VÉRITÉ stopped to speak with Billboard’s Chelsea Briggs at the Hot 100 Festival on Saturday (Aug. 18), chatting about the importance of remaining an independent artist, plans for new music, Aretha Franklin and more.
Speaking of being an independent artist, VÉRITÉ says that it is important for her to remain independent because she wants to be able to release music on her own terms. “I found that it helps me connect with my fans way more personally and consistently,” she shares.
On the subject of new music, the “Saint” singer reveals that she is currently in “full cave mode,” explaining that she is currently writing and compiling ideas, while also starting to get some visuals together.
Asked what she is currently inspired by, she notes that she has been watching movies like American Beauty and The Virgin Suicides recently, and that she has been “trying to get into that mindset.”
Briggs also asks the singer what she has learned about herself while making new music. “Success is relative,” she replies, “And so this idea of what I thought it meant to be successful no longer exists for me and now I’m starting to… very particularly, carve my own path.”
In the interview, VÉRITÉ also pays tribute to Aretha Franklin, who passed away earlier this week. “I think that Aretha, and so many soul singers, the honesty that they portray in their voice and there aren’t these theatrics,” she says. “Now in music sometimes, people rely on the theatrics and the productions and all of the gloss and I think when you take it back, like Aretha was a pure artist and didn’t need anything but her voice and maybe a piano and that simplicity is something that I strive to create in my music when you strip away all of the production.”
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You can watch the full video interview with VÉRITÉ above, and check out her tour dates below.
August 28 Brooklyn, NY @ National Sawdust
October 1 Richmond, VA @ Strange Matter
October 3 Atlanta, GA @ Drunken Unicorn
October 5-7 Austin, TX @ Austin City Limits
October 7 Dallas, TX @ House of Blues – Cambridge Room
October 8 Houston, TX @ House of Blues – Bronze Peacock Room
October 12-14 Austin, TX @ Austin City Limits
October 16 Columbus, OH @ Ace of Cups
October 17 Pittsburgh, PA @ The Funhouse at Mr. Smalls