What happened to the band after America’s Got Talent ended?

We stuck around together for maybe half a year but the adults in the situation weren’t able to keep things together. There were a lot of contractual things that were going wrong and a lot of mistreatment from management. The fact that we were 16—getting robbed and getting taken advantage of—was not OK. We had a meeting and [our managers] didn’t expect me to come as correct as I did. I approached them with everything that was wrong on a list and said, “This is not happening, this is not happening, and if this doesn’t happen, I’m out of here.” They weren’t willing to just be appropriate and professional.

Now that you’re a solo artist, where do you start your songwriting process on a track like “FWU”?

Songs about monogomy aren’t exactly tearing up the charts these days.... I felt like what was missing was a song for a wholesome female. We’ve got all the “I don’t need no nigga” females. We’ve got the “fuck everybody,” or “I’m too good for this,” or the over-sexualized songs. When you go home [after recording those tracks], can you sit down and be like, “This is what I actually believe in.” Do you think your man actually wants to hear this? I feel like no one always feels like that. With “FWU,” I was just like, “This is how I genuinely feel in a relationship.”

Styling by Daniel Buezo

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