With more than 11 million streams, a rapidly growing online following and a string of viral moments behind her, VANÈS is emerging as one of the most compelling new voices in queer alt-pop. Blending dark-pop, R&B and electronic influences, the singer-songwriter has built a devoted audience through candid storytelling, flirtatious lyricism and an unapologetically queer perspective that speaks directly to a generation navigating identity, desire and self-discovery.
Her latest single, "STARFUCK", arrives at a pivotal moment. Written during a period of personal upheaval while her breakout track "Kiss Me Slow" was gaining momentum online, the song explores attraction, power dynamics and emotional boundaries through a lens that is both vulnerable and self-assured. Pairing soft, intimate vocals with shadowy trap-pop production, VANÈS transforms personal reflection into a bold statement of intent, setting the tone for a new chapter in her artistic journey.
We caught up with VANÈS to talk about the lessons behind "STARFUCK", finding authenticity online, building community as an independent artist, and why sometimes the best creative decisions come from following instinct rather than overthinking.
“STARFUCK” plays with power dynamics; what did writing it teach you about your own boundaries?
Writing “STARFUCK” taught me a lot about accepting nuances in dating. There are a lot of opinions and advice from people in real life, the internet or self help books but in the end you have to ask yourself what the situation looks like to YOURSELF and allow your heart to feel the repercussions of it.
There is nothing wrong with deciding something that felt right at that time and then rolling back when you feel like it doesn’t align with your boundaries anymore.
What’s your favourite and least favourite part of making music right now?
My favorite part of making music is when I get what I call my “slay tear” - it doesn’t happen every single time but all the songs that I put out are the ones where I get it. It usually happens in the first couple hours of making a new song when I get really excited about a sound, a lyric line or a melody where I literally get one single tear in one of my eyes and it just rolls down out of nowhere. It’s always been like that and it’s my criteria of considering a song to be public at some point and I absolutely love it when it happens.
My least favorite part about making music is when I simply don’t feel the song that I’m making and I try to force myself to keep digging for cool lyrics and melodies but nothing feels right. For me, a lot of things come and go in waves and making music is one of them - it chances its excitement triggers and I have to listen more to what I naturally want: if it’s working with other people in the studio then it may work for that moment. But next week I may just want to produce music by myself and that’s okay. I’m still learning to get rid of my expectations and pressure so I can allow myself to get more in a flowstate.
Best networking tip for artists who don’t want to feel fake or transactional?
Independently organised writing camps are a great way to meet new people and create new music. Also, there are also a lot of showcases where you can show up, listen to the artists’ music and talk to them afterwards - even if you don’t want to talk to them in person, you can also just DM them the day after and let them know that you liked their set. Commenting on artists posts that you like can also go a long way - it’s all about being genuine and giving them your support when it feels authentic and honest to you - then you will also attract the right people into your life.
You’ve built a strong online presence—what’s one thing you did early on that actually worked?
One post a day keeps the overthinker away. If you have an idea then act on it and post it asap. Later on you can analyse why something worked and why some things didn’t but if you don’t try you’ll never know. My most viral videos (like the one where I’m behind Billie Eilish without knowing or my first gay panic video to my song “Kiss Me Slow”) have been uploaded withing 24 hours after it actually happening in real life and I didn’t overthink it too much. Later on you can decide for yourself if you can re-do it in different ways that serves your artistry but it’s all about trying and finding your audience.
Visually, I reconnected with things I’ve always loved as a child and I still love to this day: Red, pink, glitter but also dark colors like grey and black. I think my visual world is a clear “aesthetic” to the outside world because it’s simply me doing and wearing things I genuinely like - and that’s why is looks so cohesive and people seem to associate me with certain colors and that’s honestly so wholesome <3
Your best tip to artists trying to find both their sound and their audience?
Ask yourself what you enjoy listening to the most, what you envision yourself singing on a stage and what your audience would look like.
Get specific, make moodboards, do your research and get as deep as possible to narrow down your ideal world. For me, it was clear that I want girls and gays in my audience, that I want them to dance, scream and feel confident.
I love Chase Atlantic, Addison Rae, Adéla, Amelia Moore,..... I know their songs, I’d be in their audience as well and I know what my favorite songs are of them - and I want to make songs that hit me same way as if they were written by them.
Once you have this base figured our and you truly align with it, everything else will fall into place and the audience will find YOU eventually.
What’s your toxic trait in the studio?
I always go “They line needs to be crazier” and I won’t stop until I’m happy. I’ll repeat this sentence a couuuuple times until we squeezed out the most of the 6 words in this one line.
In the past I hid behind metaphors, I still love them here and there but there’s something so powerful about writing hyper realistic sentences that you could speak out loud that would make you go like “What did she say?” or “Did she actually just say that?”. It’s my favorite thing in the world right now, it’s so fun!
What’s a song you wish you had written?
“Wake Up” by EDEN. I can’t listen to this song without crying. I believe it came out 2015 and I always come back to this song cause it never fails to describe how I’m feeling.
If “STARFUCK” belongs on a playlist, what else is on it—give us 3 tracks for the full mood.
“Swim” - Chase Atlantic
“Kiss Me Slow” - VANÈS
“One Of Your Girls” - The Weeknd, Lily-Rose Depp, JENNIE