A Conversation with Alt Pop Artist Lily Forte on Her New Ep "Can't Handle Hollywood"

Ben: Hi Lily! So good to talk to you and I can’t wait for everyone to hear your new EP, I’ve been enjoying it immensely, especially the variety of songs in it - the songs I can really get emo to like “Can’t Handle Hollywood” and “California Avenue”, and the ones to jam out hard to like “I Wanna Be Your Rockstar” and “Say a Prayer”. It really makes me have dreamy visions of California. The EP is entitled “Can’t Handle Hollywood”. Can you give us some insight into how you came up with the title?

Lily: Yes! It’s a project that’s been in the making for some time now and the inspiration was just the chorus that was sitting in my notes app where I like to jot things down if I’m out and about and something inspires me. I’m not sure what initially inspired it but I had written down “Baby I need you I love you so much but if you can’t handle hollywood then I’m giving up,” which sat in my notes app for a while before it manifested into anything. Then one day I was just sitting at the piano and I thought this would be kind of cool to lean into and the song just poured out. Then I had this epiphany to base my EP around this idea of the pursuit of your dreams in Hollywood and the trials and tribulations. I feel like starting that song was kind of what brought all the other songs to life. 

Ben: That’s really well said and I think the EP does a great job of showcasing how you’re chasing that dream especially with the aforementioned dream-like California aesthetic. It’s 8 songs long, why did you choose this length?  

Lily: It had been over three years since I’d released a full project, my last EP “Losing The Illusion”. I sometimes feel like there's so much pressure to constantly release singles and songs just with how fast paced the music industry is and so I kind of had to make a decision where I could just keep on releasing and releasing and seeing where it would take me or I could really think about an idea for an EP. It’s just short of an album length, a couple more songs and it would be, but I just wanted to take my time and then 8 songs just ended up happening. I didn’t really have an outlook on how long it was going to be. I kind of went in with this mindset of “if it’s 12 songs, great! If it’s 5 songs, great!” It’s just however I want to tell a story it doesn’t matter the number of songs. I think there’s also a lot of emphasis on short songs today and I think that’s great if you can get your point across in a short song but sometimes you just need more time to tell a story.

“I kind of went in with this mindset of 'if it’s 12 songs, great! If it’s 5 songs, great!' It’s just however I want to tell a story it doesn’t matter the number of songs.”

Ben: I love that you have the confidence to stick to your guns and commit to that creative process. I feel like a lot of artists feel pressured to just write a TikTok sound bite. 

Lily: That’s what’s important really, you know I can get wrapped in everything with social media as well but then I try to remember my 12 year old self writing songs at the piano. Sometimes you do need to focus on what it takes to market yourself as an artist but I just try to stay as genuine as possible.

Ben: Right. At the end of the day you just want your artistry to be as authentic as possible. I commend you on your steadfast creative process because you made this amazing body of work that has a cohesive theme and a sound that ties all of the songs together. It’s a really satisfying listening experience.

Lily: Yeah and sometimes before I even know what my feelings actually are I write them down. Some of these songs I didn’t even know how I was feeling about certain things but then I wrote them and I was like…oh wait I’m having this whole feeling and sensitivity towards this particular thing which turns into a whole song. The writing process also just makes me realize more things about myself just in daily life. It’s kind of this balance of being a musician and your personal life that blends together. 

“The writing process also just makes me realize more things about myself just in daily life. It’s kind of this balance of being a musician and your personal life that blends together.”

Ben: Right and your music feels super personal and that’s why I love listening to it because it evokes so many emotions. I noticed a leap from your last project “Losing The Illusion” to this new project “Can’t Handle Hollywood” where you’ve transitioned from a softer indie pop and lean more into the grittiness of rock and roll. I think it was a cool decision to include some of your singles from 2022 (“Reminisce on Innocence” and “Bottle Blondes”) on the new project because they tie really well with the rest of the songs sonically.

Lily: Totally! I didn’t even initially plan on putting those songs on the EP when I was writing them but I think that brings me back to my point of the project writing itself over time in a way. I feel like there’s a few ways to write. One example is when you write your song in 15 minutes and the inspiration is all there and you're just ready to go and it’s that amazing feeling of you can just put it all into motion quickly. But I think I took a few years to harness my sound in a way and mature a little lyrically. I also feel a lot happier now than when I was writing “Losing The Illusion”. I feel like I’ve been having a lot more fun with my new songs. “Reminisce on Innocence” was the first song that I wrote and released after “Losing The Illusion”, which in my head was the transition of my old style on that project into this new project “Can’t Handle Hollywood”, because I just started leaning more into rock and roll. 

Ben: For sure! I noticed a vintage feel to the cover art: the font, the landline phone you’re holding, as well as the instrumentals, vocal effects and music videos. What’s been inspiring this aesthetic and how does it tie into the songs?

Lily: Yea totally! I’m a very nostalgic person, I’m obsessed with past rock and roll icons, Hollywood stars and the history of music. I feel like I take inspiration from vintage styles, everything was a little more glamorous back in the day. I've been listening to a lot of music from the 50s, 60, and 70s and just absorbing music from all different eras. In particular, I’ve been listening to a lot of Neil Young and Elvis Presley. One lyric from a Neil Young song comes to mind “Hey hey, my my / Rock and roll can never die.” I love that quote because I think music has been moving in a different direction away from classic sounds from the past for a long time so I wanted to incorporate that classic rock and roll influence on “Can’t Handle Hollywood”.

“I think music has been moving in a different direction away from classic sounds from the past for a long time so I wanted to incorporate that classic rock and roll influence on “Can’t Handle Hollywood...I’m a very nostalgic person, I’m obsessed with past rock and roll icons, Hollywood stars and the history of music. I feel like I take inspiration from vintage styles, everything was a little more glamorous back in the day.”

Ben: That’s awesome how you take inspiration from such classic rock artists it definitely shows and your voice is incredible! The title track kind of opens up this concept of being a starving artist in Hollywood as well as the closing track “California Avenue”, both very personal tracks. Can you describe what that's been like for you being a new name in music trying to break your way in? 

Lily: Yeah I think it’s constantly going to be an uphill battle. I know that this could take me 10-15 years whatever it is and I’m ready for that. I just think as an artist if I’m feeling down about all of this I can just write a song about it and that’s the most beautiful feeling ever honestly. LA is very inspiring to be for me because of the history here and I just love being here. What can I say, It will happen one day.

Ben: I personally feel super inspired by your music and your commitment to being an artist. I think you’ve built a really creative aesthetic tying in your inspiration of old Hollywood in your music which is a really cool niche. 

Lily: Yeah I love it!

Ben: You kind of went from a soft indie pop and right now you’re experimenting with rock and roll, do you plan on exploring other genres in the future?

Lily: Yea for sure, I mean I’ve always wanted to release a jazz album. When I first started singing I was singing Jazz so I think that would be really cool to do. Yea some more bluesy stuff too I think there’s so much to explore, I’d love to lean even more rock and roll like the 70’s.

Ben: Ok Janis Joplin!

Lily: Yes I love Janis Joplin! 

Ben: I’m looking forward to this genre exploration, I feel like your voice has a very unique tone that can fit well with a lot of different genres for sure. 

Lily: That’s really sweet, thank you!

Ben: Of course! You get a lot of comparisons to great vocalists like Amy Winehouse and Lady Gaga specifically on your social media posts because of your unique and powerful tone. What's that been like to be compared to these greats and how has that impacted your direction as an artist?

Lily: I mean it’s a huge compliment. I’m flattered that people say that because they're huge inspirations and icons and paved the way for so many musicians. I’m super inspired by them and I try to take bits and pieces from everything I’m inspired by whether it’s poetry, music, movies or fashion and try to incorporate all of it. But yea that’s like the biggest compliment in the world!

Ben: For sure and I think you’re good at not boxing yourself in with your style and inspirations. I think with this EP, the route you took was really bold, especially vocally. You did some really powerful runs and belts on songs like “Stares You Never Give Me”, “Say A Prayer”, and “Lifeline”. I think when people hear that vocal capacity they automatically start comparing you to artists in that similar range. 

Lily: Yeah I just made a conscious decision to go for it and just fucking sing! That’s just kind of how the magic happens you just gotta be like fuck it!

Ben: I feel like you definitely let loose more on this project for sure! What's been your favorite track on the EP and what are you most excited to perform?

Lily: I think my favorite track is “California Avenue”. It was the last song I wrote actually on the EP too so it feels the most fresh in my head I guess. When I wrote that song I loved it and was so excited about it. I just love the way it feels like a California summer song and it’s been so gloomy and cold recently so I liked having that California summer energy in my mind. My favorite song to perform I would say is “Say A Prayer”, that one’s just really fun!

Ben: I love both of those songs! I definitely felt the California sunset vibes on California Ave with a bittersweet and melancholy aftertaste. I love it! Especially the lyric “I’m a singer but I don’t have a stage / I’m a writer but I don’t have the age.” I heard you’re coming out with a music video for that song as well.

Lily: You get it haha! Yes I am, it's very VHS home video inspired and we actually got to shoot it on the church steps where I initially wrote the lyrics to the chorus. The story behind the song is that I had done a photoshoot on these beautiful church steps in Santa Monica like two years ago. There’s a basketball court across the street and so while we were doing the photoshoot there were all these boys playing basketball and I just wrote in my notes “Sitting on the church steps watch the boys play basketball.” Again that was another lyric that sat in my notes for a long time before I did anything with it. 

Ben: That’s awesome! I can’t wait for everyone to see the music video and hear all the songs on “Can’t Handle Hollywood”!