CULTURE

Cara Delevingne Will Appear on St. Vincent’s New Album (as a Singer and as Inspiration)

She’ll be credited under the artist name Kid Monkey.


St. Vincent performs at Merriweather Post Pavilion,
The Washington Post

It’s a tale as old as time. Models and rockstars date, they break up, and usually a few songs come out of it. In two new interviews, St. Vincent says fans wouldn’t necessarily be wrong if they think a few songs on her upcoming album were inspired by her relationship with Cara Delevingne. After all, Billy Joel wrote about Christie Brinkley, Pete Doherty has a few songs about Kate Moss, and Axl Rose was inspired by Stephanie Seymour. It’s to be expected.

If fact, St. Vincent (aka Annie Clark) confirms that not only will she carry on the tradition of being inspired by her model ex, but that Delevingne will actually be a featured singer on a song as well.

Clark tells The New Yorker, that Delevingne (who recently unleashed a song of her own) will sing on a song called “Pills,” under the name Kid Monkey (a pseudonym originally conceived, apparently, to throw off British tabloids). “Pills to grow, pills to shrink, pills, pills, pills and a good stiff drink / pills to f—, pills to eat, pills, pills, pills down the kitchen sink,” goes Delevingne’s part.

The particular song is actually about Clark’s past habit of trying to deal with pressure and problems pharmaceutically, and not the pair’s former relationship. Though, that will pop up, inevitably, in other songs as well. Clark says she just can’t help it.

“I’ve always kept my writing close to the vest,” she told The Guardian. “And by that I mean I’m always gonna write about my life. Sometimes, in the past, I did that way more obliquely than now. But it’s almost like an involuntary reflex. I can’t help but be living and also taking notes on what’s going on, always trying to figure out how to put that into a song. And that does not mean there’s literal truth in every lyric on the way. Of course not. But I can only write about my life, and that—dating Cara—was a big part of my life. I wouldn’t take it off-limits, just because my songs might get extra scrutiny. People would read into them what they would, and you know what? Whatever they thought they found there would be absolutely right. And at the same time it would be absolutely wrong.”

Some fans originally thought her latest single “New York” was inspired by Delevingne (or even by her brief dalliance with Kristen Stewart), Clark did explain that actual origins of the song on a podcast last week. Turns out the lyrics had more to do with text messages between old friends and the loss of icons like David Bowie and Prince. Though, she understands that some people might misinterpret lyrics, and she’s fine with that.

“I’m thrilled that people might take my songs into their life and make whatever suits them out of it.”

Elsewhere in the Guardian interview, Clark talks about how her relationships have giving her insight into fame at a time when hers is growing (she’s also making her name now as a director and will helm an gender-swapped version of The Picture of Dorian Gray).

“Having seen certain levels of fame,” Clark said, “having been, y’know, fame adjacent… That in and of itself seems very hectic to me. If it’s a natural byproduct of doing what it is you love? Then great. But there are certain levels of fame that I’ve seen, just by proxy, that are unenviable.”

And in your final bit of St. Vincent news, she debuted yet another new song, “LA,” at a concert in Tokyo over the weekend. Somewhere out there, someone is already trying to figure out if it’s about Delevingne.

Related: St. Vincent Says “New York” is More About David Bowie and Texts Than Cara Delevingne or Kristen Stewart

Cara Delevingne Does ASMR, Revealing How She Got Into Character For ‘Suicide Squad’: