In the ever-evolving landscape of pop music, artists often find themselves at the crossroads of reinvention and authenticity. Peach PRC, the vibrantly pink Australian pop sensation who found her fanbase through social media, is currently navigating this intersection with a bold and introspective approach, shedding not only some of her signature physical features, but also embracing a newfound artistic freedom.
In an exclusive interview with Rolling Stone AU/NZ, Peach speaks about her personal and creative transformation as she prepares for her highly anticipated performance at the Australian Open Finals Festival Pride Day.
“I feel like… I don’t know, I just am wanting to change everything,” the singer-songwriter shares about her decision to dye her signature pink hair a dark brunette, as well as laser her tattoos off – a process she describes as both painful and liberating. “I’m like, okay, I’ve done that and I don’t feel like it aligns anymore. It’s unfortunate that tattoos just happen to be something so permanent, but I’m like, whatever, I want them off.”
Peach acknowledges the recognition she has received for her distinctive appearance has, at times, made it challenging to maintain a private life while having a dedicated online fanbase. Reflecting on her recent changes, she admits that it may subconsciously stem from an occasional desire for anonymity.
“It has been nice that the last couple of weeks I’ve not been recognised as much,” she admits. “I don’t mean to make it sound like it’s a negative thing, but it is nice to have some sort of anonymity sometimes.”
View this post on Instagram
After announcing that she was a lesbian during promo on social media for her song, “God Is a Freak”, two years ago, Peach instantly made headlines across news outlets about her sexuality. To this day, she doesn’t regret the decision about coming out that way.
“I haven’t ever regretted it. I think sharing so much leading up to that was helpful for me to realise it sooner, and it’s been really lovely being part of a new, for me I guess, section of the community and I don’t regret that at all.”
Peach concedes things are a lot more private in her life these days, and although she still regularly posts to social media, maintaining a massive fan base across TikTok and Instagram especially, her posts are more considered than they have been at times in the past.
“It’s nice learning to not just blurt everything out all the time and share every single piece of me,” she smiles. “I guess it just comes with growth and age and stuff like that as well, though.”
In terms of her musical evolution, Peach confesses feeling somewhat confined by the image she initially created. Now, she is exploring a more authentic and varied sound, breaking free from the constraints of being a brand and embracing the fluidity of her artistic expression.
“When I started this whole project, it was very authentic to me and I just wanted to be loud and bright and pink and bubbly and do this really fun super maximalist pop,” she explains. “Then after a while I was like, okay, I’ve done that and now I want to do other stuff. But I felt like I’d boxed myself into this one category and this one thing, and I was like, oh shit, I can’t really do anything else now.
“I’m writing all these really heartfelt songs that are really meaningful to me, but I’m just making this really bubblegum pop music and I’m like, no, I have to do this,” she continues. “So I’m just giving that a go and being whatever, instead of trying to be a brand, I’m just going to let whatever happens happen.”
View this post on Instagram
A big part of it, Peach says, has been previously feeling the need to sacrifice lyrics for the sake of catchy, fun pop songs.
“I think because lyrics are something I love so much, but I have to take away some things that I think are clever and cool and heartfelt,” she says. “Now I just want to leave them in and make music that I enjoy writing. I mean, I enjoy all the music I’ve made, but I think focusing more on telling stories and what I like to do, which is writing lyrics.”
Looking ahead to this week’s performance at the Australian Open, Peach assures fans that while her image may have evolved, the essence of her whimsical and fantastical live shows will remain intact, and she is just as involved with the creative direction of her live shows as she has always been.
“The whimsical fairy thing is still authentic to me, I still love that, but it might not be exclusively pink and it’ll be a bit more variety – but it’ll still be a fantasy whimsical little show that I love putting on,” she reveals. “I think I’m a bit of a control freak and I have such a creative vision that I’m like, I need it to be the way I want it to be, and it’s because I want people to enjoy it the way that I’m enjoying it and the way I’m seeing it. I want them to be a part of what’s in my head. So I think that’ll always be what I do.”
One of the first discussions Peach had with her team “three or four years ago”, she reveals, was bringing a pole into her stage show to incorporate her former life as a dancer. It has only been at recent events this idea has been brought to life, quickly becoming one of the more fun elements of her performances.
“I’ve always wanted to pay homage to that era; a lot of what inspired some of these songs was my years dancing, and I really tried to keep that part hidden for a long time,” she says. “I was really ashamed, and I think now it’s something I embrace as whatever – it was part of what I did and part of who I am. I’m not any more or less because of it.”
Along with the pole, Peach will be bringing her band and full complement of dancers to Melbourne for her Australian Open performance, planning to step it up from her appearance at last year’s WorldPride celebrations in Sydney.
She also has her latest single, the unapologetic lesbian pop anthem “Like a Girl Does”, to perform – and expects the crowd participation to be unparalleled.
“I’ve done it at only festivals so far, which is the best place to do it because it’s just such an upbeat party song and I love how into it the crowd gets,” she says. “Even if you haven’t heard the song before, it has such a fun beat that it doesn’t really matter, you can still jump around and sing along and there’s not a whole lot of lyrics to learn, so it’s a really fun one to do live.”
Peach PRC will join AO’s 2024 Pride Ambassador Tash Sultana, Yaeji, Anesu, Djanaba and DJ Luv You at the AO Pride Day this Thursday, January 25th as part of the Australian Open Finals Festival at Melbourne’s John Cain Arena. Along with musical performances, the event will feature a Pride Hub, roaming Drag Kings & Queens, Rainbow Rollerskaters, Glam Stations and more in a massive celebration of authenticity and inclusivity. Tickets are available here.
