Lo Lauren’s Glitter Pop Era Grows With EP Wonderlust

Music

In a landscape of fast fame and streaming skimmers, Lo Lauren is building something far more enduring: a universe anchored in honesty, hooks, and handcrafted hair clips. The Kent-born artist has been quietly crafting a discography of pop perfection—rich in cinematic references, subtle melancholy, and a DIY spirit that feels refreshingly human. Whether she’s performing for 25,000 fans at The Hundred or learning to sing her own track backwards for a surreal video shoot through Notting Hill, Lo is all in—equal parts meticulous and magnetic.

Ahead of her long-awaited debut EP Wonderlust—a glitter-drenched, gut-spilling love letter to your twenties—we catch up with Lo to talk secrets, sapphic longing, the freedom in fandom, and why her “glitter pop” era is really about emotional survival.

Let’s start with Rose & Jack. There’s a real aching secrecy to the lyrics—was this based on something personal, or more of a cinematic fantasy?

Yeah this was based on a real situation I experienced, so it’s super personal to me and probably the most meaningful on the EP. I don’t believe love should ever stay secret - it's an honour to love and be loved in return and that should always be celebrated!

The video is quite clever—you audition for the role of Rose, but don’t get it. How much of that storyline reflects how you’ve felt in the music industry?

Haha thank you - I love the storyline too. I never really thought of how it reflects my experience in the industry as well, but it definitely does. I feel like I’ve seen many other artists and friends whizz past me and achieve things really quickly or faster than me at least, and that can obviously feel disheartening. But ultimately I know everyone’s experience is different, and we are only ever seeing snapshots of the good stuff online. I strongly believe our time is coming and that belief is what makes all the little setbacks or rejections totally fine, because although I’m in the thick of the struggle right now, pain is progress! 

You’ve described your sound as “glitter pop.” What does that mean to you beyond the sonics? Is it also an emotional state?

For me it’s actually more of an emotional than sonic state. Glitter makes everything shine, glimmer, sparkle, and connotes magic, possibility and imagination which is what I hope my music does for people. I often take bad situations and look at the positive - it’s just how my brain works - and so in my music I’m often writing about hard situations but making the song feel good melodically and in terms of the production, with the hope that by the end of it we all feel a little lighter.

You learned an entire song backwards for Before The Kiss—that’s seriously dedicated. What did that process teach you about yourself, outside of being creatively ambitious?

It reminded me of the dedication I had in school and also what a nerd I am haha. It was also a nice reminder of knowing that you can really do anything if you put in the time and practice - so really I have no excuse for being bad at guitar…

Your dad is gay, and you've spoken about your close bond. What are some things he’s taught you about identity that have stuck with you in music and life?

My Dad has taught me so much, he is unapologetically himself and is one of those people that spreads so much infectious joy - it’s very inspiring to me as an artist and as a person - like how cool that people think of you as someone that brings the party and spreads so much happiness? It’s awesome and I always feel so lucky to have him in my life.

You’re very hands-on with your merch—bracelets, hair clips, all of it. Do you see that DIY side as part of your artistry, or is it something more intimate and separate from the music?

It’s very intertwined - at this early stage in being an artist you just have to be up for doing anything and everything to make things happen. You have to be the driving force and I think it’s really cool actually because it makes you try things in new ways, learn new skills and get super creative. I make so much with my friends and it’s all just totally reflective of where I’m at in my career right now and so it feels right, even though the DIYness of it all can be a bit overwhelming sometimes.

You’ve had some major co-signs—BBC Radio 1, Hollywood directors, massive playlist placements. Has there been a moment where you’ve stopped and thought, ‘Okay… this is real now’?

Having our song Before The Kiss in the Sweethearts movie trailer was a real pinch me moment - to hear the song soundtracking a rom-com was honestly so cool, we were all buzzing. Also when I started getting DMs like ‘your song is on Love Island!!!’ or ‘You’re playing in H&M’ that’s when I think people around me started to get it lol.

Your EP Wonderlust feels like a coming-of-age diary. What was the hardest song to write emotionally—and what was the most fun to finish?

The hardest emotionally was Rose & Jack, and most fun is definitely Would It Be So Bad, because we wrote that drunk in Soho and it just exudes the fun careless energy we had that evening - and we actually just shot the video in the room we wrote it in, which was so much… fun!!! As you can see, having fun is very, very important to me. 

You’ve launched your own club, GLO, which blends fan meet-ups with crafting. What’s the wildest thing a fan has made or said to you? 

We are yet to do the first session, but I’m so excited to launch our GLO hangs - I just really wanted to create something tangible and in the real world rather than only existing and communicating online. The wildest thing a fan has ever done was getting a tattoo of ‘wonder’ in my handwriting - rate that !! 

Your music has this thread of freedom running through it—whether it’s romantic or creative. Have you always felt free as an artist, or is that something you’ve had to fight for?

Yay I’m glad you think this. I think I’ve definitely grown to be more free and to give less fucks - when I first started writing I took everything almost too seriously. I’ve found that the more I let go and the less I care about something, usually the better it is. I’ve always felt really empowered by the people around me to make whatever I want, which is why I’m so grateful for them. 

How do you balance being vulnerable in your lyrics while also protecting parts of yourself? Is there a version of Lo the world doesn’t see?

For me the priority is always the song, over necessarily how autobiographical it is. I often write from other people's perspectives or get inspired by other people's stories, so I think I naturally have quite a good balance between exposing myself and protecting my soul haha. I’m trying to be relentlessly more myself every day - but yeah there is a version of me that people don’t see much of - the version of me that is up at 7am to go work my part time admin job every morning. The glamorous life of an independent artist! But I’m equally trying to share that more as I think it’s important that people know the real me and the reality of what it’s like trying to pursue this career.

Finally—if your twenties were a movie, what would be on the soundtrack (besides your own songs)?

Okayyy lets go - we’d have lots Gwen Stefani, Chappell Roan, MARINA, Carly Rae Jepsen, the entire Blonde album (Frank Ocean), all of Teenage Dream (Katy Perry), all of Melodrama (Lorde), Dancing on my Own by Robyn, and loads of Charli but specifically Boom Clap - dreamy. 

Wonderlust is out now

Photographer Massimiliano Giorgeschi

Words by Jheanelle Feanny