When Audrey Hubert took the stage at The Wiltern in Los Angeles’ Koreatown on Tuesday night, she was met with cheers of excitement that grew louder when Hubert appeared on stage, wearing a coat and banjo in hand. Oh, did we mention it was on stilts?
It’s the kind of circus-like maneuver perfect for an act currently supporting a self-titled debut album Who is the clown?And Hubert isn’t the only one who retreats during the night. One of the band members she was on the road with was assigned to handle her props.
Later in the show, she took out the trampoline to perform her song “Sue Me.” She bounces along to the song’s opening notes and kicks her legs up to hit several splits in a row — all while wearing a dress — before dismounting to begin singing. Huppert ends the show with a verbatim encore of the hit track, asking the audience to put down their phones for round two. The audience, who screams with almost every word, loves it, so these ideas clearly work.
“There’s nothing more fun than having my own ideas and then trying them out and seeing what works,” Hubert says. Hollywood Reporter on Zoom just before the tour starts. If there’s one thing her show makes clear, Audrey Huppert is in the driver’s seat in every aspect of her career.
The pop singer-songwriter, in the midst of her Staircase to Stardom tour, was at the helm of planning the nearly hour-long stage show. “It’s difficult for me to hand anything over,” the 27-year-old admits. She doesn’t do it alone; She credits her “strong” and “funny” team for helping her bring the show to life.
Last year, Hubert was released Who is the clown?and was quickly met with critical acclaim for the album’s catchy tracks and serious, relatable lyrics. “Sue Me,” the album’s most popular rendition, is a great example — “Sue me, I want to be wanted,” repeated throughout the song’s chorus.
Hubert’s success should come as no surprise to anyone who was interested. The singer has been immersed in entertainment all her life. A graduate of New York University and the daughter of television writer Tim Hubert, Audrey began her career writing for television before turning to songwriting. She collaborated with her childhood friend, Gracie Abrams, to write several songs on the singer’s second album, The secret is in usincluding the hit song “I Love You, I’m Sorry.” Her brother Malcolm Todd is likewise one of the fastest rising acts in the industry.
As Hubert continues her tour and moves toward an aggressive Grammy campaign, I spoke with her THR On crafting The Staircase to Stardom tour, what she learned about understanding her career from Abrams and Todd and her recent “devastating” tarot card reading.
Your live show is definitely growing in scale. How have your previous live shows influenced the direction of this tour?
It’s all about getting your sea legs. You can be normal [and] You’ve probably seen a lot of concerts, so you feel like you know how to do your own concerts. Those are definitely two things I felt. But until you do, you don’t really know what’s going to land. My goal and the thing that matters most to me is to get people in and out, while being on stage, grabbing their attention and controlling them as much as possible without taking away what’s amazing about a concert, which is that you’re there having your own experience. I learned a lot, and I’m implementing it into the rest of the year. I also think that changing, adding, or deleting things will give me a better time. I just want to keep it as fresh and exciting as possible for myself and everyone. It’s interesting to see what everyone is doing, and then take that into account as well. But nothing is more fun than having my own ideas and then trying them out and seeing what works.
How do you feel about everything these days from writing for television to making music with Gracie Abrams and now for yourself?
I don’t know. Anyone know as well as I do. I like to plan. When I thought about this about a year ago, I remember a time before I signed any kind of deal. My lawyer said to me, “Audrey, you have to make sure you want to do this.” I was kind of like, “Yes, of course. No questions. Yes. Duh.” It’s interesting, after a year, to see the lifestyle, the mental ramifications, the huge stress, and having to take it all in without becoming a narcissist. I don’t know what will happen.
As a writer, you’re a bit on the outside. But when you make music for yourself, you don’t really own it.
I’m so happy to be the face of that. I had a devastating tarot card read the other day at an event. Who knows, but she said, “You’re going to have to get out into the world a lot more this year.” I thought, no, no, no, no, no. I don’t want to be out in the world. I want to go away. I’m ready. And you have no choice. You have to know how to do both.
How do you deal with that? Suddenly people are into your work and commenting on you.
I’ve also seen it with my brother. I saw that with Gracie. I know it’s one thing to respond. It wasn’t something I thought about other than being really excited for people to like my music. But there are tips and ways through which you can ignore the matter directly. You can control the amount of time you spend online. That was something I discovered very early on, was that if I was alone in my house, I could actually be alone in my house. All I have to do is not look at my phone, which seems like a difficult task these days. It also seems to have become an integral part of the fast track to success. You just have to decide whether you want it or not. This job can go any way you want. All you have to do is know what you want.
I previously talked about your presence Tonight show And have people say they think you’re doing a bit of a funny move. But you said you were trying hard because you didn’t know if it would happen again. We’re in a weird time where trying too hard can be seen as uncool. How do you feel about it all?
I realize that I can often project an perception of myself of my own volition, and with each passing day, I feel how little that matters. I also think there’s some truth to what you said, which is that it’s not cool to try too hard. I mostly see them as cycles of something that could exist. I think there’s this elusive, provocative, abstract…there’s something prevalent about that now in music. This doesn’t mean it’s bad. This person can try as hard as he can, but I believe that you will only become successful if you try your best. It’s just what is and what isn’t. I don’t think this really applies to what I have Jimmy Fallon Performance necessarily, but I had a lot of fun. True, I would have done exactly that [what I wanted]. I knew I wanted to downsize. I knew I didn’t want a lot of production going on behind me, so that’s what I did.
Are you able to write these days while heading out on tour?
Yes. It’s very important to me. It’s also impossible to explain what it’s like to do something for the second time without sounding narcissistic again. There are a few select people in my life who I try to talk to about neurosis. Other than that, I just want to spare people the real me, which is completely caring. Then, sometimes, at the drop of a hat, I don’t worry at all.
Do you still have intentions of writing for others even as you continue to write for yourself?
It depends on how it happens. I always like writing with really good people. It’s fun in a different way than writing on my own, so I can see that happening.
Would you like to do theater or even do something outside of the theater space?
completely. I feel open. It must be the right thing. If anyone thinks of me for anything, just let me know.
