Exzenya is no stranger to our pages. Over the past few months, her music kept finding its way back into our headphones, our playlists, and eventually into our conversations.
What always pulled us toward Exzenya is the way she refuses to stay predictable. Her universe moves between elegance and chaos, between raw confession and carefully crafted atmospheres.
So this time, instead of simply writing about the music, we wanted to step inside her creative world a little deeper.
Your latest release “The Fans Applauded” feels like someone standing alone under a spotlight telling the truth for the first time. Did you imagine a visual scene while writing it?
Yes — it comes from real stage fright, the kind where your body actually shuts down. I’ve had moments in public speaking and training where I froze completely, even though I was supposed to be leading. I haven’t performed live yet because of that fear. So the song starts there, in that very real internal battle.
At the same time, I do think in pictures and scenes, almost like a movie. I pictured standing alone under the spotlight, silence before the first note, heart pounding, that voice in your head saying they’re all going to laugh at you. Then the shift when the audience starts singing along and supporting — the energy changes, the isolation breaks, and it becomes connection. The whole song played out visually in my head as I wrote: the heavy isolation turning into something shared and warm. It blends the real fear I carry with the imagined breakthrough I hope for.
Your music often balances vulnerability and irony at the same time. Do you think humor can sometimes reveal emotions more honestly than sadness can?
It really depends on the moment and the song. Sometimes the irony and the slight smile in the lyrics come naturally because that’s how I process things — I feel everything so deeply, almost too deeply, and the humor or the wry twist slips in as a way to breathe. It’s not planned. It’s just how I balance it.
When the vulnerability feels raw and heavy, like it’s about to crush me, a touch of irony lets me say the painful truth without breaking completely. Sadness can be honest too, but sometimes it stays trapped inside. The humor… it slips past the walls I still have up. It reveals the part of me that’s still scared, still hopeful, still human in the messiest way. I don’t always choose it — it shows up when the emotion is too big to hold only with tears. That mix feels more true to how I actually live and feel.
Your voice carries something very theatrical, almost like you are interpreting a character while still remaining deeply yourself. Do you see songwriting as performance, confession, or something in between?
It’s performance, it’s confession, and it’s something in between — all at once.
When I write and sing, a full scene plays out in my mind. I’m right there inside the movie of it. I step into a heightened version of myself and deliver the story exactly as it needs to be shown. At the same time, it’s confession — not only my own, but also the confessions of other people. Some songs have nothing to do with me at all. They come from observing someone else, or a situation I witnessed, and I completely step out of myself to become that different person in the song.
Songwriting lets me hold all of that together: the performance playing out like a scene in my head, my own truth when it is mine, and the full truth of someone else when it isn’t. That space in between is exactly where the songs live.
If “The Fans Applauded” were the final scene of a movie, what would happen right before the credits roll?
The lights are low, just one strong spotlight on the stage. I finish the last note, and for a second everything is completely silent. Then the applause explodes — loud, warm, full of whistles, people chanting my name, stomping, the whole room vibrating with real energy. It feels like they’re not just clapping for the song, but truly seeing me and meeting me right there in that moment.
I stand under the spotlight, taking it all in, a small genuine smile breaking through as the sound washes over me. The camera slowly pulls back while the cheers and voices fill the room. It’s that powerful rush of connection after standing alone with the fear. Then the lights gently fade, the applause and chanting still echoing, and the credits start to roll over a soft piano reprise.
It’s the kind of ending that stays with you.
“Till I’m Drunk & Confused” explored escapism in a very playful way, while your newer work feels more emotionally exposed. Do you think your relationship with vulnerability has changed over time?
My relationship with vulnerability changed years ago, the moment I realized that every heavy feeling I have, every experience or thought, is something other people are carrying too. That understanding — that I’m not alone — shifted how I approach everything.
“Till I’m Drunk & Confused” was never about me personally. It came from watching others, especially younger people still learning how to handle intense emotions. I saw them reaching for denial, for humor, for alcohol — anything to escape the pain for a little while. The song captures that playful surface and the ugly cycle it can become.
Right now I’m working on two very different albums at the same time. One is The Story of My Life, which dives into relationship cycles and carries much heavier emotions — anger, sadness, confusion, instability, feeling like a failure, wanting to give up. Those songs sit right in the middle of those feelings. At the same time, I’m making Bar Scenes and Rumors, which is about social scenes, partying, alcohol, coping, and all the goofy, messy things that happen when people drink. That album uses a lot more humor because it fits those situations perfectly.
So some of my songs feel heavier and more emotionally direct, while others stay playful. But at the core, it all comes from the same place: understanding that we’re all going through these things, and the music is where we don’t have to hide anymore.
You transform personal stories into something universal without losing their intimacy. Is there ever a moment where writing becomes emotionally risky for you?
Most songs on The Story of My Life album draw from past experiences in relationships that weren’t healthy. The album travels through the full cycle — the excitement in the beginning, the ugliness when things fall apart, the confusion and pain, and then the breakthrough where you find yourself again and come back stronger. When I write those, I step into the scene in my mind and relive exactly what those moments felt like. But because I’ve already moved through them and I’m now in a very good, healthy relationship, it doesn’t feel risky anymore. Those emotions are from chapters I’ve closed.
“The Fans Applauded” is different. That one is about the present moving into the future. It comes from the real stage fright I still carry today and the performances I know are coming soon. I haven’t performed live yet, so writing it means stepping into a moment I haven’t fully lived — imagining standing alone under that spotlight, facing the fear, and then the connection that follows. That one touches closer to what’s ahead, so it carries a different kind of weight.
Overall, writing becomes emotionally charged when I’m visualizing scenes that are still unfolding in my life, but I still do it because turning those feelings into songs makes them universal for anyone else who’s ever felt the same way.
Which directors, films, or visual worlds inspire your musical universe the most?
I’m very visual when I write — every song is a full scene playing out in my mind, so films have always shaped how I create.
For the deeper, emotional side like The Story of My Life album, I connect with stories that move through big relationship cycles, struggle, and coming back stronger. Films like A Beautiful Mind — the way it shows the internal battles, the highs and lows, and the power of the mind and resilience. Also movies that capture the messiness of love and finding yourself again, like The Notebook or La La Land — that mix of romance, heartbreak, dreams, and breakthrough moments.
For Bar Scenes and Rumors, it’s the fun, chaotic, social energy — think The Hangover, with all the wild nights, goofy situations, people coping through partying, and the mix of humor and mess that comes with it. Those kinds of scenes where everything feels larger than life but still very human.
Overall, I’m drawn to visual worlds with strong lighting contrasts — spotlights cutting through darkness, crowded rooms, intimate close-ups, and that shift from feeling alone to suddenly connected. Cinematic storytelling where you can see and feel the emotion unfolding like a movie scene. That’s exactly how my songs come together.
Coming from an independent artistic path, do you feel more freedom outside the traditional music industry system, or more pressure?
Right now I feel a lot of freedom.
I’ve always worked independently, so I get to create exactly what I see in my mind without outside direction. I can release music when it’s ready, work on two very different albums at the same time — The Story of My Life with its deep emotional cycles and Bar Scenes and Rumors with its fun, chaotic energy — and keep every song true to the scenes I envision. That creative control means everything to me.
There’s definitely pressure too — handling all the pieces myself — but it’s pressure I’ve chosen. I haven’t worked with a label or major company yet, though there has been some talk. When those opportunities come, I hope to find partners who understand and appreciate my vision, my storytelling, and my way of doing things. I’d love to keep that same freedom and honesty while reaching a bigger stage. We’ll see how the conversations unfold, but for now I’m grateful to be building everything on my own terms.
Your music invites listeners to remove their emotional armor. What is something about yourself you are still learning to reveal without fear?
I’m still learning to stand in my anxiety and fears without trying to hide them or push it asside.
As an artist and professional, I’m very open with my feelings and with who I am. People see the real me through my stage name — I bring that honesty into the music and the stories I tell. But I’m very private about my real name and personal life for safety and security reasons. That boundary is important to me.
The part I’m still working on is the performing side — the real stage fright and the anxiety that comes with knowing I’ll be stepping out under that spotlight soon. I have a lot of anxiety in general, and I’m actively working on becoming a better version of myself in that area. I want to be able to walk onto the stage carrying those nerves honestly, without fighting them.
What can we expect from you in the near future ?
You can expect a lot of new music coming soon — I’m finishing two very different albums at the same time, and both are close.
The Story of My Life will take listeners through the full relationship cycle — the excitement, the beautiful and ugly parts, the confusion, the lows, and the breakthrough where you find your strength again. It’s heavy in emotion but honest, and many of those songs, including “The Fans Applauded,” feel like complete movie scenes.
At the same time, Bar Scenes and Rumors is full of playful, chaotic energy — the parties, the drinking, the goofy moments, the coping, and the humor that comes with all of it. It’s lighter, funnier, and shows the other side of how we deal with life.
I’m also preparing — slowly — to start performing live. I still carry the stage fright, so I’m taking my time with it. I’m not sure exactly when it will happen, but it is coming. Either I’ll finally feel ready and choose to step on stage, or life will push me to face it. Either way, those imagined scenes will become real at some point.
Overall, expect more storytelling that moves between heavy truth and playful honesty — music that feels like films you can listen to. I’m excited to share it all and connect with everyone who’s been listening.
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