It’s a mildly hectic afternoon for Cari Elise Fletcher. The Undrunk singer has just hopped into an Uber in New York, her phone has gone missing and her debut album, Girl Of My Dreams, comes out in a few hours. An amalgamation of gut-wrenching vulnerability blended with a well-suited queer pop palette, Fletcher’s latest creative endeavour has been her most transparent. From affectionate on-stage anecdotes to emotional ballads on queer heartbreak, the 28-year-old has become the fresh-faced mascot of queer love. “It feels like the culmination of my life. I’ve been waiting so long for this,” Fletcher says earnestly. “It’s a full circle moment.”
After getting her big break in 2019 with the EP release of You Ruined New York For Me, Fletcher’s profile has been on an unstoppable rise. From cultivating an international fanbase to pulling off multiple headliner tours, the grandeur of emerging as an album artist isn’t lost on the musician. “I’m overwhelmed, but wildly grateful at the same time,” Fletcher says. “This is where I began writing music for the first time and got my start as an artist.” Taking the lessons and lyrics she’s penned along the way, Fletcher is finally putting herself first.
As her first-time record Girl Of My Dreams meanders through bouts of self-love lyricism, Fletcher peels back on the mirage of fame to share the most honest version of herself with listeners. As a newly christened album artist, we catch up with the confessional pop therapist to get the scoop on her give-all record and why she signs boobs for a living.
Fletcher, hello! So, Girl Of Your Dream is out soon. How are you feeling?
I’m a whole mix of emotions. I’ve made a body of work and art that I’m so proud of and it feels like an extension of my heart. I think that it’s ready to be heard by other people now.
You’ve been writing music for the entirety of your career. How did the idea for this record come about?
I’ve always been writing for the debut album. It was supposed to come out in 2020 and so much of what was going to be on the album ended up turning into The S(ex) tapes. I was really fortunate to have been able to put out that body of work, which, had anything been different, I don’t know if that EP would have happened.
I don’t know if there was a specific moment where I was like ‘Okay, I’m going to start writing for the album now’, because my writing is mirroring where I’m at in my life, emotionally and thematically. I’ve been pulling all the pieces that have represented what the last two years of my life have been, and where we left off with The S(ex) Tapes to where I am now.
This record deals heavily with healing and self-growth. What’s the biggest lesson you’ve taken away from this period of your life?
The last two EPs have specifically been about other people and relationships. While Girl Of My Dreams picks up kind of where I left off with The S(ex) tapes, this is a way more introspective look at the relationship with myself.
Narratively, throughout the album, you start with Guess We Lied… and Becky’s So Hot, but then we get to a point where I’m taking accountability and questioning why don’t my relationships work out and I keep getting myself in heartbreaking situations or I’m breaking my own heart and I’m responsible for a lot of this. The record ends us with For Carrie and Girl Of My Dreams and it really took me having a hard look in the mirror and developing that relationship with myself, which I was missing for a long time.
My essence is to be unfiltered and that’s all I’m trying to do.
The lead up to the release of Girl Of My Dreams has inspired a lot of online speculation…
I was definitely aware — I can’t escape my own FYP [for you page] at all! I definitely wasn’t expecting to have a piece of journalism written on me about starting a lesbian apocalypse. My essence is to be unfiltered and that’s all I’m trying to do. It wasn’t my intention to create any chaos! The reaction came as a bit of a shock. I had assumed that there would be one as with any artist putting anything out there.
I’ve never been someone to edit my narrative and that’s not something that I wanted to do, especially with my first introduction to the world, because this isn’t this is who I am as an artist. This is my debut album from start to finish and all I really wanted was for it to tell a story.
Girl Of My Dreams will be your first full-length record. How does it feel to be called an album artist?
It’s crazy! It’s kind of scary too. It’s like you have established your craft and it’s making a really big statement to the world. This music serves as a time capsule for the last two years of my life. I pinch myself every day that this is my job and I sign boobs for a living.
Your shows and presence as an artist have fostered a community of fans. What do those spaces and interactions mean to you?
It feels like everything to me because I grew up feeling like I didn’t have spaces like that or somebody to look to talk about their life and their experiences in all these multifaceted layers. So, the fact talking about my feelings has cultivated a community mirroring that back to me and honesty has been the most rewarding thing in the world. It’s why I do this. I go to these shows and I’m instantly reminded this is what it’s for.
Do you have a favourite fan-related memory?
There’s a specific memory that I have of one of my shows. It was in the UK and somebody came up to me, and they were from the Middle East and travelled really far to come to the show. They explained they had never come out to anyone in their life and I was the first person I’m coming out to. They explained that I was the only person they would ever tell. That story hits me so hard. Knowing that person is out there existing in a way that isn’t fully authentic to them or safe for them to be themselves. But, to know that they came to my show and experienced some bit of freedom in a room of people that have all processed similar emotions is not something I’ll ever take lightly.
You’ve often been labelled an LGBTQ+ artist. What do you think makes this connection so unique with your fanbase?
I’ve been there, I’ve felt that and suffered from it. I’ve felt like a prisoner to my own feelings and I’ve come out the other side of it all and I’m feeling liberated and accepting of myself, even when hardship comes up. I see myself in my fans and in their stories. I hold so much empathy and space because that was me, and that’s why it holds so much significance. I want to mirror back joy and celebration in life so they can claim it for themselves too.
I’ve made a body of work and art that I’m so proud of and it feels like an extension of my heart.
Speaking on fans, it seems like Katy Perry is one of yours…
Girls Girls Girls was such an in-the-moment release. I had written it and I was too fucking excited about it. I remember my mum driving me to middle school and [I Kissed A Girl] came on the radio, and she gasped at the lyrics. At the time I was like, ‘Fuck, I think I like girls’ and it was a song that triggered a lightbulb in my mind of, ‘Wait a second… Why do I like listening to this song? Why do I feel like I would like kissing a girl?’ And, then it’s true, I do! I got Girls Girls Girls approved by the one and only queen Katy Perry. She was really sweet about it and shared it and having to get blessings from the queen herself was quite a cool surreal thing. I sent her some flowers and wrote a thank you note for her song being my sexual awakening. So, thank you for putting it out and making a statement.
You’ve checked off a debut record and huge pop star collaboration, what’s next on your dream list?
I used to really attach myself to certain accolades because there’s so much pressure on us to have certain things by certain times, but I’ve let go of so much of that. I know that this album is going to do whatever it needs to and it will be bigger than me. I’m evolving as my career does. The most beautiful part is that I’ve grown up with my fans. I’m going on my fourth tour of this year in two weeks, so I want more touring and more music. I’m so grateful to see these people around the world who have been like lifting me up since day one. Whatever experience comes I’m ready to be in the moment and present with it.
Fletcher’s debut album, Girl Of My Dreams, is out now.
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