Photo by Ethan Holland
On March 27, Slayyyter releases her highly anticipated album, WOR$T GIRL IN AMERICA, a record that finds the New York City-based singer diving deeper into her St. Louis roots and revealing a tender side beneath her grit-pop artifice.
Amid the songs on WGIA, there are two that are her most forthcoming yet, exploring her relationship with her family and her mental health: "Gas Station" and "Brittany Murphy," respectively.
Read Next: It’s Slayyyter season
In February, Slayyyter came to The FADER offices to explain the stories behind the tracks that are "so near and dear to me," she said. "It feels so reflective of my actual life story. There's so much of me as a person."
“Gas Station” is a synth pad-driven pop song that skirts the line between chill and somber. On its chorus, Slayyyter sings, “When you left me all alone at the gas station / I was crying out my eyes oh the desperation." Though she'd initially written it about an ex-boyfriend, it later morphed into a song about her estranged father. “I had a really rocky relationship with him. We don't really speak anymore,” she told The FADER.
“I have a sad, solemn memory of when I was really young and he left me at a gas station, [but] the way I sing the chorus feels not so serious,” she added, noting that while many songs throughout the album sound as if they’re about romantic love, they can easily have different readings. “I hope people have their own takeaway from it.”
Meanwhile, album closer “Brittany Murphy” — named after the late actress whose movie Uptown Girls is among Slayyyter’s favorites — is about depression. Slayyyter called it the “most personal” song on the album and “almost tongue-in-cheek about wanting to die.”
“The lyrics are essentially plans for suicide, or telling someone what you want your funeral to be like,” she said. “Ever since I was really young, I had a sadness in my core that is hard to shake sometimes. As I've gotten older, I have found creative releases that I find comfort with.”
Photo by Ethan Holland
Following a ravenously received recession pop lead single, "BEAT UP CHANEL$," and a strong run of singles (including the highly-memed "CRANK"), Slayyyter is entering a new career peak with WOR$T GIRL IN AMERICA.
The pop singer will embark on a massive, sold-out tour in September, with support from Pearly Drops. PinkPantheress has already publicly committed to attending, and many of her beleaguered fans are already asking for upgrades or second dates.
