By Alissa Arunarsirakul // March 31, 2021
You must be living under a rock if Issey Cross is an unfamiliar name to you. Branding her own style of infectious alternative pop, the London-based newcomer embodies confidence, tenacity, and strength like you wouldn’t imagine. Now ready to dominate our airwaves, Cross delivers her inescapable personality and impressive songwriting in her fantastic debut EP, Mirrors Don’t Lie.
On Mirrors Don’t Lie, Issey Cross explained,
“‘Mirrors Don’t Lie’ is me understanding that it wasn’t only the other person in the relationship who was wrong, it was me too.”
To celebrate the release of her new music, we recently chatted with Issey Cross about mistakes, live shows, and of course, Mirrors Don’t Lie.
HH: Ever since you debuted with “Who,” we’ve been completely obsessed with you. How has your life changed in these past few months?
IC: The past few months has definitely been a lot busier than before the release, but I’m loving it. Since “Who” came out, I’ve been on Zoom nearly every day working with new writers and producers all over the world and meeting new people. Also, it’s been so lovely getting DMs from strangers saying they love my music and that I’ve inspired them. It means so much to me knowing I’m inspiring other people to release their music!
HH: Mirrors Don’t Lie has you taking accountability for your mistakes. What’s your advice for people who aren’t willing to admit they’re wrong?
IC: People learn from their mistakes, but I think it’s always best to just be honest with people from the start. Therefore, there’s nothing to hide and nothing to cause problems later on down the line.
HH: Was any particular track more difficult to write than the others?
IC: All the tracks actually came to me quite easy really, but I think “Boys Make Promises” was the one that we worked on the most as we wanted to get it perfect and make it the best it could be.
HH: The acoustic rendition of “Boys Make Promises” is absolutely stunning. What made you decide to include this on the EP?
IC: I decided to put the acoustic version of “Boys Make Promises” on the EP as around springtime, I love to listen to acoustic songs in the sun and I thought we could make a really nice version of that with this song. Although I love the production of the original, it’s also nice to hear a stripped back version and hear the emotion more through the lyrics.
HH: Your hair and fashion sense are ICONIC. What inspires your style? What are you trying to tell the world by the way you present yourself?
IC: Thank you! My style is inspired from a lot of different things, but I’ve always loved to clash colors in an outfit! I think it almost shows my personality–especially with songwriting, how sometimes I like to write really sad piano songs, which is my more vulnerable side and other times I love to write powerful sounding songs with attitude.
HH: Although live shows haven’t exactly returned yet, which song on Mirrors Don’t Lie are you most looking forward to performing in front of a crowd?
IC: I think I’d have to say “Who!” I feel like it would be so fun to perform live with everyone singing along and shouting out “WHO THE FUCK IS THIS BITCH,” HAHA. I can’t wait to perform live again and hear people singing my lyrics back to me.
HH: If you could turn back time and write any hit song, which would it be?
IC: I wouldn’t say it’s a hit song, but I wish I had written “Liability” by Lorde. She’s one of my favorite artists and I used to listen to that song growing up and relate to it so much. God, I was such an emo teen looking back on it now!
HH: What are your hidden hits?
IC: “These Drugs” – Baby Queen
“SHADES ON” – Raissa
“Wrong One” – TS Graye
The Hidden Hits 