Christine Nicole Chlapecka, aka Chrissy Chlapecka, is making huge candy-flavored pink waves all over the web. The TikTok star and unapologetic left-wing activist has become a key player in the “#BimboTok” scene, flipping the script on the bimbo stereotype with a fierce, queer, and feminist twist, owning it and using it to empower a whole new vision.Ā
Chrissyās debut single, “I’m So Hot,” has really put her on the map in the music scene. Rolling Stone even dubbed her one of “The Brightest Pop Stars to Watch in 2023,” praising her charisma and likening her to pop legends like Paris Hilton and Britney Spears. Riding that wave, she also snagged the fourth spot on Peopleās “Talented 2024 Spring Emerging Artists” list.
In June, Chrissy released her EP, “Girlie Pop,” where sheās all about celebrating individuality and confidence. Chrissy is now ready to take things up a notch with new tracks, bigger productions, and all the love on her latest EP, “Girlie Pop: Encore.” She describes this new drop as bolder and more authentic, saying, āI wanted to take that energy even furtherāmore bold, more unapologetic, more me.āĀ
Stick around for our chat with Christine, where she spills the tea on her journey and whatās next for this rising star.
How do you hope “Girlie Pop: Encore” empowers listeners, particularly within the LGBTQ community?
Honestly, I wrote this edition of the EP while I was having my own sexuality crisis this year. Iāve identified as Bi for a long portion of my life, especially online. But within this past year, slowly, and slowly, I just felt like it didnāt represent me anymore. I came out as a Lesbian to my friends months before I had done it online, and it really brought inspiration to my tracks āMy Only Dream Is To Be Lovedā and āI Only Want You.ā I finally felt like I fully understood myself and understood the kind of love I wanted and needed to feel human. I had recently come out around a month and a half ago online as a Lesbian, and Iām happy to share my journey with my audience. I feel like within these tracks Iām being a more authentic version of myself because I FEEL more authentic. You can really hear it in my voice, in the production and in the vulnerable lyrics Iām really ready to share. I finally feel like me. I hope these tracks are inspiring to those who have possibly gone through something similar within their sexuality, or people who find deep comfort in the love they give and receive that makes them feel proud.
How has the #BimboTok movement influenced the themes and messages in “Girlie Pop: Encore”?
I think while creating #BimboTok, I was definitely playing a fun character that was getting an important point across: be who you want to be, love who you want to love, wear what you want to wear, and be proud of who you are. Iām so happy I got to share that message with my audience, and I truly mean it. Now, I feel as if Iām ready to open my audience up to a more vulnerable version of myself that wipes the ācharacterā I had created away. I think the project āGirlie Popā itself really played into my years online that I love so deeply, but āGirlie Pop: Encoreā is an entrance inside who Chrissy really is as an artist and just a human being. The mask can only stay up for so long and as goofy and campy as Iāll always be, it was time to let people in and see beyond the theatricsā¦ into more theatricsā¦ but more of who I am today and who I am developing into.
Can you describe how your sound has evolved from your debut single “I’m So Hot” to the tracks on this EP?
My sound has completely changed entirely. While I adore the work I had done in my first year of music, it’s just not who I am as an artist anymore. I come from a Musical Theatre background – Iāve always been a powerhouse vocalist and performer. I wanted to start making music that really showcased that side of me that I personally know best, the sweet girl whose dream used to be Broadway. My dreams have shifted and changed, but I find myself pulling inspiration from a 16-year-old me who lived and breathed theatre in the way I live and breathe pop music today. Iām So Hot was greatly inspired by the early 2000s, and while youāll still hear hints of that in my new music – I felt it was time to evolve and change into a singer and performer that I am more familiar with – and become a star in her own lane. These next 3 tracks definitely show an evolution and a departure, simply within my vocal placement, sonic, and themes of the music in general. Iām beyond proud of it and re-inspired to keep making art that feeds that part of who I am.Ā
How do you conceptualize hyperfeminine as being empowering?
Femininity IS power. I will never not believe this. There is strength, gentleness, artistry, and pure bravery that comes with being a feminine person and taking that to the utmost extreme. Femininity is something deeply threatening to so many people in our world, they believe acts of shame and violence towards it are acceptable because of their deep hatred and fear towards it. I feel so deeply connected to who I am when I embrace that part of me. For God’s sake, I donāt paint myself pink on stage for no reason. I do it because I live and breathe the artistic power that my representation of femininity brings out in me.
As an artist, activist, and content creator, how do you balance your various roles while staying true to your message? Do you feel like a lot of things can get ālost in translationā between these mediums?
I donāt necessarily think things get lost in translation to myself, personally. I do think that when changing directions in your career, people may get confused, but I think thatās okay. I definitely made a big switch when I changed from content creation to being a full-time artist, not all of my fans stuck with me – but I think thatās ok. I feel as if Iām finally becoming the person I really want to be and the person I was meant to be, and I know that my artistry is whatās going to make me big. People may not understand my journey or why switched careers, but I know that theyāll be back on board eventually. Itās about regaining trust. I have the utmost confidence in myself and where Iām going to be in the future, and my messages never change ā just the way I present them to my audience. Iām still the same girl, just someone whoās developing and growing up. My morals and my beliefs havenāt changed.
What do you envision for your musical journey after “Girlie Pop: Encore”? Are there any new directions or projects youāre excited about?
āGirlie Pop: Encoreā definitely inspired whatās to come next musically for me. I feel as if I unlocked a part of myself thatās the key to who I am as an artist and I will develop into in the future. I do have a lot of music Iām sitting on that Iām really excited to share with my audience in time. Right now Iām building a world and perfecting it, so much of that has come from the transition Iāve made vocally in the story building that encore has inspired. I feel back to my roots, the 16-year-old girl dying to be the lead in the musical – mind you, I always got the part I wanted. And Iām going to tackle the career I have now.Ā
And what about the immediate future? What can we look forward to?
For the immediate future, I have two headline shows in November that will be taking my audience on a trip through girlie pop encore. Iāll be playing at the Roxy in Los Angeles on November 23rd and Lincoln Hall in Chicago on November 29th. Iām extremely excited about these shows, I feel like Iāve grown a lot as a performer since my first tour ever in June. Other than that, Iām excited to keep building my artistry and the world I am building for my audience.
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