At just 20 years old, Toronto-born, Los Angeles-based provocateur Sophie Powers is reengineering the blueprint for today’s avant-pop princess. With anthems that hit like a panic attack and read like a diary entry mid–crash out, Sophie’s world is brutal, unapologetic, and hopelessly relatable.
Following the release of her last single, “move with me,” and the high-voltage hyperpop collab “XO” with RJ Pasin, her new track “HEAD EMPTY, NO THOUGHTS” offers a blistering rebuttal to low-effort dating and the brain rot of dumbing yourself down for someone else. Equal parts glitch and grit, the single plays like the score to an emotional meltdown.
In a musical landscape full of picture-perfect algorithms and recycled trends, Sophie Powers gives her listeners something rare: feeling, friction, and actual impact. During her flight from Seoul to DC for her set at Warped Tour, Sophie Powers chatted with me about her last heartbreak, propaganda she’s not falling for, and her festival morning routine.
If AI tried to clone you tomorrow, what part of your brain would it fail to replicate?
The part that knows when to break the rules just to see what happens. You can copy code, but you can’t fake chaos with intention.
Who raised you musically?
Avril Lavigne was my fairy godmother, Nirvana taught me how to scream pretty, Lady Gaga showed me how to shape-shift, and Madonna taught me the power of reinvention. Basically, I was raised by icons and eyeliner.
What’s the most unhinged thing in your camera roll right now? And what song should be attached?
A video of my bulldog Rocky snoring louder than an airplane while wearing tiny sunglasses. The song? “Disturbia” by Rihanna but slowed and reverbed like it’s playing in a haunted Sephora.
If your last heartbreak was a celebrity couple, who were you and who were they?
I was Bella Swan, delusional and loyal to a fault. He was Edward Cullen, emotionally unavailable and sparkly in the worst way.
There’s a very specific chaos in your work. What’s your relationship to control?
Toxic but necessary. I micromanage everything until it feels like a meltdown, then pretend I’m chill and call it art.
We’ve seen your style evolve. If your closet had a mood board, what’s on it?
Cyber apocalypse Barbie, early Tumblr memes, a bit of 90s Tokyo streetwear, and definitely something on fire.
What is propaganda you’re not falling for?
That healing is linear. And drinking celery juice at 6am will fix your life. Lies!!
Your visuals are very curated. Who are your visual icons, and how do you approach building a world around your music?
Visually I orbit around people like Björk, Noto Fukasawa, and anime as a whole. I approach it like a dystopian diary, collecting little bits and bobs along the way. Every color, frame, and font becomes part of a story I’m not quite ready to say out loud.
You’ve collaborated with artists across genres. What makes you say yes to a collab, and what’s one unexpected collab on your bucket list?
If someone is down to get weird and write from a place of emotional chaos, I’m in! As for my bucket list collab, I’d have to say Fred again… and Rico Nasty. In the same room. Let’s see what breaks!
What is your festival morning routine?
Wake up in a slight panic, chug electrolytes, paint something on my face that looks intentional, and manifest crowd control.
If your next project had a warning label on it, what would it say?
SINS: 7 things we know will ruin humanity (and I’ve probably committed them all).
Listen to “head empty no thoughts” on all streaming platforms June 20th.
Sydney Goldhawk is a Freelance Stylist currently living in Toronto.
With a love for all things vintage and runway, her perspective draws heavily from her fascination with the synchronicity she observes between modern aesthetics and references to the past.