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Music

We Catch Up With Sky Ferreira (Mom) Before She Jumps on a Plane to Australia

She talks touring with Miley, stage fright, and dodging fans in a casino.

Little legend Sky Ferreira is about to take a long hard flight to Australia to play Splendour in the Grass and a couple of sideshows. We caught up with her as she was walking through a Vegas venue—that she may or may not be playing—before she took that flight. It's hard to know if Sky's so cool that she doesn't need to front, or if it's her not fronting that makes her so cool. She just wants to take showers, get over stage fright, hang out with her five friends, and not feel left out when everyone else is playing Gameboy.

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Noisey: So Vegas!?
Sky Ferreira: Yeah, I'm supposed to play a show but I got told that it might not be happening. Not because of me but something to do with the venue. I don't know what happened. Something weird.

The first thing I do when I get to a hotel is request more pillows. How about yourself?
I shower because I don't get to do that when I'm on tour. It's pretty disgusting in general. Either shower or pass out on the bed.

What do you think about when you're traveling on tour?
Jesus, I don't know, I'm thinking of everything. That's how my brain works. It's just bouncing back and forth constantly. I try not to get too bored to the point where I get depressed after like six hours. I usually write a lot when I'm on flights because I don't have any distractions. In a van it's a little different, as there's like ten guys sitting next to you, so I just listen to music. I can't read in vans because I get really carsick. I've been visiting my boyfriend (DIIV front man Zachary Cole Smith) on his tour before I go to Australia, and I don't know how they do it, but they all have this Gameboy app on their phones. They're all on video games and I'm talking to myself.

What goes through your head when you're on stage?
Every time is different. I never know what to expect because sometimes I'll play to 10 people, and next time I'll play to 20,000. I have really bad stage fright. It's gotten a little better, but being in front of so many people is intense. In my mind I'm just thinking about singing, but I know some people come to see a "show." I just want to stay true to the song.

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Is there any special preparation for you before you go on stage?
I think it's more about the actual talent. Lights are a big focus for me. I feel way more comfortable with lights. Sorry, I'm just walking through this venue right now because there are a lot of little kids outside—not little kids, that's demeaning—there are a lot of young girls and stuff, and they're like "Is that Sky Ferreira?" and I'm like, "No… it is not." I usually don't mind that except for right now.

You've played with your boyfriend's band DIIV recently. What's that like?
It's fun! We live together, and we're pretty much always together unless we're working. It's easy with him. You have to trust someone in order to collaborate with them. I don't even have to think about it, almost, because we both respect each other's music and work, and that makes everything a lot easier.

How did the Bangerz tour with Miley go? Did you learn any life lessons?
Yeah, there's no way you can't learn from this sort of thing. It was just so interesting to go all over the world and play for so many people. And I guess I was exposed to so many different people who wouldn't usually know my music. It was just a big rush but everyone was so nice on the tour. It was a lot of fun.

When you're not touring what do you do on your days off?
I try to see my friends anytime I'm in town. But I pretty much only have like five friends in reality, so I see the same five people. But I haven't been home for months. I'll just go hang out or go to the movies or go to shows. Nothing too crazy, just wherever the day leads me.

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I have to ask, why do your fans call you 'Mom'?
I think that's like some pop fan lingo. They do that to everyone like Miley Cyrus and Charli XCX and pretty much every girl in pop music. They have this whole other language between themselves but I somehow automatically know it. But I didn't coin that term in any way!

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Want more Sky? Check these out:

Behind the Lens: Sky Ferreira Is Not a Racist

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Sky Ferreira on Turning 21, Weird Internt Rumors and Amanda Bynes' Brain