What’s in a name? Typically I would go off on some Romeo and Juliet ya-da-ya-da. You know, “That which we would call a rose”? But today, I’m opting for a different kind of philosophy, because according to a man known as Mr. Fantasy, there’s absolutely nothing in a name beyond structure and convention. So, we ought to just let some things be. 

“We could be numbers for all I know. What represents the truest version of you is your heart and what you decide to speak, and what you decide to create. [It’s] what you decide to give the world that determines who you are,” he says, giving his hair a sniff.

This morning, Mr. Fantasy and I are dissecting the public’s fascination with his identity. Getting to the bottom of it is like jumping head-first into a lucid dream, so I’ve resolved to ride the wave. As we philosophize, he explains to me that he likes my teeth, recounts his evening buying wood for his birdhouse, ponders the talents of the ancient Egyptians and describes Robert Irwin’s huge python. (He was just in Australia visiting the wildlife connoisseur, whom he met while watching Dancing with the Stars).

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Mr. Fantasy tells me all of this from outer space. No, really. As we speak, Mr. Fantasy’s top half—which is adorned in a sage green blazer, white ruffled-collar button down, spherical blue-tinted sunglasses and a jet black, banged lob—is floating in the cosmos. Earth looms behind him on his star-speckled Zoom background, where I bet if you pinpoint a call booth in Los Angeles, you’d find me.

Mr. Fantasy (First name: Mr. Last name: Fantasy) is a UK-born musician who catapulted to fame last August via TikTok. He exploded on the scene with a clip of him bopping his head to the radio, which has amassed 5.3 million views. Shortly thereafter, he released his namesake single, “Mr. Fantasy” last August, rising to the top of the Global Viral 50 Spotify chart, and he’s experienced a kaleidoscopic freedom ever since.

“Everything is in there. It is my beating heart,” he says.

You see, Mr. Fantasy has always had the music within him. He inherited his love for sound from his Nan, who was his biggest supporter. When she passed, Mr. Fantasy realized that he couldn’t contain his talent any longer, so he decided to break free.

“Oftentimes, the loss of what is most beautiful can give birth to something equally beautiful. Our most devastating losses are always, in my opinion, always what gives us exactly what we need in that moment. And for me, it gave me the freedom and the okayness.”

But, of course, Mr. Fantasy also needed the technical help to secure the dream, which is where his manager—who simply goes by John—came in. “He’s the way that I was able to show the world who I am,” Mr. Fantasy reveals. And in terms of names, he adds, “he’s such a John.”

Now that he’s exposed himself, Mr. Fantasy has proven to be quite the “yes man.” Last year, he rode on a float at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, secured a Times Square billboard, got a Tinder match and exchanged Christmas gifts with James Franco. He also released two more singles, “Wayuwanna” and “Catapult,” both of which paint him as a speedo-wearing, party-magnet, hunk-a-hunk funk machine.

As for the year ahead, Mr. Fantasy says he’s dedicated to finding crystals. Not literal ones, no: he’s looking to mine rare moments that channel more fun, more play and more meaning into his work and personal life.

“I’m after the surprise. I’m after the uncatchable catch,” he says, licking his lips sporadically. “These are the types of things that I like to think about, and read about, and sort of dream about. Do you know what I mean? The power of the human mind and spirit.”

One of those crystals is his new single, “One Last Night,” which releases February 13. The piece explores a very different side to Mr. Fantasy, one rooted in emotion and romance. A plea to regain love lost, “One Last Night” is a last-ditch effort to reconnect with someone who’s already gone.

“It’s a very vulnerable thing to sort of open these doors and have everyone peer inside and have a look for themselves, but that’s the beauty of art,” Mr. Fantasy says. “It’s not up to me [how] you to decide to receive me. It’s up to me to make the choice to be received. And I love making that choice.”

“It’s like showing someone your bottom sometimes, or a naked part of your body,” he adds. Scary, exciting, intimate, and energetic, the song is after that uncatchable catch, revealing the secret parts of Mr. Fantasy that are even more indiscernible than what he’s already shown to us. It’s a night alone, a night together, a night in yearning, a night not yawning. Ancient, wild, earthy, raw, naked and untamed: these are the words Mr. Fantasy uses to describe “One Last Night.”

As for what he’d do with one last night, Mr. Fantasy has a distinct and magnetic vision for how he’d spend it. “I’d have a last supper with my best friends, and we would laugh, and we would cry, and we would talk of all the adventures that we’ve ever had, and they would kiss me on my forehead, and they would tell me that everything is going to be okay. I would be crying with joy of the amazing life that I’ve been given on a silver platter…And maybe, maybe I would go live on TikTok with all my friends so that they can all see and we can all be together for one nice dinner together,” he decides.

His instinct to host in his final hours brings us back to Mr. Fantasy’s primal mission. He’s an entity hardwired to connect, which he does through his music, his videos and his natural disposition: “To me, it’s utterly astounding that every single human being, 8 billion on the planet, are vastly different from one another and are going through different struggles, different victories, different challenges. I’m interested in those challenges, I’m interested in those victories, and I’m interested in the struggles of each and every single person."

I note that this makes him quite the philosopher, but Mr. Fantasy disagrees. “I’m just a bloke that likes to sing,” he resolves.

So, that’s just it, then. Mr. Fantasy is Mr. Fantasy, and to anyone desperate to know his name, he assures, “I’m giving you something even better…something that will give you so much more. I can give you a whole world of who I am in my music."

So, what’s in a name? Well, says Mr. Fantasy, “That’s up for you to decide, and for me to know.”

“Also,” he says, “it’s 11:11. Make a wish.”

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Photographed by Ollie Alli

Styled by Annie + Nora

Written by Julia Zara

Lighting Director: Yorgos Tzoytzoyrakos

1st Assist / Digitech: Kelly Nguyen

2nd Assist: Andrew Russell

Styling Assistants: Micah Ramirez and Jadyn Suubi

Production Assistant: Ameen Kher

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