Q&A: Caroline Kingsbury Dreams of the Future in New Single “Shock Treatment”
INTERVIEW
INTERVIEW
☆ BY KYLEE WIENS ☆
Photo by Jen Sanchez
BIG HAIR, NEON LIGHTS, SYNTHESIZERS AND COLORFUL CLOTHES - that’s right, the 80s are here, and this time they’re queer. If you love theatrical performances, high fidelity sounds and just the right amount of raunch, meet Caroline Kingsbury: the LA-based pop star making waves in the LGBTQ+ music community. Drawing references from Prince, Madonna and Cyndi Lauper, the rising star infuses her infectiously danceable tracks with a sharp and fresh social commentary.
On the heels of her recent tour with Pom Pom Squad, Kingsbury has been cooking up an EP that subverts social expectations of gender and sexuality. Today’s single release of “Shock Treatment” is the first installment of the new project of the same name. The track effervesces with swirling synth sounds and addictive pop hooks, and serves as a unique glance into a world where heterosexuality is not the norm. The Luna Collective recently sat down with Kingsbury to chat more about the single, her influences and recession indicators. Read below for the full interview, and find “Shock Treatment” on all streaming platforms.
LUNA: Can you tell us the story behind your new single?
CAROLINE: “Shock Treatment” was born out of an idea I’d had living inside me for a while. I imagined a world where conversion therapy was flipped—where instead of straight people trying to convert gay or trans people to being cis or straight, it was reversed. I thought that would be an interesting way to reveal the absurdity of conversion therapy, and also reclaim it as a queer community using art, fashion, makeup, and music in a way that wasn’t painful.
I worked with a songwriter named ONR on this song. When I heard it, I connected to the idea I had been holding onto. I never could have imagined that this was the song—but then I found it. We worked together and ended up cutting the track.
At that point, I hadn’t seen the movie Shock Treatment, which is the sequel to Rocky Horror. Neither had the songwriter. I showed the song to my creative director, and she said, “Wait, this reminds me of this movie.” She showed it to me, and it mirrored the exact idea I had—conversion therapy flipped. Not necessarily gay or straight—it was the 70s, so it was more abstract.
LUNA: That’s such a cool full-circle moment!
CAROLINE: Yes! And when I saw that movie and connected the dots—especially with the current political and social climate—I realized this was the right moment to release the song and give people something joyful. I got to work with Jack Tatum of Wild Nothing, who I’ve been listening to for 10 years. He produced this song and the rest of the EP, which will have five tracks total.
We recorded all the instruments live—no computer programming. It was all musicians playing instruments, which was really intentional. My earlier music used more pre-programmed sounds, mostly because of budget, but this time I had label support and wanted this to feel like something Prince could have released.
LUNA: That definitely comes through. You mentioned Prince as a reference, and I’ve seen a lot of other comparisons thrown around—80s pop icons, synth pop, goth, punk. Which of those references do you identify with most?
CAROLINE: I feel very validated when people recognize the punk spirit in my music. It is pop, but when I was growing up, pop meant Miley Cyrus and Katy Perry—more commercial, more mainstream. I never really saw myself that way. I’ve always felt more aligned with the indie rock world.
But in that indie space, I was really frustrated by all these boy bands who put no effort into their art. There’s a video of Chappell saying, “What are these indie boys doing?” That perfectly captured how I felt.
In my early 20s, I wanted more than what I was seeing. When I came out, I really dove into the 80s—sound, fashion, culture. It helped me step into my queerness. Prince, obviously. Cyndi Lauper is a huge one for me. She had her first hit at 30, and I’m about to turn 30, so I feel that kinship. She brought punk influences into pop in such a unique way.
I didn’t grow up listening to her. As I developed my sound, it was instinctual. Then I looked back and thought, “Oh, I’m doing what she did.” Writing emotional songs with 80s energy.
The Cure is a huge influence too. Siouxsie and the Banshees, especially visually. X-Ray Spex. I went hard into 80s music—Bruce Springsteen too. He helped close the loop for me because he brought in storytelling and folk songwriting, which is at my roots. It all just made sense.
LUNA: What do you think about the idea that 80s revivals tend to follow economic downturns? There was a recession in the 80s, and now again today, people seem to be gravitating toward bright, genre-defying music as a form of escapism.
CAROLINE: Oh my God, yes. I think people are hungry for nostalgia because things are so difficult right now. Even in the 80s, 80s music felt nostalgic—it was dreaming of something better, even as it was happening.
Those sounds, those chords—they feel familiar and also like something that never really existed. It’s weirdly hopeful. It helped me break free from insecurities and traditional ideas about beauty and fashion. I hope it does that for others too.
I’m nostalgic for something that happened, hasn’t happened, and could happen. That’s the feeling. And yes, the whole “recession indicator” thing is true. People want to feel something other than despair.
LUNA: Your music feels very relevant to today’s queer youth, especially with all the attacks coming from lawmakers and social pressure. What’s the message you hope young queer people take from your work?
CAROLINE: Hope. That’s the biggest one. I wasn’t allowed to be a queer youth. I grew up in a Christian conservative household. I didn’t understand queerness, and I didn’t have access to queer media. I was scared of it, honestly.
Now, there are both young and old queer people living at the same time. We’re learning from each other. I want to be a reminder that yes, we’re fighting, but we’re also allowed to enjoy, celebrate, and feel safe. That joy is revolutionary too.
The thought revolution has already happened. Most people today are fine with queer people, and that’s a huge shift from just ten years ago when I came out.
At one of my shows, I met an 80-year-old queen who said he loved my music. And a 13-year-old trans girl who told me she had just come out and had an amazing time. Intergenerational queerness, out in the open—it makes me feel so hopeful.
LUNA: That’s so beautiful. Do you have a proudest moment creatively?
CAROLINE: Yes. Last year, I did two headlining shows in LA and New York, both of which sold out. That had never happened for me. The entire room knew the words to my songs. It was about 250 people in each city, and the energy was unreal.
The New York show was the day after the election, so it had a heavy energy at first. But by the end, everyone was smiling, dancing. It reminded me how powerful it is to be in a room with people—especially other queer people.
I’ve been doing this for a long time. My debut album came out in 2021, but I started working on it in 2017. It’s only now that I feel like I’m finding my people. Even if it never gets bigger than this, it’s meaningful to be creating music for queer people right now.
