In conversation with Naomi Scott

From the screen to the studio, pop music’s latest disruptor has arrived

Princess, Power Ranger, and now budding popstar – Naomi Scott may just be the total package. A Hollywood darling (Aladdin, Charlie’s Angels, or Smile 2 ring a bell?) and musician, the British artist/actress is an enchanting storyteller at heart. In her newest music, Naomi’s world is effortlessly elegant, playful yet authentic. Glistening in between the sparkles of pop & R&B, Naomi keeps it cute as subtly smooth basslines pulse under transcendently airy vocals. Following her debut performance of Sweet Nausea on Glamcult TV,  we chatted with Naomi (standing still this time) about her musical journey, upcoming debut album F.I.G, and, of course, Sylvia Plath.

Hey Naomi! First off: How was your performance? Did the spinning platform work out in the end?
It actually did. I’m glad that I pushed for it! Understandably, we were all kind of like, “Oh, I don’t think this is going to work.” But actually, it went great! And it’s perfect for the song. The song is quite still; it’s not so crazy. 

Which song did you perform?
It’s a song called Sweet Nausea that I released in November. 

Could you share the inspiration behind it?
So for my songs, I like to write log lines, almost like movie log lines, for the songs that explain what the song is about consistently. This one is like “the carousel of regret”. It’s this idea of when you have to keep replaying something over and over and over in your mind that you regret, and you’re hoping that you kind of replay it because you think that maybe if you replay it enough times, it will change the outcome. But the spoiler alert: it doesn’t. I kind of loved this idea. I came into the studio with a sort of little nursery rhyme. I can’t remember, but it ended with sweet nausea. And I was like, “This is the idea.” I was almost imagining a movie scene of being in a fun fair where everyone’s gone. That’s kind of the vibe of the song. And then it’s also giving like 80s ballad, New Edition, circa, heartbreak type vibes.

So would you say it’s sonically similar to the 80s R&B vibe as your last two songs?
Yeah, it’s interesting because it’s definitely not just that. I never want to be too reductive like “Oh, this is an ’80s thing.” But it definitely evokes those nostalgic feelings, for sure. It’s very simple. I think it’s one of my favourite songs off the record, actually. It’s one of those stories. I know everyone’s like, “Oh, we wrote this in 10 minutes.” But like, I hate to say it, but this one was just the three of us, and it was just like, boom, boom, boom. Lido, my producer,  was writing the chords as we were writing. It was one of those nice songs that come easily, quickly. Like “Oh, this feels right.” 

Lovely. You already touched on an album. So there is an album that’s coming out in the future?
There is! My debut album F.I.G is coming out on March 20th 2026. I’m super excited about it. Very excited.

This will be your debut album, then. How does that feel?
Yes! It’s my first album. I just feel really grateful to be able to make music with people that I love and collaborators that I love, and kind of combine what I want to talk about thematically, and also the soundscape that I wanted to create. Which was really nostalgic. It’s those things that I listened to growing up. It’s what was on my dad’s Windows Media Player growing up, basically. That type of music brings me joy. So, I wanted to have a kind of hybrid that felt like a world that you were stepping into. It always comes from a truthful place, although it is not completely autobiographical. That’s my sweet spot. So it’s pop and it’s fun, but there’s also a kind of vulnerability; everything comes from a very real place. 

I read that you directed your last music video for Cherry. Do you also want to take a similar approach with the album?
It’s a good question, babes. I don’t know. I’m always someone who never wants to insert myself into something that I don’t think is going to be the best for the thing, right? However, with Cherry in particular, I knew exactly what I wanted. And so I knew I was the right person to direct it. I also, on the other hand, really enjoy another artist or director or whoever coming and bringing their lens to something and seeing something that I maybe haven’t seen in the music. Bringing that to life visually is also really fun. So honestly, I don’t know. I definitely will be directing again. I just don’t know what, in what way or what song necessarily. So yeah, I’m not sure. But we’ll see!

Cherry was the third song you have released in a bit, right? What was the motivation to release music now?
Yeah, I mean, you know, I’ve been making music for a really long time. And I released music like 10 years ago. It was about the right timing in terms of me feeling like I was just really confident and clear in what I wanted to say and how I wanted to sound. And that, you know, everyone’s path is so different.

Yeah, sometimes it takes time.
Yeah, and I think for me, number one, my artistry, including all the other things that I do besides singing, like acting, it’s all kind of a part of this world. But I think it was just me being very clear about what I wanted to say, and also, even just where I am in my life and how I know myself. I think even when I was like 27, when I started to write the album, I was going through a little bit of a quarter-life crisis, which I think everyone does at 27. Even though I had been making music, things that weren’t feeling quite there or quite right necessarily were all part of the exploration to get to where I got to. But during that time, I was also personally going through a lot of stuff. So I think when I started to write from that place, it became clear to me that I had to go back to the basics of me just on the piano. So, I love collaboration. That’s my favourite. I love writing with other people. I love working with other people. But I do think that the seed and the idea have to kind of come from me, or at least that’s when it’s worked the best. I think that when I went back to the basics, of just like childlike play. Like when you’re 16 and you’re writing a really cheesy song on the piano, that’s when it kind of unlocked something for me. And so, that was that.

Super nice. I actually read that you started singing in church.  Do you feel that your upbringing in music influenced this project?
Yeah. So I grew up in church, and I grew up singing in church, and I grew up on a lot of pop gospel, like Kirk Franklin or Kim Burrell. It’s definitely not something I can necessarily explain other than I think anyone who grows up in church understands, like the idea of music in that context and what it means. The idea of worship and what that means. It’s not about you. Maybe that’s something that I’ve only just kind of thought of, where it’s not actually about you and it’s not about performance, but it’s about leading people into a space of being able to be spiritually vulnerable. Yeah. So there’s some connective tissue there in terms of how that informs my artistry. 

Is there a common thread that sews this new album together?  Is there an overall message that you wish people would take from it?
Yeah, so F.I.G is inspired by this excerpt from Sylvia Plath’s book, The Bell Jar. And it’s basically, the character has a dream, and she’s sitting at the foot of this fig tree, and all the figs represent different versions of her life. The idea was like, I think it was around the same time that the movie, The Worst Person in the World, came out. What I was kind of going through personally at the time, as a woman, was a lot about choice and having to make a choice. And also, the kind of paralysis that having to make a choice can come with — this crisis. Just like seeing everything and having to make a choice. I was kind of fascinated by all the different versions of my life. And you know, I also got married really young. So I think that what I was going through personally was very much like me going, “Oh, I haven’t even in my imagination explored other versions of my life.” So it’s not so much that I don’t want the version that I have. It’s just, I haven’t mourned the other ones. So I started writing in different ways; they’re still me, but they’re like different versions of me. 

Different alternate realities.
Yes. But then it’s also just fun!