Q&A: Sophia Dashing and Manda Malina Release Sultry Single “Raindrops (On Your Pillow)”
QUEER POP SENSATIONS – Sophia Dashing and Manda Malina are setting the stage ablaze with their new collaborative single, "Raindrops (On Your Pillow)." This sultry, mood-driven track seamlessly blends the emotional intensity of contemporary R&B with the infectious beats of both 2000s and modern pop. It pays homage to the iconic sound of legendary girl groups like Destiny's Child and Danity Kane, while adding a unique twist that makes the song feel both nostalgic and refreshing.
The two artists first connected on TikTok, where their shared love for music and songwriting led to an instant creative spark. Dashing and Malina, both queer women navigating a predominantly heterosexual industry, found common ground in their experiences. This bond is evident in their debut duet, where they merge their individual styles into a seductive anthem exploring themes of intimacy, vulnerability and desire.
"Raindrops (On Your Pillow)" features lush production and evocative lyrics that are underscored by rich vocal harmonies, offering listeners a captivating blend of soulful melodies and modern pop rhythms. The track’s emotional depth and infectious groove draw heavily from the legacy of girl vocal groups, yet the duo brings a fresh, contemporary edge to the song that reflects their own distinct voices and vision.
“Given the song’s queer WLW vibes, I was dedicated to ensuring that the lyrics and structure authentically represented those experiences and conveyed genuine flirtatiousness,” says producer Jayce Cantor.
“Raindrops (On Your Pillow)" blends Malina’s smooth, emotionally charged vocals with Dashing’s more upbeat, groove-oriented delivery, resulting in a compelling contrast that captures the song’s themes of intimacy and longing. The lush production wraps their voices in layers of atmospheric beats, while the evocative lyrics explore vulnerability, desire, and the ache of being close but not close enough.
“Raindrops (On Your Pillow)" not only highlights their vocal prowess but also their ability to craft music that feels timeless yet contemporary. By channeling influences from iconic girl groups while adding a fresh, modern twist, Dashing and Malina create a sound that is nostalgic but undeniably forward-thinking.
Photography Credit: Angel Rivera
LUNA: Thank you for sitting down and talking to Luna again, it’s an absolute pleasure to have you back since your “Does Love Have to Be This Way” single release. I would love to catch up and see how life has been treating you since then and what you’ve been up to?
SOPHIA: Life has been amazing. I literally just moved to Los Angeles on a whim. I've known I've wanted to be here since I was a little girl and I've known that with my music career, that this was really the next step that I wanted to take. It was really just a matter of time. It was amazing because with the “Raindrops” shoot, I flew up to Los Angeles to shoot it with Manda, and me being there, I was like, ‘you know what? I need to be here now.’ I don't need to wait anymore. I know that I love music. I know that that's my passion, so let's just go for it. I made it happen within a matter of two months and flew out here. It's been amazing. I'm so happy to be here. I am working on my next single and EP that's in the works right now, so it's going to be great to start performing out here as well.
LUNA: Your music is often described as confessional and intimate, yet also empowering. What kind of atmosphere or emotional space do you aim to create for your listeners when they hear your songs?
SOPHIA: I think my biggest goal always is to connect with my audience, and how I choose to do that is just by being honest within my songwriting. I'll listen to music and be like, ‘oh my god, I literally feel that way right now.’ The only reason that I feel that emotion is because they chose to be honest with their songwriting, so I can't help but to not be honest when I write music. I feel like anytime, even with the verse in “Raindrops,” it was from an honest standpoint of something that I felt and went through. I think as long as you're being authentic to yourself, that connectivity aspect will always be there. I really strive to have that so that when listeners hear my music, they can feel that honest approach and authenticity.
LUNA: Are there specific moods or themes you find yourself gravitating towards when writing and performing? How do you channel these into your music?
SOPHIA: Honestly, I love to perform upbeat stuff, just because it's so fun. I feel like you come most alive on stage, but then again, I feel like when I perform my slower tempo, R&B ballads, you really get in that sensual space. It's kind of a toss up. I really love it all. It's really hard to choose, but if I had to choose, I really enjoy the uptempo, fun, club-inspired music. I love to dance, so I love to show that in my performances and really get the crowd excited.
LUNA: You just released your latest single “Raindrops (On Your Pillow),” which has a deep sense of vulnerability but also is an ode to so many iconic girl groups of the 2000s. Can you share the inspiration behind the single and what it represents for you?
MANDA: I was home alone and I was just wanting to write something. It was raining outside and I just thought that this is the mood of just laying in bed with my spouse and being intimate with someone you really care about. Jayce Cantor, our producer, I've been working with him twice before, and I was like, ‘oh my god, I just know that I have to write something really cool to his track and he can build it more.’ I just started writing the chorus idea, and then I got a vibe of it feeling like a girl group song. It felt like another female artist needed to come on the track and make it better, so that's when I brought Sophia along. It's been a really fun journey to finish it.
LUNA: How did your collaboration come about? Could you share a bit about how you two first met and decided to work together?
SOPHIA: Honestly, it was pretty natural. I think the independent artist community is big. On Tiktok, the people that really are posting and using the hashtags, I feel like you start to find each other and you connect. That's how Jayce found Manda. It was this natural thing. We were both heavily posting a lot with our own music and promoting and I think it was just a matter of time where we were both commenting and liking each other’s stuff. I remember Manda messaged me, and she was like, ‘would you be open to hearing some tracks and hearing what I'm working on? Maybe we could do something.’ It was very natural. I was listening to her music and really liked that she was doing her own thing. Female artists should really stick together, and especially being independent, it's pretty difficult.
LUNA: Why do you love “Raindrops (On Your Pillow)”? Are there any particular moments or lyrics in the song that hold a special significance to you and why?
SOPHIA: I love all the harmonies we added, and that's really props to the producer, Jayce. He was so heavily involved with the vocal production as well. I'm just a sucker for harmonies. I just love it. I think, flood the song with it. It's music to my ears. I love all the harmonies on this track. I love how it’s a lustful pop song. It's very bubblegum pop, but sensual. It touches on all the divine femininity feelings that a cute pop lustful song would have. I just love the emotion of it. I love that you press play, even if you don't really know what we're talking about, you can have a little groove too.
MANDA: I agree with you, Sophia, it's definitely the vocal production that is my favorite. I'm a singer, right? But it's different to be a vocal producer than to be a singer. Jayce is just so incredible at that, so he definitely guided us in how to build it to where it is. All of these layers of harmonies is not something I could have done without him. That's definitely my favorite. We should do an acapella version too, so everybody can hear all the layers because they're really great.
LUNA: What messages, emotions or story do you hope your listeners can take away from the single?
MANDA: I feel like it's a feel good song. I want people to just want to lay down with your special someone and have a great time. For me, it's like one of those songs where you’re alone at night and you can smoke a joint and listen to it. That's what I want. At the end of the day too, we're both queer women, and I think it's so powerful to be able to do a song that's about queer love from a queer woman's perspective. I hope it will resonate with the queer audience.
SOPHIA: Yes, very much. I really hope the LGBTQ+ audience treasures it and loves it. For me when I hear this song, what comes to mind is those TikToks where people are pretending to be a popstar in their room at 2 a.m. I feel like it's a song where it takes you back into the early 2000s and it's very y2k nostalgia. It's like suddenly you're Britney and you're just performing and dancing in your room and having fun. It gives me that, because every time I listen to it, I’m dancing in my room and having fun. I know I've been saying it so much, but it's just such a fun song. I just hope people dance and feel good, have a smile on their face, and just vibe out, and what Manda said, if you want to be with your lover and have a little sesh.
LUNA: Both of you have a strong queer advocacy presence in your music. How does this aspect of your artistry influence the way you create and perform your work?
SOPHIA: I think inclusivity is everything. I think about when I go to the gay clubs, the music that I'm hearing, the music that makes me feel good in the club, and music that makes me want to dance, the pop stars that you see in the gay clubs that are just embracing themselves to the fullest, embracing sexuality and their femininity. It's inspiring to see that. I think any girl anthem like this, where we're just embracing our sexuality, that's everything and it inspires others to do the same. That was a big key aspect for me.
MANDA: I cater everything I do to the queer community. I came out as gay pretty late in life compared to others. I really felt like I found my sense of purpose as an artist when I came out. I make music for the queers, that's all I do. I get inspired by other queer musicians as well.
LUNA: How do you envision the future of queer representation in music, and how do you see yourselves contributing to that vision?
SOPHIA: I think collaboration is key. Just us joining forces, like Manda said earlier, having this representation of two queer artists coming together, making this bop for other queer people or queer audiences to enjoy, is everything. I think collaboration, connection, like all of those things where you can come together and spread this message of embracing who you are in your sexuality, that's everything.
MANDA: Now the music industry has shifted a lot in the past few years. Even just seeing how big Kim Petras is and how mainstream she is is such a big thing for the queer community. I think that we're definitely moving towards being more mainstream versus just queer artists. There's so many queer artists on the radio right now which I think is really powerful
LUNA: What advice would you give to other creatives who are considering or currently pursuing an independent path? What are the key things they should focus on to succeed?
SOPHIA: I would just say authenticity is everything. I put myself out there because that's how people see you and they're able to connect and hear your story. I think being you is everything. Don't be afraid of showing who you are and your story, because that could matter to somebody that's watching it. I think any other artist that's starting out, your story is 100% valid. There is a reason why you feel your art should be out there. Shine your light and show who you are because that's everything and it could inspire the next artist to come.
MANDA: I agree with Sophia, for sure, and I think that it's important to not try to go after the trends either, and that obviously goes hand-in-hand with just being authentic to who you are. I think that's very easy to do, especially if you are independent and you're trying to make it, which can be really, really hard, is to not try to just move on what’s trending right now. Stay true to who you are. For me, I've been signed with a label, and I prefer to be independent, because you have so much freedom. I would say to anyone, just try to stay independent for as long as possible. It's hard in many ways, but you also have this freedom that you don't have if you're with a label. Stay indie for as long as possible.
LUNA: How are you feeling in this current era of your career and what does the rest of the year look like for you that you would love to share with Luna?
SOPHIA: I feel really hopeful and excited. I feel like a fire is lit under my ass right now of opportunity, just with being in my dream city, and LA is just so fruitful music industry-wise. It's a blessing to be here and also have other artists in the community in LA that I'm inspired by and just feeling that energy. It's electrifying. It's really, really exciting to be on the West Coast now. For me, being an independent artist in Atlanta, I truly felt like I'm doing as much as I can here, so it's exciting to get to the next level of things and put myself out, being in LA and performing in the city and things like that. I just feel really excited, and I'm just looking forward to new beginnings.
MANDA: I'm gonna go to Sweden in October, so I'm taking a little bit of a vacation because I've been performing a lot this year. I just wrapped up a residency in Las Vegas. I feel like, obviously this release aside, I'm going to take a little bit of a break and be more in the studio and write and recharge for 2025. I'm so excited to promote “Raindrops” and be performing. I feel like this is just such a fun song to wrap up the summer. We've been so busy doing our thing and I'm so excited for everyone to hear it.
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