At the end of August FLETCHER proved to Australian audiences why she’s quickly becoming one of the biggest breakout acts in the world right now. Selling out all three of her shows, the singer-songwriter delivered a high energy set that certified she is THE moment. Fast forward a month, and her debut album ‘Girl Of My Dreams’ is finally out in the world. The deeply confessional body of work perfectly captures where she is at right now. From heartbreak, to anger, to self-love, the record truly captures it all. But at the core is a catharsis from the pain that she’s turned into growth.
This is a record that doesn’t hold back from being honest, and there are a lot of little easter eggs that aim fuel at the fire at some of the big Lesbian TikTok drama that you might be acquainted with. But none of this is done for the cheap likes and stories. No, this is her honest side of the story. These are her real and raw emotions as she processes how she feels.
I caught up with FLETCHER while she was in Australia to discuss closing the chapter on ‘The S(EX) Tapes and ushering in her debut album ‘Girl Of My Dreams’, explored songs like ‘Sting’, ‘Guess We Lied’, ‘I Love You, Bitch’, and ‘For Cari’, as well as chatted about the TikTok drama that’s unfolded from Becky’s So Hot’. Check it out BELOW;
THOMAS BLEACH: ‘Girl Of My Dreams’ opens with ‘Sting’ which is this really slinky synth and guitar driven pop track that sonically feels like the farewell to ‘The S(EX) Tapes’. Do you personally see any parallels with that body of work with this song and how you wanted to open the record?
FLETCHER: I love that question! Yes, that’s why that song is intentionally placed there as it pulls inspiration from ‘Shh Don’t Say It’, and sonically a bit of what the last body of work was. My whole intention leading up to this album was to bridge the gap from where I left off with ‘The S(EX) Tapes’ emotionally, to where I have landed in my life now. So that song really opens up the narrative of the time, place, and feelings of where I was, and sonically too.
TB: ‘Guess We Lied’ is a song that I think is particularly going to excite fans because you interpolate the hook from ‘If You’re Gonna Lie’ as the main hook for this song too. When you were in the creative process of this song, why did you decide to do this, because this is quite an uncommon thing to do on your own song?
F: First of all, I just love that song so much. It’s one of the craziest live, and my fans love that song so much. I really wanted it to have another moment as I never want to stop playing it, and I never want it to go away, so I was like “I’m gonna fucking sample myself”. I had never heard of anyone else doing that with their own music, but I knew we could make it work. That song is written about an older situation, so I imagined how I could apply it to my life now and I rewrote it from a new perspective. I’m so excited for fans to hear that song as it’s a favourite, and for it to have new life in that way is so sick.
TB: As a long-term fan of yours, I can confirm I was gagged when I heard the sample *laughs*.
F: I’ve played it for a couple people, and every time I do play it for someone they have such a visceral reaction like, “no fucking way!”.
TB: Looking back at your discography, are there any other songs you would be keen to sonically re-interpret and give a new perspective to?
F: ‘All Love’! That is one of my favourite songs I’ve ever written,and it’s one I’m the most proud of, so it’s one that always rings true to me in different settings and situations. I don’t know, maybe that will be one too.
TB: I would love to hear a ‘Becky’s So Hot’ inspired gritty take on ‘Forever’. I think that would be something special.
F: I love that, I love that. You are giving me so many ideas right now *laughs*.
TB: ‘I Love You, Bitch’ is an important song on the album as it hears you admitting you’ve been able to say I love you to so many people but yourself. So it’s about reclaiming that and finally saying “I love you bitch” to yourself. Can you explain the creative process behind this track?
F: I was doing a “how to love yourself in 21 days” mirror-work podcast, and it felt really important but also really cheesy to me. One of the things was to make eye contact with yourself in the mirror, so I was standing there staring at myself and it felt really hard. I felt really uncomfortable, and I would get hit with these waves of thoughts of “I don’t recognise this person” when looking at myself. A couple days go by, and I’m still doing it, and you have to repeat the words “I love you” over and over while staring at yourself. It felt cheesy to me, and I had to stop myself and question “how would I say this”. And the truth is, I would look in a mirror and say; “I love you, bitch. You are that bitch, and I love you, bitch.
I then went into the studio and explained how I’ve said I love you to so many people. There have been so many settings where I’ve given those words away, and they’ve always been true, but I’ve always loved people more than I love myself. And then I had a revelation that this is why my relationships don’t work out as I’m seeking so much external validation. That song felt so significant to me because as a society we are told to love ourselves, but how do you even begin to do something like that? Even to this day, I have “I love you Cari” written on my mirror. Cari is that bitch, so I love you, bitch.
TB: ‘For Cari’ closes the record and it really is a song that feels like the last word you needed to have on this record. How has writing this song and performing it recently on tour helped you open a new chapter in your own life?
F: Over the past two years there was a point in time where I was ready to quit. I didn’t know why I was doing this, I wasn’t finding happiness in this, and I just wanted to throw every bit of it away. I felt a lot of anger, and I went to the studio one day, and I felt like I had nothing else to write about and had nothing else to say. I remember going in and deciding I wasn’t going to write a song for my label, management, fans, ex, lover, or crush. I wanted to see what would happen if I just wrote a song that was for Cari. It was a no fucks song. I wasn’t worried about it being anything, I was just losing my mind and needed to write a song that was for me. So to write that song, and to then perform it live every night at the end of the set has been so cathartic.
FLETCHER gets all of the praise and compliments about the music, but Cari is the person that is in there, so that song is for Cari. It’s a song for my Jersey roots, it’s a song for the girl that prefers to be in a fucking dive bar, and sititng on the couch eating my mums home cooking versus being at a fancy party in LA talking to celebrities.
TB: ‘Becky’s So Hot’ is an anthem. And the online reaction has been hilarious. Specifically have you seen the TikTok from Kendall Payne today which already has 1.2 million views in 7 hours which is a 101 on Lesbian TikTok drama?
F: I have seen it, and I’ve had it sent to me by like 15 people as it’s ended up in my straight brothers For You Page. He was literally like “Cari, I can’t get the fuck away from you” *laughs*. My favourite comments from all of this are the straight people who are like “I don’t know who any of these people are, but the song is a bop”. I’m happy to be of service *laughs*.
TB: Let’s play a quick game of rapid fire questions about the album. Are you ready?
F: Let’s do it!
TB: The emoji that best describe ‘Girl Of My Dreams’ is…
F: I struggle answering this question because there’s rage, lust, jealousy, fight, intensity, and self love on the record. So what emoji captualtes all of that? *laughs* The rainbow? It’s everything. It’s giving everything.
TB: The song I’m most looking forward to playing live would be…
F: ‘Serial Heartbreaker’ and ‘Guess We Lied…”.
TB: The song that went through the most versions to get it to where it is now on the album is…
F: ‘I Love you, Bitch’! It has been produced 16 times.
TB: The song that nearly didn’t make the album was…
F: ‘Becky’s So Hot’.
TB: The lyric that hurts my heart to hear back is…
F: The whole of ‘Better Version’.
‘Girl Of My Dreams’ is out now!