If you know me, you know I live for a good pop star—and my friend, S4BRINA, is one of my absolute favorites. Her sound is fresh, her aesthetic is iconic, and her artistry is something truly special. From her early days experimenting with music to becoming a fully realized solo act, she’s carved out a lane that’s uniquely hers.

In our conversation, S4BRINA opens up about her creative process, the inspirations behind her music, and what it means to stay authentic in an industry that thrives on reinvention. She also teases what’s next (yes, new music is on the way!), shares her dream collab, and even reveals her go-to song that defines her journey so far.

So, without further ado—let’s dive into my chat with the one and only S4BRINA! Don’t forget to follow her and keep up with her on everything else here.

DL: My love, and one of my favorite pop stars EVER! How are you? 

S: David! It’s so lovely to be answering your questions, I love, love, love your blog. I’m doing great! Struggling to type with these nails, but alas, here we are.

DL: I’ve been following you for a while now, but for people who might be new around here, can you tell me a little bit about how you got into music?

S: I’ve been releasing solo music for about 3 years now, used to lightly experiment and mess around with production a few years before actually taking it seriously, though. Wasn’t good, dropped it for a while, then got back into it late 2021 and began releasing goofy music along with two of my friends in a girl group we formed. When I left this girl-group, I thought it was time maybe I became a solo project that I took less lightly.

DL: Can you walk us through your songwriting process? Is it a structured routine, or does inspiration strike randomly?

S: For some reason I have dropped the habit of entirely writing, a good portion of my songs are freestyled now. Later I put it down on my notes and tweak some words or phrases. But I don’t think I’ve formally written a song of mine for a good while now, (which will definitely change soon). I just say whatever comes to my mind first – whether it’s a scene I play out in my head or an experience, I just go off of that.

DL: What’s the most unexpected place or moment where you’ve found inspiration for a song?

S: Going to bed, definitely. Many times, I’ve found myself on the verge of falling asleep but immediately having a melody or a short hook randomly pop up in my head. Most of the time I forget by the time I wake up; it’s a 50/50 chance something will come out of it.

DL: I think my favorite song of yours is ‘Like A Princess,’ it’s just the best. Do you have a favorite song you’ve written so far?

S: Thanks! I think it’s constantly changing with every song I make. Every time I finish a new track it’s just like, “wow, this might be my best song yet. I’ll never make anything like this ever again.” But then I do. It’s a vicious cycle.

DL: You’ve collaborated with a lot of artists, writing and recording wise. Who has been the funnest to work with so far?

S: There’s many. My girl-friends mainly, like bbykocaine, or Rina Whorgan, or Valiah Avained. I guess since we’re so close in a personal sense the process is always very laid back and fun, there’s no pressure to perfection. We always get tons of laughs from just messing around with sound effects and experimenting with sounds. I love them to death.

DL: In a world where everyone’s trying to stand out, what does being “authentic” mean to you as an artist?

S: Good question! I think authenticity is not gripping to the version of you everybody else wants to be, it also applies to people portraying a character in the music industry. Yes, your music does become a marketable product, however – a marketable product has to be something new that the audience will be fully interested in. When you see artists in mainstream media putting out projects that are pretty much the same, it quickly becomes overdone and untrue. You hear stories of labels and big corporations forcing artists to stick to a specific plan, image and sound, which is very wrong in my opinion.

DL: You have such a unique style—musically and aesthetically. Do you have anyone that influences your creative vision?

S: It’s taken many different forms of media analysis to form inspiration and fully craft my own style and sound, I think as of late my inspirations and influences simply stem from whatever artists and music I’m listening to or whatever style I’m into at the moment, mainly my Pinterest boards.

DL: Do you ever feel pressure to follow trends, or do you focus on creating your own lane?

S: I like a bit of both worlds; I think trying out whatever’s fresh or trending can teach you tons of new things and techniques which can later be incorporated into original work that’s more of your own.

DL: What advice would you give to someone who’s struggling to stay true to themselves while chasing their dreams?

S: Ignore all outside negativity, everything is energy and when you choose to pour only positive energy of your own into the dreams you’re following, you’ll end up with something very special and true to you, then nothing and nobody from the exterior can come in between it and make you second-guess or make you feel like you’re struggling.

DL: What’s your favorite part of being in the studio—writing, recording, experimenting, or collaborating?

S: Definitely producing over everything else, I love making beats, it’s fun to come up with new rhythms and melodies. Lately I’ve been very into incorporating acoustic instruments into my overall production, it’s been very interesting to experiment with that aspect.

DL: What’s the most iconic moment in pop culture that has influenced you?

S: I don’t consume much pop culture these days, therefore can’t name any specific moments off the top of my head. But if it counts, I can definitely say Pamela Anderson has been a huge influence in my public and personal life lately. I admire that woman and aspire to adopt her resilience and strength. She’s a pop culture icon, it counts, right?

DL: If you could pick one of your songs to define your journey so far, which would it be and why?

S: ‘BOTTLE GiRL’ off of my project ‘Sweet Rhythm’. It’s very close to a sound I really enjoy working with, it’s very melodic and minimalistic, which is what I like to do sometimes when I’m so done with over-saturated music. I really love that track.

DL: If you could create a dream collaboration with any artist (living or not), who would it be, and what kind of song would you make?

S: It’d be pretty sick to have a song with Hatsune Miku, probably very niche to most of my audience but I think it’d be an opportunity to lean more into a completely unexpected direction, like, who would’ve guessed Sabrina would release a track with a singing anime girl machine?

DL: What’s your ultimate dream as a pop artist?

S: Success and recognition from all the hard work I place into my craft, I was pretty much born with a microphone in hand, music is my calling and I don’t see myself partaking in anything different. I feel like I offer something for everyone with every release, and I hope it’s widely recognized and cherished. That’s the ultimate dream.

DL: What can the world expect next from S4BRINA?

S: She’s going to be going with the flow, a new pop album incoming. There’s already a whole aesthetic envisioned and released plan. Just give her some time to cook, perfection takes hard work and dedication.