While imitation is the highest form of flattery, rising Nashville pop star Leah Mason shows on her newest single “Klepto” that, honestly, she’s tired of being flattered. Released on April 12, Mason’s latest musical effort is an addicting, upbeat track that tells the story of a friend of Mason’s who was consistently copying her. Possessing an artistry that is cathartic, fun and decorated with a playful edge, Leah Mason continues to prove herself as a rising pop icon.
Originally entering the music scene as a country musician, Mason soon turned to pop, making the change official with her Galentine’s Day single “YOUR BOYFRIEND SUCKS” back in February. Last year, Mason began playing in the pop scene after going to Sweden to record her upcoming album, set to release by the end of this summer. By changing genres, Mason has maintained her dedication to her craft and her passion for visual artistry while showing how much she can push the boundaries of her own work. The pop songstress recently sat down with Melodic Mag to discuss her newest single, friendship breakups and the catharsis of expressing your anger.
Thank you so much for chatting today Leah! The new single “Klepto” came out April 12th, and you say it’s inspired by a friend who was copying you or taking too much inspiration. How does it feel to write a song like that about somebody who was pretty much your friend?
It was very cathartic, honestly. In the moment I was very angry and I wanted to write this cheeky song talking about it because I was like, ‘I can’t even believe this is real. But I’m actually living this right now.’ Every time I would bring it up to a friend or something, they were like, ‘Well imitation is the highest form of flattery.’ I was like, ‘I am tired of being flattered. This is annoying me.’ But it felt really good. I honestly haven’t thought that much about the situation since I wrote it, which is nice. It was like my therapy, and then I got to move on. So many people have related to the lyrics, which is cool, but I’m also worried for humanity because I’m like, ‘Why are so many people relating to this song?’
I know you’ve said that your upcoming album will have heavy themes of feminine rage. How does feminine rage tie into the message of “Klepto”?
I definitely sound angry in this. I feel like for me personally, I’m slow to get sad. I’m slow to have a lot of other emotions. But I’m very quick to anger, and I feel like this song speaks on that and how I am in that way. But I also feel like anger masks a lot of other emotions. You might actually be hurt or sad or frustrated about something, and it comes out as anger. I feel like that happens a lot with me, but there’s definitely future songs on the album that are more vulnerable and show the real emotion. But I mean sometimes it feels really good to be angry though. Sometimes you have to be angry to feel the other thing. So I think it’s healthy really in the end.
It’s one thing to write a song about sadness or heartbreak, but to write a song about anger is somewhat different. Did you ever feel hesitant to convey that emotion?
In the moment, not at all. I was like, “I hate this bitch. Let’s write about this. I’m so mad.” And then maybe after I was like, “Oh, do I want to post this on the Internet?” Because a lot of them are hyper specific to what I actually lived and the other person. So sometimes the idea of posting it and stuff is scary just because of the one person I know that’s going to be like, “Damn she wrote a song about me.” But in the moment, definitely zero hesitation. I had the title “Klepto” on my phone for like a week. I was like, I have to write this because this girl was stealing my life. And I’m glad I wrote it. I mean, she blocked me after I posted it, but I’m so glad.
I always think it’s interesting to hear how people react when a specific song is written about them, especially when it’s a breakup song or a song like “Klepto”.
It definitely wasn’t great. And I feel like it’s different with guys, because I’ve written songs about exes before and they’ll just be like, “Oh, I love this song.” They’re more like, let bygones be bygones. Girls are not like that. We tend to hang on to things and, honestly, all of my friendship breakups have always been way worse than any romantic relationship I’ve had with a man. I just feel like it’s because we’re so hyper aware and sensitive to stuff. Girl on girl crime is evil because we think with our brains. It’s not like guys who duke it out. They fight and then they’re done and they can get over it. We are intellectually evil to each other, so it’s messier with girls. And this friendship definitely had its moments. We haven’t spoken about this all, but based on the block I know that the reaction is probably not good.
I know with these recent singles you’ve been exploring this new pop era. You used to be country leaning, but you say this new album is going to be a very pop vibe. How has it been so far exploring this new sound?
It’s been so fun. It made me love making music again. I’ve been working with these Swedish producers and they’re insane. They’re just so good. It makes the making of music so much more fun when you really love the people you’re making the music with and you feel like it’s at the caliber that you want it to be at. I love being able to explore with the production more. I just feel like there’s more possibilities for me. There’s way more colors in the palette to use if I want to dip into something. There’s just way more options and I love that. I love not feeling confined to anything. I feel like I can do whatever I want, which is really fun for me.
Going off of that, I know you said going into this new sound, this new era, you definitely want to experiment more with your image and visuals and push the boundaries with those things. How do you plan to push those boundaries?
Definitely in the songwriting, I feel like a lot of the things that I’m writing about, I haven’t heard written about in the way that I’m writing about. So I’m excited about that, just because I feel like everything on this album is very personal of a situation to me. I feel like in a way it makes it more tailored to me, but also I feel like the more personal you are the more relatable something becomes because you are a human being again to an audience, which is cool. I have a lot of cool ideas for the visuals, and the title track of the album leads into so many topics of the album and the visuals for that are going to be really cool too. I feel like it’s very unique. I haven’t heard things like this before. So I’m very excited for the reaction and to see what people think about it.
Speaking of visuals, “Klepto” had a music video as well. What was on your mind when you were making the video and what was the inspiration behind it?
We definitely took inspiration from that A24 movie with Selena Gomez and Vanessa Hudgens called Spring Breakers. They rob and they’re these pretty young girls and I was like, it would be so cool to do something literal like that with the ski mask or with the bikini top in front of the gas station or something. I wanted it to feel you’re in that movie. So yeah, that was the inspiration behind it, and I think my videographer killed it.
You said your new album is supposed to come out at the end of this summer, what can fans ultimately expect from the album?
This is my revenge album. It’s also self-deprecating, revenge and anger. The past year of my life I feel like has been filled with so many things. And you ask yourself, ‘How are all of these things happening to me in a row?” And I feel like a lot of people have years like that or even days like that where they’re like, “It’s like my life is a series of unfortunate events.” So yeah, that’s kind of the vibe and the theme for it. I’m excited we can all be self-deprecating together.
We love to see it. The songs that you’ve put out so far, they’re these upbeat pop singles, which are very energetic and fun. Pop is usually this very upbeat and positive genre, but you’re writing about, like you said, self-deprecating things. How do you balance an angry message with an upbeat sound?
I want it to be anthemic and something people want to sing, or something I want to sing with the undertone of “I’m pissed”. I feel like Olivia Rodrigo does that well. It’s very anthemic and audience-involved, but also has the undertone of “I’m mad”, which was the goal and the vibe of a bunch of stuff on the project.
The album is coming out soon, but what other plans or projects do you have coming up that people should be on the lookout for?
I’m doing a music video for the title track of the album, so I’m excited to announce that and put that out. I’m excited for a lot of the visual stuff for that album. We’re actually planning it now, so it’s about to be filmed any day.
I also wanted to ask, your artist name was Leah Marie Mason and now the middle name has been taken out. What inspired the name change?
It felt long. I feel like it also made me sound a little bit more country. Leah Mason is just cleaner. I feel like it’s more pop girl, more quick. It was kind of just a thing for myself. I want to feel like I’m really fully doing this switch. And mentally, just dropping a middle name felt like it made the change more real. I liked the idea of having a fresh start, so that was the intention behind the dropping of the “Marie”.
Ultimately, what’s one message that people can take away from your music?
Feeling everything deeply is good. It’s so cathartic to fully feel everything that you feel. I think that’s what I want. It’s okay to feel how you feel no matter what. If you’re sad or angry or whatever, emotions are good. It’s better to feel deeply than to be numb. So I want us all to feel whatever it is that we’re feeling together. Allowing ourselves to fully feel things is good. Especially anger.
Thank you so much for taking the time Leah!
Thank you!
Keep up with Leah Mason: Instagram // TikTok // Spotify // Website
