Interview with NIIVA.
Interviewed by: Sarah Evangelista
Toronto based pop princess by the name of NIIVA recently released her new single “Friends”. The single caught ears of many fans, and earned her the opportunity to be one of IHeart Radio’s Future Star last month. We caught to chat with her about the big news and more.
Felice Trinidad
What’s your fondest musical memory?
There are a few that come to mind, but one that sticks out is when I had to miss my mum’s birthday because I was playing a show out of town, so I got the entire arena to sing her Happy Birthday, filmed it, and sent it to her. It was amazing.
You have been selected for an iHeart Radio Future Star feature. Congrats! Where were you when you heard the news?
Thank you so much! It’s a huge honor. I was just waking up when I got a text from my manager that I was chosen as Future Star, and let me tell ya no shot of caffeine can wake you up quicker than that!
It’s such a fun and catchy track, what musical element was the first to be added to the track?
Thank you!! I’m so glad you like it. I wrote it with Matt Kahane and Emery Taylor over Zoom during quarantine, so my memory COULD be failing me but I think the first musical element that stuck was the guitar riff - played by Matt. I had the concept of the song in my notes and when I heard the beat and the guitar, I felt like the lyrics and the track were totally the right match.
You’re on the Heels of hit KPOP songwriting success, having notably co- wrote record-breaking debut single “Black Mamba” for girl group aespa. Do you remember what it felt like when you realized the song was really taking off?
I remember finding out that it was going to be aespa’s debut single and I remember my stomach doing flips and turns with nerves and excitement. I cried, I popped champagne, and I’ve been pinching myself ever since, with every record that it’s broken. It’s absolute insanity, and I’m so proud to be a part of the song.
You recently returned from a writing trip in Seoul, South Korea. Did you have any spare time to explore the city and if so, was there a highlight?
This was my second time back at a writing camp for SM Entertainment, and it was a bit shorter of a stay - about 5 days. We were in the studio pretty much the entire time but I did get to go see Pink Sweat$ while I was there. I also got to see a couple of absolutely beautiful bars in Gangnam - one is “Alice Cheongdam” which is Alice in Wonderland themed, and the other one is “Le Chamber”.
Which artists/bands are you currently listening to?
I’m rinsing the new 1975 album right now. I love them so much.