- I really felt that I went on
a spiritual journey in 2020
when I was creating this album.
And so, the title of the album
really reflects that
in terms of just embodying
that energy of the spirituality,
knowing you're on the right track,
knowing that you're moving towards
everything that you should be moving towards.
I think that that was a spirit
and an energy I tried to embody
while I was creating the project.
333, being angel numbers,
usually mean you're on the right track
and your guides are protecting you
and everything is going according to plan.
We, seasonally, as music listeners
tend to listen to a lot of different vibes
depending on the weather or moods
or how we're feeling.
Like, I know that when it's super cold out
or, like, it's rainy,
I tend to listen to a totally different playlist
than I do when it's sunny
and I want to feel energized.
And so, I think actually a lot of '333'
feels like a summer-playlist-type song
'cause it's got that carefree, fun energy
that just makes you want to dance
and get on your feet and be with your friends
and, like, roll the windows down and drive fast,
and those are all what I think
make good summer anthems.
Hey, what's up MTV news?
I'm Tinashe
and these are my top five
favorite summer anthems.
My first favorite summer anthem
is "Teenage Dream" by Katy Perry.
That song to me embodies,
both, just an anthem anthem
and that summery, carefree,
falling in love, summer romance,
teenager vibe that I love so much.
I just think the melodies
in that song are unreal.
Always loved that song since it came out,
still to this day.
And Katy Perry is, like, one of my favorite,
favorite pop girls.
I got to tour with her in 2015
and we had a blast.
So, much love to Katy Perry.
My next favorite summer anthem
is probably "Big Bank Take Lil Bank" by YG.
I think this song was poppin',
like, two summers ago,
which was, like, my last full summer
out of the house.
Like, we're just getting
out the house this summer,
but like two summers ago,
I was in these streets
and that song was a banger.
I was listening to her everywhere I went.
I'm honestly, like, a really big YG fan, like,
his music just does something to me.
It just gives me that, like, West Coast,
ignorant energy that I need
and I want in my summer nights.
I mean, like, YG's lyrics
are just, like, so simple and, like, funny,
and I mean, they all have,
like, a West Coast sonic vibe,
like, in terms of, like, BPM and tempo
and just, like, performance
and how he spits on the track.
But yeah, it's just that, like, ignorant,
like, I don't give a (beep).
Like, I'm gonna just do whatever I want to do
and, like, be whoever I want to be,
and, like, if anybody has a problem with that,
that's your problem.
I feel like that's the kind of energy
that YG's music really embodies.
My next favorite summer anthem is
actually one of my songs that came out in 2016,
it's called "Superlove."
It is so summery.
The video we shot on the beach.
It's one of my favorite videos that I've done.
It was like we did a spin on 'Baywatch'
and we had "baewatch,"
like B A E, like bae-watch
onesies, and we were, like, saving the men
that were drowning
and giving them mouth-to-mouth.
And then, we had a whole dance sequence in the sand.
We, like, built this platform.
Hannah Lux Davis directed it, she's amazing.
It was just, like, one of my favorite videos that I've done.
I think that record was slept on,
so I'm just, you know, gonna keep promoting her years later.
But, "Superlove" has definitely got that
summery, upbeat, fun, fun, fun energy.
My next favorite summer anthem,
and this is number four,
I'm gonna say, I'm gonna go with,
"Ventura Highway" by America.
And this is, like, a throwback jam,
I think this song probably came out
in like the '70s?
Or the '80s? I don't know.
It's an old one,
but I really got to be a fan of America
because my grandma had an America CD at her house,
and I would visit my grandma every summer,
and every summer I would listen
to that America CD.
And so, I think maybe that's partially
why I associate it with summer,
but it's got this beautiful guitar riff
that is just chef's kiss, amazing.
And I think Janet Jackson
sampled that guitar riff
in of her songs, as well,
because it's just so good.
She had to bring it back.
My favorite thing about listening, like,
to throwback jams or old music,
my favorite thing about America,
is the actual instrumentation,
the guitar riffs and the production.
I think that that was so beautiful
and special at the time
that everything was really raw, instrumentationally.
Nowadays, we use a lot more 808s and synthesizers,
and that stuff is all great and amazing,
but to be able to incorporate
a lot of those live elements,
the strings, the bass,
I definitely wanted to do that
on this project, '333.'
My last favorite summer anthem is
"Pasadena" from my new album, '333,'
because, to me, it feels like
the beginning of summer
when you're just so excited
to finally get outside
and you're thinking that you're gonna have
all these amazing experiences,
and you're kind of looking at the year
through these kind of rose-tinted glasses,
and I just love that energy.
And I think "Pasadena" really embodies that.
The video embodies that free-spiritedness.
And so, that's why I'm gonna pick it
as my fifth summer anthem.
I think I've grown a lot
since putting out 'Songs for You.'
I think 'Songs for You' was a great project for me
because it was my first project
as an independent artist.
So, it was, off-the-bat,
the first one that I put out
without the support of a record label behind me
and I didn't really know how that was gonna go.
I didn't know how people
were going to feel about it or, like, accept me.
It was kind of, like, "We'll see what happens."
Whereas, now, with '333,'
I think I've been an independent artist
for a little bit longer,
I'm much more confident in myself
and in my art and in this project.
I've had a lot more time to, like, plan the rollout
and make sure that everything
is amazing and on point.
So, I feel like I'm definitely
in alignment, on the right track,
and I think that my fans
will tell the difference, as well,
when they listen to this project
that maybe I'm just a little bit more evolved,
a little bit more, you know, confident
and grown up and happier, as well.
I think, you know, 'Songs for You' had a lot of, like, angst
and maybe, like, some sadness in it,
and this album is a lot more evolved from there.