“I can be reborn without having to hide my previous self,” Lou Bliss told CelebMix as she prepares to release her first music in five years.
A lot has happened since the Swindon-born star first arrived in 2019, and armed with a vault of ambitious alt-pop material, it feels like we’re on the verge of witnessing the singer’s true debut.
Bliss rose to prominence after a series of covers, championed by Ariana Grande, Sia, Benny Blanco and others, went viral online. Gaining hundreds of thousands of followers, a record deal and two singles followed before the rising star faded away. The 20-year-old is now ready to tell her own story. And it starts with her coming out as a transgender woman.
“I knew I was a girl from the moment I was born.” Lu said. “I remember going to bed when I was five and thinking that when I woke up I would be a girl and that it would all be a stupid mistake.
“I knew it all along and experienced gender dysphoria. I didn’t have the tools until I got out of school and started playing with makeup and looks. I realized it was something I couldn’t escape.
“There wasn’t necessarily one turning point. “When I was 16, I told my friends and contacted my manager, and at that moment I thought I couldn’t do it anymore.”
The moment came when the singer’s profile reached its peak. Bliss, along with her pioneering late SOPHIE, was named one of the musicians who defined the decade by British Vogue and saw two grunge pop singles garner tens of millions of streams.
“I have such a bad memory of the moment it all happened.” Lou admitted when asked if there was one singular thing that made her realize stardom was coming.
“I don’t have the most vivid memories after everything that has happened over the years. I remember thinking, ‘Wow, I don’t deserve this, this is crazy.’
“It definitely popped into my head. Growing up without much interest in putting the world at my feet scared me. I have so much impostor syndrome that it’s hard to deal with.
“I was so happy, but so confused and naive. “I was only 14 years old.”
It’s a head-spinning story that unfolds as Bliss puts together a catapult and takes the spotlight. Within days of the video going viral, nearly every major record label had contacted them, and the teen’s aunt had put together a DIY spreadsheet analyzing the pros and cons of each offer.
The songs that followed, ‘Sick Thoughts’ and ‘Killing Butterflies’, were trendy hits with a carefully considered edge. This is a far cry from the music Bliss shares with CelebMix now, and she admits that even at that age she knows it’s not true to her core.
“I loved Lou Bliss not because she did it, but because other people loved her,” she says. “It’s still special to me and I enjoyed the process, but looking back, I think the songs were quite insincere.
“I thought about taking it off streaming, but the numbers are immeasurable. I know that record resonated with so many people, and I don’t want to take that away from them.”
There are moments in Bliss’ new single ‘Unregulated’ where the EDM influence of those songs is faintly visible. A bold, four-minute statement, it’s an incredible comeback effort.
Behind the song’s unexpected production and soaring vocals, there is a story about Bliss’ hiatus. In her five years out of the internet’s gaze, Bliss has sought help for serious mental health issues and had to come to terms with her mother, who suffered a life-changing brain injury.
“I had to go away and figure those things out,” Bliss emotionally admits. “I was completely distraught. I was experiencing what is called trauma-induced psychosis, which means I was seeing and hearing things that were not there. I felt very unwell and was stripped of my platform.”
While there are echoes of hope through ‘Unregulated’, there are darker moments woven into the track. The single is most captivating near the end, when the echoes of “I’m Losing It Again” lead to images of a ship sailing across a dark lake. A cinematic ending ebbs and flows as the composer emerges from his lowest point.
“Now I’m giving that line more of a positive meaning,” said Lou. “It’s like breaking out of a cage you’ve been trapped in for so many years and finishing a song.
“I am working on healing and growing for myself, knowing that I have certain mental health symptoms and living life as best I can. It’s easy to think that’s impossible at some point, but I wrote ‘Unregulated’ at a moment when I believed it was impossible.”
Ask to name artists who have influenced you and you’ll get a long list of artists Lou gushes about. From pop icons Ariana Grande and Billie Eilish to British rock and roll heroes The Clash, there’s also love for Amy Winehouse and Nina Simone. The singer, who is currently studying vocal performance in Bristol, is surrounded by music and is immersed in it.
“When I started college, I never told anyone everything before,” Lou reveals. “No one would have signed me up anyway because I looked so different… And I’m not like Elton John!
“It was really freeing, especially not being on social media. It was real validation. “If people want to work with me, it’s because they really want to, not because they’re in love with the number of followers I have or the views I get.”
In conversation, Bliss can’t help but keep coming back to the two inspirations that are at the forefront of her mind: Lana Del Rey and David Bowie. It’s easy to understand why ‘Unregulated’ interweaves the winding lyricism of the former with the vocal trickery of the latter.
As for the intricacies of ‘Unregulated,’ the singer is eager to talk more about her determination to push her boundaries in the studio. She talks about singing from a low larynx in the deep lunges of her chorus. This is a movement born of another challenge. I faced this recently. The production curveball is noticeable.
Bliss said, “I suffered trauma to my vocal cords in June of last year,” and “my voice is still recovering.” “After male puberty I was able to rebuild my voice and feel more comfortable, which was the worst thing that could have happened. “It was very difficult to experience something like that again.”
There’s no doubt that hearing ‘Unregulated’ will leave followers wanting more. In time, the story of the star’s difficult teenage years will unfold in a two-part album. The album will first confront her recent past and self-destruction with a more rock edge, before moving on to jazz-influenced ballads about her future.
Everything she says speaks volumes about the singer’s ambition and the honesty with which she confronts her past. On, ‘Unregulated’ Lou Bliss can’t help but open the door to the world and go inside.
‘Unregulated’ will be released on Friday, June 7th.
