YouTube/Charlotte Lawrence
In February 2020, Charlotte Lawrence became on fire — nicely, nearly. The song video for her bouncy, sportive song “Silly account’s on You” came upon the 20-year-feeble singer strutting amid blazing inferno as she laid out a legend of emotional revenge. The tune soundtracked Harley Quinn’s misanthropic adventures within the Birds of Prey blockbuster film, sitting alongside killer cuts from artists esteem Halsey, Megan Thee Stallion, Doja Cat, and more on its soundtrack.
A month later, she became among the many first wave of highly visible virus instances, as she announced her COVID-19 diagnosis on Instagram on March 18. “I will most seemingly be fully pleasing,” she wrote in a expose that scans as quaint nearly 5 months later. “But many who procure it can perhaps no longer be if too many folk procure sick too quickly.” She’s since recovered, and she urged MTV News that she’s spent these previous few months discovering out, listening to Phoebe Bridgers and Taylor Swift, and discovering out some intense new choreography.
“I am no longer a fucking dancer. I will no longer dance,” she mentioned. “I am 5’10” with, esteem, flailing fingers and legs in all places.” But that did no longer cease her from working toward a vision — one she realized within the dazzling new “Slack Traipse” visual on a crew with director Tyler Shields and choreographer Tia Rivera. The trio created and filmed it in quarantine, and it radiates with the roughly spark-poke ingenious vitality of a ardour mission. It can perhaps no longer have towering fires esteem “Silly account’s on You,” but it has Lawrence’s depth and a runt bit editing aptitude.
MTV News caught up with Lawrence to train “Slack Traipse” and quarantine creativity on a recent video name that featured a memorable cameo from her dog Winnie. “She’s more of a huge title than I am, for real,” Lawrence mentioned. “She radiates huge title energy.” Beneath, Lawrence unpacks how she made the video and the draw in which her song “Everyone Loves You” ended up on the new album from The Chicks.
MTV News: Some song videos made in quarantine are making an are trying increasingly professionally shot, even after they’ve been scaled down out of necessity. “Slack Traipse” is a form of. How did you assassinate it?
Charlotte Lawrence: It be a pair of breakup, so then you definately query of the song video [to be], OK, lady, guy, or whatever it is, going thru a breakup. So I became esteem, how enact we shoot a video in quarantine with no finances, no lights, no extras, no dude or lady — impartial me — and painting emotion thru that? So we started with the premise of this song doesn’t must be about essentially losing a partner, but it’ll additionally presumably be about impartial losing someone in ordinary, distress, or losing a friend, or losing one thing esteem that. Excellent that feeling of loss. So I became esteem, let’s highlight the crazy emotions thru the 5 stages of distress thru dance and facial expressions.
MTV News: You mentioned on Instagram that the portion of the video on the staircase became your current section. Is that which capacity of the moment that it represents is one among your favorites within the song?
Lawrence: That stairs scene became so chilly which capacity of there are some aspects of the choreography that are fairly and pretty and restful have that light. But then there are some aspects of it that are crazy and messy and no longer the prettiest and slumped over, a runt bit bit messy, you realize what I mean? And I judge it portrays the lyrics genuinely nicely. And I watch it and or no longer it is esteem, I will feel the emotion from the song.
Tyler Shields is the director, and he filmed all the thing. And Tia Rivera is the choreographer. And we all did it, impartial us three collaboratively, together, every thing. Every facet of it we did fully together. Constructed it, did it, filmed it, impartial us. And it became impartial extra special. I am no longer a fucking dancer. I will no longer dance. I am 5’10” with, esteem, flailing fingers and legs in all places. And I impartial worked my ass off with Tia and acquired it to the level that I felt esteem it became as impartial as I could perhaps additionally procure it.
MTV News: In March, you announced that you had examined certain for COVID-19. As you moved thru that from then until now and recovered, how did you conclude certain right thru that point, if you were in quarantine?
Lawrence: I mean, I became quarantined with someone who had it loads worse than I had it. So I judge my mindset became very well-known on taking care of that particular person. And I wasn’t genuinely specializing in myself, which became roughly a blessing in hide, even supposing it became genuinely horrifying. I became sick, but I knew that I became going to be OK. I mean, I am 20 years feeble and I am young and I am wholesome. And I impartial took care of my friend for a protracted time, and it became genuinely horrifying, but it positively brought us so well-known nearer, and he is fully pleasing now. And we’re very, very close now, and it ended up being OK, but it became impartial unpleasant which capacity of it became roughly esteem on the very starting up of [the coronavirus pandemic] within the [United] States. So we had no realizing what the relaxation intended. And it even took us, esteem, per week to procure a test after pleading, enact we please have assessments? And having to head to the nicely being facility. It became crazy.
After, when I became better and no longer sick anymore, I felt an extraordinarily good deal of inspiration to jot down and boom and paint and enact all these artsy things and preserve my mind very ingenious and genuinely on it. And as time goes on, or no longer it is esteem, I am someone that every thing I write, song-reasonable, lyric-reasonable, and even esteem paint, esteem every thing artistically, I must be legit with it. It be very well-known me and my dangle thoughts and my dangle experiences, what I’ve long passed thru, what I accumulate within the moment. But when I am no longer doing things that inspire me or no longer genuinely going out or seeing of us… I impartial lose that inspiration. And or no longer it is laborious for me to jot down and preserve that alive. So this song video, going support to that, became an mountainous, tall, extra special skills which capacity of I felt esteem I could perhaps additionally genuinely tone in and be as ingenious as I presumably could perhaps additionally after having a runt bit dry stage.
MTV News: Had been you listening to the relaxation in recount right thru the final few months that helped?
Lawrence: Phoebe Bridgers launched an album, and I became esteem, so unbelievable. I’ve listened to it on repeat. I am literally her quantity-one fan. Like, or no longer it is in fact creepy how well-known I mention her title and her song the total time. And if she sees it, she’s doubtlessly esteem, “This lady is fucking extra special,” but I impartial judge she’s such a phenomenal creator and the better of our generation, for real. I judge that she talks esteem an feeble poet, and or no longer it is so chilly. Clearly, the Taylor [Swift] album came out about a days within the past. Out of the ordinary and sudden. I became esteem, holy shit, you merely went the plump reverse direction of your closing album. And or no longer it is extra special. I judge or no longer it is so chilly and pretty. And my two current bands, The Nationwide and Bon Iver, are absorbing with the album. On repeat are “Cardigan,” “Exile,” “This Is Me Making an attempt,” “My Tears Ricochet,” and I’ve been loving “Betty.”
MTV News: From what song you were engaged on while in quarantine, have you ever came upon any traditional themes or any certain forms of songs that you are writing more of?
Lawrence: It depends upon. I am such a visible particular person and an skills particular person. If I have a unhappy battle with a boyfriend or a crazy whatever with a friend, I will write about it. But when every thing’s so continuous and impartial… or no longer it is impartial been the same for a protracted time, particularly since I am supposed to be on tour impartial now. And we prepared for that. I did a session a day all year, and I fabricate no longer must enact any longer sessions. You know what I mean? It be very well-known esteem I have the total song prepared for literally esteem two years. Like, I am fucking ready. I’ve also been esteem acting a minute bit. Like, I am no longer an actor at all. I am no longer the fitting, but I am very extroverted and or no longer it is enjoyable to raise close a scrutinize at and be ingenious. It be impartial been enjoyable to have one thing to enact that is in a ingenious light.
MTV News: In the celebratory mode of the previous couple weeks, The Chicks currently coated your song “Everyone Loves You” on their new album. It is seemingly you’ll perhaps additionally impartial have gotten talked within the previous about how crucial that relationship has been with them and the draw in which Natalie [Maines] has been a tall mentor to you. But how does your song conclude up on their album?
Lawrence: Man, I could perhaps no longer even inform you how it befell of living. It befell of living out of nowhere. I fabricate no longer even know the system to sigh it. She’s my neighbor, Natalie, esteem in fact my next-door neighbor, and is one among my mom’s finest mates and has been such a phenomenal impact and mentor and all-spherical helper to me since I’ve been a runt bit younger. She heard me boom when I became esteem 12 or 13 and impartial took an real liking to me. And it wasn’t the relaxation my mom became asking her to enact. Every time I would leer her, she would play me songs. I would play her songs. I would play her half of-written songs. She would inform me what to enact to create them. I would play her no longer fully produced songs. And she would [give] tall optimistic criticism. She impartial continuously helped me out esteem that.
And I conducted her “Everyone Loves You” when it came out few years within the past, and she impartial loved it and became esteem, “Right here is so pretty and special.” And each time we were at a occasion or at my family’s home and had of us over, we’d continuously play it and boom it. That became where my expectations ended, esteem, Natalie from The Chicks likes my song that well-known that she is aware of the phrases and stuff. Ill. Superior. After which in some unspecified time in the future she became impartial esteem, “Emily [Strayer] and Martie [Maguire] and I roughly would love to hide ‘Everyone Loves You’ which capacity of we preserve listening to it and we judge or no longer it is so unbelievable.” It doesn’t comprehend to your mind. Like, hide it for what? On Instagram? After they launched it, they stripped it impartial esteem I had it in the starting up and impartial did it with Natalie’s teach and the piano, and there is a runt bit violin solo in there, and I impartial thought it became so unbelievable. And I could perhaps additionally feel how well-known she linked to that song when she sings it. I judge her teach is, I mean, or no longer it is otherworldly.
MTV News: What’s one thing that you are optimistic about impartial now, one thing that you are trying forward to?
Lawrence: I am making an are trying forward to releasing more song. I am ready. I’ve been sitting on so many fucking songs for see you later. I impartial desire of us to start hearing it. I have another single coming out in September, and or no longer it is one among my current songs. It be so chilly. And I am about to film the video and or no longer it can perhaps be — very clearly, we’re restful in quarantine — it can perhaps be the same arena as what I did with Tyler. And I am enraged for Winnie to head to the teacher so she stops shitting at my mom’s home.
