Mad Tsai is in his element. The Gen Z pop sensation came on the scene during COVID, when a new generation of TikTokers started releasing pop hits from their bedrooms. Since that time, the LA-based singer has only grown in popularity, with singles like the coming-out anthem “Boy Bi” and the Interview with the Vampire-tinged “Bite.” INTO caught up with Tsai to talk about his favorite film soundtracks, introversion, and why Gen Z is the most resilient generation.
INTO: I really like the posters in your background. Does it say F*ck Forever?
Mad Tsai: Yeah, it’s the Sex Pistols album.
Awesome. Happy Pride Month!
Culture, unfiltered
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Happy Pride Month!
It’s obviously a more stressful Pride Month than usual, because this country is stupid and sucks.
Yeah, everything’s insane right now.
But on a positive note, I wanted to ask you about something you said in an interview. You talked about how you’re done making music that’s about trauma. What are some things you are looking forward to exploring through music?
I feel like right now I’m in this stage in my life—I’m in my twenties, and still budding as an artist—my focus is on having fun and exploring myself as a person and doing things that really speak to me. I never really liked staying in one place, and my fans know that. I went from “Boy Bi” to doing “Stacy’s Brother” and “Killer Queen” and now I’m entering this new era with “Bite.” I’ve never been one to stay in one place with one genre or sound. I honestly just like having fun and coming into these different characters and stepping into different worlds.
Lyrics are an awesome way to do that. You’ve also talked about lyrics as visual storytelling before. When you start writing a song, do you have images that you want to communicate?
I’ve always been someone who loves visual cues. I draw a lot from movies, different things that I’m reading. I’ve always got Pinterest open when I’m writing songs. I’m always scrolling through Pinterest and my producer is like “why are you doing that.” It’s kind of like homework, I like visuals and things that provide sensory information.
Totally. I too am a visual learner. Music and film have a similar language.
Yes. Like I adore listening to soundtracks. I would love to write for them in the future because I’m such a nerd for movie soundtracks.
What are some of your favorites?
I’ve been listening to the Rocky Horror Picture Show soundtrack a lot, and also the Sinners soundtrack. I was literally listening to it right before I came on this call.
Oooh, yes!
I adore the Sinners soundtrack. So much passion. I think they nailed it on every front.
That movie is amazing. Who are some other musicians who are inspiring to you right now?
Lorde has always been my favorite artist, I adore her so much. She’s probably one of the reasons I got into becoming an artist. I can’t wait for her new album to come out, I’m ready to cry on tour when she comes to LA. I’ve been listening a lot to PinkPantheress recently. Like I said, the Sinners soundtrack is on repeat.
What’s something you feel like you can express more easily through music?
I think my personality. I feel like a lot of people think I’m extroverted through my music, and that’s a big misconception about me. I get invited to all these events and I barely leave my house. As you can tell, I’m like literally on my bed right now. But I like to step into characters when I write music. Me personally and the me that’s in the songs are two different people, and I feel like a lot of people don’t really understand that whole character element of it. But it’s something special I reserve only for music. If I’m onstage or singing the songs in a video…I get to be more crazy and out there. But me as a person, I don’t really leave my house.
Same.
Yeah, and I feel like people don’t really get that most of the time.
It makes sense. Creating a persona and these heightened versions of real feelings. You’re a big presence on TikTok as well—does that change the dynamic?
I feel like, not in a disingenuous way, but when fans come up to me, I feel like I step back into that character, because that’s the person they’re listening to. But I keep parts of myself to myself, because at the end of the day it’s impossible for me to fully attach those two things. I always love talking to fans, they’re always so sweet. I’ve rarely had bad interactions with the fans, they’re always super respectful.
What’s something that makes you proud to be part of Gen Z?
I feel like we’re really resilient. We’ve gone through so much, every other week is like living through a historical event. It’s terrifying, but I feel like we’ve all been trauma-bonded for life, because we’ve all experienced these things together. We’re also learning as people to go through all these things together. We’re in this era where we’re all connected to social media…we have our own lingo, our languages online too. And we’ve learned to be resilient. We’re like cockroaches. ♦
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INTO’s 25 Under 25 is celebrating 25 queer changemakers ages 25 and under all Pride Month long. Check out a new interview every weekday through July 4 on our 25 Under 25 homepage.
