Chandler Leighton modeling the Cult Couture Vol 1 Blazer & Vol 1 Skirt
Ahead of the release of her highly anticipated sophomore album, 4TH ELEMENT, we caught up with dark-alternative pop icon Chandler Leighton as she enters her most musically liberated era yet. For any artist, a sophomore album can be a make-or-break moment in their career, especially when following up the notable success of a debut album like Leighton's 2024 release, Proof You Weren't The Only One. However, with new tracks such as the fierce, club-ready bangers "F OFF MY MIND" and "TURN THE LIGHTS OFF," the guitar-driven "WASTED POTENTIAL," and the more atmospheric offering "BLOOD ≠ WATER," Leighton is ready to come out of the gates swinging with confidence, swagger, and a full embrace of her eclectic sound.
4TH ELEMENT is not only the product of Chandler Leighton discovering who she truly is as an artist over the course of her prolific career, but also, more importantly, a testament to the transformative and healing power of music and cathartic expression. While Leighton's music is perfect for a rowdy night out on the town, it also serves as a much-needed motivational boost, making listeners feel on top of the world from the very first listen.
In our conversation with Chandler Leighton, we discuss the artist's eclectic forthcoming album, 4TH ELEMENT, dream collaborations, musical influences, style, fashion, and so much more.
Additionally, we hooked Chandler up with a few select TPC items, available now, for an exclusive Style Guide and Photo Gallery.
4TH ELEMENT the new album by Chandler Leighton drops February 5th, 2027
READ THE INTERVIEW/VIEW THE STYLE GUIDE BELOW!
Throughout 2026, you’ve been steadily releasing new music, but I would love to unpack the track “F OFF MY MIND," first. Walk us through the meaning and backstory behind this song. What were you hoping to communicate with the track, and what do you hope listeners take away from it? Sonically, the song really leans into the darker side of dark pop with its low, pulsating synths and dance-driven beats, yet there’s still such an infectious and empowering energy to it. How did you want to shape the sound of this track in particular?
Chandler Leighton: “F OFF MY MIND” was the first entry point into the heavier side of the album, and I thought this was the perfect first track to introduce that. I wanted something that felt like an underground, sweaty European bar, where people could sing back to me in an audience, cultivating a specific energy in that song that felt collective. After going on tour, I craved bigger production and moments for the fans and me to be connected in a room.
Funny enough, I brought my old roommate into the writing session, and I channeled a lot of what was going on in her life instead of mine. I find that inspiration for music is all around us and doesn't always have to be about ourselves. I find it freeing to be able to connect with people in a room, disconnect from the self, and get inside their heads and hearts.
As for the song, I pictured what it felt and looked like: a dark room, sweat, jumping, and chanting. Especially when writing it, and more so vocally, I wanted to challenge myself to be more technique-driven. The pre-chorus has its vocal flips, the chorus is more belty, and the verses feature classic Chandler-style "talk-singing." It's an ode to my past music and an introduction to my new era.
I told my producer, "I want to sing." What I mean by that is straying away from my more rappy, classic hits like "When You Say My Name" or "I Think You Turned Me." So we pushed in that direction and also made sure there were no rules, because what's the fun in that? I chose to juxtapose the grief with feminine promiscuity, and that song was a playground. Every new section felt like one surprise after another. I've been leaning that way in my music, structuring my songs so that instead of verse one, pre-chorus, and so on, it's just one fun thing after another.
I’d also love to unpack the music video for “F OFF MY MIND.” Between the choreography, darker industrial warehouse atmosphere, and overall energy, it makes for such a fun and compelling visual representation of the song. What was the filming process like, and what was the energy like on set in order to capture the spirit of the track?
Chandler Leighton: The music video was exactly what I pictured when writing it, and I need to be more careful about that because when I pictured SWEATY and DIRTY, we shot that in a warehouse in the middle of July, in 90-degree heat with no AC. And this happens to me... a lot. But it was so fun because the song was supposed to be that, and I really felt like I was inside the track, dancing to it with all those girls.
I asked a lot of my friends to do cameos for the video, and they showed up READY. The energy on set was infectious, and I kept apologizing for the lack of AC, but the girls insisted they were having the time of their lives. I think there was something beautiful about being in a room full of women smiling, laughing, and dancing, without a single person complaining.
It took the weight off my shoulders because I tend to be very self-aware about how other people are feeling, and I'm more worried about them being okay than myself (something I've been relearning quite a bit). It allowed me to be present and enjoy myself. My girlfriends texted me afterward to tell me to invite them back anytime, and that is always incredibly validating, knowing we created a fun and safe environment for people to feel like themselves.
I got to creatively direct and style the wardrobe for that video with Mitch. It was my first time working with him, and we managed to shoot that entire video in one day, over 10 hours, with a lot of the cast members showing up for free. I'm very grateful.
Chandler Leighton modeling the Cult Couture Vol 1 Blazer & Vol 1 Skirt
Between the three singles you’ve released so far this year, from the trancey, atmospheric qualities of “Blood ≠ Water,” to the more guitar-driven “Wasted Potential,” and now the dark-pop dance elements of “F OFF MY MIND" and "TURN THE LIGHTS OFF," you’re covering some incredibly diverse sonic ground. How important is genre-bending to the core of your sound? With how musically liberated these new singles feel, what have some of your recent influences been, and are there still other sounds or genres you’re eager to explore?
Chandler Leighton: Being tied down to a single genre has never been my cup of tea. Also, using real instruments and a full band for every song was very important to me, and that's truly what ties it all together, especially with the last three singles being on the heavier synth and guitar side.
The idea that artists need "a sound and a brand" has always brought me so much fear because I love so many different genres of music, and my voice is extremely versatile. Sticking to only one genre does me a disservice. But in realizing that, ironically enough, it became my "brand" to be the artist who continues to grow sonically. The more I experiment with sounds, the better I've gotten vocally, ear-wise, and in terms of confidence. This album brought out vocals that were buried underneath years of a broken nervous system that was incredibly afraid of being seen.
But more so, for me, I sing differently depending on the genre and the story. My vocals are used for storytelling just as much as the lyrics and production are. "Wasted Potential" was indeed a song about that. I start the song singing softly and delicately, almost "small." Getting into the chorus, there's a cry of fear, and the second verse is where the rage and confidence finally come out. The lyrics, along with my voice, turn darker, raspier, and more spiteful.
This entire album is about duality. It's a story about not only my pain and where I've been, but also about letting go, having fun, and not taking yourself so seriously. Sticking to the sad genre too often made me stay there mentally, and when I release myself from trying to be poetic or smart and just make a fun dance song, I feel like I'm on a playground in the studio.
It reminds me of why I do this. Music is play. Music is also healing, and it is allowed to be both. We are human, after all.
I grew up listening to a lot of Billy Joel with my dad, and he's an incredible storyteller. He paints the scene sonically and lyrically, and also through his over-enunciation of words. Imogen Heap was a huge catalyst for showing me how deep you can go with experimentation. Bon Iver is another artist who went from For Emma to 22, A Million, and I fell in love with those electronic sounds. It showed me that you can still tell a story and make it distorted and industrialized.
Other artists like Michael Jackson, Daughter, James Taylor, Queen, The Beatles, Elton John, Foo Fighters, Radiohead, Gregory Alan Isakov, and Beach House, my God, I could go on and on, were all artists who had sounds so different from each other. Most of them had this stage presence that was mesmerizing and confident, with unique storytelling that I connected to as a kid.
Michael Jackson was probably the top artist I used to cover a lot in high school. There's a lot of his inspiration in some of my songs on this album.
High school was the time I got into heavier music, emo, punk, metal, etc., during the rise of Tumblr from 2010 to 2014, when I uncovered a whole different genre. That, to me, felt like where anger lived. And there was something about how something could sound so heavy and aggressive, while sometimes the lyrics were quite the opposite. The contrast between the two pulled me in.
One genre that I always say I wish I was more involved in is soul, jazz, R&B, and neo-soul. That Amy Winehouse and Etta James soundscape, with raspy vocals and this dreamy sonic quality. Something about the style and swing of it is so sexy and vocally freeing. Tom Misch, Ogi, and Olivia Dean have this effortlessly sexy soul that makes you want to light some candles, drink some whiskey, and dance.
You’re gearing up for your long-awaited sophomore album, and as you know, a second record can be such a pivotal moment in any artist’s career, especially following the momentum and warm response to Proof You Weren’t the Only One. What has your headspace been like leading into this next project? What have the writing and recording processes entailed, and what would you say is the overall mission statement for this next chapter of your career?
Chandler Leighton: This album had 100% of my attention for a long time. I worked every day for this entire year to finish it, and the whole process took me over two years.
I took eight months off from releasing music because I didn't want to release stuff I'd regret just to "not be forgotten." I had to disappear from social media for a long time in order to protect my process. I didn't tease any of the songs because I didn't want any outside validation or applause influencing the way I created. It was for me. I needed a space to experiment and find the story.
I reached back into songs from three years ago and completely flipped them inside out. I played guitar and synth, and wrote most of the record without writers in the room because I had to learn to trust myself. And I did learn to. The deeper I went, the bigger the project kept getting.
The more I worked, the more everything started connecting. Every song connected to the last. I would finish a song and go back to an old one, building it up to be heavier than it was to fit this sonic vibe I was going for (which you'll hear on the fourth track of the album).
So essentially, every song I wrote wouldn't have been completed without writing something else first. A new song, a new story, all leading to the entirety of it. What's insane to me is that when I look at the tracklist order, I knew the intent was to give clues to past projects in my lyrics, videos, and stories.
I would leave sessions noticing that the first lyric was connected to the title track or the last song on my previous album. "If You Weren't the Only One" starts with "Is this everything you wanted?" And I went, "Holy shit!" The last track on Proof was "Got What I Wanted."
Or I would make references to "Vices" and "Coming Up for Air" accidentally, and it was as if I didn't write the project but was only a container for ideas to flow through me. It was magic. It's something I'll never be able to explain, how the album came together. All I know is that I was an open vessel for the universe to pour into.
You’ve already collaborated with some massive names, including ILLENIUM and SLANDER. Looking ahead, are there any dream collaborators still on your bucket list, and what do you think they could bring out of you creatively that we haven’t necessarily heard before?
Chandler Leighton: If I could sing with Billy Joel someday, my life would be COMPLETE. Then I could show him how his lyrics are tattooed all over my body. Also, Nothing But Thieves. I don't know much music theory because I'm ear-trained, but I think it would be incredibly useful and helpful to learn from them and their process.
Going back to the beginning, can you pinpoint the moment when you realized music was your calling? Now, having accomplished as much as you have and built the career you have today, what advice would you give to your younger self who was just starting out?
Chandler Leighton: I was always a daydreamer, constantly somewhere else in the clouds. When I tried out for musicals and started getting lead roles, I found myself drawn to the world of make-believe.
Singing was therapeutic for me and provided safety in a world that was shifting a lot for me as a kid. It was a constant. A place I could go where I stayed dreaming, I stayed playing, and I never wanted to get out. The real world is boring, so I thought I'd rather live up here.
Being a young adult or a teenager is hard. Everything is out of your control in so many ways, and it's hard to understand why the world turns the way it does, but music always just made sense. I didn't have to question it. I just opened myself up to it and allowed it to understand me. The advice I would give to my younger self is to stop trying to fit in. You're different, you're weird, and you have a gift. A lot of people are not going to understand you, and that's okay. But when you are always yourself, you open yourself up to others who have been waiting to find you.
I wish I knew when I was younger that the price of success is loneliness. But as an adult, I now like my solitude. As a kid, I filled my time surrounded by hundreds of acquaintances, but that can still feel lonely. The more you are yourself, the more you allow the universe to send you people who are just like you.So be patient, keep practicing, and keep showing up imperfectly. And practice that damn guitar and piano more. I wish I was better at those, but there's always tomorrow.
You are not running out of time. You just need a nervous system that can handle being unseen.
Switching gears, as we’re a media outlet associated with a fashion brand, we have to talk about personal style. How do you like to express yourself through fashion, and are there any particular brands, designers, or aesthetics you naturally gravitate toward? As you enter this next era of your career, how do you envision fashion becoming part of the larger visual world surrounding your music?
Chandler Leighton: I've had the pleasure of styling all my own music videos and shows, so I find it creatively fulfilling to hunt for and thrift pieces. I'm usually scouring the internet, Depop, and ThredUp for most of my closet because, being an indie artist, I can't afford a stylist. But because of that, I look at it as an opportunity to keep filling my closet with goodies (although my downstairs doesn't seem to think so).
I love indie designers that I find on Instagram, most recently Berana Chengini, Dreaming Eli, and Gloria Jane Royer, with this romantic, gothic reconstruction of fabrics woven together.I love layers, metal, leather, lace, gothic, grunge, high fashion, and editorial rock looks, but sadly, my bank account does not. [Laughs.]
My dream would be to get styled in custom pieces, something that feels personal to me and the songs. I like to wear clothing that is inspired by the music itself, and I love the idea of holding onto a collection of eras and being able to give them away someday. Hopefully, someday, I'll have my own clothing line.
Chandler Leighton modeling the Cult Couture Vol 1 Blazer & Vol 1 Skirt
Taking that a step further, if you had complete creative freedom and could design your ultimate stage fit with no limitations whatsoever, what would it look like and why?
Chandler Leighton: Oh man... this is a hard question because I love so many things. But right now, I'm so drawn to the "romantic reconstruction" style and anything by Alexander McQueen.
So it would probably be custom pants stitched together with different fabrics and a top that was cut up and moved like water on me, with ribbons and scraps hanging from the arms and body. Something very "Alexander McQueen."It would definitely be black, with lace, leather, chiffon, etc.
Chandler Leighton modeling the Cult Couture Vol 1 Blazer & Vol 1 Skirt
We always like to ask artists this one: If you could have your music soundtrack any film, television series, video game, or fictional universe, what would you choose and why?
Chandler Leighton: There's a lot of horror in some of my music, so it would be incredible to be able to write for a horror film. But there's also such a sad, melancholic selection of my music that I would want in a coming-of-age film about a human experiencing turmoil and grief and coming out the other side.
Chandler Leighton modeling the Cult Couture Vol 1 Blazer & Vol 1 Skirt
It certainly feels like there are a lot of exciting things on the horizon for you. What can you reveal about what fans should be on the lookout for throughout the remainder of the year?
Chandler Leighton: I just announced that my album is out February 4, so I'm over the moon about that! We also have two festivals, Dusk and Dirty Fest, at the end of this year.
I can reveal that there will be a fans-first album release party before the release, so they get to hear the music before anyone else, along with a few other surprises I can't give away yet. I'm excited to have them included and involved in this because they're the entire reason I'm here. The community I've grown means a lot to me, and I just want to experience this with them.
4TH ELEMENT the new album by Chandler Leighton drops February 5th, 2027
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