Photo courtesy of Eli.
Welcome to SOUND ADVICE, Interview’s destination for playlists curated by our friends, enemies, and lovers. In recent weeks, we’ve featured playlists from Petra Collins, Mckayla Twiggs, and María Isabel. This week’s installment comes to us courtesy of LA-based singer-songwriter and time-traveling pop diva, Eli. Following her critically acclaimed debut album Stage Girl in October 2025, she decided to treat her fans to a deluxe version of the project late last month that acts as an extension of the early 2000s pop/R&B sound that matches her online persona so perfectly. To stay on theme with the vibe of the record, Eli made us a playlist featuring an array of some of music’s premier stage girls, like Aretha Franklin, Hannah Montana, and Addison Rae. Afterwards, she took a stab at our questionnaire and revealed her hot takes on Y2K fashion, Taylor Swift, and musical red flags.
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Where do you dance?
In my bedroom and on stage, which are synonymous spaces to me.
Who do you dance with?
My girlfriend.
What’s your favorite Taylor Swift song?
“Happiness” on Evermore is gut-wrenching and beautiful or “Clean” cuz the Imogen [Heap] production goes crazy.
Who do you trust most with the aux?
Trust no one.
Which song on this playlist makes you cry?
“I Can’t Make You Love Me” and “Fountain.”
What do your journal pages look like?
Just a mess, complaining about problems that I can fix just by taking action, but all I wanna do is lay in bed and repeat to myself how overwhelmed I am over and over again.
Who would play you in the biopic of your life?
Elle Fanning.
What are you praying for?
A livable wage for every human on earth.
Fuck, marry, kill: skinny scarves, pageboy hats, jeans under skirts.
- Marry jeans under skirts because that’s actually just forever fashion and has nothing do with Y2K, like girl bye, they were wearing jeans under skirts long before then.
- Skinny scarves can get fucked cuz Amanda Overmyer and Steven Tyler look so fab in them.
- Pageboy hats, I guess may they rest in peace. Lowkey don’t mind cuz even tho I feel so cute in them, they really do just give heavy “I’m emulating the past,” which contrary to popular belief is not something I want to do.
What’s a lyric you wish you wrote?
I wish I were the first person to say “I love you” in a song. I’d be a billionaire and then I could redistribute my wealth.
Who’s the most iconic stage girl?
Aretha Franklin
Dream collab, dead or alive?
Dara Allen, heyyyy girl check DMs! 😉
What’s a music taste red flag?
Thinking a person can’t get down to Geese, Tom T. Hall, and Kylie Minogue all at the same time.
Mirror, mirror on the wall, who’s the fairest doll of all?
I love Jane Remover and Underscores. Those are my sisters.
What’s a lesson you had to learn the hard way?
Speaking your mind and speaking your truth is not always celebrated, accepted, or respected. And that’s all the more reason why it’s important to continue talking in the face of fear and control so that one happy day, millions of years from now, humans can all be chillers.
Which song on this playlist turns you on?
“Moment” by Victoria Monet.
The key to my heart is…
Acceptance and critical thought.
