Q&A: ELIO Refines Her Sound and Cuts the Noise with “Adderall”
INTERVIEW
INTERVIEW
☆ BY JOY VILLANUEVA ☆
EMERGING FROM THE CHALLENGES OF LAUNCHING HER CAREER — amid a global pandemic, ELIO has quickly stood out to fans by intertwining genres and creating songs that resonate deeply and feel unfiltered. Her new single, “Adderall,” follows “Lucky October”—the first release after her debut album Something in the Air—and nails that moment when you finally see a draining relationship for what it really is; that the weight of the relationship had been pulling you under long before it ended. With early guidance from artists like Charli XCX and a clear focus on staying true to herself, “Adderall” marks a dynamic new chapter where ELIO fully steps into her own as an artist while gearing up for another full-length album.
Read below for Luna’s interview with ELIO on “Adderall,” her artistic growth, and the journey after Something in the Air.
LUNA: You’ve collaborated with artists like Charli XCX, Chase Atlantic, and The Chainsmokers. What did you take away from each of those experiences, and how have they influenced your approach to music and performance?
ELIO: I think it’s commitment to the bit, honestly. Being able to have your own lane—especially since all of those artists are on very different paths. It’s about seeing successful artists really commit to their artistry and do their thing, no matter what. It’s so great to see.
LUNA: Charli XCX has been a major presence in your career from early on. What does your relationship look like now—both creatively and personally—and what’s one piece of advice or feedback from her that’s really stuck with you?
ELIO: My life would be completely different without her. I had no idea what I was doing when I started, and she was really great at guiding me through that, especially since she started really young too. She was such a massive help and support. And now, obviously, she’s absolutely taking over with her own artistry and is so amazing. But she’s always been great, and she’s always there for me when I need it.
She’s shown what it looks like to say, “This is my lane, this is who I am as an artist,” and commit to that. I think, for a while, she also struggled with the question of being indie or mainstream, which was super relatable for me—and still is. Being able to really commit to your artistry is more important than anything, and she really pushes for that.
LUNA: Your discography is extensive for someone early in their career—EPs, a mixtape, and now a full-length album. What drives that kind of creative output, and how do you see your evolution from “My Friends Online” to Something in the Air?
ELIO: I think I just love writing. I have a lot to say, and I love different genres, so it was really just a matter of going into the studio—I love making songs. It’s not that hard because it comes so naturally to me. There are natural progressions to all artistry, and being able to experiment with what lane you want to be in—especially as a new artist—is so important. Not a lot of artists actually get to do that, so that was really important to me as well. I think it’s about not being too precious with music.
LUNA: You launched your career during such a strange time—right in the middle of the pandemic. How do you think starting out in that kind of isolation shaped your perspective as an artist, or the way you connect with listeners now?
ELIO: There are definitely two different sides to it. I think it was great in the sense that I could reach a lot of people without physically going very far. But it was also hard to grasp that the numbers on the screen were real people. For the first couple of years, when I wasn’t able to tour, that was a massive mental battle. It didn’t really feel like I was doing anything—I was just doing what I’d always done, but now there were people watching, and I couldn’t put any names to faces.
When I started touring, that was when I felt like a real artist. I remember thinking, No one’s going to be there. And then there were people. I think starting during the pandemic really messed with my perception of numbers and fans being the same thing.
LUNA: Your sound moves fluidly between pop, alt, and electronic influences. Do you approach genre as a deliberate choice when creating, or does it tend to shift naturally based on what you’re feeling at the time?
ELIO: The idea of genre, for me, has honestly been something I’ve really struggled with as an artist. I love so many genres, like most people, but when you have to put that into something that represents you and what you love, it’s very hard to combine all of those things. It definitely depends on the song I’m writing. I’m a producer as well, so I might hear a song as an organic singer-songwriter track, but I can also hear it as a pop song with a million different elements.
It’s fun to experiment with that, but at the same time, I feel like I’ve been all over the map—and I love it—but it’s definitely tricky. I think with this next album, I’ve finally said, “Okay, this album is this genre, and that’s it.”
Genre is an interesting one to me. I like playing around with it, but it is hard to find your lane when you have so many different influences in your music.
LUNA: You’ve shared that for a while you had a difficult relationship with Something in the Air because it was tied to a time of personal confusion and anxiety. What changed your relationship to that album, and how does it feel to have it out in the world now?
ELIO: Honestly, there were a lot of contributing factors. I made a lot of it with my ex-boyfriend, and then we broke up a few months before it came out. That was really tough, especially because a lot of the songs are about us having to break up.
The genre thing was also tricky with that one. Out of all my projects, that album is the most all over the place—one track might be a country song, and the next is a dance track. I was really figuring out who I was as an artist while writing it. Once it came out, I had to shut out the opinions of everybody else and focus on what I actually wanted to do.
While I was writing it, I kept thinking, It has to have an organic indie song because these fans like that, and it has to have a dance song, because if there’s not a dance song, those fans will feel alienated. The noise got so intense. I wouldn’t say it ruined my relationship with the music—I definitely still love it—but it pushed me to make final decisions I should’ve just made for myself.
LUNA: “Adderall” is such a punchy, glittery middle finger of a song; it feels super specific and captures the feeling of realizing someone’s been dragging you down long before the breakup even happened. What did writing that song unlock for you emotionally? And how did the title “Adderall” come into play as a symbol or metaphor in the story?
ELIO: Definitely all of that. A lot of the new stuff I have now came from a really important decision: I wasn’t going to go in with a concept. I feel like I’ve done that so many times, and I love writing that way, but sometimes it gets in the way of what you really want to say.
When I was writing this project, I was going through the breakup, and I didn’t want to sit there trying to make something work—trying to make it songwriter-y and polished—if I wasn’t feeling that. We would just come in every day and start talking about what I was feeling. And the songs would happen naturally, without needing to say, “Okay, this song is about Adderall,” or a specific idea.
Then, all of a sudden, we had the lyric: “Adderall, it’s impossible for me to focus on myself”—which became one of the key thoughts in the song. I’d been with this person for so long, and I knew I needed to let it go—or should’ve let it go sooner—but I found it impossible to just be with myself and be alone.
There are no real concepts for any of the new stuff. It just kind of happened as it happened, which I think is really nice—and it felt really good.
LUNA: Between “Adderall” and the recently teased and unreleased song “Sugar, Baby,” it feels like you’re stepping into a new chapter. Would you call this moment an ELIO Summer? Do you feel like you’re stepping into that pop main character role this year?
ELIO: I think I’m just letting go of it. For so long, I got caught up in this idea of, Okay, this record—this is the record. This represents me now. But with this new stuff, I’m really just sitting back and saying, I wrote this because I like it, and I’m putting it out because I like it.
So far, even with just the first two releases and teasing some of it, it already feels a lot more authentic. I feel more connected with listeners. It feels more genuine than writing a song and thinking, Oh, this is gonna take over the playlist this summer.
LUNA: You’ve been teasing that a new album might be on the way. Can you share anything about what’s coming next—sonically, thematically, or even just how it’s different from your past work?
ELIO: I think I’ve definitely been able to zero in on a specific feel for a time period, especially since we wrote a lot of the songs in such a short amount of time. That really helped, whereas before, I was writing songs for over a year or two.
Sonically, with “Lucky October,” “Adderall,” and “Sugar, Baby,” they’re all very much in the same world and feel really cohesive. The next project is definitely one of those that helped me through a massive life transformation—and honestly, it still is—and I think that really shows, which is really nice.
LUNA: Is there anything else you’d like to share with Luna?
ELIO: Stay tuned, and music is coming very, very, very soon.
