Tinashe embraces her expansive artistic identity on her eighth album, Popstar, arriving September 25. Eschewing genre boxes, the singer blends heavy bass, glitch textures, and big ballads while reflecting on a decade of independence since her breakout with 2014’s Aquarius.
Over a decade after her breakout single 2 On
established her in the mid-2010s club-ready dreamscape, Tinashe is refusing to let anyone put her in a box. Her eighth album, Popstar, pulls together a wild assortment of threads into a singular statement. The project arrives on Friday, September 25, following her 2024 album Quantum Baby.
Heading into the album sessions, the 33-year-old singer had just a few ground rules: create a cohesive body of work representing her true self, and otherwise have no rules at all. That eclectic mindset resulted in an intentional lack of restrictions.
I don’t subscribe to like one particular sound, one particular genre. I’ve made records on this project that feel like dance records, like hip-hop records, like pop records, like R&B records, And I think they all, to me, fall under this umbrella of pop star. And I wanted to bring that question or like bring that conversation to the table of what does it mean to be a pop star?
Tinashe, via Yahoo
Contrasting Textures and Experimental Impulses on Popstar
Popstar pairs starkly different sonic elements across its tracklist. The speedy, heavy-bass track Too Easy
bumps directly against the hyperactive glitch of Melatonin
and the larger-than-life vocal showcase I’d Rather Be Alone
. The record also features high-velocity cuts like Cloud 9
and the boastful Flashbacks
.
That experimental impulse shines brightest on “Flashbacks”, which opens with alien vocal chops reminiscent of Arca. Following the psychedelic intro, Tinashe chants over a somber piano loop.
which opens with vocal chops reminiscent to Arca’s alien textures. After the psychedelic intro, Tinashe moves into chanting lines over a somber piano loop. On their face, her lyrics should be a beckoning to party, but amid the saddened orchestration, they feel somewhat tragic.
The Fader
The song features surprising pots-and-pans drum textures that add a strange sexiness to the track, even as a pitched-up vocal repeats the word bounce
over the sad piano loop.
Publicity Stunts and Industry Roots
To surround the album release with classic pop star tropes, Tinashe orchestrated a viral moment in July. She announced the bouncy burner Crash Out
by releasing a promo video in which she smashed a car’s windows with a sledgehammer. She explained her reasoning to Alex Cooper on Call Her Daddy on Wednesday, September 23.
I was like, ‘we should do a stunt,’ Like, we need a gaggy moment. And it would be really funny if people didn’t know that it was a stunt … like a true publicity stunt.
Tinashe, via Yahoo
Long before orchestrating viral stunts and releasing critically lauded albums, Tinashe got her start in the music industry at age 14 as part of the girl group The Stunners, opening for Justin Bieber. Touring with Bieber as an avowed fan left a lasting impression, particularly because of the overwhelming arena volume. It was her first-ever experience in the music industry, teaching her lessons about recording studios and touring that continue to influence her independent path today.