Q&A: Bülow Strikes Emotional Gold in Single “Goldmine”
INTERVIEW
INTERVIEW
AFTER YEARS OF REDEFINING POP THROUGH HER FEARLESS SONGWRITING - bülow is stepping into her most personal chapter yet. With over a billion streams, a Juno Award for Breakthrough Artist of the Year, and credits on global hits for Beyoncé, JENNIE, Charli XCX and Nessa Barrett, the Berlin-born, Toronto-raised artist has already built a career on authenticity and experimentation. Now, she’s turning that same honesty inward with track, “Goldmine,” the luminous yet gut-wrenching track from her forthcoming debut album i understand you sometimes. Known for blending sharp vulnerability with cool, minimalist production, bülow delivers a song that captures the contradictions of heartbreak - angry yet affectionate, raw yet graceful. It’s a track that glitters on the surface but aches underneath, exploring what it means to still find beauty in someone you’ve lost.
With “Goldmine,” bülow continues the evolution she’s been quietly shaping since her breakout “Not a Love Song.” It’s a reflection of her growth - as a woman, a writer and an artist unafraid to reveal her emotional complexities. Built on organic drums and stripped-back textures that nod to her beginnings as a street performer, the song feels like both a return and a reckoning. Her latest single, “Party Dress,” marks the final release ahead of her long-awaited debut album i understand you sometimes (out this November).
LUNA: You’ve described the song as “rage & irony at the center of it all.” How do you translate those complicated emotions into sound and lyrics without losing their rawness?
BÜLOW: Well, I really see this song as more of a compliment to him, which is the irony for me. It was a bit of a different process writing this song — kind of like word vomit. I think it’s that. When thoughts or feelings are expressed without dressing them up in a pretty way, it maybe comes out feeling more raw.
LUNA: Breakups are often portrayed as either heartbreak or empowerment, but “Goldmine” seems to live in that messy in-between. Was it important for you to capture that nuance
BÜLOW: I don’t think a breakup is as simple as just being heartbroken or empowered. I think especially in the beginning, it’s more of a seesaw — going from one end to the other, sometimes changing day by day, sometimes hour by hour. I definitely didn’t feel empowered while writing this. I actually felt angry that I still felt so much love. The release of that was what was really important in it all.
LUNA: Alongside your own music, you’ve co-written massive songs for artists like Beyoncé, JENNIE, and Charli XCX. How do you balance writing for others versus telling your own story?
BÜLOW: I think whether I’m writing for myself or for someone else, there will always be some of my own story in the music — and those of whoever I’m collaborating with. Writing from a real place makes the process so much more inspiring to me. I’d been worried in the past that if I did too much writing for others, it would dilute or change the process in how I write for myself. But actually, I think it’s made me a bit more in tune with being able to identify what is my voice and when I’m trying to embody someone else’s.
LUNA: When “TEXAS HOLD ’EM” went #1 with Beyoncé, it became a global moment. What did that experience teach you about songwriting and impact on a cultural scale?
BÜLOW: I had my own experience living in Houston, Texas for a few years in high school, and pulled from that when co-writing. And my collaborators pulled from their experiences. It didn’t matter that we come from different life experiences and have different backgrounds — as human beings roaming the same earth together, we have a lot in common. I think that’s beautiful.
LUNA: Your debut album is on the horizon. How does “Goldmine” set the tone for the record, and what can fans expect from the full project?
BÜLOW: “Goldmine” was one of the first songs I’d written for the project, not knowing I was writing an album at the time. So it has its own flare. But I fell in love with the drums on this one, which inspired me to look at all the other songs on the record and replace the programmed drums with real ones.
LUNA: Looking back, what do you feel has changed most in the way you approach music?
BÜLOW: The way I view writing and releasing my music now is solely for my expression — allowing less and less room for outside opinions. But it took some time for me to get there. I started releasing music when I was 17; I was young, new to the industry, and impressionable. I thought my team knew best, as that’s how it was always presented to me. I definitely considered fully quitting at some points. But I learned a lot over the years, even took 3 years off from releasing to really get to know myself. I realized I wasn’t in the business to be successful, but to honestly express myself. Once that became clear, it became much easier to make decisions from an honest place. What was pivotal for me was learning the difference between my fear and my intuition.
LUNA: With over a billion streams and critical acclaim behind you, how do you stay grounded and connected to the original joy of making music?
BÜLOW: It’s really not that hard! I think when I feel the least grounded is when I’m writing every single day for months on end. Now I know that doesn’t work for me. I need to live a little in between — see friends, go on long drives, spend time with my dog, etc. When I give myself breaks, writing music is so abundant.
LUNA: If someone is just discovering bülow for the first time through “Goldmine,” what do you hope they take away from it — and from who you are as an artist?
BÜLOW: I prefer to leave that up to the listener to find their own meaning in the songs. And the same goes for me as an artist. It’s so much more interesting that way as a listener and a writer.
LUNA: What intentions do you have for this fall season?
BÜLOW: My main focus is getting this album out — there are still some edits here and there, so that’s my main priority. We’re shooting a couple more music videos, which I’m heavily involved in this time around, coming up with the visual ideas and co-directing them. It’s all very new to me. This is the first project where I have my hands in every part of a record — musically and visually. It’s a little daunting, but I’m even more excited to see it all come together.
