We caught up with the brilliant and insightful D’Lourdes a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
D’Lourdes, appreciate you joining us today. Has your work ever been misunderstood or mischaracterized?
My entire music career sprouted from a viral mischaracterization, and it became both a blessing and a curse.
“How Did You Get So Good?” was the first song in my debut EP and the first track my friend and I ever tried to produce. It was a long theatrical RnB groove about being in love and lust with someone who turned out “so good” in spite of all the odds stacked against them. It was an odd but charming song to begin with – genre-bendy, theatrical, with atypical structure, and minimally produced (said with love). Even with it’s imperfections, I loved it and was so proud of it.
I posted it on TikTok because, well, that’s what you do when you make music. What ended up going viral was a small sound bite from it, where the music drops out and the lyrics say “fuzzy duck, ducky fuzz, does he f*ck, f*ck he does!” It was as you can see……… the goofiest five seconds you could possibly imagine. That TikTok was viewed over 4 million times within it’s first week of being posted, and became the thing that shot me into (mild) TikTok fame, and earned me a following of over 100k within a month. Numbers that every music artist starting out would dream of.
The reason it comes to mind as a misunderstanding is because that 5 second sound bite ended up defining who I was entirely for anyone who interacted with it, with no context of how the song actually sounded or what kind of artist I was, for almost 2 years. The “fuzzy duck” trend was equally loved as it was hated. For those who loved it, nothing else besides “fuzzy duck” really hit, and for those who hated it, I was written off immediately as “bad and untalented” at best, and met with death threats at worst. For me, the song was a fun and free expression of love and partnership, and the completing and releasing the project was nothing more than a personal goal. It definitely wasn’t something I was prepared to be defined by for the rest of my career. I was aching to be known as a more competent music artist as opposed to (what felt like) an online joke. There were a handful of people that cared for the rest of my discography, but they were extremely few and far between. I knew in my gut that if I didn’t hop off the “fuzzy duck” train, I’d be riding it right into the ground. When I stepped back from the algorithm to focus in on my craft, my numbers dropped significantly, and as much as it hurt, I knew it was absolutely necessary for my mental health and career longevity.
Cut to 3 years later, after months of endless workshopping and flailing and rebranding, I settled into a sound and energy that I had been yearning to find in my career, and I released my debut album, “You Get It or You Don’t” this past May. It’s an alt-pop alt-rock album, and it combines all the genres I love into 11 different tracks as a means of queer, undefined expression.
Because I am shifting away from the algorithm that basically built me, the algorithm is re-shifting my data, and (hopefully) putting me in more ideal viewership than what gave me numbers in the first place, ie…….. starting over. Which is, if I’m being honest, extremely scary. Having had this almost fantastical start at the top and having to go back to basically zero has been tough and at times disheartening. There have been a lot of moments in this process that I feel like a complete failure and a total fluke. What keeps me going is knowing that this project really is ME. Along with improving my quality of production and general skill, this project is something I have no hesitation pushing and standing by. That viral misunderstanding taught me that I have no interest in numbers that are connected to work that I don’t fully believe in. It’s the long game, but I’d much rather feel like myself than just a passing trend. I know the audience that I’m looking for will find me, and when they do, I trust that they’ll understand exactly what D’Lourdes stands for and what kind of artist I’ve been all along.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
My name is D’Lourdes and I am a queer, Filipino-American, alt-pop alt-rock music artist based in Brooklyn, NY. I currently have about 5 million streams and around 130k followers across various platforms. I make my music for eclectic music listeners, the queer community, and anyone else who has felt like the misfit, and finds strength being undefinable – living in “the grey”. I just released my debut album “You Get It or You Don’t” this past May.
For context, I began my music career in 2022 with the release of a self-titled EP. I went through a strangely “successful” but turbulent couple of months after that release, as a song from that debut went viral (“How Did You Get So Good?”) on TikTok. It was admittedly a weird semi-under produced song, being the first logic session my friend and I had ever opened. Though finishing the project itself was a personal accomplishment, for it to get so much attention online was scary, especially when it ended up being pretty divisive amongst listeners and people online. It scared me away creatively for a while as, at the time, I was an underdeveloped artist, with thin skin, lots of insecurity, and little direction.
I ended up moving to NYC in late 2022 and was hugely inspired by the live music scene. For the next couple of years I was flailing and workshopping my artistry, joining every bill that would have me, trying to find the sound that I wanted for my career in these live settings. I was reminded how much I love performing and realized I wanted an album that gave me that same joy and reflected the type of performer I am — brash, fun, unapologetic, honest, sensual, and versatile. Which is what gave me my album – “You Get It or You Don’t”. You can now find my sound at the intersection of Alanis Morrisette, Paramore, and Olivia Rodrigo.
What sets me apart as a music artist is that I believe genre is a mere suggestion, as opposed to law. I make it a point to combine and break genre as much as possible, as a means for unbridled queer expression. I’ve found that it tends to be in total opposition as to how things in the music industry function now, but I think that structure takes away from the whole point of being an artist – to express yourself with tenacity and freedom, and to try new things with no hesitation or boundaries. I find it most important to sound like myself rather than a specific genre, which is both a short term dopamine hit and a long term business choice. I don’t think I would have the ability to do any given genre better than the people who already pioneer them, so why try to fill those boxes when I can be somewhere in between? All of this is in cohesion with my identity as a queer and non-binary POC, which is also not something that is supported by the state of the industry (or this country) at this point. I am a self-sustained independent artist and actor with 7 different side jobs, depending on the month, so I believe it would be a waste of time to not just do whatever I wanted to do in the first place. I believe whole heartedly that the most iconic and timeless thing you can do is be yourself, in spite of what the “marketing” or “algorithm” demands of you. I know that the people who matter most will find me, and those are the people that the title of my album calls in and protects, the one who “gets it”, and maybe that’s you! And if it’s not you, and you don’t get it, that’s ok! It probably wasn’t meant for you, and that’s allowed.
Though I can’t promise anything specific about my work in the future, I know that the heart of D’Lourdes will remain the same – free expression, in spite of it all. And, more than anything, continuously great music (:
I am now in the process of pushing my my new album “You Get It or You Don’t”, available on all streaming platforms. I have already released a handful of music videos on YouTube to accompany the project, as visual storytelling is just as valuable to me as the music is (the theatre actor background is showing). A music video for the first track “One of the Boys” will be coming out in the beginning of August as well – a dive into the demand of gender and silhouettes, and what it means to defy them. Vinyls incoming as well.
I wouldn’t be able to leave this blub without pushing out my most loved art-form: concerts! I will, hopefully, see you there <3 Next shows are: July 20th at Arlene's Grocery in NYC, supporting Mel Bryant and the Mercy Makers Sept 25th HEADLINE at The Sultan's Room in NYC, with Pig Milk and others. Lastly, if you're intrigued by my mention of being an actor, you can find me and my work as my given name: Danielle Troiano (:
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
Prior to pursuing music, I was a full time actor. Ever since I did Annie in middle school, I had decided that musical theatre was my dream career with no other alternative in mind. With typical theatre kid dreams in mind (Broadway and beyond of course), I went to an arts high school in Houston, TX. Cut to Spring 2020, I was graduating from the University of Minnesota/Guthrie BFA Actor Training Program, on track with my dreams and ready to spring into my fully booked post-grad year. I’m sure you already know about the whole 2020-world-stopping-thing and all that good stuff (lol), so I’ll spare you and skip over that bit.
Theatre was finally returning after the thick of quarantine, and I was eager to get back to my acting career. Before the shutdown, I had been extremely frustrated with my work. I was annoyed and exhausted with it, but at the time I wrote it off as burnout, which was true for the most part, having gone through 8 years straight of art school. After that first year of quarantine, I was just excited to be outside again and happily accepted work when it was offered. To my surprise, my first job back didn’t give me the joy I was anticipating. I still felt stilted and oddly pessimistic about the process, and I wasn’t as disciplined or dedicated as I remembered myself to be. I again, wrote it off as just a phase. I did about 5 more jobs, completely ignoring how each job was making me feel, following the plan, figuring the angst would eventually pass.
In early 2022, I got a short contract in NYC that I now coin as my breaking point. I say this with nothing but love to the team and production, but I began to truly hate what I was doing. I felt caged in. I remember the exact moment my spirit couldn’t come back from – a moment in rehearsal where I was asked explicitly not to follow my instincts, for the sake of the show. Something about that broke me. It was like realizing I wasn’t in love with a partner anymore and could no longer compromise for the relationship, which in a sense, it was exactly that. Who I was no longer felt in alignment with the dreams I had set for myself. In the following months, I ditched NYC, slept on my friends couches in Minneapolis and Chicago, and committed to finishing my EP in an attempt to take back my autonomy. I retell it all with clarity now, but at the time I had no idea what the f*ck I was doing besides running, and doing what felt right. Alongside my good friend and co-collaborator Mark, we finished the EP.
In the couple years to follow, I slowly but surely fully pivoted my passion and found music. I moved back to NYC. I let my dreams change. I began to take risks that I wanted, express myself how I wanted, and create without permission. Even when the music was bad and the money was even worse, I knew I was living the life and career I truly wanted. To be clear, the acting never stopped – rather, I prioritized my authenticity and happiness above my pre-determined career. I came to terms with my gender identity and sexuality. I made a choice to only do jobs that meant something to me (or pay the bills, as it goes). I was lucky enough to get called in to audition for Here Lies Love on Broadway, and though I made it to the finals, I didn’t get the job. Though I was devastated, I refocused back in to music. Because I made that choice, I had one of the best seasons of my life, meeting people that now mean the world to me, and making music that remains with me and will continue to. Months after the initial rejection, I got an email offering a position as a vacation swing, and made my Broadway debut in the first all Filipino cast on Broadway. The things I wanted came to me after I fully let them go.
When making these pivots, there was never the active thought of “having to pivot.” In the moment, each pivot felt like a failure. Like many, I was a victim of the sunken cost fallacy, doubling down on something I wasn’t connecting to anymore, because I had spent so much time and effort on it already. Why would I try and change it? The answer was and remains annoyingly simple – it didn’t feel right anymore. My pivots were a knee-jerk to long painful seasons, and though these seasons still happen, learning to listen to my gut and heart along the way have now allowed me to pivot with autonomy and intention when something needs to shift. My journey has taught me that when you put your energy towards the things that light you up, that you believe in, you don’t need to worry about the road ahead. The universe will do all that for you, as long as you do your part.
Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?
I always want non-creatives to know that if I COULD do a non-creative career, I absolutely would.
That’s not to say I don’t have the ability to do non-creatives jobs, as I’m extremely competent in most positions, but if the position I’m in takes away from my creative energy or asks for priority over my creative goals, I have to drop it. It’s not like jobs are something I can avoid either, as I am constantly on some weird side quest to make ends meet (substitute teacher, legal assistant, painter, delivery driver, babysitter, PA, just to name a few). The few times I held long term jobs, I felt my spirit shrivel, and though the money was better, I knew that it would lead me to a dead end of “what if’s” and “if only’s” and the consequences of those feel much more dire to me than losing a bit of comfort in my daily life. My spirit just won’t let it happen.
I always joke that I wish I wasn’t actually a creative because the life I lead is totally unreliable, chaotic, and inconsistent and something I don’t recommend lightly, as stress can and has killed people. As I’ve gotten older, I have found more work-life balance, and I’ve learned not to let my creative obsession put my physical, mental, or financial stability at risk, but that’s after lots of trial and error. I literally refused to take a break until I got hit by a car and broke my leg (I’m actually being so serious hahaha).
I do realize as I’m typing this that I probably seem super insane and crazy to a non-creative, but creativity is my life force. It’s what gives me my purpose and my joy. It’s what makes me feel the most at home. I want to make it clear that there’s no “right” way to live, especially under capitalism and all that jazz, but I want people to know that though my life isn’t glamorous all the time, I experience the satisfaction of success in the way I protect myself, my health, and my creativity.
The best advice I’ve ever gotten: “Don’t have a fall back plan, because it will only inspire you to fall back”
Yes, I am delusional! I think that’s ok. Someone has to be (:
Contact Info:
- Website: https://onthedlourdes.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/onthedlourdes/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DLOURDESmusic/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@dlourdesmusic
- Other: TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@iamdlourdes
Image Credits
Camille Duval
Joseph O’Malley