Q&A: Lilyisthatyou Exhibits Creative Versatility on ‘DIRT ON MY HANDS’
INTERVIEW
INTERVIEW
☆ BY IVONA HOMICIANU ☆
LILYISTHATYOU EXCEEDS A SINGULAR PATH—With the release of DIRT ON MY HANDS, the artist shows the wide scope of her creative identity. As the songwriting remains authentic and open, the production changes and allows us a laid-back version of Lilyisthatyou. Through the six songs attending to her inner growth, she sets the scene for the rest of her career.
Lilyisthatyou is a Canadian artist that broke through with her debut single “FMRN” released in 2021. Since then, she’s been releasing music constantly and has amassed over 50 million annual streams. With her EPs POP MUSIC (2023), Painful Euphoria (2024) and LILITH (2025), she established herself as a name to be watched. Now, her unwavering confidence in her trajectory sets her apart. DIRT ON MY HANDS is a testament to her trust in her project, as well as a stable ground for her as an artist.
From the start, “EVERYTHING CHANGES” announces a shift in her approach. Known for her dance and hyperpop sound, the track reveals a guitar-lead production while her voice becomes the guiding light. The lyricism shows a need to be present in the moment due to the changing nature of life.
While she’s exploring new horizons, it is clear that she’s not leaving behind the hyperpop that is a staple of her artistry. “DOG IN ME” is a high-tempo anthem that recognises her own faults, a subject that runs throughout the project. With the closing “HEART OF DARKNESS,” she admits the unspoken parts of her mind. The slower production allows for her honesty to stand in the daylight, without any camouflage.
What highlights Lilyisthatyou on the map is her ability to experiment with her sound while still staying true to herself. On “SICK PUPPY,” the confessional writing she’s known for serves the story of falling in love with someone unexpected. At the same time, “BACK PAIN” reminisces on her earlier singles with glitchy production over a drum beat. Her ingenuity in mixing what she’s learned with experimental novelty confirms her continuous evolution.
Luna caught up with the artist on the occasion of her new EP release, DIRT ON MY HANDS, as well as the announcement of the upcoming headline world tour.
LUNA: You've been releasing music for a few years now. How has your vision towards your career and artistry changed throughout time, whether it's the creative process or how you view success?
LILYISTHATYOU: How I view success is definitely still the same. I think any step forward is still forward. I've always thought that way and that hasn't changed, but my overall vision has shifted to focus more on, not necessarily perfection because I don't think that that's the right word, but I'm a lot more meticulous. I'm a lot more planned and organized and well thought out versus the early stages of my career.
Things shifted a lot from going from a major label to being independent and a sense that now it really is all up to me and on my own time. Things only happen as I make them happen, which is definitely a different process but one for the better. I have so much space to explore whatever sound it is at the moment that I'm interested in and I've become such a stronger songwriter in my ears, so much better for melodies and concepts.
LUNA: How would you describe the narrative storytelling of DIRT ON MY HANDS?
LILYISTHATYOU: Being Lily, my fanbase is the garden. I've had these characters in that world, Eve and Lilith. The narrative stems from that idea a little bit, those concepts and that imagery that I’ve already talked about and shown to my fans in some ways. The idea of “dirt on my hands” to me is, you need to get your hands dirty to grow a garden. I don't think that beautiful things come without a little bit of mess first. I'm also not afraid to make mistakes. Anyone in my life knows that. I move through the world with a lot of chaos and that brings a lot of beauty, and a lot of passion and excitement and joy, but it also brings a lot of mess sometimes. I'm not afraid to admit that we're imperfect people, but that's what makes life good. Painful Euphoria was a similar idea, and this is just honing in on the ‘painful’ of it. I'm very proud of the narrative because there's a lot more to come from it. Just getting started in this chapter of the Lilyisthatyou world.
LUNA: How did you decide that everything changes would be the opening track?
LILYISTHATYOU: It's so different sonically than anything I've ever released, and that just spoke for itself. It's like everything changes: me, my sound, my aesthetic, my goals. Things are always going to keep changing. That was a song that I especially loved. I knew it represented this new era and sound direction really well, and I want to remind my fans that, hey, I'm always going to keep changing. The storyline of the song was so personal and painted such a picture about that pain and happiness of where I'm at on a day to day basis that it was a really good opening into this new chapter.
LUNA: You have a much calmer production this time, whereas before it was very dance pop. How does this change in sound reflect your evolution as an artist?
LILYISTHATYOU: I wouldn't say that I'm done with dance pop or hip hop influences, but there's a huge part of modern pop music that is this sound. A lot of my influences for the sound are people like Lola Young or Keys, or The Neighbourhood, or Short n Sweet by Sabrina [Carpenter] and softer Miley [Cyrus]. This sound has always been a part of pop music but it's just up to the artist whether they want to dig into it.
I wrote this whole project in Sweden, and being there, it was cold at 3 p.m. and it was a soft time. I was sober when I made this whole project, it wasn't a time where I was going out. It wasn't like I wanted to be listening to that grungy sound. I wanted something that was softer for me as a listener. What I had gone through leading up to writing this project was also very personal to me. I didn't really want to mask anything. I didn't want it to be about the production. I wanted it to be about my voice and just showing people what my voice sounds like without everything else. In terms of evolution, it's not like I'm breaking away from what I've done before. It's more showing you what Lilyisthatyou means. It can be anything, and I can and will do any kind of music that I feel inspired to do.
LUNA: What prompted you to write bringing to the table?
LILYISTHATYOU: It's as simple as an Alexander McQueen dress that I saw on the best year collective. It was a $12,000 best year find of an Alexander McQueen dress from the 90s, that was this ballerina tulle beautiful dress. I had this image of the dress on my mind, and wanted to make a song that felt and sounded like the dress, in a way which is so weird but I'm inspired by the most random things. It's always something different.
That baseline was there first, and it was already this synth wave, a little bit vintage sound that felt like it didn't need to be a ballad. It didn't need to be too serious, but it could hold a big concept in a really, really sexy way, like the concept of what does somebody else offer you? Your relationship is big because whoever you end up with is maybe the person that's going to be with you through deaths in your life, or through childbirth, or through so much pain. I think it's really important to ask yourself that question, because somebody may be gorgeous and have all this money and all these attractive things, but what else is there? They might be so nice and have such a good heart and all these things, but then they aren't providing other value that is important.
LUNA: Could you talk more about the backstory of “BACK PAIN”?
LILYISTHATYOU: When I was in Sweden, I was there for a month, and I did 25 days of being in the studio. The second last day was “BACK PAIN.” Honestly, I was pretty tired, and I feel like I've always dealt with back pain. We came up with that melody for the chorus first and it came out easily. The rest of the story is specifically about a certain person that I'm trying to forgive myself for and forget and move on. They left a Simon and Garfunkel record at my house, that's a classic so I can't get rid of it. It's really a true story.
The idea about the moths is open to interpretation, but the idea is having butterflies in my stomach and it’s a flip on that. It's moths eating away at some compassion that I used to have. I'm a lot less forgiving than I used to be, and I'm much less of a people pleaser. That song's a little bit about that. My favorite line in the song is, “When will I show you who I really am?” The harmonies on that sound so real, so good to me. I'm always struggling to know the best way to express myself and that song is a little about that too. “BACK PAIN” is definitely one of my favorites on the project, and “EVERYTHING CHANGES.”
LUNA: You've been releasing music without any features. If you could have an artist feature on one of your songs, who would it be?
LILYISTHATYOU: Right now, I think Tommy Richmond would be a really great collab for me. PinkPantheress, we could also make something really cool. It depends what my music sounds like at that time. In terms of the big pop girls… Dua and I would eat, Megan Thee Stallion, Doja Cat, Tove Lo if I'm leaning more towards dance. Tinashe and I could make something really dope. I definitely would love some cool hip-hop crossover too. I think it would be really great, like Soulja Boy, but it could go any direction really.
LUNA: There's a lot of self reflection in your songs, but that's especially apparent in “HEART OF DARKNESS.” In what way has this EP helped you?
LILYISTHATYOU: We'll find out after today. The biggest way it helped me is… I was getting to a point after Lilith, where I was like, “I need more success. I need more attention. I need more people to understand what I'm doing. I need more people to hear me. I need new listeners, new fans.” So I wanted to do something different, to see if that would change things, if it would attract new listeners, a new audience. Now that I've done it and put out a project that sounds like this, it feels like it's helped me in a way where it's like, “Okay, well, I did it.” I tried it, and now I can continue to do something else, or the same thing, or something new if I want to, because I know that if somebody needs that kind of music from me, it's out there. Don't be in my comments asking for the soft thing. I literally just did it. So I think it'll help me in that way where it feels like I've answered a question that I had about myself… Would something be different if I did this kind of music, or is it not really about a genre? Is it just about the songs being great?
LUNA: Do you find it difficult to release songs such as “HEART OF DARKNESS” where you take accountability for your side of the blame?
LILYISTHATYOU: I'm praying to God that I don't get a text from my ex today. No, I'm on the lookout. I am to look over my shoulder today for a few “How could you say this?” but that's the point. This isn’t the first time that I've said something that's so honest. “How Could You” for Painful Euphoria was a similar feeling, but in that scenario it's somebody else who's getting back versus me opening up about something that I've done. Even if the fans don't know the whole story, that's okay. I think one of the strongest things about me as an artist is my ability to take something that's happening in my life and turn it into something other people can relate to. I definitely think one of my superpowers as an artist is my ability to translate my life or something as simple as an Alexander McQueen dress into music. Every day it's like, what's going on literally right now, and how can I interpret that into something cool?
LUNA: Where do you see yourself in three years?
LILYISTHATYOU: I see myself 50 times bigger than I am right now, so somewhere around 25 million or more monthly listeners hopefully. I see myself associated with a major brand, hopefully with a major fashion house like YSL or Gucci. Or Bottega or Luna. I see myself doing a massive tour again, but hopefully the venues are reflective of being 25 times bigger. I see myself in the airport in an ad, and being like, wow. I see myself wearing the Alexander McQueen dress in a VMAs performance. And hopefully I'm just as content with my friendships and my love life and my relationship with myself as I am now. As long as I don't go backwards, we're good. As long as I don't get worse, then we're gonna be okay. Every step forward is one step forward still. It's easy to get lost in comparison and expectations when a lot of it just isn't real. So much success that we see took years and years and years. Where I am today is successful and it took me years. How far there is to go is unimaginable, but that's what it's all about.
