With pulsing club beats and covergirl looks, queer Persian-American pop pro Gia Woods seems made for the stage. Add in a strong emotional through-line, an encyclopedic knowledge of contemporary music, and a LOT of lesbian energy? Well, that’s how you make a star.
Since making her big coming out debut with her steamy “Only A Girl” music video back in 2015, Woods has kept her nose to the musical grindstone. Between Cut Season, Heartbreak County Vol. 1, and various releases, she’s got a catalogue of singles and EP tracks as long as your arm.
She’s also had plenty of come-up moments already, like featuring in Calvin Klein’s Pride campaign and serving as a Savage X Fenty ambassador (and we do mean serving). Now, she’s set for yet another with her new bangin’ EP, Heartbreak County Vol. 2.
We caught up with the singer to talk LA, heartbreak, new music, and about a dozen pop girls along the way.
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QUEERTY: I want to start by finding out what you’re listening to right now! Dirt Femme by Tove Lo currently has a hold on me.
WOODS: Oh my god, I was gonna say – honestly, same. That album is a f*cking piece of art. I mean, “2 Die 4” is obviously like… I can’t. And “Grapefruit”? Every single song on that album is amazing. Especially the one she did with Channel Tres, “Attention Whore”? So good.
Who are some other queer artists right now that you feel are really killing it?
Fletcher‘s been really killing it. She’s been very out there, wearing her heart on her sleeve. I really respect that.
And Ethel Cain, I’m obsessed with her. She’s been giving me that feeling that we all had when Lana Del Rey was first coming out with music, I feel like Ethel Cain is having that moment right now. It’s like the same formula, but in a way that’s very genuine and doesn’t feel forced or made up. It’s very much her. Really loving her.
Also Sevdaliza! She’s another Persian artist, she’s incredible. I’ve known about her for a while now. She just had a show in L.A. and I went and I was so inspired. She’s almost similar to maybe an Arca, that kind of world. So f*cking good!
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You’re such a polished, well-produced pop girl. Who would you cite as the Gia Woods blueprint?
I always say this, but it’s definitely Madonna for me. I grew up so inspired by her. I have an older sister who had, fortunately enough, good taste. Thank God. She was always playing Madonna in the house. Whenever she was getting ready to go out, she was always playing Madonna’s albums. I got hooked really early on.
I just love everything Madonna stands for. I mean, is there any way of explaining that? She’s done everything. And she’s also such a powerful woman who’s very strongly opinionated and has gone through so much, in all the different eras of pop culture, and she’s still around and able to shock everyone in a way that’s so inspiring.
I feel like L.A. is a little bubble. I grew up here, and I never felt like I had to deal with anyone that didn’t understand the pop girls or the culture. But to the outside world, she’s kind of always been that person that’s like, speaking for our community, to the world. I really respect her for that. And I just love everything she stands for; she doesn’t give a f*ck about what anyone thinks. That’s definitely my blueprint. I used to give a lot of f*cks when I was growing up, and she definitely inspired me a lot to get out of my comfort zone.
Even just looking at your Instagram, it’s giving very much provocateur.
It’s funny, because I was the opposite of that growing up. I was so shy, and so afraid to even show my bare skin. I literally was the most shy, awkward girl ever growing up. So, for me, Madonna was always my inspiration for putting myself out there. I think that’s why I’m so big on being on the sexier side.
Sometimes people are like, “You’re very sexualized, you’re very like out there.” And I’m like, it’s not because I’m trying to get attention from anyone, it’s actually for myself. I never used to be this confident. Madonna has definitely been the blueprint for me to be and find myself.
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What sides of yourself were you wanting to show going into this project, and how did they differ from Vol. 1?
The first volume was really inspired by L.A. itself. Growing up in Los Angeles, I’ve witnessed so many different types of people, but they all kind of came to the same storyline of moving to L.A. to become something or become someone. This is very much so a city of aspiring artists, aspiring people in film, a very art little city. I watched a lot of people move here and think their life was going to be one way and then, unfortunately, sometimes those people didn’t make it.
I was really inspired by seeing how L.A. seems like it’s this world of fantasy and Hollywood and all that, because like… Hollywood has been funky for a while now. It’s not as nice as anyone thinks it is. It’s really not The Place, actually. That was always my view on it.
After I wrote it, I did intend on writing a second volume, but I wasn’t expecting to write it so soon. But then I ended up going through a heartbreak, and going through heartbreak in L.A. is like… a whole thing. So this project is about the whole thing! You cannot escape your ex here. It’s just impossible.
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I went through such a traumatic breakup. Once you listen through the whole project and get to the last song, you get the ending of the story, which is that my exes are dating. That was like a very traumatic experience. I was really heartbroken.
When I threw myself to the studio and started writing and processing everything, a lot of the songs were kind of just escapism and ignoring it and trying to find ways to survive that news. That’s why a lot of the songs are the different phases of me trying to remind myself like, “I am hot, I am confident, I am okay without these people, and I am gonna go dance this f*cking pain away.”
But I also know that, at the end of the day, I am just sad. There’s no lying my way out of that. Like, here I am, really f*cking heartbroken. I’m gonna go dance the pain away, I’m gonna literally go to a million parties and run away from this, but then at the end of the day, I am still sad. I wanted that feeling from the project, because I think we all honestly go through that when we first find out.
Heartbreak is honestly one of the most traumatic experiences a human can go through. It’s really brutal. Unfortunately that’s how us artists do, right? Our best sh*t comes when we’re literally so sad and depressed and emo.
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What’s ahead for you after Heartbreak County? Do you have anybody that you want to collab with, or any goals that are still on the horizon?
I’m just looking to keep making music. For me, it’s never ending; I’m constantly inspired. I’m honestly a workaholic with music – I feel like that Lady Gaga meme that’s like “‘nother club, ‘nother club, no sleep”. I’m constantly thinking of lyrics, thinking of song titles, thinking of project concepts and stuff like that, because I just have endless things to write about.
So, for me, it’s probably diving back into the studio and doing this all over again, which is like my favorite thing to do. I already have a whole idea of for the next project and the sound, and it’s going to be really fucking cool. It’s way more elevated and definitely more in touch with my culture. I’m really excited about that.
Also just traveling and living life a little bit, going out and doing things so I can actually have sh*t to talk about. I think sometimes people force it and they’re like, “Okay, I just want to go write!” I think you also need to take a little break and just breathe for a second. So I’m definitely gonna do that (and it’ll be good for my mental health).
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One of my biggest goals is to be one of the first big pop artists to perform in Iran. I just have so much that I need to do to get there. And I’d also love to play Coachella — growing up in L.A., going to Coachella as a kid was very, “That’s it.” That’s a bucket list check for sure. That would be next level.
I have a lot of goals, we’re just working my ass off to get there. I think sometimes people get so in their own ways and focus a little bit too much on like, “Why isn’t this happening?” or “Why am I not there?”. I’ve always been really good at having my blinders on and hyper-focusing on one thing and just going until I get there. I will not stop until I’m at the top, so you will definitely see me there.
Just have to manifest this and speak this into the universe, I think you and Charli XCX would make for a great collab. I can just hear you on Pop 3 or something.
I love that! I would die. That would be f*cking next level. She’s definitely been someone I’ve been very inspired by. You can’t really figure her out – like one day she’s going to be super pop, but the next she’s going to be like saws and different things banging against each other. She’s very experimental, but she’s also a pop girlie.
It’s really fun to see someone do that where you don’t know what they’re gonna put out next, which is so exciting. I feel like I can totally relate, like, I don’t really have just one style. I have so many different things I still want to do.
