The Artist Explains: Daya - 'Bad Girl'
GRAMMY Award winning artist Daya continues to keep the light shining with new single ‘Bad Girl’ - a small taster of her forthcoming EP that is due out later this year. She took a moment to talk to us about sexuality, femininity and working with director Clyde Munroe on this latest track.
Hey there Daya, how are you? So your new track ‘Bad Girl’ is out now - can you tell us what the track is about?
Bad Girl is about the exploration and discovery of my sexuality as a bisexual woman. I feel like before I started exploring my sexuality, part of my younger self was always looking to temporarily fill this emptiness inside with stereotypically “bad guys”. But now that I’ve been in a relationship with a girl and opened that hypothetical door, I’ve realized it’s possible to have these desires and find someone who not only fulfills them, but also reflects the same ones back at me in a more mutually benefitting, satisfying way.
It gives us a taster of your forthcoming EP - how is that coming along? When can we get to hear that?
So good— I’m so excited for everyone to hear what we’ve been working on. It’s been great having J Kash so hands on in the writing process while also being the executive of my label— the process is much more natural and free flowing. It also allows for a much quicker turnarounds with releases, which hasn’t always been the case in the past, so I’m really excited to take advantage of that and put out as much music as I can this year.
The music video for the track is directed by Clyde Munroe - how did that partnership come about?
Clyde is actually my girlfriend, and we’ve been talking about collaborating on this level forever. I played her the song as soon as I got back from the studio the day we wrote it, and right on the spot she instantly envisioned an entire visual world for it to live in. It’s been such a good feeling to not only work with someone I trust and know will make me look good, but also someone whose taste I align with and genuinely respect more than anyone’s.
Where was it filmed? Any behind the scenes stories? How does the video portray the song’s message?
It was filmed at the Peppermint Club in Los Angeles. The only available time we could rent it was from 4pm to 4am, so it ended up being a pretty long night, but in a way, that only fueled my performance more—I was running off so much adrenaline at the end. To me, the song and the video go hand in hand. The video puts a narrative visual to the entire concept and journey of me exploring my sexuality— with my initial confusion and frustration culminating into a newly discovered confidence at the end. The video exists in this dream-like place that mirrors my subconscious and highlights different emotional phases as I enter different rooms/locations. The final performance on the stage is that final acceptance of self, not only with my sexuality, but also my femininity—something I’ve also struggled with in the past, but have found new ways to embrace as I’ve grown into my sexuality over the past few years.
You identify as a bisexual woman, and this track is about you confronting that. How did it feel to put this part of your life into your music?
To me it’s not like I really go into the details of my sex life, so it feels like the right amount of sharing. I’m happy it’s a reflection of my sexuality now, and I’m sure it’ll continue to evolve in the future. I’m just trying to write in the most honest way possible and whatever feels best to me at the time. I’m not trying to oversimplify anything or be a spokesperson on behalf of anything or anyone— everyone’s had different struggles and journeys and I can’t speak on the LGBTQ community as a whole. I can only speak for myself and how I feel, and this is how I feel at this time.
Do you feel the music industry is an open world to sexuality or does it still have more work to do? And which artists do you think are pushing the boundaries when it comes to it?
I think artists are definitely there. I mean, there have been gay and sexually fluid artists for years, whether out or not, who have gradually pushed the needle forward and given our generation the space and freedom to openly be ourselves today. I think it can still feel a bit archaic and conservative in the institutions/labels built up around artists, but hopefully that’s changing as well. Ultimately, the music industry is driven by what the people want, and music will always speak for itself, so I’m confident it’s on a path forward.