Bloodboy Is All About Breaking Rules of Pop Music, Starting With Her Name
Take it from LA-based singer/songwriter Bloodboy, otherwise known as Lexie Papilion—she knows what people think when they read her name.
“The name Bloodboy was born out of a brainstorming session with the last band I was in,” she explained. “It was quickly discarded by the rest of the band for being an ‘A&R nightmare’ but for some reason it stuck with me when it came time to decide on a name for this project. I’d be lying if I said the initial pull had nothing to do with it being polarizing and fun to say. It’s creepy and biologically inaccurate but as time went on, the personal symbolism became more transparent to me. Some of the blog reviews I’ve read have made me out to be some sort of blood-obsessed vampire-wannabe, but that’s not really it.”
Her first single, “Human Female,” produced by Justin L. Raisen (also of Charli XCX and Skye Ferreira) does reference anatomy, but in a way that any girl or guy could relate to.
“The song is about a woman who feels so unfulfilled that she ultimately loses her grasp on reality. She romanticizes her past and avoids her future because she has no idea what she truly wants. She hates convention but she is also terrified of straying too far from it. All she can really identify about herself is that she is ‘human female,’ which I find to be a very dehumanizing label in actuality.”
And it’s fitting that Bloodboy would address the conventions of gender in her work, since Bloodboy’s all about breaking the rules.
“I want pop music to be freer. I’ve been told countless times by people in the music industry that pop music should be ‘dumb’ and ‘easy to digest,’ and that’s ludicrous,” she said. “There was a time when pop music was pushing society forward and encouraging people to consider things they had potentially never considered before. Unfortunately, many pop artists now believe they must adhere to a strict set of rules in order to find success. There should be less rules!”
Rule breaker or not, anyone can enjoy a good song. Check out the new single below.
