Catharsis, confusion and navigating your teenage years: FLEUR ROUGE discusses her latest single, ‘Homesick’

On July 25th, the London-born and French-raised FLEUR ROUGE - known for her unapologetic femme-fatale anthems and technicolour pop beats - released her latest single, Homesick.

An entrance into a vibrant chapter that kickstarts the rollout for her third project, Homesick is one of the artist’s most personal songs to date, written about her parent’s divorce. “I wanted to write a song that showed the frustration I was feeling as a teenager,” FLEUR said. “I felt conflicted when it was happening as I knew my parents would be happier separated but the loneliness and fear you feel when your family is about to be pulled apart is something I know is felt universally but at the time it felt like no one I knew could relate to what I was going through.”

Soon after it’s release, VoiceNoted had the opportunity to sit down with FLEUR ROUGE and talk all about the process of creating Homesick, discussing everything from FLEUR’s favourite lyrics and her musical background to the importance of telling your own story as an artist.

How would you describe your new single to someone who has never heard it before?

“Homesick was an incredibly cathartic song for me to write, because it’s all about my parents divorcing when I was fifteen. It’s about quite a raw time in my life where I felt lost and confused, especially being an only child. So, overall, I’d say it’s a cathartic, reflective and deeply personal song.”

From beginning to end, what was the process of making Homesick like?

“I wrote this song with GETH, my producer, in a little room in North London. Initially we had the bare bones of the song written on the piano, and we were coming up with the guitar part, because I haven’t included a lot of guitar in my songs before but it’s something I’ve wanted to tap into more.

I’d been trying to work out how to approach the song lyrically, so we sat down together and essentially brainstormed all of the feelings and emotions I had from being a child with divorced parents, and the rest of the song came from there.”

What would you say is your favourite lyric on Homesick?

“I’d have to say the outro. It’s not one lyric in that particular part of the song, but just that moment where I’m basically speaking directly to my dad feels very special to me.”

Looking back, what would you say prompted you to start writing and creating music?

“I’ve been writing my own songs for the past six or seven years, but my background in music is quite strange. I did opera professionally from the ages of 11-16 and even went on tour doing it, which was the first time I was making a living from music. I went on to study opera at university, and at the time it felt like the right move for me - partially because I already had that touring experience. But I had a few people around me who were doing something more poppy and writing their own songs, and I realised that I wanted to be telling my own stories in my music.

Opera did help me build the foundations of being a good performer and a good singer, but when I realised that pop was something I was more interested in, I had to unlearn a lot. It’s a very regimented industry, and I’ve found pop to be about being free with your expression. With opera, you’re regurgitating arias that have been done to death but, in pop music, you can tell your own stories and give people something new that they might be able to relate to.”

How important is it for you to tell your own story in your music?

“In my experience, if you don’t say something that means something to people they just zone out. For me, the melody of a song is so important, but for a song to be great, it needs to have lyrics that are going to resonate.”

What would you say is the most personal song you have out?

“Homesick is definitely up there, but I’d say it has to be Lost Cause. Like I said, I used to date my producer, and this was a really interesting song to write from the perspective of someone that you also create with. I had never been in a relationship with someone who was in the same industry as me before. While it did come with its challenges, it was really exciting to create this piece of music with your best friend. I loved it and I hated it at the same time.”

What was it like working with new producers afterwards?

“Initially I was scared. I’d spent a lot of time honing in on a sound, and the two of us had always had the same taste in music and the same sort of vision of what we wanted to create. It’s not as easy as people think to find a good match, so once you find a good producer you have to cling onto that.

However, ultimately I’ve found working with different people to be really refreshing. I do think most singers should mix it up and work with new producers, because it’s something that’s helped me evolve as an artist. I used to be very fixated on how something should sound, but then I’d work with someone new and they’d suggest approaching it in a completely different way to how I’d seen it.

The way people listen to music now is very playlist-heavy, and all the genres tend to bleed into each other. We don’t need to be so obsessed with putting our music into one specific box. If you look at Yungblud as an example, he mixes it up a lot. He’s had songs that have been a lot heavier, and some songs with a sugary pop vibe. It’s very refreshing, because when all your music sounds the same it just gets really boring. Not only is evolution really important, but having variety in your music makes it easier for people to find you and resonate with specific areas of your sound.”

And finally, what’s next?

“More music! My last EP did super well – it landed three big editorials, which is so exciting for me as an independent artist. For now, the plan is releasing new music and growing the fan base, and hopefully getting on some festival spots next year. That’s what I’m manifesting anyway.”

With an upcoming slot at Jodie Bryant’s Discover Live alongside an array of new music promised over the next few months, FLEUR’s rise is only set to continue.

Make sure to follow FLEUR ROUGE on Instagram so you don’t miss an update, and stream the rest of her discography on Spotify: