Mckayla Twiggs Is the Rich One in the Relationship

Welcome to SOUND ADVICE, Interview’s weekly destination for playlists curated by our friends, enemies, and lovers. In recent weeks, we’ve featured playlists from María Isabel, Zack Fox, and Danny L Harle. This week’s installment comes from L.A.-based singer-songwriter Mckayla Twiggs, a former Broadway actress—she played Young Cosette in the 2014 production of Les Misérables—who has since traded in her character shoes for a recording career. Glitter and diamonds paired with an impressive set of pipes, Twiggs released her debut single “What a Girl Wants” on March 20, a declaration of lust for all things illegal and expensive. In line with the release, she made us a playlist spanning pop royalty and fellow up-and-comers, then tackled our questionnaire, divulging secrets, style icons, and what it would actually take to turn her into a gold-digger.

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Where do you dance?
Everywhere.

LA or NYC?
NYC, spiritually. I was born and raised there, I just moved to LA six months ago. Every time I get in a car it feels like a hazard for everyone involved. I usually do better when my transportation method is walking in a straight line.

Who do you trust most with the aux cord?
Probably my girlfriend. She has the best music taste. 

What are you saying to God at the gates of Heaven?
“Soooo are we laughing or am I in trouble?”

Dream collab, dead or alive?
An Ariana [Grande], Britney [Spears], [Lady] Gaga, and Radiohead song featuring me.

What song off your album has been on replay?
I feel like a lot of artists don’t listen to their own music but I am a proud Mckayla Twiggs stan. “What a Girl Wants” is probably my magnum opus. I listen to it every day.

Are theatre kids really that bad?
Only if you’re threatened by range.

What song on this playlist makes you cry?
“7 Rings” by Ariana makes me really emotional.

What celeb was your gay awakening?
My girlfriend.

Fuck Marry Kill: Gucci, Prada, Chanel
Kill Gucci. Fuck Prada (she’s hot). And marry Chanel (she’s very reliable).

What’s a good piece of advice that you never follow?
Whenever my girlfriend tells me to shower.

How much money would a person need to have to turn you into a gold-digger?
Bold of you to assume I’m not the rich one.

What song on this playlist is your guilty pleasure?
“What A Girl Wants.”

The world is ending, what are you wearing?
Britney Spears’ outfit at the 2001 VMAs, riding around on a pink horse, a naturally pink one, obviously.

What is your queer canon event?
The Megan Fox Transformers scene. You know the one.

Who are your style icons?
Hannah Montana and Paris Hilton.

What is your musical taste red flag?
People who hate pop music. Because real music is back and it’s called pop.

Who is the Queen of Pop?
Madonna started it, Gaga perfected it, and I’m just here trying to pay rent.

What’s a song on this playlist you wish you wrote?
“Everything in Its Right Place” by Radiohead.

Tell us a secret.
Whenever I go to London, I fake a British accent in public to see if anyone will clock it. If you hear it, don’t say anything.

What number one rule do you live by?
Never apologize for belting in public. The world needs it more than you think.

The key to my heart is…
Gay