Q&A: Queer Love Takes Center Stage in Manda Malina’s “supermodel” Single
INTERVIEW
INTERVIEW
☆ BY KIMBERLY KAPELA ☆
SWEDISH POP SENSATION AND QUEER TRAILBLAZER — Manda Malina is stepping boldly into a new era with her upcoming single, “supermodel”—a fearless, experimental electro-pop anthem that revels in the exhilaration of queer love. With lush, airy yet powerful vocals floating over nostalgic-meets-futuristic production, Malina crafts a sonic playground where queer love stories are not just told but celebrated with vibrant energy and unapologetic joy.
At its core, “supermodel” is a turning point for Malina—both musically and emotionally. The track tells the intimate and universally relatable tale of falling for a close friend, an experience deeply resonant within the LGBTQ+ community. It captures the electric rush of embracing love freely, even in the face of judgment. For Malina, this is a love letter to queer euphoria, and a glimpse into an era where her music fully reflects her identity.
“‘Supermodel’ tells the story of falling in love with a friend and unapologetic queer love,” Malina says. “You know when you're just starting to see your friend in a new light and not really caring what anyone else thinks. It's very pop electronic, I would say a little futuristic and nostalgic at the same time. It's something that's more experimental as far as sound than what I've done before.”
“Supermodel” is a celebration of love in all its forms, of stepping into one’s truth with confidence, and of music’s power to uplift and inspire. As she embarks on this new era in her career, Malina solidifies her place as a vital voice in contemporary pop, one that refuses to be anything less than fearless.
LUNA: Thank you for talking to Luna. Our readers would love to get to know you and your music more. For any readers who aren’t familiar with you yet, what inspires your artistic style and sound?
MANDA: I'm very inspired by Scandinavian pop music like Max Martin, Robin and Abba, everything that's old school Swedish pop I'm very inspired by because that's what I grew up with. So no matter what genre I do, I feel like my melodies will always have that nostalgic Swedish pop sound to it. Pop is always my main genre, but I like to venture out into electronic and more R&B and soul, but definitely very inspired by all the pop queens with Chappell Roan, Sabrina Carpenter and Fletcher.
LUNA: What kind of atmosphere or emotional space do you aim to create for your listeners?
MANDA: I would say uplifting and thought provoking, because a lot of my music can be emotional and very raw and very uncensored and explicit. I don't mind if it ruffles some feathers with some people, because I believe that queer music has to take a lot of space. We deserve to take space, and it should be very raw and unfiltered, just like other mainstream music, but also very free and uplifting.
LUNA: What inspires you to push boundaries within your sound? Are there any specific experiences, artists, or moments that have encouraged you to explore new musical territories?
MANDA: I started performing a lot in Vegas last year, and that definitely opened my eyes to a lot of new genres, because I performed at EDC last year, and I am not really in that rave electronic scene at all, so that was really cool to experience. It got me to listen to a lot more electronic music, and I found a lot of sounds that were really cool just to venture out a little bit from my comfort of just pop and experiment with other sounds and other sub genres.
LUNA: You have released your first single of the year “supermodel” and I love the playfulness and the high energy of the track. What inspired you to create this electro-pop anthem, and what does it represent for you personally and professionally?
MANDA: It's a very confident song and something that I really like to do is just reintroduce myself with every project that I do. I feel like any single, any project I do, tells a new story, and it's always very different from the previous one, and it's honestly been both good and bad. I feel like it's been a curse sometimes, because I feel like I've dabbled in a lot of different genres, and very early on in my career, I had a hard time finding the box that I fit in. Now I feel like it always has a common thread with my queer audience, but I feel that every project is a reintroduction, so that's what I'm excited about. It's just very experimental.
I'm finally releasing the project that's coming to life, because I was performing a lot last year, so my main focus was just performing and not really releasing a lot of stuff. “Supermodel” is the first single of a four single project, and each song takes the listeners through a journey of everything that I've been through the past 10 years. It was originally going to be an EP or an album, but then at the last minute changed my mind, and wanted to do individual singles instead. Because I've been through a lot, I moved from Sweden where I was born and raised and had a career, and then I moved here, all the ups and downs, heartbreak, trauma, love, coming out, all of that and everything in between. “Supermodel” is the first one and it just tells the story of falling in love with a friend and unapologetic queer love. You know when you're just starting to see your friend in a new light and not really caring what anyone else thinks. It's very pop electronic, I would say a little futuristic and nostalgic at the same time. It's something that's more experimental as far as sound than what I've done before.
LUNA: I would love to touch more on the creative process. How did the song evolve from the initial idea to its final version?
MANDA: That’s actually one of the most exciting parts of it. This song was originally written with Dean Mitchell and Dylan Deskin for the Swedish selection of the Eurovision Song Contest. I competed in 2014, and it’s always been a dream of mine to return and perform again on Swedish TV for the Swedish audience and my fans. After being away from the Swedish music scene for so long, I thought this would be an amazing way to reconnect. Ultimately, they didn’t choose me or the song, but I truly believe everything happens for a reason. I knew this song was too good to be left on the shelf, so I decided to make it the first single of my project. As we kept working on it, it became even clearer that it was the perfect choice. We went through several revisions, and it was also my first time collaborating with Dylan, who produced the track. It ended up being an incredible first project together, and he's become a great friend of mine.
LUNA: “Supermodel” explores the dynamics of falling for a close friend—a narrative many in the LGBTQ+ community can relate to. What do you hope listeners, particularly those in the queer community, take away from the song?
MANDA: I just really want this to be just a very joyful song that people can relate to the experience, and even if it's not they’ve fallen for a friend, I feel like people can really relate to that feeling of being so infatuated with someone and feeling like you're putting that person on a pedestal, which is why I'm saying she's my supermodel, because when you have that new first crush, all you see is that person. I hope that people can really relate to that. If they haven't felt hopeful, to feel that it's just a very happy, carefree song to listen to at the gym or when you're driving and having a road trip.
LUNA: Looking ahead, how does “supermodel” set the tone for your future projects, and what can fans expect next from you musically and artistically?
MANDA: We have a really, really fun music video for “supermodel” as well, and that one is just something completely new that I haven't done before. We're going in a more artistic and comedic route, which I haven't really done before, because most of the music videos that I've done before have always been very serious and sensual, and I have a very funny, playful personality. That side is going to be shown more, because I feel like my music, even if it's very explicit, sexy and serious, that's a whole new side I'm going to show so they can expect that. I would say there's two songs that are more carefree, similar to “supermodel,” and then there's a song that shows a lot more vulnerability about something traumatic that I've experienced a few years ago, and I am definitely going to touch more on that when that single comes out. I want this project to show the extreme ups and the extreme lows as well.
LUNA: What’s the most “supermodel” thing you’ve ever done in real life?
MANDA: That's such a good question. I wouldn't say that it's very supermodel, but it just makes me think of my first photo shoot that I ever did when I was 16. I had this feeling that I was going to be the biggest superstar in America. I was in Sweden at the time, but it felt like that's what I'm going to do. I'm going to move to LA, music is what I'm going to do. I booked a photographer. We did a photo shoot. I printed out the photos, and then I made a CD with my songs, and I sent it from Sweden in an envelope to any producer I could find in LA. I don't think it ever actually got to LA because I didn't even ship it correctly, but I think that was my first model moment. I take really cute photos, send them to people in LA, and that's going to be my breakthrough.
LUNA: If you could create an all-star squad of queer music icons (past or present) for a dream collaboration, who’s on the lineup and what’s the vibe of the track?
MANDA: I would love to do a song with LP. LP is a big vocal influence, and her songwriting is just genius. I just love her music and everything she does, even if we have very different genres, I feel like we could do something very vocally incredible. I would love to sing with her, and I would love to be in the studio with her and write with her. We actually have some mutual people that we worked with, so maybe someday that would actually happen. LP would be my top choice, for sure. I love Fletcher. I would love to open up for Fletcher.
LUNA: What’s the best environment to listen to “supermodel” in?
MANDA: With friends. I feel like friends, with someone you love, also someone who might not understand queerness. Some of my songs, like “her ocean,” which I released two years ago and is still my most-streamed track, are very explicit. It actually started as a joke, but people really connected with it. Of course, there are also those who don’t understand it or even find it offensive. But if my music can challenge perspectives—whether by making someone uncomfortable or by helping them better understand the queer experience—then I feel like it’s doing something important. I want both sides, those who love it and those who may not, to be able to listen and engage with my music.
LUNA: How are you feeling in this current era of your career and what does the rest of the year look like that you would like to share with Luna?
MANDA: I feel like I'm basically coming out of a creative slump, where I just didn't create, I didn't have much inspiration. Now we're finally having the first single to come out. I just feel so inspired again, and I haven't felt inspired for a while. I'm super excited to have more music videos coming out, and do more shows. I'm hoping to have more shows in Vegas again. That would be one of my goals this year, so hopefully be on stage more. That's what I really hope for with this new music.
