Laura Pergolizzi on sexuality and the highs and lows of the music biz

Is it fair to describe your style as androgynous?

Before they called it ‘gender neutral’ I felt I’d been gender neutral for a good portion of my life. I’m just being whatever I am and I guess that’s called androgyny.

Have music bosses ever told you to change your appearance?

Back in the day, an executive said something about me wearing a dress. My manager was like, ‘Are you insane?!’ Things have opened up so much. That’s encouraging, in a world where we seem to be going backwards in a bunch of places.

You’re dating a musician named Laura. Were you ever advised to keep your sexuality under wraps?

It’s funny to me that so many decisions, as far as what people would like in an artist, are made by people that are so beige. A lot of executives are giving the public a lot less credit than they deserve.

You’ve also written for an eclectic mix of artists, from Rihanna to Heidi Montag. How did that come about?

No offence to Heidi, she’s lovely, but I didn’t write with her. A few of the songs I had, she just cut.

Have you had to overcome many knocks in the industry?

I’ve had several record deals. Two of my major label deals, no record came out at all. But for every ‘misfortune’, good has come out of it. For other artists out there, don’t quit if you’re rejected. It’s one person.

Author: Andrei Harmsworth