{"id":2347967,"date":"2026-03-27T15:50:23","date_gmt":"2026-03-27T15:50:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2347967"},"modified":"2026-03-27T15:50:23","modified_gmt":"2026-03-27T15:50:23","slug":"towa-bird-talks-new-album-gentleman","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/towa-bird-talks-new-album-gentleman\/","title":{"rendered":"Towa Bird Talks New Album ‘Gentleman’"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\n\tWith her second album, Towa Bird<\/a> is redefining what it means to be a gentleman. From the way the singer-songwriter and guitarist rocks oversize tailored suits on the album\u2019s cover to the swaggering guitar tones that shape its sonic world, the project, titled Gentleman,<\/em> gives the concept brand-new meaning.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cWhen people think of a gentleman, it\u2019s a very masculine, almost traditional word,\u201d Bird tells Rolling Stone<\/em>. \u201cBut I\u2019m expressing it as the two separate words that exist in that word, so \u2018gentle\u2019 and \u2018man,\u2019 the feminine and the masculine.\u201d She continues, \u201cI felt like I could identify the way that I dress, my style, the way that I present my gender and how I appear to the world. Everything clicked and I was like, \u2018Oh, wow, that\u2019s me.’\u201d True to her point, the Los Angeles-based musician is wearing a white oversize men\u2019s button-down with ruby red polish on her nails for our Zoom call.<\/p>\n

\n\tAs a queer Filipina British artist, it was also important to Bird to challenge the notions of gender roles<\/a> in a patriarchal world. \u201cGentleman<\/em> is leaving behind all of those traditional, chivalrous, low-key misogynistic [meanings] and bringing it into 2026. How can I put a queer lens on that and how can I make it appropriate for society in this day and age?\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe newly announced <\/em>album, which arrives May 15, marks Bird\u2019s second LP and is the follow-up to 2024\u2019s American Hero<\/em><\/a><\/em>. There\u2019s no sophomore slump here; after the unrivaled confidence of her debut release, the guitar hero has managed to tap into more self-assured energy. It\u2019s apparent all over the project, especially on the cheeky new single \u201cDirty Habit,\u201d a jeering tirade against the money and status-obsessed culture that invades L.A.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe fearless songwriting from the new single embodies another key element of Gentleman<\/em> beyond Bird\u2019s next-level confidence: her newfound relentless honesty. \u201cWith the single and with this album, I\u2019m really just laying it out there and finally saying what I\u2019ve been wanting to say,\u201d she says. In the interview below, Bird describes how nonstop touring<\/a>, writing with girlfriend<\/a> Rene\u00e9 Rapp, and growing up shaped Gentleman<\/em>\u2018s no-holds-barred energy.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\u201cDirty Habit\u201d is out this week with the album announcement. How does the song sum up the new album?<\/strong>
It\u2019s one of the stronger pop records on the album. It\u2019s so confident and I\u2019m talking my shit. It shows who I am as a person and how I\u2019m growing more into myself and being able to say things quite explicitly. I\u2019m pushing back on those societal implications that are placed on us and I\u2019m just trying to be more true because we all feel those feelings, but it\u2019s whether or not we say it.<\/p>\n

\n\tWhat inspired you to write it?<\/strong>
I had something happen with a friend that really frustrated me.\u00a0The song is about L.A. kids growing up into money, wealth, and access, and that being normalized for you. You grow up and you have your parents\u2019 credit card and it\u2019s unlimited and you can just fucking go and buy vintage designer from the age of 12 \u2014 just all of these crazy stories, going to all of these parties with all of these celebrities at 15, 16, I\u2019m like, \u201cWhoa, crazy.\u201d I see the world a little bit differently and sometimes we don\u2019t gel.<\/p>\n

\n\tI spent the first 16 years of my life in Asia, so now living in a place where the emphasis is so heavy on that, it\u2019s very confusing for me. I\u2019m like, \u201cOh, people really assign your worth and your value to something that\u2019s so incredibly superficial.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tIt feels like \u201cDirty Habit\u201d would fit perfectly in the world of HBO\u2019s I Love LA.<\/a><\/em><\/strong>
No, actually, so true. I gotta text Rachel [Sennott]. \u201cI have a present for you, girl.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tRene\u00e9<\/strong> Rapp is credited as a writer on the track. You two have worked together on a couple<\/a> of each other\u2019s <\/a>songs. What was that experience like? <\/strong>
She was crucial for the song to exist. After I formulated the concept, [producer] Patrick [Wimberly] and my friend Julio [Tavarez] co-produced it. And then Rene\u00e9 and I teamed up and we were like, \u201cLet\u2019s crack these lyrics.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

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\t\tRelated Content<\/p>\n<\/h2>\n<\/section>\n

\n\tI pitched her the idea, and a lyrical reference that I had was \u201cSuper Rich Kids\u201d by Frank Ocean. I love that song but I wondered \u201cHow can I reference that and make it me?\u201d She is such an amazing vocal powerhouse, so she pushes me vocally. I like to stay in my little comfort zones and she\u2019s like, \u201cNo, fuck that. I know you can sing this. You\u2019re going to sing this.\u201d Having that confidence and that strength in a room allows me to unlock a whole other part of my voice and therefore unlock different parts of my writing too. She\u2019s a great lyricist and it\u2019s just so fun. It\u2019s always such a great time.<\/p>\n

\n\tWere you always a fan of Martin Scorsese\u2019s After Hours<\/em> that inspired the song\u2019s music video?<\/strong>
It\u2019s a really cool deep cut film but the director, Caio [Vieira], who I worked with on this music video, he was the one who brought in the reference of After Hours<\/em>. I told him, \u201cI want to shoot it in Paris. I want to shoot it at night. I want to shoot it in the streets and I want there to be a lot of chaos and bullshit.\u201d\u00a0Essentially, it\u2019s a movie shot throughout an entire night and [the main character] cannot get anything right. Everything just keeps fucking up and he\u2019s just very frustrated throughout the night, and that\u2019s the energy of the song. I just keep fucking running into the same issue with these different types of people and it\u2019s so frustrating.<\/p>\n

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