Describing her upcoming debut album as “gay, fun, and vulnerable,” Towa Bird’s charming demeanor is as evident in conversation as it is in her social media presence and playful songwriting. Towa Bird infuses a unique spin on pop music with her bluesy guitar solos and lyrical self-reflection. Now, she’s ready for the world to hear it as she nears the release of her first studio album American Hero and is currently touring around North America with Renee Rapp. Both the tour and the album promise to bring authenticity and plenty of guitar solos.

Amongst the slick modern production, fun nature, and catchy choruses of Bird’s pop rock songs lies personal bare-bones lyricism and classic rock-inspired guitar work that sets Towa Bird apart from much of the pop music today. 

Born in Hong Kong, Bird was introduced to classic rock staples such as Jimi Hendrix, The Who, and Led Zeppelin by her dad as a kid, Bird started playing guitar at 12 and would play along to the recordings. At 14 she formed her own band, and would then perform at small bars and festivals around Hong Kong. Eventually she quit college to pursue music, and the work paid off when she was signed to Interscope Records in 2021. 

As a queer artist whose honesty is continually on display in her music, songwriting has created an avenue for her personal growth and a way to learn about herself. Bird uses her real life stories to form art in its purest form and create moments of self-reflection.

“It’s such a beautiful form of expression to be able to song write and create and draw from real life stories and real life experiences and make that into a piece of art. I think that really is such a high form of privilege for me to be able to have,” Bird explains, adding that this process “helps me create my mindset around that experience and helps me sort of put a lens over what actually happened and be able to introspect and reflect upon it.”

Her candor about personal growth is refreshing in a society where covering up your flaws is the norm on social media. Honesty is on full display with the single “Wild at Heart,” which recalls past ways that she used to navigate relationships. She admits in the chorus that “I can’t believe that you could tame my wild, wild heart,” and says that the song is about “emotional growth and learning how to respect myself and learning how to respect other people.”

Losing The newest single “This Isn’t Me” reflects on feeling out-of-place and lonely in Paris during Fashion Week amongst the glitz and glamor. Vulnerability is part of the appeal to listeners, and American Hero was mostly written during a transitionary period of her life after moving from London to LA and learning to “acclimate to American culture.”

Her inspiration also came from the relationship with her American girlfriend, and notes that the album’s title is meant to be ironic. Considering she’s not American, non-white and non-male, her identity is the opposite of the archetypal American hero. “It was initially started as a joke and then the more and more I developed this project, It kind of just like stuck so it’s just supposed to be a little subversive,” she explains. 

Writing songs isn’t the only important duty she has, although is the more fun one. Her TikTok success has been a double-edged sword. She has racked up almost a million TikTok followers with her bluesy guitar solos over songs from artists such as Tame Impala, Willow, and Kali Uchis. Bird reluctantly considers TikTok a part of her job, and even though it’s not the highlight of her day, it has remained an important part of connecting with her young audience.

She consistently posts clips of guitar solos, live shows, and song snippets despite the tedious nature of making videos. Aware that she’s able to connect to audiences digitally in ways that generations before couldn’t, the “tumultuous” relationship between her and TikTok is worth it in the end. 

“I’ve worked in like bars in London and like pubs where I’ve literally had to like clean vomit. And I’m like, if making TikTok is like one of the worst parts of my job, then like, this is a fucking dream. Like this is crazy, you know, it’s push and pull. It’s okay.”

An especially freeing moment for her is in the middle of her live set when she gets to set down the guitar and have more freedom on the stage. “I get to put my guitar down, so I’m like free. I’m like off leash for the first half of the song, I get to run around a little bit and then like, I jump back on the guitar and just have that kind of dynamic. In the middle of the set is my favorite part. I think that’s so, so cool,” she explains.  

That expression she exhibits live is exactly what her music feels like in the first place- fun, free, and uniquely herself.