Bea Miller is in the middle of an A-plus year: after moving on from the U.S. version of The X Factor and forging a pop-rock career on Hollywood Records, the teen artist has previewed her debut album, Not An Apology, with a new video for “Fire N Gold” and compelling new tracks like “Force of Nature.” The release of Not An Apology, due out on July 24, will also coincide with Miller’s summer tour in support of Fifth Harmony.
The gifted 16-year-old recently stopped by Billboard’s New York studios to perform two tracks from her debut album and discuss her life in the spotlight. Watch her powerful version of “Fire N Gold” below:
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Miller also opened up about Not An Apology, girl power and being mistaken for Bette Midler during a fascinating chat with Billboard. Check it out below:
“The whole reason why I have Twitter is to interact with my fans, for the most part,” says Miller. “There was one that said, ‘I always thought Bea Miller was that witch from Hocus Pocus, but then I realized that Bea Miller is a singer and Bette Midler is the witch’! I just think that stuff is so funny — I always respond to that stuff.”
Miller — who opened for Demi Lovato on tour last year after placing ninth in the second season of X Factor — also describes new track “Force of Nature” as “a big ‘F.U.’ song” about a breakup, and explains why she supports girl power but has reservations about the movement conceptually. “I don’t like that we have all these dedicated days to, ‘Let’s empower girls today!'” she says. “That’s making you, as a female, more of an outcast than you already were before. … Instead, I think it should be like, ‘Let’s just encourage everyone, everyday, to be their best and do their best and accomplish whatever it is that they want to accomplish.'”
Watch Miller’s studio take on her single “Young Blood,” and listen to her Pop Shop Podcast interview below to hear more about Not An Apology: