Despite the crystalline timbre of her voice, angelic looks, and the breezy cadence of her sugary sweet name, Blair St. Clair’s life story is rife with trauma.
Just over a year in the past, the Indiana native — then a budding drag queen freshly added to America on season 10 of RuPaul’s Drag Race — had her goals crushed in front of a national target audience whilst she become eliminated from the fact competition collection in 9th place, quickly after she’d unfolded to the sector about her enjoy with sexual attack. Now, hopefully armed with her new unmarried, the 24-year-antique stands tall over her past struggles at the leading edge of a landmark publishing deal between Producer Entertainment Group and Warner Music’s Alternative Distribution Alliance, self-growing a brand new truth from the ashes as a survivor who discovered her strength via music, and is ready to share it with the world on a scale not often afforded to her community.
“People last saw me on Drag Race as a person they considered broken, and a victim. Today, I live my existence as a survivor. The gap between that become finding love — with someone else and myself,” St. Clair says of the foundation for her brand new single, “Easy Love,” the primary taste of a thriller task coming later this 12 months (and the sultry song video for which EW can solely screen above).
“Two years ago, I couldn’t try this,” she adds of the steamy, ethereal video’s sensual scenes, which came together simplest due to their superstar’s capability to heal via musical therapy. “I turned into so fearful of being susceptible and displaying skin, due to the fact being prone also supposed laying near a person else, and I wasn’t letting human beings be near me. This changed into my full-circle second. I feel comfy in my skin and with my voice, so I sense comfy sharing that and dwelling life.”
Watch the whole “Easy Love” song video above, and examine on for EW’s prolonged communique with St. Clair, in which she discusses her new musical course, locating chemistry with a sexy male model, and her involvement in New York Magazine‘s recent (controversial) RuPaul’s Drag Race function.
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: I love this song! Sonically, it’s remarkably unique out of your last album. Is this a single from a brand new album with a unique creative path?
Music is track, and it has no definition via gender and orientation. Not all music desires to be a membership bop to be amusing and enjoyable. For me, the track is about my private lifestyles. [I’m telling] a story approximately how I’ve evolved. People remaining saw me on Drag Race as a person they took into consideration broken and a victim. Today, I stay my existence as a survivor. The hole among that turned into locating love — with someone else and myself.
Was it healing coming near the track in a new way with a focal point on intimacy after the enjoy you went through with assault?
Absolutely. My first album turned into written when I’d already been removed. I used music as therapy. Since then, I’ve risen and grown as a person. This track is section two of my life: This is the Blair St. Clair as a robust, impartial, satisfied, humbled girl, in any case, that remedy.
Is this a part of an album?
I’m running on a massive undertaking now. I’m excited to launch it within the coming months. It’s critical to me, this being a one of a kind release with PEG, Warner Music, and ADA. Drag queens have released splendid music across the board, and have almost created a brand new style of what we keep in mind to be “drag song,” but there isn’t a [clear] definition. It’s vital for me to capitalize in this momentum and now not have particular labels at the back of what tune is. Music is a song, and I don’t need someone to say it’s a homosexual song or LGBTQ tune or drag queen song. I want this primary launch to be approximately tracked. There are extra uptempo amusing, loopy songs coming, but I wanted to do something unique first.
This deal with PEG and Warner Music’s ADA is so critical for queer representation, though. Do you have to name that out as it’s so extensive for the community, proper?
There are mixed feelings. It’s vital to me and I’m so humbled, but I additionally don’t want it to detract from the great quantity of work different queens have put in as nicely. Trixie, Alaska, Adore, and so many greater have launched tremendous tune inside the community. But, I’m getting this possibility to be this primary and enlarge a peace-providing to mainstream society to say, “This is what we must offer, and we’re human beings, too.” In politics and society, we’re so fixated on labeling things, whether or not it’s your race, gender…. We’re so brief to choose and placed humans in classes.
Why did you land on this sound like the one you wanted to bridge that gap?
The first sound I desired people to pay attention after a [hiatus] was something dreamy, airy, and vibey. It changed into crucial for this primary song to be laid back and make you sense an emotional reminiscence or a connection, and experience the song instead of dancing right away. It’s a bridge to the next chapter of factors I want to release. I wouldn’t say this tune is the subsequent sound for Blair St. Clair, however, it’s the bridge among my old sound and a brand new sound I’m operating on. The closing time you saw me, I become working via a whole lot of lifestyles’ adversities and demanding situations, and these days I actually have risen above with the care I’ve given myself.
I love writing and recording, but after my first album, I needed to study a number of the basics. With this new venture, I desired to collaborate with distinctive songwriters. I set ego apart and [let them] educate me a number of their ways, due to the fact I need to be that next stage and I can’t do that on my own, so I sat down with writers and producers I hadn’t labored with before. This tune became written for me, however from my factor of view…. [I gave] remarks and tweaked melodies.
That’s how the icons’ albums come collectively. You’re doing it at the Beyoncé stage.
By nature, I’m a highbrow. So, if you have been to tell me to write down music, it would be first-rate wordy, truly deep, tremendous idea out, and really meta, guy! [Laughs]. But, that’s now not what’s famous nowadays. My dream is to be one of the first leaps forward drag queen artists inside the U.S. Because we don’t have that proper now…. We don’t really have a drag queen main the % [in music].
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