If you’ve turned on the radio or flicked through a pop Spotify playlist in the last few years, you’re bound to have heard some of Sorana’s handy work. The songwriting sensation’s name is credited on Ava Max’s “OMG What’s Happening”, Jason Derulo’s “Be The One”, and the platinum-selling, Brit-nominated, ubiquitous “Heartbreak Anthem” for Little Mix, David Guetta and Galantis. However, Sorana’s new single and third of the year proves yet again the LA-based artist’s destiny for pop supremacy in her own right.

“Wild Girls” is a stomping, Western-inspired, club-ready anthem, which interpolates Ennio Morricone’s legendary theme for 1966 Clint Eastwood-starring The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, with approval from Morricone’s family. It follows January’s David Guetta collaboration “redruM” and May’s “Karaoke”, cementing 2022 as the year Sorana has truly caught the attention of audiences in her own right, evidenced by the 1.1M monthly Spotify listeners anticipating her next move.

Head below for our chat with Sorana on all things “Wild Girls”, fusing Western movies into pop, and breaking the largely English-speaking global music industry as a Romanian artist…

Hey Sorana, how are you? Where are you speaking to us from?
Hi! I’m currently in London. I own a bed in Los Angeles so I would say I’m based there, but I love travelling around. I go insane if I stay in one place for too long. I always travel to different countries to write songs and I think that’s my favourite thing about making music, getting to experience different cultures and making friends all over the world.

Congratulations on “Wild Girls”! It’s such an all-out pop banger, the likes of which we’ve come to only expect from you! What was your headspace when you entered the studio the day you made it?
Thank you! I agree this one turned out great! I love it when a song comes together like this, where I’m in love with every little part of it. It was a rainy day in London when I wrote “Wild Girls”. I was at my friend and cowriter’s house. The sun came out for like a second, so we went on the terrace with a guitar and started writing an idea. In a silent moment, I started singing the chorus of “Wild Girls”. It came to my head just like that, with lyrics and everything. I’d wanted to write a song called “Wild Girls” for a while – I had the title floating through my mind. I always have titles floating around me, like butterflies and I always wait for the right time to catch them. And that day a little inner voice said ‘today is the day you’re gonna write “Wild Girls”, and so I did.

What an amazing addition also to have the interpolation of Ennio Morricone’s “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly” approved by his family. What was the process of gaining that like, and how did you feel when you found out you could use it?
I decided in my head that it had to be cleared because there was no way I would’ve released the song without it. It was a really hard and lengthy process though, as Morricone’s family were a tough crowd to convince. They originally said no but I never take no for an answer and in the end, my team and I made them change their minds. I think it’s so cool when different arts combine and it’s rare that a movie theme is used in a pop song. Even though I didn’t start the song with the sample, once I incorporated it into the song it gave so much more depth and western authenticity to the record. I felt so lucky that I had the idea and was so excited when I found out I can use it.

The animated video for “Wild Girls’’ is simply iconic! Tell us about the cartoon cowgirl version of you that we see here.
So basically, I’m a huge anime fan. My favourite anime is Sailor Moon and I’ve been obsessed with her since I was little, and I always wanted to be her. The girl with superpowers, super long pigtails, and her gang of best friends. I think I modelled my artist persona and my life after Sailor Moon. The cartoon alter ego my video team at NGM created is me as an anime. I’m Sailor Sun with light-up pigtails, and my superpower is catching boys with my lasso hair.

And in terms of the song itself, it’s a western-inspired pop record – how did you end up at that source of inspiration?
It’s funny how ideas are born and sometimes come together so perfectly. When I wrote this song I started with the title, “Wild Girls” and everything flowed from there. I built the chorus first and worked my way back to the verse. The idea of sampling the theme from The Good The Bad and the Ugly came later because I was stuck. I didn’t know what I wanted the verse to be so in that moment of apparently no inspiration this idea sparked: ‘What if I use the theme from the movie but put words to it?’ And when I said that out loud in the session we laughed because we didn’t know if it was the best idea ever or the corniest. Once I sang it in with the words it was clear that it was the missing piece of the puzzle, the piece that made my song an authentic western pop record.

If you could pick an ultimate movie genre to binge on, what would it be, and why?
I don’t really care about the genre as long as the movie is amazing, because great movies use certain imagery to tell a deeper story. So, I don’t have a favourite genre, but I do have a favourite director, Stanley Kubrick of course.

What an incredible 2022 you’ve had already, not least with your massive David Guetta collab “redruM”. “Wild Girls” looks set to continue that run. What would you like to have achieved by the time the year’s out?
Yes, 2022 is by far my favourite year because I finally started releasing my own music, which I’ve been working on for years. I’ve written so many great songs that I’ve been hiding on my computer, and I can’t wait to release everything. I learn something new about myself with every record that comes out, and as the world discovers me so do I. I have another song and video that I’m dying to release later this year and I would love to do another DJ collaboration.

You assembled a lethal team to create “Wild Girls” including the likes of Nicki Adamsson (Icona Pop, Tove Lo), Kez Noel and Morten Shjolin (Jennifer Lopez). What were the dynamics like in the studio?
First came the song, and then came production. I always write on guitar or piano. It’s easier for me to tell if we’ve got a great idea without the production because the instrumental can be distracting at times. So, Kez, Morten and I wrote the song on guitar, on Kez’s terrace one rainy London afternoon and Nicki jumped on production later and he nailed it first try.

You’ve written so many mammoth projects for others as well as presiding over a blossoming solo career yourself. However, at this moment in time, what’s one thing that sticks out that you’re most proud of?
I’m proud that as a native Romanian I can write songs that native English speakers can relate to. It’s easy to learn a new language but to master it well enough to write songs is something else. I’m very proud of my baby song “Heartbreak Anthem” that I co-wrote for Galantis, Little Mix and David Guetta. So many people who heard it told me that it made them happier. The funny thing is that the song is about a really bad breakup that I had, and it came from a sad feeling but it ended up being an empowering record that uplifts people and that’s very fulfilling to witness.