Stephanie Poetri Pictures Herself Creating

interviewed & written by Sydney Ling

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Shot by Casper Yen

In a loose green and white shirt over a cherry-print crop top, Stephanie Poetri walks around New York City, capturing vivid scenes of a yellow car overflowing with flowers, the subway train rushing by, and a breezy, grey day by Manhattan Bridge in Polaroids. Poetri records these moments in snapshots in her latest single “Picture Myself”’s VHS-filtered music video, directed by Eileen Yoon. The first release since the Indonesian singer-songwriter’s debut EP “AM:PM,” the acoustic-driven track is a collaboration with producer M-Phazes (clients Madonna, Demi Lovato, Kehlani) and writer Sarah Aarons (Zedd, Flume, Jessie Ware), crafting a story about the vulnerability of a long-distance relationship. After writing her hit single “I Love You 3000” from an Instagram song ideas poll response with the Avengers: Endgame quote, Poetri quickly stepped out of her mom’s, popular Indonesian singer Titi DJ’s, presence and started building her own platform.

With “Picture Myself,” the 20-year-old maintains the soft pop genre from “I Love You 3000” into a next chapter of her musical journey. As she continues to create, whether that be through drawing the cover artwork for “Picture Myself” or her Twitch songwriting segment, “Writing a Song with Chat,” Poetri aims to release more music and content in an industry where she hopes to see more Asian artists thrive.

Introduce yourself! 

Hi! I’m Stephanie Poetri! I’m a singer-songwriter from Indonesia, and I’m very excited about 2022, woohoo!

Shot by Casper Yen

Your songs often encompass themes of vulnerability. Do you think “Picture Myself” expresses such emotional tenderness in a different way than your previous tracks? Do you think you’ve evolved in communicating vulnerability through your music? 

“Picture Myself” is about long-distance relationships and the dilemma that comes with loving someone so much but hating how much it hurts to be apart. With “Picture Myself,” I think the emotions that I am trying to evoke are so strongly shown through the lyrics, and the production definitely acts as a pillar to the deepness of the verses. I think I’ve definitely gotten better at storytelling through lyrics in my music.

“Picture Myself” is the first single since your debut EP “AM:PM.” How do you think “Picture Myself” marks a new era in your musical career? 

Before this, I was always scared to go back to soft acoustic pop because I thought that “I Love You 3000” did that already, and I didn’t want to repeat myself. But after realizing that this vibe and sound is what I wanna do for a long part of my career, I’m no longer so scared to go back to that, and it's definitely the path I’m going for this era.

“Picture Myself” artwork by Stephanie Poetri

You drew the cover art for “Picture Myself.” What was the reason behind this artistic decision?

“Picture Myself” feels like the words from my diary and I wanted the cover art to reflect that, as if it was doodles in my diary. I’ve always loved to draw as well, and wanted to return to my DIY roots a bit. 

“Picture Myself” is about a long-distance relationship and the music video visualizes that through motifs like the subway and polaroids. The overall look feels very handcrafted and intimate. How did you decide on how you wanted to represent the relationship through such imagery and the retro-looking aesthetic? 

I’ve always wanted to do a music video where I walk around New York City. For some reason, I wanted to show distance by showing the business and cramped-ness of the city contrasting the open outdoor-ness of the shots with the car on the grass. I also always loved the gritty VHS aesthetic and I wanted to keep that for this project as well.

You moved to Los Angeles for your music career, but returned to Indonesia once the pandemic started. How do you think that staying in your home country has affected your trajectory? Do you think your path and career would be much more different if you had stayed in Los Angeles? 

I definitely at first felt like moving back had a negative impact on my mental health. I felt like I was stuck and on pause with my career and my adulthood. Now, looking back, I think it was such a great opportunity for me to try out new things, like streaming and making a lot of online friends! I am grateful that I got to stay with my family and still have done so much personally. Though I wish I made more music, I also understand that I was lacking inspiration as I was inside most of the time. I’m not sure if my path would be different if I stayed, but I can say with 100% confidence that going back to Indonesia was the best decision.

As an Indonesian artist you’ve achieved huge success in western audiences. Do you feel like you often are faced with a pressure to “represent” Indonesia? What has your experience been like as an international artist with a western audience? 

I think there are some situations where I feel pressured to represent “Indonesia” and “Indonesian Culture,” but to be honest, I think it's a really good pressure for me because some days I feel like giving up, and the pressure reminds me I’m not doing it just for me! My experience with the western market and audience has been great; I find it really fun whenever I get to talk about my upbringing and culture!

Following up on the previous questions, with the rise of Asian-descent artists in the western music industry, what change do you think still needs to be made for meaningful representation? 

As an Asian American, I feel like sometimes people don’t fully understand that I am both Asian and American, no matter how white-passing I am. I’ve seen a lot of my fellow mixed artists be subjected to being perceived as not Asian enough because of how they look, and so they get some backlash whenever they talk about their Asian heritage. It’s important that we keep reminding our community that we all have different experiences when it comes to our understanding of being Asian, and we should try our best to be open-minded to what it means to other people.

“As an Asian American, I feel like sometimes people don’t fully understand that I am both Asian and American, no matter how white-passing I am.”

Social media is a big aspect of your rapid success, especially seen through how your viral hit “I Love You 3000.” Do you think your relationship with social media has changed overtime? How do you think social media has impacted your music career and who you are as a music artist, both positively and negatively?  

I see social media as a positive impact on who I am, as I have been able to do so much thanks to social media. But I also understand how it can be dangerous to be so dependent on it, so I try my best to use it in a meaningful and positive way. I always think of myself as someone who doesn't only do music but I make content in general, music being one of them, and I can't wait to create more online content in 2022!

You were able to meet and work with Jackson Wang with his remix of “I Love You 3000,” which in previous interviews you said was such a mind blowing experience. Who are some other music artists you hope to work with in the future? 

I’d love to work with artists everywhere in the world! It’d be incredible to do English versions of songs in other languages as well! I’d also love to write some music for Kpop!

“It’s very funny how people will always find a way to remember you, and now I realize it's less of an ‘in the shadow’ thing but more of a way people can identify you based on their experiences!”

Your mom, Titi DJ, is a prominent Indonesian singer. You’ve said that growing up you were often in the limelight. How do you think you’ve been able to form your music career without having your mom’s presence exclusively define it? Do you think you’ve ever wanted to shy away from the spotlight, and if so, how have you come to terms with gaining a large audience? 

When I was young, I didn't want to be in the spotlight as I felt like I wasn’t deserving of it. I thought that if I were to be famous, it would be because of my mom and that felt very unfair to others. After realizing that making music was a huge passion of mine, I thought that at the end of the day, I could use the opportunity that I was born with in a positive way, making sure that I was aware of the privileges I was born with. 

Also, before I started making music, I didn’t like how I was always known as her daughter. After "I Love You 3000," I started being known as the person who sang "I Love You 3000!" It’s very funny how people will always find a way to remember you, and now I realize it's less of an ‘in the shadow’ thing but more of a way people can identify you based on their experiences! 

What’s next for you? Where do you see yourself in the next year? Or 5 years? Or even 10 years?  

I have more songs coming out this year, and I’m so excited to see how people will react to it! In the future, I would love to be more active in the songwriting community and write songs for other people. I also aim to be more active online and stream more, create more YouTube videos, and more content in general! I also would love to see more Asian artists thrive in the western market, and especially would love to see more Indonesians in every corner of the entertainment industry!