Q&A: Stevie Bill Is Pop’s Newest Visionary—and She’s Just Getting Started
INTERVIEW
INTERVIEW
☆ BY JOY VILLANUEVA ☆
Stevie Bill is quietly redefining what it means to be a pop star in the digital age. With a genre-blending sound that pulls from classical roots, early 2000s nostalgia, and the experimental fringes of hyperpop, the Amsterdam-born, Berlin-raised, and now New York-based artist has carved out a sonic lane that’s uniquely her own. Her sharp, emotionally open lyrics and playful yet heart-rending production have earned her over 100,000 monthly listeners on Spotify—and growing. From writing songs in Berlin to opening for Stevie Nicks, Bill’s path has been anything but conventional.
Read below for Luna’s conversation with Bill on her evolution as an artist, the stories behind her songs, and the full-circle magic of opening for her idol.
LUNA: Looking back at your earliest songwriting memories—maybe even from childhood—what was the first moment you knew this was what you were meant to do?
BILL: I started playing piano when I was really young—three and a half years old. My parents put me in piano lessons, and to be honest, I was just infatuated with music from the moment I was introduced to it. My first introduction to music was classical, like piano music, and I just remember being so infatuated with my piano teacher whenever she would play the pieces fast. It just struck something in me—which still happens when I listen to classical music. I continued with classical music until I was about nine, and then slowly got introduced to Alicia Keys, who also played piano and sang.
So it was really classical piano for me—and ballet, which I also did. I never really had a doubt about music. I always kind of knew that it was the one thing that, whenever it was on or whenever I was playing, had my full attention. There was just nothing else that compared to it for me.
LUNA: You’ve gone from Amsterdam to Berlin to New York—how have those cities shaped your sound and identity as an artist?
BILL: I think it definitely shaped me and my music a lot. I moved to Berlin first and got introduced to pop songwriting for the first time—at this time, I didn’t really know how to write a pop song. I would make music in my bedroom, but I didn’t realize how much training it took to create a really good melody or a catchy hook. It definitely came naturally to me, but it’s something I had to train as well.
Honestly, with going to the studio every single day in Berlin, I didn’t go out and didn’t really have any friends there. I just went to the studio and put in the work, and that really helped me take all that knowledge to New York. That’s where I really met my musical community.
Here, I got introduced to hyperpop music, which I actually hadn’t really heard of before. An amazing hyperpop artist called Underscores is one of my friends, and many people in this community are also on that same hyperpop wave. It was really exciting to see all these different influences.
Also, my roommate Jacob, who I still write with and is my main collaborator, is from the Midwest. I think that brings a different type of sound that I had never heard before.
LUNA: Before releasing music as Stevie Bill, you spent time writing for other artists in Berlin. What did that phase teach you about the industry, as well as yourself?
BILL: I think that phase really taught me to put in the work. To put your head down and get good at your craft.
The time after that—going to New York—did other things for me. It did social things. It shaped how I look at art and how I want to approach my project for the rest of my life. It taught me to be critical of what the industry tells you.
But that specific time in Berlin was very industry-focused, very goal-oriented. It just told me to get at it and get really good at one thing.
I think it’s really important as an artist to have both—to obviously learn your craft, but also to stay critical of the world around you. Because that’s what our job is as artists: to not just do what we’re told to do, or what’s expected of us.
LUNA: You’ve talked about being inspired by early 2000s pop queens like Britney and Avril. If you could collaborate with any of your musical heroes—dead or alive—who would it be and why?
BILL: It would be Stevie Nicks—which is ironic, because I opened for her last year in London.
Stevie Nicks,and Fleetwood Mac as a band, have always been a huge inspiration to me. It was music that was always on at home. My parents were always playing it.
When I was reshaping my sound a few years ago, I realized that was the one band I always come back to when I don’t know what to listen to or when I’m not inspired. Their music just stays timeless for me, and the songs are so good that I feel like they stand the test of time.
Stevie Nicks, who's in her 70s now, she’s just goals. That’s what I hope to be someday. She’s definitely my biggest role model.
LUNA: Opening for Stevie Nicks last July was huge. What was that experience like for you, both as a performer and as a fan of hers?
BILL: It was actually so insane. The year before it happened, at my graduation—which took place at Radio City Music Hall—we sang “Dreams” by Fleetwood Mac as the ceremony song.
My mom also called me “Stevie,” after Stevie Nicks. Both of my parents are in the music world—my mom makes music, my dad makes music—so it just felt like this surreal, full-circle moment. I was like, How is this even a coincidence?
I still can’t believe I got to see her live. It’s definitely a memory I’ll cherish forever. It’s crazy—I don’t even know how it all happened.
LUNA: Your song “Fan,” is what drew me into your music. It captures that bittersweet feeling of being in love with someone who doesn’t even know you exist—what inspired that track emotionally, and what was your headspace when writing it?
BILL: I think I just wanted to make a fun song. A lot of my songs tend to be pretty nostalgic and kind of melancholy—that’s definitely present in all of them—but there’s also this side of me that loves dating around, and meeting new people. I have a cheeky side, and I wanted to write something fun about dating.
It was definitely inspired by how much I was touring last year. I had my own headline tour and then two support tours, so I was constantly on the road and on stage. That experience really made me think about how strange it can be when you’re on stage and then meet people afterward—how they already have this idea of who you are.
Sometimes it’s a bit confronting, because I’m like, Do I live up to their expectations? Like, What part of me do they actually know? What don’t they know? It’s weird when those lines get blurred.
But I’ve also thought about it from the other side, too—how I look at the artists I admire. Like, when I think about Billie Eilish or Chappell Roan, I’m like, Oh my God, we would so be friends. But they don’t know who I am.
Fandom is a funny concept, and I think I have a bit of a love-hate relationship with it. I’m so grateful—every time I meet a fan, it means the world—but that’s where the concept for the song came from. It’s kind of a funny spin on a deeper thing I was thinking about last year.
LUNA: You’ve hit over 100,000 monthly listeners on Spotify—congrats! How does it feel to watch your audience grow like that? Is there a moment where it really hit you?
BILL: It was definitely when I noticed more people actually knowing my songs—like full-on knowing the lyrics—that was a big moment. I think it was the beginning of last year, the first time that really happened, and it wasn’t even about numbers or streams. It was just the feeling of going to do a show and seeing people sing the words back to me. That’s such a crazy, surreal feeling.
What’s weird, though, is that you kind of get used to it. You start looking ahead to the next thing. But I think it’s so important to remind yourself how far you’ve come—and that there are people listening and really caring about the music. That’s the most important thing, no matter how big or small the audience is.
LUNA: A lot of fans have discovered you through TikTok and social media. How do you view those platforms—creative tools, necessary evils, or something in between?
BILL: I’m really in between with that stuff, because on one hand, I love using it to my advantage—like, this is the landscape of music right now, and I want to play the game because I want people to hear my music. That’s always been important to me.
But at the same time, I try to stay critical of what’s expected of us as artists. I’m always asking, “What else can we do besides just following the herd? What’s possible beyond doing what everyone else is doing?”
It’s a difficult balance. It definitely drains me—putting yourself out there all the time is a really weird, unnatural thing. I think it is for a lot of artists. I’ve seen some people who are amazing at it, who love sharing their lives every single day. Some people are just naturally extroverted like that. I don’t think I am, so it takes up a lot of my energy.
I’d say it’s important to stay critical, do what you can, and try to make it your own thing. Use it to your advantage, but don’t let it define everything.
LUNA: Can you tease anything about your upcoming music? Are you sticking to your dreamy pop sound, or exploring something totally different?
BILL: First of all, I’m really excited to release new music again. With every release, I try to stay more and more true to myself, so for this one, I had some songs that were really good, but they just didn’t feel like me at the moment. So, for this release, I’m really sticking to what feels authentic to who I am.
The first song coming out is about my love for music—how no matter who’s listening or who isn’t, I’ll always be doing this. I think it’s a fun introduction to the direction I want to take with my project.
I’m also going to release songs that are a little more electronic again. In the past, I’ve done a lot of electronic music, but then I went through a phase where I was more guitar-based and band-focused. That won’t change—I’m still going to be a singer-songwriter. But, I’m blending that classic style with some more modern, fun elements in the production.
LUNA: Is there anything you’d like to share with Luna?
BILL: I guess this isn’t necessarily about me, but more of a message to any young or aspiring artists out there. It’s so easy to get swept away in trends, going viral, or being seen, but as long as you stay true to yourself and do that consistently, your audience will find you. Even in a world obsessed with virality and trends, it’s important to be unique. The world needs that right now.
