Dixie D’Amelio, 20-year-old TikTok influencer turned pop singer, was able to easily try out her debut album “A Letter to Me” released on June 10.
On the 15-track album, Norwalk, Connecticut, who describes herself simply as Dixie, is more self-aware than ever. She transcends genres and moods, flaunts how vocal she is and delves into difficult themes in stories including “Supermodel,” where she asks, “Tell me, is it worth being perfect? When we’re all going to die?”
says Dixie, who sat with diverse over Zoom a day before her concert performance for her album release. Although she still deals with pre-show tension, it’s clear that she has grown into – and now comically disavows – some old tunes and performances. However, she is quick to acknowledge those moments and enjoy them with love.
She recounts her first live performance at the Troubador in Los Angeles in November 2021 and her rehearsals moments where “it took me a while to learn to get my hands out of my pocket.” It took the time to remember other pop essentials, like keeping the mic to her lips while simultaneously delivering a clean dance number. “I have so much love for all the songs I’m singing right now, and that obviously makes everything so much more fun,” says Dixie.
“[In the past], I had to perform with the thought in my mind that “Nobody likes the song I sing,” and it doesn’t make the best performance but now when I take my whole set – it’s fun all the time. “
Descended from TikTok’s “first family”, as many have grown to call them (younger sister Charli and parents, Heidi and Marc D’Amelio), Dixie currently has 25 million followers on Instagram and an additional 57.3 million on TikTok. In 2020, she made a record deal with L.A. Reid’s HitCo Entertainment and joined Saint JHN and Outkast’s Big Boi on the label list. Reed appears on her family’s reality show on Hulu, “The D’Amelio Show,” (which has just concluded its second season of filming), in which a plot is dedicated to Dixie finding her singing confidence and receiving musical guidance from the label’s head, her family, and other mentors.
“I loved having the opportunity to work with so many different writers and producers, but it definitely got a bit blurry at some point,” she says. “I would go into one room where I felt so comfortable and share this whole story and then we wouldn’t get a song out of it. Then I would go into another room and be really shy because I wasn’t comfortable. Nothing was coming out the way I wanted.”
If there is one thing the singer is striving for, it is a true representation of her current musical direction, which seems to have developed rapidly in a short period of time. Dixie completed and canceled the EP in a process that began in 2020. Eventually, she turned the project into an album that she canceled again because she felt cheated on her.
Eventually, Dixie realized she wanted to feel more connected to an artistic process. After her 2021 Winter Tour with iHeartRadio and KIIS-FM Jingle Ball Tour wrapped up, Dixie is back in her late-night studio sessions. By May, she had completed the majority of the album. All songs except for “Maybe two or three” have been recorded this year.
“I’m always the first to judge myself or think of everything where I like it, that would be a problem because of that. It’s hard to really share my feelings because I get people to say, ‘Oh, this is about that person,'” she says, explaining the lengthy album reinvention. .she hates this guy! Or whatever,” adds Dixie, trying to bring up the barrage of online intimidation that you see fighting in many episodes of Hulu.
“I’ve never gone in a direction like a love song or anything like that because I felt like it would just take what I’m really trying to do. I’m really trying to get into the artist space.”
Confirming her control over her career, she dabbled in the evergreen disco-pop genre, as immediately evident in Not Enough. The funk pop track is what Dixie calls “one of the strongest” on her debut album. Drawing on the love of the ’80s and contemporary pop, “A Letter to Me” was created with the support of two industry stars: Gina Andrews and Stephen Kirk.
The pair were among the creators of BTS’ “Butter”, which is certainly evident in the drumbeat of the marching drums of the rowdy band Dixie’s song On Your Toes. Dis’ upbeat anthem makes the singer more confident with a song that’s likely to be a fan favorite on TikTok — despite the fact that the app isn’t much on her radar these days.
As talks continue over TikTok’s place in music marketing, it appears that the key to Dixie’s success is knowing her audience and catering to their needs. She knows that a lot of people who watch it on the app “don’t know it as music,” so she says she “can definitely tell content that works well and I know my audience can tell the difference between or not being original. If I’m running around my house or I’m doing Something stupid, he’s sure to get more love than I do something like “This is my song. I hope you like it!’ So I’m just trying to balance that to stay as original as possible.”
Despite her status as the kings of TikTok, Dixie says she didn’t feel comfortable using the app to market her music and instead chose to use other platforms. “Everyone is trying to turn towards [TikTok] I am trying to go the other way! It’s funny because now everyone is telling me “Use TikTok! You need to use TikTok to blast your music!” But when I first started, I felt like I looked down. I have a lot of stress about it now because I want to be respected, but at the same time, it’s what everyone does.”
With a completed album and a scheduled tour of 23 dates supporting Nickelodeon-born band Big Time Rush, Dixie is taking her next leap into stardom—regardless of the fact that she’s “still a bit uncomfortable at rehearsals…but during rehearsals, I’m I just focus on doing the best I can and don’t look too awkward,” she says, ending with a revolving laugh.
“I love learning things behind the scenes. Especially with music. I feel like I came in a little late with a little bit of knowledge, so I just try to do everything I can to do 110% of learning and stay up late and take the extra step.”
Dixie says the album title track is the most Great story about me now. This is the latest song, like what I’m feeling at the moment. I have no clue what I’m doing but I’m finding out and we’ll do it.”
When I ask what her next project will look like, whether it’s a commercial or a musical one, she won’t break down any details. But it hints at a “secret” that she should keep a little longer. Instead, she enthusiastically declared, “I have a lot of new surprises coming for the tour.”
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