Featured photo by Bella Sgarlata.
Molly Grace is your new favorite pop princess.
The Nashville-based singer (who describes herself as if Sharpay Evans came out as a lesbian) has been making bops for years now, but her latest track “F.E.M.M.E.” marked a breakthrough. Before its release, a snippet of the song’s chorus went viral on TikTok, with fans creating their own dances and celebrating the song’s message: “F.E.M.M.E.” is an anthem for — as you might have guessed from the title — femmes everywhere, and Molly is the perfect poster girl for all “fabulous, enticing, magnetic, magical, everything” lesbians out there.
Now, “F.E.M.M.E.” is officially out in full, and it’s just as fabulous as fans expected. INTO caught up with Molly on the song’s release day to talk all thing “F.E.M.M.E.,” from the song’s origin story, to being part of the sapphic pop revolution, to why But I’m a Cheerleader made the perfect aesthetic inspiration.
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Hi, Molly! Congrats on finally releasing “F.E.M.M.E.” today! How does it feel to have the song out in the world?
My gosh, it’s so funny. My friends and I were actually talking about this yesterday, because I wrote this song at the beginning of 2024, and I’ve been performing it all summer and then promoting it. We had a release party last night in Nashville — it’s crazy, because I’ve had this song for so long and I’m so used to it, I guess. But there’s something about the magic of, “Oh my god, wait, everyone else is hearing this for the very first time.” It gives it a new life; you almost hear it with new ears. But I’m very excited, because I feel like it’s been a really long time coming.
Super exciting! So, you wrote “F.E.M.M.E.” at the start of last year. How did the song come to be?
I was literally driving, and I was like — it probably was because I’m such a Chappell fan; I feel like it was probably a “HOT TO GO!”-ism — I was like, “Oh, it’d be so fun to do a spell-out or an acronym-type song.” And then I came up with the “fabulous, enticing, magnetic, magical, everything,” just randomly.
On the verses, you tell these stories about what it’s like to be femme: first, having to reject a straight guy, and second, getting stereotyped by a queer woman. Are those based on real experiences that you’ve had?
Yes, totally. Obviously, being a femme lesbian and presenting quite feminine, a lot of times people have an idea of what gay looks like, for whatever reason. And so the first verse is just saying — that situation itself was kind of fictional, but I have experienced men just not really buying it. You’ll tell them, “I’m not interested,” and they still flirt with you anyway. So that was the inspiration for the first verse, a man just not getting the hint.
And then the second verse was like, sometimes, especially when you first come out or when you’re in queer spaces, sometimes people don’t exactly read you as gay and don’t buy it, just because of maybe the way you present.
Being a femme lesbian and presenting quite feminine, a lot of times people have an idea of what gay looks like, for whatever reason.
– Molly Grace
The snippet that you released on social media got a lot of attention. What has it been like to go viral?
Oh my gosh. That’s the first time that’s happened to me. I’ve had individual videos gain traction, but this is the first time a song and not just a single video has gone viral, and it’s just crazy. Even last night at the release party, everyone in the room was saying the words to the chorus.
It’s also been cool to see how people translate the song to mean something else for them. I had a fan DM me, and they were like, “I know this song is about being a femme lesbian, but I’m trans, and I really resonate with people just not taking me seriously for whatever reason.” And so it’s just been really sweet to see how different people interpret the song to mean something to them.
That’s fabulous! What do you hope that fans take away from your music?
For my music, I feel like the point is for it to be fun and for it to be joyful. I mean, I definitely have songs in my discography (and will have more songs in the future) where I get a little more introspective and vulnerable, but I feel like overall, when people come to a Molly Grace show or listen to my music, I want them to feel really safe and empowered and have fun.
Especially as queer people, it’s such a dark, dark world sometimes. And sometimes you want to sit in your room and cry to Phoebe Bridgers, but sometimes you want to put on the Molly Grace and put on the Chappell and just express the joy of it all. So that’s what I hope people get out of my music, and out of “F.E.M.M.E.” too, specifically.
I love that you keep mentioning Chappell Roan. Were you a fan of hers before her rise to superstardom last year?
Yes! And I’m so proud to say that, because my friends will tell you, I am not a tastemaker in any way. Like, I never discover artists before they’re cool. My Spotify Wrapped was literally like Ariana, Taylor, Beyoncé, Chappell — like, it was all top 40. I listen to a lot of mainstream pop. Chappell was one of the only people I discovered when they were smaller, so, very proud to say: long time Chappell fan.
We know that those songs are made specifically for queer people, but I love that everyone loves it, and everyone appreciates it and gets to experience the magic that is gay music.
– Molly Grace
Love to hear it! Same here — and yes, it makes me feel really cool too. With artists like Chappell, Reneé Rapp, Billie Eilish, Doechii, and more, there’s been this wave of sapphic artists breaking into the mainstream more and more. How do you feel about potentially being a part of that cultural moment?
I feel really lucky, first of all, just that I’m here at this time. I only came out a couple of years ago, so the way it’s all timed with my own journey with my identity and my music, I feel lucky to be here at the same time as those artists.
I also just love that sapphic music is becoming mainstream, because I feel like in the past, there’s been a little bit of a ceiling. The average straight, cis person on the street wouldn’t be listening to a sapphic pop artist, but the fact that everyone’s singing “Good Luck, Babe!” and everyone’s singing “Lunch” — I love it. I think it’s great because we know that those songs are made specifically for queer people, but I love that everyone loves it, and everyone appreciates it and gets to experience the magic that is gay music. It’s amazing.
Absolutely. So, the cover art for “F.E.M.M.E.” is inspired by But I’m a Cheerleader, which also happens to be one of my favorite movies. Why that inspo for you? Do you remember when you first discovered the movie yourself?
I think I watched it for the first time maybe a couple of years ago. After I came out, I was like, “I need to watch this movie. Like, this is culture. I need to know.” But my inspo for this, I just thought it was kind of perfect. Because the main character, Megan, the whole thing is she’s like, “Well, I couldn’t be a lesbian, right? Because I’m a cheerleader! I’m this super feminine perfect little image!” I just thought that sentiment was really in line with “F.E.M.M.E.” And I also just thought “F.E.M.M.E.” has a very anthemic, cheerlead-y quality to it. It’s a song that you chant, and so it works with the cheerleader imagery as well. I just think that movie is so iconic, and so I was like, it would just be really fun to nod to that moment in culture.
I know you’ve also been working hard on writing your debut album. What can fans expect from that?
Wow, I am so excited for MG1, if you will. I’ve been writing this project for a year now, and so it just feels very me. People can expect pop, disco, funk — I have my little private link of the album and I listen to it all the time, and I rarely listen to my own music, so I feel like that’s a good sign. But I think my fans are really gonna like this. It’s gonna be a really, really fun record.
Perfect. I feel like that’s what we need right now.
Yes, we need it bad!
You’re also about to go on tour again. What are you looking forward to about going on the road?
Well, I am a former theater kid, and I did improv troupe. So live performance is just, like, it for me. I love writing, I love recording, but I think live is where I shine the most. I love everything about performing live: I love the little mistakes and the little choices you make, like, “Oh, maybe I’ll go a little bit higher on that note today, or maybe I won’t. Maybe I’ll opt down!” I just love how it changes from performance to performance, and I love feeding off the energy of the crowd, and doing little crowd work moments, bits. And each crowd is kind of different.
Anything else you’d like to say to your fans?
For anyone who’s listening, thank you so much for supporting me and for loving on “F.E.M.M.E.” And I feel like “F.E.M.M.E.” is just the beginning of what’s to come. ♦
“F.E.M.M.E.” is now streaming on all platforms. Tickets to the “But I’m a Pop Star!” Tour are available at mollygracemusic.com.
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This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
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