**In 2015, Phoebe Ryan released a spellbinding cover/mashup of R. Kelly's "Ignition" and Miguel's "Do You," an authentic rendition that launched her music career at the ripe age of 24. By the end of 2016, she had released six addictive new singles, headlined a national tour, collaborated with Grammy award-winning duo The Chainsmokers, and written for everyone from pop icons Usher and Brittney Spears to indie rapper Skizzy Mars.**
**Her newest release "Forgetting All About You," featuring rapper Blackbear, packs the kind of punch you'd expect from the girl dubbed by [Vanity Fair](https://www.vanityfair.com/culture/2016/07/phoebe-ryan-dollar-bill) as "A New Kind of Feminist Pop Star." Phoebe Ryan said it best: "Fill my cup with zero fucks." Check out her video premiere for "Forgetting All About You," plus an exclusive Q&A with Phoebe Ryan below.**
**You just released a video for “Forgetting All About You” featuring Blackbear. How did you guys get together and what was that song writing process like?**
It’s funny because I wrote the song with Whiskey Water, two mutual friends I have with Blackbear, and they’re very close to him. So I wrote the song with them and a few weeks later I got a verse from Blackbear on it and I talked to Whiskey Water and was like “it’s cool that Bear did a verse” and they were like “Wait, what?” So they had no idea. It was a really bizarre coincidence for us to have all to have come together on that song. He killed that verse.
**Tell me about Dark Side and what differentiates it from the rest of your work.**
Well, Dark Side is interesting. I wrote that one with two of my Swedish friends and it has this very different kind of energy to it that I felt when I was out in Sweden. The new stuff was from when I was back from Europe and had a different perspective on things. I feel like it all ties together really well. It’s all talking about a side view that you’re trying to understand. That’s what a lot of my music is about: wondering who I am and who the fuck everyone is.
**What inspires you as a songwriter?**
The most inspiring thing is any type of relationship — not just with another person but with yourself and the world.
**Your 2015 rendition of "Ignition / Do You" was an absolutely massive debut. To date, which of your covers are your favorite?**
The first cover I did was when I was in college. It was a folk rendition of Ja Rule’s “Always On Time” featuring Ashanti. I think it’s my favorite cover I’ve ever done because it was the first super re-imagined contemporary song that I worked on and it started my love for it.
**How do you decide whether or not to cover a song? Do you see yourself going back to covers later on in your career?**
I think any good artist should be open to doing covers, no matter what kind of music you’re doing because that’s how music started. I don’t see myself ever stopping that. I mean, I don’t want to be a cover band, you have to draw the line somewhere. But doing covers is a really great way to reach people, and I hope to do more in the future.
**You just announced your upcoming tour. What part of that are you most excited about?**
I’m super excited about the tour. It’s always nerve wracking when you’re announcing it because it’s like, alright, am I gonna sell any tickets? What’s going on? And it’s just stressful throwing everything together and getting dates down but as soon as I announced it and I started getting feedback from fans from all over who are coming to the show and buying tickets to the meet and greet — it got me so incredibly excited to get back out on the road and see the people who are making my career possible. The fans are everything — they’re the best part about all of this so getting able to be face to face with them is everything about this job to me.
**What can your fans expect when seeing you on tour?**
New music, which is always very exciting. I feel like I’m ready to give so much more of myself in a way… I want people to get to know me on a deeper level. I want to be as myself as possible. When I’m seeing my fans, I want the relationship to deepen.
**What's next for you?**
After the tour, I want to put the gears in motion for a full-length album. That is what I’m most excited about. I need to take some time and take a break from writing for a while and reevaluate which songs I have, what I want to write and what’s going to be best for my next major release.
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Written by Chanel Peykar
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