Lollapalooza celebrated its 25th anniversary by expanding to a phenomenal four-day festival, headlined this time around by the likes of Red Hot Chili Peppers, J.Cole, and Lana Del Rey. Curious to learn more about 25 of our favorite performers, LADYGUNN was on hand at Chicago’s historic Grant Park providing a predominately blank canvas for each individual to paint a captivating picture of their unique story. Here’s our chat with MØ, who despite a jam-packed schedule, took a brief moment to recall her time spent as a newspaper telemarketer and first connecting with music as a kid through Cher’s “Believe.”
Would you like to introduce yourself to the readers?
Yes… Hi, everybody! I am MØ from Denmark, and I am a singer-songwriter.
What do you love about music?
What I love about music is that… obviously, like a lot of people I think… is that you can connect with some inner-feelings, and music can make you wanna do stuff, and make you really, really happy. And also, it can help you [with] getting through emotions, [whether they’re] bad or good. It’s like a companion that you get through these things with, which is amazing.
Can you recall your earliest memory of music?
Some of the earliest, at least strongest memories [were] as a child, when I heard—actually, it was Cher, that [starts singing] ‘Do you believe…’ And I remember – again, I was such a little kid – but I just remember immediately that feeling of just being like, ‘Ohhh, yeahhh! I totally know what you mean!’ And just feeling so strong… every time I heard that song [laughs].
Did you ever wanna be anything other than a musician?
I mean, since I was seven years old, it has been my big, No. 1 dream of all time.
Do you have any hidden talents?
I’m a pretty solid runner.
When’s the last time you went?
[Pauses to think] Hmm… two days ago? I ran in this… actually, this national park outside of Chicago. We ran on this… like it was like track running.
What’s the worst job that you’ve ever had?
I think it was as a person who calls up people to buy newspapers.
Oh, like a telemarketer?
Oh my god, I was so bad. That thing of like putting someone… like pushing people to do something…
Like a burden, yeah…
Yeah, they don’t want to! That’s horrible. It’s just the worst.
How would you describe your approach to life?
Ahhh, that’s a good question. It’s hard to actually analyze. I think… I’m very just like, open-minded. I’ve always been very much like going with the flow, and let the bad experiences teach you lessons in life – and from that, get stronger. You can’t let anything let you down. You have to just… learn. That’s all you can do. And then… you have to stay positive. I know I sound like a hippie, but seriously you have to.
What’s been your biggest pinch-me moment?
Pinch-me… Hmm… I guess actually it was maybe four or five years back when I started as a musician – as MØ – when people started reacting to it. Because in a way, you never really… I mean you hope that people will like—I’ve been dreaming about getting a musical career, but that point where people actually started to be like, ‘Hey, listen to this!’ That was like, ‘What!? Oh, my god! Oh, no way! Fuuuck!’ That was the pinch-me moment I think.
If you had one wish, what would it be?
One wish? Uhh… then it would be that Trump doesn’t become the next president of the United States.
Any final thoughts for the readers?
Well, just umm… Again, remember to vote! [Laughs] You guys… it’s very important.
photos / Mallory Turner
story / Damon Campbell