Bibi Bourelly Chats Her Newest Single “Sally,” Alicia Keys, and Becoming a Solo Artist
By: DeeDee Durkan and Lauren Wesseln
Photo: @praymoses
Singer Bibi Bourelly is candid in sharing her success breaking into the music industry, collaborating with some of music’s hottest artists, and starting her solo career. Despite her increasing fame, throughout our conversation Bibi’s speech remained unfiltered and her sincerity made us feel more like we were reuniting with an old friend rather than a rising star.
At just 21 years old, Bibi’s career rivals songwriters and solo artists who have vied for her achievement longer than she’s been writing songs. Her last single, “Ego,” marked a successful transition from songwriter to solo artist, as she left fans anticipating more. Her newest single, “Sally,” is now available on iTunes, SloudCloud, and Spotify—and it’s incredible.
In an over the phone interview Bibi Bourelly took the time answer our questions, follow us on Instagram (crazy, right?), and even sang a few words of Alicia Key’s song “Fallin’” while describing their collaboration, in a story she divulged “nobody knows, and you guys are the only ones that get the story.”
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HC: We are so excited about your new single, “Sally”, which is released today! How are you planning on celebrating?
BB: “I don’t know, man I celebrate every f***ing day, like I don’t what the difference would be today.”
On breaking into the music industry:
HC: Your career is so impressive, especially considering you are only 21 years old. How did you break into the music industry?
BB: “Well I f***ing don’t know, it all happened accidentally. I just started f***ing creating songs and people liked them, word of mouth I guess, and the whole Kayne story. Ye introduced me to Rihanna, I got lucky enough to score a meeting with Kayne West, and Kayne West was working on her album at the time.”
On working with Kayne and Rihanna :
HC: Rihanna sang your hit “Bitch Better Have My Money,” and Kayne worked as an executive producer. What was it like working with Rihanna and Kayne?
BB: “Dope, it was sick, it was fucking cool. I learned a lot, you know what I mean. It was nerve racking and interesting. I felt honored to see the process of people who have been so successful prior to me existing.”
On one of her most memorable collaborations:
HC: Which artists in the music industry inspire you?
BB: “I remember going in with Alicia Keys and it was the craziest experience because I got to sit down with [her] and she was on the piano, and nobody else was in the room and I was singing and she was playing piano. And we were writing our lyrics down on paper, we were collaborating like that it was really organic and truthful. And sh** was the illest f***ing sh** ever, I mean that’s the one that wrote “I keep on falling…” It was so crazy to even f***ing be there.”
On what motivates her music:
HC: What inspires you to create such honest musical artistry?
BB: “I do this because I want to inspire people and move us as a generation. I want to put out things that help people get through the night, because that’s what music did for me.”
On staying authentic and honest:
HC: How are you always so candid and truthful in your music?
BB: “My desire is to connect with people, I don’t do this sh** to be famous.”
On creating her own album and going on tour:
HC: A lot of songwriters are also breaking into their own successful careers as solo artists. You were featured in Usher’s song “Chains.” Your single “Ego” was extremely successful. Do you plan on ultimately creating your own album or going on tour?
BB: “Yeah I’m going on tour! It’s going to happen.”
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