janiegiirl on Her Debut Single, “Flip Phone”
2022 is the year of janiegiirl. January 28th marks the release of “Flip Phone,” janiegiirl’s debut single. The song is an exciting look into what’s to come from the emerging artist, yet her new single feels equally familiar and nostalgic. Merging influences from Britney Spears to aldn, the song pushes the boundaries of what music can be. Twenty Minutes Later got the chance to ask janiegiirl a few questions about “Flip Phone.” Read our interview below.
YOUR NEW SONG IS CALLED “Flip Phone,” SO I HAVE TO ASK, HAVE YOU EVER OWNED A FLIP PHONE?
I've only ever owned one of those phones that slide up and down. I thought that “Flip Phone” as a title was much catchier than “Slide Phone” or “iPhone.” I wasn’t going to say “call me on my iPhone," you know.
IT FEELS LIKE THERE’S A LOT OF EARLY 2000s INFLUENCE IN THE SONG, WAS THAT INTENTIONAL?
Whenever I play the song for my friends, they are like, “Oh my God. This reminds me of Britney Spears,” but I don’t think it was intentional. I think that “Flip Phone” is a new vibe for me. When I recorded the song, I drew a lot of inspiration from aldn. I wanted to make music that sounded sort of similar, to prove my versatility to myself, and it unlocked a whole new door of creativity.
WHEN DID YOU START MAKING MUSIC?
I started in the summer of 2018. Obviously, I've grown up making stuff, but summer 2018 was a big turning point in my life. I was very depressed and used music as a creative outlet. I recorded the first song I ever made on the GarageBand app on my phone and then moved to GarageBand on my computer. I would sing into the mic on my Apple earbuds. Then, people from my high school started finding out about my music stuff and ended up liking it. I wasn’t expecting anyone to want to listen to my music, but people were interested, and it was so wild to me.
THIS IS YOUR FIRST RELEASE AS janiegiirl. WHAT DOES THAT FEEL LIKE?
I feel like I’m just getting into the groove of things. Being janiegiirl is like taking everything to the next step and creating a new musical identity for myself, which I think is important to have.
HOW DO YOU WANT PEOPLE TO SEE YOU AS A NEW ARTIST?
That's a hard question. When I was growing up, I never thought I would end up making music. I was never in music classes or anything. And then suddenly, I was doing this thing for myself. I want people to feel like they can do that too. I hope janiegiirl inspires people to get out and do whatever they want. This was something that I started as a way to make myself feel better, so I hope people see me and realize that they can take advantage of the time they have and the talents they have and just do it.
I THINK YOU’RE A STRONG EXAMPLE OF THAT. I READ THAT YOU WROTE THE SONG OFF A BEAT YOU GOT FROM INSTAGRAM DMS. TELL ME MORE ABOUT THAT.
Yes! One of the first songs I ever wrote was called “Summertime.” I wrote the song off a beat I bought from a producer named Pandrs. Whenever I make a connection through music, I like to keep it. I get a ton of DMs from people about beats, but Pandrs sent me a beat that was called “Flip Phone.” Before I even listened to it, I had a good feeling about it. It had a cute little pink thumbnail. I clicked on it and it just felt like it was meant to be.
AFTER YOU GOT THE BEAT, HOW LONG DID IT TAKE YOU TO WRITE THE SONG?
Usually, whenever I find a beat on YouTube or through email or DM or whatever, I play it out loud and freestyle over it to see if I can come up with anything right then. Then, I’ll download the MP3 through a YouTube to Mp3 converter, put it into GarageBand, and mess around with it. If I’m really feeling it, that’s when I’ll buy it. I messaged Pandrs a week later and bought the rights to the beat.
DO YOU HAVE A FAVORITE PART OF THE SONG?
I think it's either the chorus or the bridge. The bridge is very slow and sort of ominous. It breaks the song up nicely. The lyrics in the bridge also bring me back to when I first started making music.
DO YOU HAVE A FAVORITE LYRIC?
To be honest, I think it's probably “call me on my flip phone baby my ringtone’s amusing.” It’s catchy. It’s actually about my ex-boyfriend. I had a special ringtone for him.
WHAT WAS THE RINGTONE?
It was a random sound that I found. I don’t even think he knew I had it. It was something that I put on when we first started talking. I have a lot of special ringtones for different people in my life.
WHAT WOULD YOU WANT PEOPLE TO HAVE AS A RINGTONE FOR YOU?
That's a good question. Probably “Me & U” by Cassie. If you look up that song and play it, that’s kind of like what “Flip Phone” reminds me of. It’s a fun song. If you’re going to a club, it’s going to be playing.
IF YOU COULD PUT “Flip Phone” ON A PLAYLIST WITH THREE OTHER SONGS, WHAT SONGS WOULD YOU CHOOSE?
My favorite genre is rap, so something very underground like “MGP” by Baby Stone Gorillas. I’d have to put “2ppl” by aldn because it’s one of my favorite songs right now. And then I’d add something sweet to balance it out like “CPR” by Summer Walker.
DO YOU THINK LISTENING TO RAP HAS ANY EFFECT ON THE MUSIC THAT YOU MAKE?
Rap is the only genre that will genuinely get me hyped up and ready to make my own music. Even if my music is completely different, rap is the type of music that gets anybody amped up to do anything.
ANYTHING ELSE YOU WANT PEOPLE TO KNOW ABOUT YOU OR YOUR MUSIC?
I want people to know that there's more to come and it's going to be big. This is everybody’s year and I’m excited to get into a new groove and see where it goes. Especially with “Flip Phone.” I’m not good at believing in myself, but putting out music makes me feel like I’m capable of doing a lot of things. I just hope to be able to do this for the rest of my life and make people happy and make friends in the process.
YOU CAN LISTEN TO “Flip Phone” BY janiegiirl ON STREAMING SERVICES LIKE SPOTIFY AND APPLE MUSIC. GO LISTEN AND MAKE SURE TO FOLLOW @twentyminuteslater TO STAY UPDATED ON FUTURE POSTS.
