Our Savior Sevdaliza Is Showing You How To Hold Poison And Power
Over the course of Heroina, Sevdaliza transforms. Born in Tehran, raised in the Netherlands, she continues to push the boundaries of sound and self. Her latest project, “Heroina“, redefines strength, sensuality, and self-discovery through thirteen tracks that feel both intimate and transcendent.
Featuring powerful collaborations with Karol G, Kenia Os, Tokischa, Pabllo Vittar, La Joaqui and more, Heroina stands as a spiritual evolution, a manifesto for those learning to embrace both their power and their vulnerability. We sat down with Sevdaliza for an intimate conversation about the making of “Heroina”, the emotional rebirth behind the music, and what she’s loving right now.
FEATURE INTERVIEW:
The word “HEROINA” suggests both heroine and heroin, strength and addiction. Which side do you lean into more on this record?
I’ve always been fascinated by duality, how one word can hold both poison and power. “Heroina” is that intersection. For me, there is the strength, the divine feminine and the woman who carries generations on her back. But there is also addiction to love, to pain and to transcend itself. On this record, I don’t lean to one side. I live in the tension between it, because strength without vulnerability is hollow, and addiction without awareness is destruction.
You’ve embraced multilingual lyrics and cultures. What’s the line or lyric that surprised you the most during the making of the album?
The lyric that I’m really, really proud of is not only the chorus of heroina, because I think the way that we were able to name those Goddesses so creatively whilst staying in the concept of the song. It’s also the lyrics to “Messiah“, I think they are so powerful and so straight to the core. It wasn’t really planned, and I just arrived, and when I sang it, I realized how much of my work is about intuition and remembering where I come from and what I am.
The track “Alibi” went viral on TikTok and entered the Billboard Hot 100 for the first time for you. How has that digital, viral dimension changed how you think about music and your audience?
It’s wild because “Alibi” was never written for the algorithm. It came from a very human place wanting to connect women and to celebrate that sisterhood, and suddenly millions of people were making their own worlds with it. So the viral moment showed me something really beautiful, but it also reminded me to stay centered. The Internet moves really fast, but I always have moved with intention. So it was an expansion. And I think the digital space can amplify your art, but it can also distort it.
And what I’ve noticed, for instance, is that when something goes viral, especially when it’s a woman, people immediately start comparing. And there is, like, a lot of toxicity, and it’s such a small way to look at art and artists, it’s really diminishing. Comparison is the easiest way to consume, but the laziest way to understand, and it flattens artists into trends instead of seeing them as worlds. So when people compare, I don’t take it personally, but I just see how conditioned we are to categorize instead of to feel it.
What’s one rule you broke while making this record?
For a long time, I wanted to be perceived with that perfection and the kind of grandiosity. And for this record, I just really wanted to do what I felt. And what I felt was I wanted to make music that makes people dance, and I kind of chased that. I broke that rule of wanting always to have, like intellectual perfection, deep music. I just really went for something more light and fun.
What’s one song on the album that nearly didn’t make it, and what made you keep it?
I already scraped a lot, so all of the songs that are on this record, I really was, like, very, very certain about.
How did working with such a diverse group of artists from Karol G and Kenia Os, to Tokischa, Yseult, Pabllo Vittar, Irmãs de Pau, Villano Antillano, and La Joaqui influence the overall sound and emotional landscape of the album, and what did you learn about yourself as an artist through these collaborations?
Working with such a diverse group of artists, cracked the album open in ways I couldn’t have done alone. Each collaborator brought a different feminine frequency. When you bring all those worlds together, and you stop thinking in genres and start feeling the music, it becomes like a collage of identities. It’s like the many sides of womanhood, rebellion, migration, faith, motherhood. What I learned about myself is that I’m not the center, I’m the vessel. Collaboration taught me to surrender control and also trust the chaos. The beauty happens when you allow all those other women also to have a voice on your record, and you never know what’s going to happen.
Which collaboration on “HEROINA” was the most unexpected, in terms of sound, vibe, or outcome?
I think the most unexpected one was “Alibi”. I think that was just insane, the way that we came together. I basically first met with Yseult, and then I reached out to Pabllo, and I think it just that’s that song has something so special, it really manages to show all three of our true colors, which is, I think it’s quite rare that you can put that in one song without losing, like the vibe. So it’s definitely like three divas on one song.
“No Me Cansaré” blends your ethereal style with Karol G’s reggaetón energy. What did you learn from Karol G, musically or personally, that surprised you the most?
What I learned from Karol G is that as a woman, she’s such an incredible spiritual power force. I think that’s why she’s so so successful. Because I think somehow she figured out something for herself spiritually where she keeps her energy in check. Yeah, I think she’s just a really, really, really empowering and genuine person, which I think it’s quite difficult if you’re at that level to maintain this so it was very inspiring to meet her.
Favorite Karol G song, other than your own collaboration?
I have a lot of them. Yeah, I think one of my favorites is “Una Noche en Medellin,” the remix , and “Si Antes Te Hubiera Conocido,” of course, her biggest hit.
“Strong Because You Are” is a tribute to your mother and generational strength. How has your personal story, as an immigrant, as a woman, and as a creative, shaped the mythos of “HEROINA”?
My story has always been the undercurrent of everything that I create, whether it’s exile or rebirth or survival. I was born in war. I was raised between cultures, and I was always searching for belonging, and at some point, I realized that I would never find it, so I had to become it. And it’s kind of like the transformation of pain into power and shame into sacredness. The mythos of heroina isn’t about perfection. It’s about alchemy. It’s about a woman who keeps dying and resurrecting through her own art, every version of me, the immigrant, the mother, the lover and the sinner, they all co exist in her.
If you weren’t making music, what would your dream alternate career be?
If I weren’t making music, I would probably have become a doctor or a researcher or I would have found other companies, I’ve always been very interested in women’s health and women’s health research.
Favorite city to perform in?
Probably Paris, Rio de Janeiro and Warsaw!
The visuals on this era are insane! What was the wildest idea from a video or shoot that actually made it into reality?
The enormous church bell we hung on a huge building for “Messiah“, I had to climb up in this building at 6 in the morning for 3 hours and it was freezing! A lot of people thought it was CGI, but it was not!
You’ve said before you don’t want to fit any mold. Do you feel “HEROINA” finally freed you from expectations?
Internally, yes, but I think that the audience has a lot of issues with releasing women from expectations, or maybe the world.
Go to Karaoke song ?
Unpopular opinion but I don’t like Karaoké
If you could swap closet with another celebrity?
Steve Jobs!
Who is your dream collaboration ?
JUL. A, a French artist!
Favorite song to sing live ?
“Alibi”.
What makes you the most confident ?
My kid!
What’s your favorite fashion brand ?
I have a lot. Because they all picture a different version of myself. I feel very Schiaparelli right now.
Any beauty secrets?
A good sleep routine is the key.
TEAM CREDITS:
Editor-in-Chief: Prince Chenoa
Feature Editor: Taylor Winter Wilson (@taylorwinter)
Writer: Adrian Alvarez
Photographer: Yann Weber (@yannweber)
Cover Art Design: Carlos Graciano (@sadpapi666)
Wardrobe Stylist: Daliah Spiegel (@daliah.spiegel)
Hair Stylist: Gor Duryan (@gorgeousduryan)
Makeup Artist: Thirza King (@thirza.king)
Nail Technician: Ines (@nailedbyines)
