“Alive” and Unafraid: Ari Abdul’s Intoxicating Return Is Here

 

 

WORDS // EMILY WHITCHURCH
PHOTOGRAPHY // MALLORY TURNER
STYLING // SKY JT NAVAL
MUA // FRANCIE LUXE

 

Pulsating, dynamic, visceral: Ari Abdul’s latest single, “Alive,” certainly lives up to its name. From breathy vocals to dazzling electric guitars, the track delivers an intoxicating dose of seductive alt-pop, layering candid lyricism over thumping beats with a darkly ethereal twist.

Abdul was catapulted to social media stardom after sharing a sped-up version of “BABYDOLL,” her hypnotic debut single, on TikTok in 2022. Since then, she has released two EPs and a string of singles delving into themes of obsession, heartbreak, and, on “Alive,” living fully in the moment. Experimenting with grunge, shoegaze, and electro-pop influences, Abdul has honed a distinctly dark but danceable sound: she doesn’t shy away from heavy topics, but, against upbeat tempos and soaring synths, they won’t weigh you down.

What started online is now exploding offline, as Abdul’s authentic, fan-first approach has sparked a series of sold-out performances spanning Los Angeles to London. Still reeling from her North American tour supporting Nessa Barrett this year, LADYGUNN caught up with Abdul to discuss the inspiration, motivation, and personal evolution behind her transformative new single, “Alive.”

 

Living and growing up in New York City, you’re surrounded by so many creative scenes – music, of course, but also film, fashion, art… what were some of your influences for “Alive,” musical or otherwise?

Growing up in New York, I was exposed to so many different sounds and side cultures, and I drew so much from that. “Alive” has dark elements and pop elements and I also drew so much from the underground scene in New York and raves, music you can dance to. Another thing that comes lyrically with “Alive” is that I wanted the song to be about rebirth and transformation and wanting to be consumed by life itself, that grind. I feel like because I grew up in New York, there’s this drive, this “go, go, go,” and right now, because I’m a bit older than when I first started music, it feels like I’m constantly like, “let’s go, let’s do this, it’s time.”

Why’s it so important for you to create these visual worlds around your music?

I feel like the most important thing for me as an artist is always having a world and building a world around everything. I love when everything has more meaning to it, it makes it more special, not only for me but for a community of people.

 

A lot of your earlier songs talk about obsession, infatuation, and toxicity in the context of relationships with other people. So, what motivated you to write “Alive” and focus more on your relationship with life, and was that a harder subject to get into?

I love this question because I only started doing music three years ago and I was really fresh to writing and making music and figuring out my artistic and sonic identity. When I was starting out, I was like, “this is an emotion I feel, and it would be cool to write about it” and I was doing that really early on. Then my second EP dropped and it was kind of more fictional in a way because, being so new and learning how to write, it’s never been easy for me to open up and express my feelings or be vulnerable. It’s so vulnerable writing a song and releasing it to the world. I feel like not only have I grown as an artist, but also as a person, so I’m at a point in life where I feel open to be real with myself and with everyone who’s going to listen. It’s this whole new era where it feels like my frontal lobe is forming.

And yeah, at first, it was kind of difficult because it’s never been easy for me to talk about my feelings – sometimes I just feel like a burden when I do that. But I’ve found that writing is an outlet, and sometimes you just have to write what someone else out there is probably feeling too, but they’re too scared to say. You connect through it on a song, which is so important. I feel like music should be able to connect people, which is always my goal. But I just got out of my comfort zone, and now I can’t be stopped.

You’ve mentioned how you were kind of thrust into the music world quite unexpectedly with the virality of your first single, “BABYDOLL.” Has your songwriting process changed or evolved from then to now, with “Alive?”

It absolutely has changed – when I first started making music, I was working solely with my best friend who knew me so well so it was so comfortable to write anything. Then for a while, I was kind of doing the session gig, like speed-dating: meeting new writers, new collaborators, you’re there for a few hours and it’s hard to open up to new people. But I feel like I’ve found my groove and I’ve found the comfort to literally be human, so now I go in and I’m like, “so this is how I’m actually feeling and this is real.”

 

You’re really learning on the job because you didn’t have that time to test the waters, you went straight in the deep end with “BABYDOLL” blowing up. Fast-forward to now, releasing “Alive,” do you feel like you’re developing a stronger sense of direction with your career and your identity as an artist?

Yes! No BS, for the first time I feel like this is the sound, these are the songs, this is the direction that feels most right and that I want to continue evolving and growing. There was a moment where I had that crisis where I was like, “I don’t know what’s alternative, I don’t know what’s pop, I don’t know if these lyrics are cool, but I like the song.” And now I’m so certain – this is Ari Abdul.

Speaking of evolving, the shift from exclusively being a fangirl to now also being someone that people fangirl over must be so surreal. What was it like opening for Nessa Barrett, and why did you decide to keep “Alive” off the setlist?

It’s been so insane to me. I was not a surface-level fangirl, but a deep, hardcore fangirl. I would camp out for my favorites to go to shows, wait online for hours for songs to drop, I’d have them all pre-saved. And I was a huge fan of Nessa – I remember getting the phone call that she wanted me to open and I was like, there’s no way that she knows who I am. It’s always super surreal to me, but I feel like it gives me a better idea of what people want. Being a fangirl helps me be like, ok this is really sick, and I would love it if an artist did this. It’s fun because I get to build an artist that I would be a huge fan of.

I really wanted to put “Alive” on the setlist, but it was my first time opening and my time slot was 30 minutes and I struggled to remove stuff from the setlist as is! But it’s all going to make sense, everything is pre-planned. I’ve been plotting for quite a minute.

You’ve been teasing this song on TikTok since last November – why is now the right time to release it?

It’s all part of a bigger plan. It’s been a while since we had a new Ari Abdul era and it was kind of delicate because all the pieces had to fit, the world had to be right. The timing’s perfect. “Alive” is like throwing the match to light the fire, there’s so many things I’ve been working on.

 

With everything you’ve got planned, what made you choose “Alive” to be the match, the starting point for it all?

I feel like a big chapter in my life right now is rebirth and waking up, and “Alive” is the perfect anthem. I love that it has a double meaning, because I didn’t want it to just be this super complex “life” thing, I also wanted people to be able to listen to it and feel like it could be about their partner or their crush. I always make sure to have multiple interpretations so anyone can feel connected to it. For me, “Alive” is the main motif of everything that’s upcoming. It’s the first song of the era – the era starts June 13th.

And Friday the 13th!

Yeah, it keeps becoming a coincidence where I feel like every time I’m dropping songs it’s Friday the 13th, or my first project came out coincidentally in October, and the second one too, and I was born in October as well so it always feels spooky.

 

Since you dropped “BABYDOLL” three years ago, you’ve gained over 5.2 million monthly listeners on Spotify which is insane! Putting new music out and entering this new era, do you feel any pressure to keep that momentum going or are you just riding the wave?

I’m a very “whatever happens, happens” kind of person. I feel like I used to have these expectations where I was like, I have to have a song that blows up and does so well, especially because “BABYDOLL” is my first song and it’s the number one song I have. For a while, in the beginning, it would honestly stress me out because I was like, “how am I going to beat this?” But in the last year, I’ve been focussing on letting that go and focussing on the music and the world and the people listening. Making it more real and with more substance behind it is a million times more important to me than having “moments.”

What do you hope listeners take away from “Alive?” How do you envision people listening to it for the first time?

I want them to know that life is really quick, and you either dive in and go for it or take it as it comes. We’re alive now, and I just want people to feel that in their bones.

And, funnily enough, this is actually my longest song to date, it’s a sharp four-minute song, and I always tell everyone “headphones and eyes closed. Full blast.”

And, lastly, what have you taken away from the process of creating it?

Just being open and sharing in that human experience. I’m honestly such an existential person – since I was a kid, I just used to freak out over the fact that I’m alive and we’re all going to die, not to be morbid. Now, I feel like it’s go time.

 

 

 

 

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INSTAGRAM // TIKTOK