Exclusive interview with Melanie Herrera

Words by Kate South

You may know her best for her viral nepo-bby vocal warm ups, but there is much more to viral sensation Melanie Herrera than meets the eye. On May 28th, the New York City-based pop singer and songwriter will reveal her debut album, A Fearful & Wondrous Thing. 

Cover Art by Andrew Matusik and Mia Isabella Aguirre

The 12-track project brings together previously released singles and new material, all created alongside longtime collaborator and producer Tiger Darrow. Herrera writes with striking emotional clarity and a deep sense of narrative, building songs that feel immersive and richly detailed. She describes her sound as “storybook-pop,” combining intimate songwriting with cinematic pop production. At its core, A Fearful & Wondrous Thing is about stepping fully into the vivid, unpredictable experience of being alive, a theme reflected in its bold, technicolour sound. Starfreak were lucky enough to get in touch with Herrera and ask all our burning questions before release. Read Herrera’s answers below! 

 You describe your upcoming album A Fearful and Wondrous Thing, as ‘story-book’ pop. What were some of your musical influences while writing the album?

Yesss – storybook pop is a name I came up with to marry my influences under one umbrella. It describes music that has theatrical influence but also incorporates cinematic elements and traditional pop structure, vocal performance and production. I think listening through, you can definitely hear my main squeezes, aka Sara Bareilles, Taylor Swift, and a little Imogen Heap. Those 3 are core to my musical inspiration!

What is your songwriting process –  has it changed over the years?

It changes per song for sure. It’s definitely changed over the years in the sense that, when I was a teenager, songwriting would mostly consist of me playing around and vibing… There was more of a sense of endless time back then. As you could just write and write, good or bad – these days I feel more pressure to create, especially if you want to achieve some semblance of success. But the good thing about me is I’m an honour student who loves an assignment! So I try to be very focused with writing time these days. I set goals for how often I want to write. I try to be clear about what I’m writing about that day or what inspired me to write that day. Of course, there are always moments when the song just comes to you, but I think a lot of it is diligence.

I was first introduced to your work through the Nepo Baby Vocal Warm Up Series (the Coppola family one is my fave). How do you come up with ideas for the warms up?

The Coppola is so classic!! So glad you like it! In the beginning, the warm-ups were driven by famous families. But honestly, people kept asking us to branch out into other things like TV shows, book series, etc. So we tried it! Turns out it’s super fun. We usually go by audience suggestions, and then I take polls in my Instagram stories. I try to keep a pulse on what people keep asking for. Here and there, we just get inspired by something and decide to throw it up – like the Louvre Heist, haha.

What is your relationship like with Social Media? Do you view your TikTok as its own creative project?

I view social media as an essential piece of connecting with as many people as possible. To me, it is not separate from my music. All of it is a world of my creativity, and you can come and enjoy whatever pieces of it that you love the most. My ultimate driving force and passion is my music, but at my core I’m an entertainer, and I’m glad that social media exists so that I can do just that and build community around what I have to share.

You initially pursued acting, taking a break from the music industry. How did you know you wanted to return to music, and was it a difficult decision to make?

It was the easiest decision ever once I arrived at it. I think I ran to screen acting after college because I had gotten lucky with some early opportunities, and it seemed like the right way to go… it seemed safe. But it wasn’t my passion. I love to act in the sense that I love doing it for something I feel passionate about, but it’s not my craft at my core. I had always wanted to be a musician, but it required me to be a different person than I was in my early 20s. I was a burnt-out gifted kid, undiagnosed neurodivergent… but I thought I was just a person who couldn’t set goals and achieve them. I didn’t really know how to self-organise or self-discipline (all things you need as a music artist). But during the pandemic, I kept seeing people who were 8 years younger than me showing up fearlessly online – and literally getting record deals! They inspired me. I was like, if they can do it… why can’t I? I’ve been training my entire life for this. I had a real come-to-Jesus moment. I said, “What is it gonna take for you to be who you want to be?” And changing myself was hard. But I had help, and in the end it was worth it.

What would you say is the highlight of your career to date?

The fact that I’ve even been able to put out the amount of music that I have. It’s a huge source of pride for me because my work is a symbol of how far I have come through fear and self-doubt… also, making a video with Kate Hudson and Hugh Jackman was pretty freaking cool.

What is your favourite track off A Fearful and Wondrous Thing and why?

I have to say “Call You Baby” is probably one of the best bangers I’ve written, haha! And I’m really proud of it. I wrote it to a YouTube track online, and Tiger Darrow and I turned it into something amazing. I feel that it’s a great example of what storybook pop can be – theatrical, catchy, cinematic, memorable! It’s so good!

Flowers and nature seem to be recurring themes in the visuals for your music. Do you feel a particular affinity with the natural world? 

Love that you picked up on that! I think nature makes me feel the most creative – when I was a kid, I used to take off my shoes and run around the woods pretending I was a fairy. It would just light up my brain. So it feels only natural that the Melanie Herrera project lives in flower fields and woods and streams. I think nature is imbued with magic and the essence of all things… It’s linked with my creative self somehow.

Is there a message you hope listeners will take away from the album?

I want people to hear these songs and stories and think about how their own lives are just as colourful a tapestry. And that this tapestry, while full of light and dark, joy and sorrow, love and loss, is beautiful, essential, and ultimately wound together by love – and what a privilege that is.

Final question: Are you a star or a freak?

Definitely a freak and proud of it. Weird girls 4ever.

A Fearful and Wondrous Thing will be available to stream everywhere today, May 28th. Herrera will take the stage at Bowery Palace in New York City on June 4th for a special release show. Tickets are on sale now.