by Zach Collier
Photos By Clark Clifford // Hair & Makeup: Amy Morgan Davis // Photo Assistant: Ivan Martinez
"What’s going to be the most fun?" That question lies at the heart of most decisions BIZZY makes, and her new music reflects that in a profound way.
I’d just finished my last floral arrangement when an unfamiliar car pulled up in front of the photo studio. The back doors opened, and out stepped the unmistakable figure of BIZZY, suitcase in tow. Tall, confident, and vibrant, she strode into the space with the unfettered optimism and infectious enthusiasm that left such an impression on me when we first met last summer.
They’d Ubered into town from Salt Lake City after their show the night before with Rachel Chinouriri. Before setting up shop and locking in for a whirlwind day, we decided to take a walk and grab some mixed sodas – arguably the most “When in Rome” thing you can do around these parts.
It was a hot day but a short walk. With the sun overhead, I headed north along University Avenue through the heart of downtown with BIZZY and her creative director Lexi Schmelzer. It was during this walk that we talked about how empowering it’s been to be on a tour with all female-fronted acts.
“It has been such an amazing experience!” BIZZY exclaimed. She’d just played her eighth date with Rachel Chinouriri and Alemeda. “I think my favorite memories are in the green rooms right before our shows. There’s a buzz backstage that is like nothing else."
"Everyone’s running around doing makeup, practicing vocals and guitar, and there’s such a team mentality. It’s like, ‘OK, yeah, we got this! We’re all gonna go out there and have fun and crush it together.’”
BIZZY had toured before with male headliners, and while she loved those tours, this one simply hit different. “It really bonds you in such a special way,” she said.
As one of the larger tours BIZZY has ever been a part of, I wondered if the energy and size of the shows was impacting her songwriting at all. The climax of her latest single, “I Really Like This Part,” is the shout-heavy bridge before the down-chorus. It feels like it was made to be screamed along to by a room.
“I wouldn’t say touring has influenced it so much as thinking about what I’d want to do if I were listening to my music as a fan,” she answered. “I write completely from an internal perspective and just follow my instincts – and that usually leads me to ask, ‘What’s going to be the most fun?’"
"That’s how I landed on the big chorus. It also naturally follows the emotional progression of the story. It builds slowly, like love does – and then it explodes like fireworks.”
Fireworks is an accurate description of the song. “I Really Like This Part” is a colorful, giddy synth-pop love letter to the first rush of romance. There’s a moment – sometime after the first electric glance but before the first big fight – when new love feels so powerful it could light up the night sky and cause people to look on in wonder.
That’s not to say the song is all flashes and bangs. In fact, this song is slightly more subdued and introspective than any of her recent singles.
“How did a softer approach in the verses help you tap into the emotion of new, hopeful love?” I asked sometime after Lexi told us she once tried to make a homemade mixed soda with disastrous results.
“I love this question,” BIZZY replied. “I think I was able to tap into that softer, more fragile kind of love because that’s exactly what I was going through at the time. I was falling in love – and it was right at the very beginning, before you’re fully in it. You’re just starting to get to know this person, and everything they do feels like magic. I was able to capture that feeling in this song, which is why it’s one of my favorites.”
The fact that this song is one of BIZZY’s favorites is saying something. Her past work is notable. The Maryland-born, Nashville-based alt-pop songwriter is riding high on a groundswell that’s impossible to ignore with songs that swing from gut-punch heartbreak to savage punchlines that will make you laugh mid-cry. Her breakout moment, the viral “Anybody,” turned a TikTok snippet into 14 million streams.
By this point we were back at the studio for hair and makeup. It was during that time I was able to shoot the breeze with Lexi about the pair’s recent social media campaign, Bizflix. Lexi and BIZZY have created a fun series of vignettes that imagines each one of BIZZY’s latest singles as “seasons” of a streaming series.
“My mind works in movies,” BIZZY explained. “When I’m writing songs, I’m always seeing a movie scene in my head. So I love coming up with music videos.”
But BIZZY faced a problem early on in the development of this idea: given the world’s current obsession with shortform content, she was having difficulty figuring out a way to keep the integrity of the storylines she loved intact while still having it be digestible to fans. “I went into my sister's room one day talking about this; how music videos are shifting, and how short content is in, and blah blah blah… and she was like, ‘Well why don’t you just cut the music video up into episodes?’ Then we just kind of ran off that idea. I got Lexi involved, and we all cooked up Bizflix!”
Outside of her own niche streaming service, if BIZZY had her way, “I Really Like This Part” would get placed on The Summer I Turned Pretty. “That show perfectly encapsulates the progression of falling in love,” she told me.
One thing I loved about working with BIZZY for a day was seeing just how prolific and enthusiastic she was as a creator across the board – from pouring herself into her songwriting to being genuinely stoked to shoot a TikTok video in the alley behind the studio. To keep that energy up, BIZZY has conditioned herself to constantly think about long-term plays.
“I try to always focus on the vision and on how I want the end product to look,” she said. “That allows me to give the current situation all the energy it needs, no matter how tired I am.”
But to say that BIZZY has unlimited energy isn’t accurate. She’s human, after all. Instead, she has the interesting ability to apply proper amounts of energy to any given task. This talent also applied to the Mozz Pizza we devoured in the parking lot after the shoot. Instead of the Energizer Bunny I’d worked with all day, BIZZY became serene – Zen-like. A perfect (and almost reverent) amount of energy for the situation.
To be honest, I think we all felt that way. Was the pizza melty? Or did we melt into the pizza? Regardless, that dinner felt like coming home after a long day out.
There’s something beautiful about sharing a meal with new friends, especially under the shadow of the Rockies. I think after pouring 100% of ourselves into the day, everybody was able to simply let go and enjoy a bit of unbridled joy.
“Unbridled joy is such a beautiful way to put it,” BIZZY said. When I asked her what made her feel the most carefree, she replied: “Mine are going to sound cliche, but it’s the truth. Overall I’d say nature, my family, and my friends. But when it comes to more music-focused things, I would say freedom and no deadlines. Which is tough in this industry.”
She laughed.
“I thrive most when I can just play and not stress about guidelines.”
In BIZZY’s personal value hierarchy, it would seem that joy outranks achievement. She doesn’t accomplish things just to say she did it. She’s driven to achieve because achievement is another avenue for joy – both for herself, and for others.
“I just hope fans have a night to look back on where they had FUN,” she said when reflecting about her tour. “There are so many things I could say about what I want people to think about my music or of my performance, but really all I want is for people to be able to just let go of the heaviness of life for an hour and DANCE.”
If you’ve ever wanted to freeze time at the beginning of something beautiful, BIZZY and her music captures that desire. In the end, spending a day with BIZZY felt like standing at the spark of something bright and boundless – a reminder that music, like new love, is at its best when it’s honest, a little reckless, and full of wide-eyed wonder.
“I Really Like This Part” is out now. Make sure to follow BIZZY on Intagram. You can stream the new single here.
