You might recognize Olly Alexander for his impeccable work as Richie Tozer on Channel 4’s It’s a Sin, or for his music as the lead singer of Years & Years and their 2015 massive hit “Desire.” But as we speak, Olly is getting ready to have his popularity catapulted as Britain’s next Eurovision representative, taking the stage in Malmö, Sweden, with the dance track “Dizzy.” “I have loved Eurovision ever since I was a kid for as long as I can remember. And I’m just so thrilled that I’m going to be part of this incredible legacy of people that have taken part in Eurovision,” he shares.
A powerhouse by heart, it’s easy to see how Olly has almost naturally what it takes to become a star. On stage, he merges his multilayered musicality and pop flair with an intoxicatingly involving charisma and joyful energy. But it’s outside the spotlight that he probably makes the biggest moves as an important name in his generation of social activists, using his voice and fame as a platform to promote changemakers and the queer community. This common interest is the force behind his newest collaboration with Absolut, the Born To Mix campaign. Starred by Olly Alexander in collaboration with three UK trailblazers — Lady Phyll, founder of UK’s Black Pride; Trina Nicole, founder of Curve Catwalk; and ShayShay, co-founder of The Bitten Peach, a cabaret night to empower the queer Asian community — the project aims to inspire us all to mix together and drive change, offering a handful of initiatives and events to promote a more positive future.
Here, we connect with Olly to discuss his preparation process for the big night ahead, the release of his new single, and the power of collaboration for change. Keep scrolling…
How are you feeling as the final countdown to your big Eurovision performance approaches and what are your expectations for the event?
Well, I’m mostly just so excited. I have loved Eurovision ever since I was a kid for as long as I can remember. And I’m just so thrilled that I’m going to be part of this incredible legacy of people that have taken part in Eurovision and it’s such a special, unique event. There’s nothing else like it. It’s such a mixture of musical styles, different performances. I can’t wait. And I don’t really know what to expect other than just a bit of madness, like a lot of fun, a lot of emotion, some drama. It’s an amazing feeling to be representing the UK in this way, to take my little gay self and my gay song and perform it on one of the biggest platforms in the entire world. I’m just really looking forward to putting on the best possible performance I can and being able to look back in, you know, 30 years time and go, ‘wow, I’m so proud of what I did and I got to take part’, you know.
Could you share a bit about your new song? What inspired you and what were you aiming for while working on the track?
So the song is called “Dizzy”, out on March 1st. And the song is from my new album. And I made everything with a producer called Danny L. Harle. And “Dizzy” came kind of in the middle of the writing process, I’d say. And I’d been listening to all of my kind of gay heroes and taking a lot of inspiration from musical icons over the decades, but especially the 80s, the Pet Shop Boys, Erasure, New Order, and “Dizzy” feels like a bit of a distillation of lots of those references. Hopefully, updated to feel more current. And I always think a pop song should have, for me, the song is always about melody and emotion. And “Dizzy” is a song about a very extreme emotion. Someone… Someone making you feel dizzy. And that’s what, you know, I really tried to put into the song to take people, to take the listener on a journey so they’re excited and captivated from start to end.
Congratulations on your partnership with Absolut. How did the project come about? And why is it important for you to support and collaborate with changemakers in this way?
Well, I worked with Absolut previously on another campaign and had a really good experience with them. And I really appreciate that they, you know, have supported the queer community in different ways over the years. And this time round, they asked me to design a bottle, which I really loved doing because I do a lot of doodles and collages and make my own silly little illustrations. And so that was really like a fun challenge to come up with a design that fit the brief and their brief, their kind of motto, obviously is “born to mix”. And whether that’s, you know, people or drinks or ideas. And I think that’s a really good motto, if I’m honest. And so the design of the bottle kind of came from that. I just drew a mosaic sort of style, almost like a half-moon mosaic. The idea that, you know, we have all these different sides to us. But when we come together, we can make something bigger than the sum of our parts, you know, and they wanted to, they asked me, you know, like how can we engage with the community and uplift some really amazing people who are doing incredible things. So we reached out to Lady Phyll, to ShayShay and Trina Nicole, and each of them are just really inspiring individuals who are doing incredible things for their community.
And for me, I have always taken all my inspiration and courage and strength from my community, you know, especially the queer community. I’ve learned so much from them. I continue to learn so much. And this felt like a really good opportunity to just highlight some brilliant work that these people are doing. You know, Lady Phyll is just a powerhouse, the founder of UK Black Pride. And I really, really recommend anybody getting the chance to speak with her about anything. She’s just so insightful and warm and funny. ShayShay, co-founder of the Bitten Peach, which is a queer, Asian queer cabaret night. Trina Nicole, founder of Curve CatWalk, very much about body positivity and inclusivity. You know, her message being that, no matter who we are, the way our body looks, we should be able to feel good and move, however that may be.
And I really believe that we are stronger together, you know, and that’s really the message behind the campaign, that each of us have a part to play in making a better future. You know, like whether those are small changes, big changes, we all have the capacity to get involved and to take part. And I just think, you know, any opportunity I can to engage with the community or to platform people who are doing brilliant things, I’m going to try and do that.
You’ve also collaborated on a new music video for your Years and Years single “Desire”. How was the experience working with these creatives? And how do you see your artistry complementing each other?
Oh, well, making the little video for “Desire” was so much fun. Trina Nicole was our choreographer. She made us feel all completely at ease. Like, and ShayShay, oh my gosh, ShaShay was just a powerhouse also because they can just pick up an eight count like that. That was me snapping my fingers. And I can learn a routine pretty quickly, but, like, I’m not the most confident dancer. And I know Lady Phyll, she was a little hesitant too, she had a couple of reservations, but Trina Nicole made us feel just like so comfortable. And her, you know, she, her whole message really about what she does, around what she does is that it doesn’t matter who you are, like you can move, you deserve to feel good in your own body. And that was really just what we all felt throughout the day. And it just felt really good to be alongside these people, having fun, kind of shedding some of our inhibitions, because it can be tricky to just show up and be in front of the camera and perform. You know, even though that’s, I do that a lot. Like I still feel, I still get nervous, but there was such a vibe of camaraderie and support for each other. And, you know, I learned a lot from Trina Nicole. From ShayShay, from Lady Phil, from everyone on set, actually. It really felt like an inclusive environment.
And I think, I guess I said it before, but we’re all part of each other’s stories. You know what I mean? In ways that we don’t always realise, like I’m just really glad that I got to, you know, I’ve known Lady Phyll for a number of years, but I got to meet ShayShay through this experience, and Trina Nicole and, you know, what they do has inspired me. And I hope that I’m just going to continue to watch them, hopefully. Also, I should mention as well, that I was just really happy to see Absolut, you know, we’re funding some events, some free events for people to take part in. So Lady Phyll is hosting a round table where they’ll be discussing, I think, all types of issues. Trina Nicole, she’s got a live event all about body positivity and ShaShay is doing a mentorship program for people. And I think that’s just super important, like actually for them to put their money where their mouth is. So I’m glad that they did that. And yeah, it was a really good experience. I feel very grateful for the opportunity really to just learn from them, for us to take part, and for it to be to my song, was just very, very cool.
Lastly, can you give us any hints of what we can expect from your performance and how it might reflect this new chapter of your artistry?
Ooh, well, the performance is top secret, but you can expect drama. I’m going to give my all and then some, because we only have three minutes to leave an impression. And I hope to do myself proud, do my country proud, do all the queers proud. No pressure. I want to be present and have fun. And I guess that’s how I want to feel. Moving forward when I do anything, really. I’m so, so lucky to do what I do. And I love it so much. And I feel the most free and liberated when I’m on stage. And so, when I’m making music. So, and I haven’t always felt like, you know, I’m not always the most confident person, but I’ve realised like now is the time to really let go of any insecurity. I mean, of course, I still have insecurities, but to try and let go of a lot of the stuff that I think has held me back in the past, which is just my own personal demons and really make the most of this opportunity and this time in my life. And that’s going to be the case across everything else that I put out and do moving forward. I hope, I believe, I have faith. And that’s it.
Read more about Absolut’s Born to Mix campaign here.
