INTERVIEW: Upsahl release her debut album 'Lady Jesus': 'If I can help other people feel more empowered by listening to my music, I'm happy."

Ever since she first appeared in 2018 with her debut single ‘Rough’, America’s UPSAHL (full name Taylor Upsahl) has steadily become one of the exciting and talented young artists in pop right now. With an ability to create addictive and completely immersive music dripping with attitude across a multitude of different genres, she is the type of artist that creates real buzz and excitement with every release.

As well as being a successful artist in her own right (she currently racks up over 4 million streams per month on Spotify alone), she is also a songwriter to some of the biggest names in the business, writing tracks for artists such as Dua Lipa, Anne Marie and Madison Beer.

After two EPs and multiple singles, she has recently released her debut album Lady Jesus. Like all her music, it is an intoxicating mix of soundscapes, ranging from the funk-infused pop of single ‘Melatonin’, the R&B/guitar rock slide of ‘Notorious’, the dance pop of ‘Lunatic’ through to the delicious electro-synth beats of ‘Sunny D’.

Telling the story, in chronological order, of a breakup she went through in lockdown, the album is honest, at times raw, but also empowering and showing that no matter how hard the journey you will come out stronger in the end. “I think I'm done with twenty one, this isn't that much fun…how come all the worst days are in the time of my life? / Yeah baby it's my birthday but I still wanna die,” she sings on track 3 ‘Time Of Your Life’ and by the time she gets to the closer ‘Lady Jesus’ she is reborn: ‘Welcome to my funeral, please take a seat
Right here lies the body of the bitch I used to be / She was crying every night, I sacrificed her in her sleep…It's the second coming, baby, watch out.’

UPSAHL has everything we want in a pop star - impeccable music, delicious melodies, lyrics that are both relatable and aspirational and the warmth and charisma that makes you feel she is singing directly to you. Lady Jesus is quite possible one of the best debut albums to be released this year, and we recently caught up with UPSAHL to find out more about its creation.

Hey UPSAHL! It is always a pleasure to speak with you, how is everything in your world right now?
Hey thanks for chatting with me again! My debut album dropped last week, so I'm feeling pretty fucking great.

Yes! That debut album Lady Jesus is definitely here and it is amazing, congratulations! How does it feel to have it out in the world?
Thank you! I wrote these songs over the course of a wild year and they’ve been such a big part of my life, so to be able to let people into my world, and hopefully feel all I’ve been feeling is very surreal. 

We love the title you have given the album, and the title track ends the album. Firstly, what the inspiration behind the title and this track, and secondly was it also going to be the closing track? 
I honestly thought I was going to write a breakup album! I was about halfway through writing it when I sent to Nashville to write with some friends, and out nowhere I was like, ‘wait, I think I'm okay. I'm not sad over this boy anymore... I feel like I've been reborn or something.’ So we ended up writing a song about that, and it became ‘Lady Jesus’. Writing this song made the whole idea of the album click for me. I accidentally narrated how I got from Point A (‘Douchebag’) to Point B (‘Lady Jesus’). I decided that would be the name of the album that day and that it was the end of the story, so I just sequenced the entire album in front of it. 

There are a number of lyrical themes on the album, but the one that stands out the most is self empowerment. Was there a particular message or theme you wanted to project with the album?
The idea of Lady Jesus is all about growing and loving yourself. I feel like people are quick to put so much trust in a higher power or religion to save them, but if we put that level of trust in ourselves, we can save ourselves.

There is such a delicious range of sounds on this album, including electropop, electrothrash, indie, guitar, and dance. Sonic experimentation is obviously very important to you, do you think genres, and our obsession with them, is becoming increasingly irrelevant? 
Definitely! We're living in such a cool time in music, where we kind of have the freedom to do whatever the fuck we want. As a listener, I don't just listen to one genre of music, so why would I have to box my sound in as an artist to one genre, ya know? I'm very grateful to be making music during a time where genre is fading away. 

We are loving the track ‘Sunny D’, can you tell us the story behind this track?
I wrote that one with my friends Pete and Elijah. Honestly, we had been writing all day and just wanted to make some high energy shit that made us feel good, which I needed at that point in my life. I'm pretty sure we stayed up until like 5 in the morning jamming that shit because we were so hyped on it.

As mentioned there is a theme of female empowerment running through the album, in particular sexual empowerment. It seems crazy to be still talking about this in 2021, but why do you think your voice - and other artists like you - speaking about these truths is still so important in order for other women and young girls to feel just as empowered?
For me, regardless of the topic, songwriting is meant to be unapologetic. It's taken a lot of growth personally to get to this place of not giving a fuck, so if I can help other people on that journey and make them feel more empowered by listening to my music, I'm happy. 

Being a creative artist involves many things - writing, recording, performing live, creating music videos and also being a role model and being able to speak up about important social issues. What part is your favourite?
Oof!! All of it. I feel lucky to be able to take part in all of those things. That said, there is nothing better than walking onto that stage and performing. It’s by far the biggest natural high I get.

The world is opening up again slowly, how are you feeling about being able to tour and perform live again
So. Fucking. Excited. I've played a few shows since being back and it's the most serotonin I've felt in a longgg time. 

What else is coming up for UPSAHL for the rest of 2021 and into 2022?
I’m going to continue making as much content for Lady Jesus as I can! I’m also playing a Halloween show with Melanie Martinez, which is going to be sick, and then go into a US tour with Olivia O'Brien in November, which I’m so hyped for! I have a couple more tours that I'm announcing for 2022 soon too. And, of course, writing and releasing more music!

Lady Jesus is out now via Sony Music Australia. You can buy and download here.

To keep up with all things UPSAHL you can follow her on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.