Pop songstress Mimoza joins us on Close-up Culture to chat about her new single Love For Days, Michael Jackson, being a role model and much more.
Q: What vibes did you want to put out there with ‘Love For Days’?
A: I wanted to take it back to my Swedish roots! And make music that I used to love growing up. A wonderfully written pop song with big, timeless melodies that touch your soul and move you.
Q: This follows off the success of a song you wrote called ‘I Heart U’, which went to number one in Japan. Why do you feel your music connects so well with international audiences?
A: I think my music connects to international audiences because I grew up in different continents all over the world. Being born in Kosovo, spending my childhood in Sweden, my teenage years in Germany and now living in the US has definitely inspired my music.
It is honest and real. I believe that’s why people are connecting with it.
Q: Can you tell us about your upbringing and what brought you to singing?
A: I started singing when I was 6 years old in Sweden. But I took singing more seriously when we moved to Germany.
When we moved to Germany I was only 11 years old. I didn’t speak the language nor did I have any friends in Germany. Watching TV wasn’t fun because I couldn’t understand the language. So I would just spend many hours in my room singing and practising. I became obsessed with it. Teaching myself about song-writing and being my own vocal coach.
So I’d say moving to a new country, not speaking/understand the language and not having friends definitely made me more focused on music. And that’s when it went from a hobby to almost a day job. I took it very seriously.
Q: How do you reflect on that journey and how are you finding life in the States?
A: I am very grateful for my journey. Each country has taught me so much and I am blessed to speak different languages and connect to so many places that I call “home”.
Life in the US is different than life in Europe. I’d say it’s a harder reality here, but at the same time it’s so fulfilling to make my dreams come true.
I moved here to become the best songwriter and singer that I can be. I wasn’t happy with settling for Berlin. If I truly wanna know how great I can be, I need to “compete” with the best most talented people in the world, so I need to live where the action is happening. I miss my family and friends, but other than that LA has been great.
I have grown so much as an artist. And I am excited to grow even more. And be the best artist and the best version of me.
Q: Who have been the biggest influences on your career?
A: Michael Jackson has always been my No 1 and will always be. Other than MJ, I love Beyonce (who doesn’t?) and I love me some Adele and Amy Winehouse. I just love and respect how honest they were with their music and also that they wrote their songs as well.
You can hear that. And that’s something I want my audience to hear and admire about my music.
Q: Is being a role model something you relish?
A: I don’t wanna be a role model. I think that once you say you’re a role model, you can easily get criticised for living your truth and I’m not here for that. I just wanna unapologetically be myself. If it inspires young girls to be or do something positive, great!
But when I grew up I admired certain singers, I also had my mom who still very much reminded me that she was my mom and I knew my boundaries. So I want young girls to know that, too.
Q: What can we expect from you in the future?
A: You can expect more great music that really comes from my heart. Nobody in my team tells me what to sing or write about, it’s all real. Hopefully my music can continue to connect to people & speak for itself.