plane even *laughs*, I’d take that!
TB: Pineapple on pizza is…
P: Gross! I don’t like sweet things mixed with savoury things.
‘Josh’ is out now!