Beabadoobee: 'Me and my fans would all be friends in another life'

Sino ba naman ang hindi mangangarap ng ideal day na gising, sindi ng spliff, yakap-yakap ang mga pusa, marathon ng Scrubs buong araw, tapos lakad-lakad lang sa canal? Dagdagan mo pa ng kain sa palengke, chill sa pub kasama ang mga tropa, tapos uwi sa bahay at kwentuhan hanggang alas singko ng umaga. Yan ang classic day ni Beatrice Kristi Ilejay Laus, o mas kilala bilang si Beabadoobee. Parang ang buhay ng ordinary na 26-year-old Londoner lang, pero sa isang napakabongga na twist: si Beatrice ay isa sa pinaka-sikat na pop stars ngayon.

Kundi, hindi naman ganoon kasimple ang araw-araw para sa isang artista na sumama sa Taylor Swift's Eras Tour para sa 12 dates, at ang third studio album niya pa lang ay naging UK No. 1. Ngayon, nag-aantabay na ang mundo sa Pylon, ang fourth album niya. At hindi lang yan—sa October, magiging arena headliner na si Beabadoobee, with four British November dates culminating sa The O2 sa London. Pero kahit ganoon ka-bongga ang career niya, ramdam mo ang pagiging grounded at authentic niya.

Ngayong September, nandoon siya sa west London office ng Dirty Hit, ang record label na tahanan din ng The 1975 at Jack Antonoff. Ngunit hindi siya nag-iisa sa opisina—surrounded siya ng pre-orders ng Pylon na sobra-sobra, kaya nagbago na ang signature niya into basically a scribble. Masaya ang irony: ang Beatrice na homebody, gusto lang mag-cuddle sa mga pusa at manonood ng Scrubs, ay kailangang maging Beabadoobee—isang artist na kailangan ng maraming oras, energy, at presence.

Pero sa lahat ng demand na 'yan, nananatili siyang totoo. Sa conversation, effusive siya, funny, at walang filter. Completely unguarded—isang bagay na rare na nakikita sa famous pop stars. Sabi niya mismo: There are a lot of things that I don't like about myself, but one thing that I truly love about myself is that I am incapable of not being myself. Parang superhero origin story lang, pero in reverse. Hindi siya nag-assume ng identity para maging star; ang pagiging sarili lang niya ang naging foundation ng lahat.

Kaya naman, may downside. I think [being myself] is what's kept me grounded, but it's also what's made a lot of other things really difficult for me, sabi niya. Hard ang maging healthy person while on tour. Hard din ang pag-maintain ng relationships when the universe doesn't seem to want you together. Pero ang pinakasakit ay panoorin kung paano nagbabago ang mga tao sa paligid niya dahil sa industry. Mga tropa noon, iba na ngayon. Kaya feeling niya: I really don't know if I'm dealing with it well. It's an extraordinary, very rare, confusing thing to go through—especially for someone who just made music because she was depressed and bored.

Alang na lang, earlier this year, dumalo siya sa A-list wedding nina Taylor Swift at Travis Kelce sa Madison Square Garden. Parang ang tipong moment na hindi mo malilimutan, pero kataka-taka din. Kasama niya ang boyfriend niya, at grateful siya na may kasama siyang nag-iisip ng parehong bagay sa lahat ng celebrity madness. If I could bring all my friends to everything that I do, it would make it all so much more incredible and hilarious, sabi niya. Relatable talaga—gusto mo lang i-share ang lahat with people who get you.

Ang Pylon ay named after telephone power lines na nakikita niya sa mahabang byahe between tour shows. Those lines reminded her ng connections back home. To combat ang disorientation, gumagawa siya ng lists sa phone niya ng possible solutions: bring a friend, bring her boyfriend, get sober. Pero I've done all those things now and none of them really worked, sabi niya. Kaya ang solusyon? Isulat ang album.

And Pylon leans into ang emo at rock sounds na bumuo sa kanya noong una. Writing Pylon, I can say that I was probably the closest to who I was when I was 19, and I can say that proudly because I think she had something going. She dressed cool, she was so unapologetically herself and she didn't give a f*. Just because nasa mid-twenties na siya at "adult" na technically, hindi naman siya kailangang maging super mature. Right now, I just want to be f*ing angry and sing about how I have no idea what I'm doing.

But sa album na ito, kasama niya ang dream team: Hayley Williams ng Paramore, Brendan Yates ng Turnstile, Chino Moreno ng Deftones, Evan Stephens Hall ng Pinegrove, at Matty Healy at George Daniel ng The 1975. Ang collaboration with Williams ay particularly meaningful—ang duet na Nothing to Prove ay inspired ng studio conversations about being a woman in the industry. Even if we had come out with absolutely nothing and I had none of those names on the back of my record, getting in sessions with those people would be enough for me to feel great for the rest of my life, sabi niya.

Sa dami ng pagbabago sa buhay ni Beabadoobee, nakakatuwa na nananatili siyang walang-arte na tao. Parang ang kaibigan mo lang na biglang sumikat, pero ang personality, same pa rin. At sa mundo ng pop music na puno ng artifice, yan ang rare kind ng superstar na the fans would all be friends with in another life.