INTERVIEW: Mia Rodriguez on her latest single 'Billion Dollar Bitch'

Image: Giulia McGauran

Australia’s Mia Rodriguez released her first new music of 2021 in August with the single ‘Billion Dollar Bitch’ featuring Yung Baby Tate. A addictive slice of R&B, electro, hip-hop and rap rolled into one, the lyrics are a self-empowering mantra to pump yourself up with confidence when levels are low. “It’s for when you’re feeling alone after a break up and need to find yourself again,” Rodriguez says. “It’s for the girls and the gays. It’s my personality and style in a song.”

Still only 19, Rodriguez released her first single ‘Emotion’ in 2019. The following year her single ‘Psycho’ went viral and has accumulated over 16 million global streams to date. She is quickly becoming one of the hottest young talents in Australian music and we recently caught up with her to find out more about her music and career.

Hi Mia! It is such a pleasure to talk to you today. How is everything in your world right now?
My world right now is currently in covid lockdown… so not so fun ha ha! There’s not much to do. I recently got vaccinated and I’m terrified of needles! But I gotta do what I gotta do. 

Congratulations on the release of ‘Billion Dollar Bitch’ last month, it is such a great track. Can you talk us a little through the inspiration behind the song?
I wanted a song that made me and my fans feel like a bad bitch! It’s hard to feel confident during a pandemic, staying inside all day. I’d forgotten who I was and didn’t feel great. So I made a badass song! 

How did the collaboration with Yung Baby Tate come about?
I actually listened to Yung Baby Tate before the collab, I’m a big fan. I think she’s just amazing, and I needed her on this track! We had to do it via online though, because of covid. Which was sucky. 

You have also released a gorgeous music video for the song with lots of cool retro props and some stunning visuals. What was your concept for the video and what was it like to make?
I work with one of my favourite directors Josh Harris, and he brings my visions to life so well. He loves making weird shit, like me! I wanted the concept to be like a cliche materialistic music video, but with a twist. Getting jewellery pulled out of my stomach was fun. 

You broke into the music industry in a big way last year when your second single ‘Psycho’ went viral and racked up over 16 million streams. What was it like to have such huge success so early in your career?
It’s so amazing to have so much support. I was really proud of that song, and knowing that so many people like it is pretty overwhelming. I’m still pretty new to the music industry, so I’m keen to release so many more songs! 

And what steps did you take to get to that break through moment - was a music career always on the cards for you or did it develop more spontaneously?
I actually worked my way up from starting on TikTok, when it was called Musical.ly at the time. It was way before the TikTok hype and I was bored… it was 2018 and the app was dead at the time so I made a couple videos hoping no one would see them ha ha. But my account pretty much exploded. I enjoyed singing too so I sung covers here and there, and boom! Record labels came swarming in, it all happened really fast and I’m still processing it.

What role did music play in your childhood, and who were your favourite artists growing up?
I absolutely loved to sing, and I’ve always had a thing for it. I was a very shy kid so I never sung in front of anyone. I would come home from school and sing karaoke before my mum got home from work! I was always peeping out the window. My favourite artists as a kid were actually stars from the Nickelodeon show Victorious, that’s where it all started for me! 

The world is very slowly opening up again after the pandemic, from a creative point of view what are you looking forward to doing as we get more freedoms?
Oh my god, it makes me so excited knowing that I can finally live my life as an adult. I turned 18 and moved out into my own place during this whole pandemic, and I have never experienced the freedom of living! I’m honestly looking forward to do anything, even just seeing my friends. But especially international travel. I’m planning to go to LA soon. 

The music industry has traditionally been a difficult space for women to exist in due to it being run by older, straight, white men for decades. What are your thoughts on gender equality and sexism in music?
Wow, honestly this question made me realise it was normal. I just thought I kept getting unlucky ha ha. Because of covid, I haven’t had the chance to talk to many artists at all. I’ve kinda just been rolling with everything. It is really challenging working and being surrounded with men in my field of work. I started my career in the music industry when I was a 17 year old girl, I grew up without much of a male figure in my life too. So it can be really scary. Especially because I feel misunderstood a lot of the time. I try to communicate more to women as much as possible! 

What else is on the horizon for for Mia Rodriguez?
I have recently made an ultimate game plan with my team, and I’m going to release quite a lot of music very soon - with music videos - so I’m really excited for that! 

‘Billion Dollar Bitch’ is out now via City Pop Records. You can download and stream here.

To keep up with all things Mia Rodriguez you can follow her on Instagram, Facebook and TikTok.