Q&A: Lauren Juzang Brings Rom-Com Charm to Her Next Chapter With “Smooth talker”
INTERVIEW
INTERVIEW
☆ BY SHEVON GREENE ☆
LA-BASED SINGER-SONGWRITER LAUREN JUZANG’S—childhood dream didn’t disappear as she got older, but instead shifted and started to look a little different. For Juzang, that revelation became the foundation of her upcoming project SUPERSTAR, a debut album that isn’t actually about fame at all. Instead, it’s about everything that happens while you’re still chasing the thing you’ve always wanted: moving back into your childhood bedroom, finding community in the people growing alongside you and learning that success doesn’t always arrive in the timeline you once imagined.
The album’s first single, “Smooth talker,” out today, introduces the world of SUPERSTAR with a playful, rom-com-inspired story about falling for someone who’s all charm yet very little substance. Produced with longtime collaborators Jason Vance Harris and Aidan Spiro, the track is paired with a hilariously cinematic music video directed by Nick Van Horn, with Aidan Micho and Hannah Schafer bringing the story to life alongside Juzang. The story is full of instant attraction, complete with a bookstore, a self-proclaimed “Sylvia Plath of cleaning” and one very satisfying bloody nose.
When Luna caught up with Juzang, we talked about finding confidence through this new era, building SUPERSTAR alongside lifelong friends and why she hopes the project reminds listeners to rediscover that spark that first made them dream. Read below for more.
LUNA: I really love the title SUPERSTAR because it immediately makes me think of the dreams we all have as kids. How did you come up with that theme for this upcoming project, and how did you decide to focus more on the journey to getting there?
JUZANG: Jason [Vance Harris], my collaborator and friend, and I wrote the title track, "SUPERSTAR." I actually forget exactly how it happened, but we were writing and somehow the word "superstar" came out. The chorus lyric is, "Superstar, against all odds, you'll find the door open again."
As we were writing, we started talking about my career—what had gone well, what hadn't and where I'm at right now. There was a bit of buzz for a minute, and then it went away. Now we're figuring out how to get where I want to be. It was the first time I really said that out loud and recognized where I was. Just naming it and saying, "Okay, how do we get where we want to go?"
Writing that song really opened my eyes to what I wanted to talk about across the album. It came toward the end of writing the record, but everything else fit into that theme. Talking about the journey just made sense because I'm very much still on that journey.
LUNA: You wrote a lot of this album while back in your childhood bedroom, chasing the same dream you've had for years. Did being back in that space change the way you thought about success, or even the way you approached songwriting?
JUZANG: Yeah, I think there are two sides to it. Historically, there's been this feeling of shame around living at home. But over the past few years, with the economy and trying to make a living as an artist, which so many of my peers are doing too, there's also been this real sense of gratitude.
I'm lucky that my parents live in LA and that I can stay with them for free while pursuing music. I can work my part-time nanny job, have enough flexibility financially and put my money into music instead of rent. I also know way more people living at home than I ever thought I would. Honestly, it's become this really beautiful thing. I love my parents, and I've started embracing it more. Whenever I tell people I live at home, they're usually like, "Oh, I wish I could do that" or "I wish my parents lived nearby."
It's almost become a point of pride. I feel really lucky to have this part of my life that gives me the flexibility to chase what I want to do. That being said, I'd love the option to move out and live comfortably someday. But in the meantime, I'm trying to frame it as "Wow, I have this really great opportunity."
LUNA: That's such a positive perspective to have. It's also nice to be reminded that so many people around you are going through the same thing.
JUZANG: Yeah, and I think that's a big part of the album too. Everyone is in this boat of figuring it out. Nobody really knows exactly what they're doing, but everyone's trying to get somewhere. Whenever I tell people I live at home, they're always like, "Yeah, you're doing exactly what you need to do to get where you want to go."
The last couple of years have also been such a beautiful time of building community for me. I've really been able to grow alongside the people around me while we're all trying to figure things out together.
LUNA: I loved listening to “Smooth talker” and the music video was amazing. Was there an image or a specific moment that sparked the inspiration for the tack?
JUZANG: Jason and Aidan Spiro—my other producer and friend—made this little piano loop with drums and maybe some bass, then sent it to me. I just kept looping it over and over. It immediately felt really fun. It reminded me of something you'd hear in a 2000s rom-com.
The song was inspired by this very charming guy I met at a music festival I go to every year. He sends me—and honestly some of my friends too—into this psychosis of wondering, "Does he like me? Are we just friends? What is actually going on?" (laughs).One of my friends from that festival heard me starting to tease it and immediately said, "Oh...I know exactly who this is about."
I honestly don't get crushes very often, so it was really fun to finally write a silly, flirty song. Looking back at my discography, I realized I didn't really have one. When I first wrote it, though, I thought it was terrible. I sent it to Jason and Aidan, and they didn't respond for a little while. I was panicking, thinking, "Oh my god, this is so bad."
LUNA: You're like, “Hey guys…just circling back!” (laughs).
JUZANG: Exactly (laughs). But production-wise, we wanted to make something pop with a little country twang and a little folk influence. It ended up becoming this blend of all those things.
LUNA: The video is so rom-com coded—so charming and chaotic all at the same time. Was there a favorite scene to film?
JUZANG: I think my favorite scene was the intro with Aidan Micho’s monologue. Nick Van Horn, the director, brainstormed that idea with me. He was just feeding lines, coming up with things on the spot. My favorite line is "You're like the Sylvia Plath of cleaning."
LUNA: That was definitely my favorite line too.
JUZANG: It was so funny. He yelled out to the group, "Who's, like...an author? Sylvia Plath?" We were all like, "Nick...what?" But thank God he did.
That whole scene was my favorite. Nick and I were laughing behind the camera a couple of times during it, but Aidan absolutely killed it. He was so good.
It was also a really tight shoot. We only had six hours, and there was so much to film. Our DP was like, "Usually for something like this we'd have twelve hours." But, you know...my budget.
LUNA: Your budget was saying something else. Your budget was saying six hours.
JUZANG: Exactly (laughs). But that was really fun. Then, I loved the kiss-into-punch scene. Right after that, there's a shot—and I think it's Nick's favorite too—where Aidan's on the couch with the bloody nose while Hannah Schafer, the other love interest, is kissing his face, and I'm dancing around in the background. Those are probably my favorites.
LUNA: Also, I have to know more about the bloody nose scene. Did that take multiple takes?
JUZANG: For the bloody nose, we ordered fake blood online. We didn't want it to stain his clothes, and someone tested it on their arm beforehand and it stained their skin. So we were like, "If we put this on too early, it'll make doing another take really difficult."
My friend Stella, who was shooting behind-the-scenes footage, had the idea to put Aquaphor on first and then the blood. Then we also used a bloody tissue, which honestly did enough. It was also funny because all of these actors were really just doing me a favor, so I kept checking in like, "Are you okay getting fake blood all over you?" But everyone was so down. I had the best time. It was basically all my friends, both in the video and behind the camera. It was just so much fun.
LUNA: That actually leads perfectly into my next question because we've talked before about how important your creative community is. Since so many of these collaborators are also close friends, what do they bring out in your songwriting that you don't think would happen if you were creating completely alone?
JUZANG: That's a really good question. I think they push me. There's something really awesome about being in the room with someone, presenting an idea and getting real-time feedback. Usually, if I'm writing with Aidan specifically, he'll be working on the instrumental while I'm in the back writing. I'll come out with maybe a verse and chorus idea, and then we'll workshop it together while the rest of the song is still being built.
When I'm writing alone, I usually end up sending someone a voice memo of a full song. At that point it's already a complete idea, so even if someone gives me notes, it's harder to imagine it differently. I think that's why I love writing this way. I can present my natural instinct, then we can shape the rest of it together. The song "SUPERSTAR" is a really good example. Jason and I have known each other for over ten years now, but we've actually written together fewer than five times. That song was really special because we were able to look back on this career we've built together. He's really good at asking questions like, "Okay...what year felt the best?" or "What was happening then?"
Because he knows me so well, he knows every win, every loss, everything that's happened throughout my career. The same goes for Nick when we're working on videos. I don't have to explain my life to them. I can reference a boy or someone in my family, and they already know who that person is. They understand what they mean to me, what frustrations I have, all of it. It just feels really nice to be known by the people around you.
LUNA: This is the first time you've built an entire visual world around an album. Did the visuals grow alongside the songs as you were writing them, or were there moments where a visual idea changed a song? How did those visual ideas grow alongside the music?
JUZANG: I wish, having a video and then changing the song would be really cool (laughs). Interestingly, the guy who mixed "Smooth talker," when he was sending it to mastering, asked, "Is it okay if I send the mastering engineer the video?" I hadn't even sent him the video, but I think Aidan had shown it to him. He was like, "I feel like it really helped me figure out what it needs."
I thought that was really cool. I was like, "Okay, they go together," which is really nice. It's also the first time I've had a video that's part of a rollout and a big part of it. Usually, the videos come afterward. It's a lot of me and Nick, or me and another friend, just sitting around being like, "So...what do we think?" The "Smooth talker" video took a couple sessions of me and Nick just thinking through everything, then getting to the point where we were like, "Thank God," and figuring out who we could cast and everything. I didn't do any videos for the last EP, and before that I'd done a couple, but I was much less involved. Now it's really fun to gather a group of people. At this stage, everyone's obviously not doing it for the money. If I'm paying anyone, it's very little. It's really nice to feel like people are invested creatively and want to be a part of this thing. They want to contribute to it and hopefully make something they're proud to have in their portfolio. It's really validating.
On the music side, Jason and Aidan have been with me for a while, and I'm so grateful for their contributions, their time and their investment in this project. But with videos, it's a new form of that because it's just so much work and so much manpower. It's really nice to feel that support in a fresh way and think, "Thank you guys for being here and being a part of this."
LUNA: If 12-year-old Lauren, the one discovering music and dreaming about all of this, could see SUPERSTAR, what do you think she'd be the most excited about?
JUZANG: I think 12-year-old Lauren would be really happy that Jason and I are still really good friends and still working together. I met him when I was 11. We went to school together, and we'd sing in the back of class. He'd be like, "You're really good." It was so silly and felt so far off. Now he's touring with beabadoobee and produced her album. Everything that's happened in his world is so awesome. I think I'd probably be happiest that we're still friends and still making music together.
I also think if 12-year-old Lauren saw this video, she'd think it was really cool. She'd be like, "Whoa...that's me." For the "Smooth talker" video, I had to find a new level of confidence. It was such a tight shoot that anytime I was dancing or on camera, I had to really commit because we didn't have time to be timid. The dancing wasn't super choreographed. I had a friend helping me with the movement, but it was basically like, "Okay, girl, you've got to give it to us. You can't be shy." I was a pretty shy kid, so I think I'd be really proud to see myself in these videos and hear this music because I'm putting myself out there and being really honest and vulnerable.
LUNA: Has there been a moment recently, whether it was a live performance, meeting listeners or anything else, that reminded you why you wanted to make music in the first place?
JUZANG: I think in the past couple of months, since I've had the idea for SUPERSTAR, it wasn't necessarily a live performance or a fan interaction. I think just presenting the idea of SUPERSTAR to friends, friends of friends or really anyone who asked what I was working on, because I was trying to see if it resonated. Especially when I was first developing the idea, people would genuinely be like, "Oh yeah, that really hits me."
But I did have one moment recently with a producer. We had a one-off session, and he's made some of my favorite pop songs from the past 10 or 15 years. It was our first time meeting and he asked, "What are you working on?" I explained the idea, played him "SUPERSTAR," and he literally put his hand over his heart. He said, "As someone who had a lot of success very early in my career and has always been trying to find that again, I really deeply resonate with this song. I think it's amazing." That was super validating.
Of course, there are so many love songs and breakup songs in the world, and that's mainly what I've focused on in my life. There are probably three or four songs on the record that are specifically about this idea, and the rest are more about what my life looks like outside of wanting to be a pop star. But I think that moment reminded me that the point of this is to make people feel seen, and to feel seen myself through connecting with other people and trying to articulate an emotion that I've felt, and that other people have felt too, but that might be hard to say out loud.
LUNA: If the album SUPERSTAR were a physical place that someone could step into for a day, what would they find there?
JUZANG: I went to this secondhand craft store today with my friends to get stuff for a video we're shooting next week, and it would be like that. There'd be a lot of scraps and scrapbook paper on the floor, buttons, pins—just everything. It'd probably feel really cozy, with lots of photos of me and my friends around. A lot of my work these days is divided between finishing the music, planning videos, but also just sitting on my floor scrapbooking. The “Smooth talker” cover is actually from my scrapbook; I scanned it. A lot of the visual ideas, world-building, rollout planning...it's all me sitting on the floor with scrap paper, scissors and my glue stick. It's literally me and my glue stick. That's all I am these days.
LUNA: After making and filming "Smooth talker," do you think you're better at spotting a smooth talker in real life now, or do you think you'd still fall for it?
JUZANG: That's so funny. I don't know...I think maybe I'm better at spotting it. I'm such a sucker for charm. I'm in a relationship now that's awesome, and he's normal, so...(laughs) But generally—even in friendships or anything—if you're charming and funny, it's over. I'll be so drawn to you.
It was interesting because I got a note from someone saying maybe, at the end of the chorus, the last line should flip into more of a "Well, you're going to have to try harder." I honestly tried to do that, but it just didn't work. It didn't sing as well. I thought that would've been a cool moment, but unfortunately...I had a crush. Did he like me back? No. But I had a crush.
LUNA: You said you hope this album helps people find their spark again. What's been helping you hold onto your spark lately?
JUZANG: I think before a couple months ago, when we wrote the title track, I was just like, "Yeah...I'm making an album." I feel like it's always, you do a project, put it out, then start the next project. But having a North Star—something you're working toward, something you're really passionate about and believe in—has been so helpful. With music, you're so attached to it because it's your life. Having that North Star where every idea becomes "How does this fit into this bigger thing?" has really helped me.
I also think the people in my life creatively, the ones who cheer me on and who I get to cheer on in return, are always my North Star too. Going to the craft store this morning with my two friends who help me with so much of the visual side of things, just having fun and saying, "Oh, this would be perfect for that thing you're making..." Definitely my friends, and SUPERSTAR in general. It just feels nice to have something to be excited about.
