MILCK stopped to chat with Billboard’s Chelsea Briggs on the red carpet at the 2019 MusiCares Person of the Year Gala on Friday (Feb. 8), where they discussed her excitement over this year’s Grammy nominees, her appreciation of Dolly Parton and the viral success of her song “Quiet.”
Regarding the Grammys, MILCK tells Briggs that she is happy that there are so many more women among this year’s potential award recipients. “It feels like such a good balance,” she says. “It feels fresh and it’s a good start. And the nominees are some of my favorites, like Brandi Carlile, Janelle Monae [and] Teddy Geiger, who is a friend… So I’m really happy for them.”
MILCK is also touched on how she was nfluenced by Parton, the evening’s honoree. “Dolly Parton has these golden nuggets of quotes that just fall out of her mouth, and that just give me life, and remind me to be fearless, persistent, hard-working, responsible, but also razzle-dazzle,” she replies.
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The singer makes note of Parton’s impressive storytelling as well, naming examples like “Jolene” and “Nine to Five,” adding that those songs are both creative and fun. “It’s not a typical angle that she comes from,” MILCK says. “I really appreciate that as a songwriter.”
The “Quiet” singer also opens up about the viral success of her song, which she describes as her personal anthem. “As a women of color, I always felt like had this stereotype of being a quiet, demure Asian woman being projected onto me,” she says.
“I ended up sharing ‘Quiet’ at the Women’s March, and I gathered a bunch of strangers. I wanted to create an experience, so we would flash mob the song all over the streets for unexpecting strangers, and I made sure that every singer in that choir was able to sing all the lyrics with me.”
She adds that harmony is very powerful to her, and that she felt that the experience was “an act of learning to open up to other people again,” which was very healing.
MILCK notes that following the success of “Quiet,” she released the sheet music for free, and that women from around the world began translating the song into their own languages.
“It just became a song for the movement and for people who are wanting to get out of their existing obstacles, wanting to break free,” she says. “I think we all want to break through to the other side.”
You can watch the full video interview with MILCK above.
