Scrappy singer Sky Ferreira explains how she landed on one of this year’s biggest pop bills. And why she has more in common with Miley than you’d think.
John Gara / BuzzFeed
Now 21, Sky Ferreira signed a record contract when she was 15, and spent her teenage years bouncing around the teen pop industry, dutifully trying on outfits and sounds, before finding her own voice on an excellent debut LP last year. She is as stubborn as she is sensitive, and after revealing how shitty she's feeling, she carries on with her press day.
Days earlier, Ferreira played one of her last shows as the opening act on the U.S. leg of Miley Cyrus' Bangerz tour, and there are still errant bits of glitter on her face. To supplement her music earnings, she has worked as a fashion model and brand spokesperson; on this day, her cheekbones are dramatically contoured and there's a dangerous-looking bandage wrapped around her leg, protecting a big gash. Ferreira is based in New York, where she lives with boyfriend of a year Zachary Cole Smith, who fronts rock band DIIV. "It's crazy, I guess it's a serious relationship. Safe to say a lot has happened," she said. She's possibly referring to the duo's September 2013 arrest, and how they've been compared to infamous lovers Kurt and Courtney.
If it had been up to an agent, Ferreira may not have been booked as the opening act on one of the biggest pop tours of the year. But it wasn't — Ferreira opened at the request of Miley Cyrus herself. She spoke to BuzzFeed about why she and Cyrus became friends, how she powered through an early-tour injury, and what it feels like to play, with other women, for an arena full of girls.
Sky Ferreira: [Miley and I] met at the end of last year. We just clicked right away. Our personalities get along really well. We have the same sense of humor; mine's a little more twisted, I guess. We just turn into 13-year-old boys when we talk. Suddenly, we go from being like, young women, to being very immature, walking around with fake teeth all night. People are like, "What's wrong with you guys?" Miley is a girly girl, but she also isn't. She likes putting on makeup, she likes sexy clothes and stuff, but she's pretty down. This term is so stupid, but she's down to earth. That's why I like hanging out with her, cause it's not about spending eight hours getting ourselves together.
I love girls, and I wish I had more friends that were girls, and I think that's kind of a thing with her too. Our energy just clicks, I don't know. It's not competitive or weird. Competition is good, to feel competitive is good, but not to the point where you fuck people over or you're mean. We're both very supportive of each other.
I think this is the most fun I've had on tour. It's a different type of crowd — with Miley Cyrus, it's way poppier and the energy is kind of insane in the room. There's 30,000 people screaming at all times. Like, from when they walk into the arena. It's a lot of teenage girls. It's really fun cause they're so excited to be there. They're peaking in life. It's so crazy, you just see these girls crying and screaming. Miley has such good stage presence and just knows how to connect with all of them. People feel like they know her. [Miley and I] are very different in that sense. When I meet people, they don't really know me right away. But when she talks for like, one second, people can automatically feel like her best friend.
When I play, it's exposing [the audience] to something different. But I feel like they relate to my music lyrically. Teenage girls don't just listen to like, fist-pumping party music, or whatever people think teenage girls listen to. That's why Lorde had this biggest song this year.
