Alus Is Snatching Wigs with Her Latest Single

Better clutch your pearls because your wig is about to be snatched!

In celebration of Pride Month, rising pop and R&B singer Alus released a brand-new track titled, “Wig!,” which is a bass-inflected piece of ear candy that will cause some serious head-bopping. Accompanied by a stunning, one-shot music video directed by burgeoning filmmaker Sally Tran and choreographed by Omari Brown, “Wig!” also features prolific rap house artist Cakes Da Killa, an opening vocal sample from Canada’s Drag Race star Lemon, and a cameo appearance from trans model and actress Yén Nguyen.

Conveying confidence, sass, and liberation, this hot, new single comes off the back of the star’s 52 Shades of Alus series, which saw her release a new original song every week for the entire year of 2020. The series amassed over a million plays.

In addition to dropping the music video, Alus is auctioning off the visuals as an NFT with all proceeds going to the Transgender Law Center.

OFM had the opportunity to connect with Alus to talk more about “Wig!,” honoring the LGBTQ community, and empowering women with her music.

Can you begin by telling us more about the concept and inspiration behind your new single, “Wig!?”
Yes, absolutely. “Wig!,” to me, is a carefree anthem that is really centered around confidence and feeling yourself. I came up with the idea because I always use the word ‘wig’ in conversation with friends, and I had it sort of saved in my notes as an idea for a song a year before I created it. Eventually—I record myself—I found a track that really inspired the idea to come to life. From there, I just wrote “Wig!” as what we know it now, and I just love the idea that it makes me feel confident and sassy. It’s just really about being very carefree and liberating.

What was it like collaborating with Cakes Da Killa, and why did you choose him to be involved with this project?
Cakes is such a talent. The idea actually came from the video director when we were about to shoot the video. She suggested maybe adding a feature on it, because the original song with just me alone was a little bit shorter. She said, if you really want to do this and have a big bang, it would be awesome to have somebody else alongside you. I agreed with her immediately.

We were going through different options, and I eventually found Cakes online, and I just loved his work. I love how talented he was, he is an incredible lyricist, and I was hoping that he would agree to it. I reached out on Instagram, and he agreed. He was like, let’s do it. He sent me his verse, and it was amazing. The first time I heard it, I was like, he is the one. He is perfect.

How has “Wig!” been received by audiences?
It has been received very well. I am surprisingly shocked at what’s been going on. It was added to a Pride hip-hop playlist on TikTok, as well as an emerging artists playlist, Paper Magazine premiered it, and a lot of press has been covering it. I really did this song for the LGBTQ community. There are a lot of bands that are already part of that community, and I wanted to do this song in honor of Pride Month. All of the fans have said to me that they love the song. Every time I go live on Instagram with them, they are always streaming it. I could not ask for more support.

Since you released “Wig!” for Pride Month, how would you say it stands out from all the other Pride tracks and anthems that came out in June?
I just love a melting pot of different types of songs that come out. I was looking through a lot of Pride playlists and noticed some are more so about specific relationships, which is a great indicator for Pride Month and talking about same-sex relationships.

For me, “Wig!” stemmed from drag queen vernacular, and obviously, a lot of the pop culture that we follow and love has stemmed from the world of drag queens. I love watching RuPaul and I have my favorite drag queens, which is how we ended up getting Lemon on the track. Lemon was on Canada’s Drag Race, and she is just an amazing addition to the song as well. She is saying the sample that is kind of looped in the background of the song.

I feel like even women in general have used a lot of drag queen methods. Like, when it comes to baking in our makeup routine, that stemmed from drag queen makeup routine. I just love the idea that the drag queen world has impacted pop culture in a way where most people have not even realized it has stemmed from that. I feel like it is important to shed light on that and show that a lot of the things that we love came from that community. “Wig!” was one of them.

What are some of the top messages you hope listeners take away from your music?
I hope that they feel confident. That they feel like the best versions of themselves when they listen to my music. That is why I created it. When I create music, I create music to be the best version of myself.  To feel confident. My inner bad bitch is fully present when I am making music, and that is when I feel the most myself. To me, music is my escape, and it really brings out the best version of myself. I hope that anybody who listens to “Wig!” and any of my other songs, feels that energy as well.

Can you talk more about the exclusive NFT auction of the visuals?
Right now, there are only a couple left. A lot of them have been sold, but we made 10 exclusive NFTs that were inspired by the “Wig!” music video. I had an artist kind of design the actual NFT to be around the music video, so there’s, like, a floating head in the NFT, and it is actually a mimic of how I looked in the video. I have my pink hair, big hoops, and it was very cool. We made this NFT in honor of Pride Month because all of the proceeds are being donated to the Transgender Law Center. We only made 10 exclusive ones in the world, and I do not know how many are left, so get one if you can.

Why did you choose to give the proceeds to Transgender Law Center?
We were thinking of which charity this really made sense for. A lot of the people that are involved in “Wig!,” for example, Yén, who is a model and calls herself a goddess, she is a part of the video and transgender. We were trying to narrow it down to what makes most sense for “Wig!,” and based off my team and what we collectively came up with, we really wanted to pinpoint a specific organization.

I feel like a lot of organizations cater to the LGBTQ community, which is amazing, but we wanted to get down to a specific cause, and we chose transgender. So, we donated directed to Transgender Law Center. They have been very supportive and responsive, so we got in touch with them, and they were very happy for us to get involved and give them the donations.

You come from a lineage of talented musicians. I assume singing and songwriting has always been your passion?
Absolutely. My grandmother went to Juilliard and played professional violin with the Rat Pack, and my father, he didn’t pursue music professionally, but he played drums and trumpet his whole life. He still plays drums today. Then, I am the first singer, so I tell people I came out of the womb singing [laughs]. As a young girl, I just knew this is what I was going to do for the rest of my life. I was so, so heavily drawn to being an artist, and I would watch the Grammys and say, I am going to be on that stage one day. I still have a lot of work to do, but I have been doing this since birth, basically.

Was there ever a time you thought about not pursuing music?
No, I cannot see myself doing anything else. I just can’t. It would be awful, and I would feel so unhappy. I feel like you have to be passionate about what you want to pursue in life, and to me, my passion stems from creating music. If I am not creating, I feel like I am not accessing the person I am supposed to be in life.

Women empowerment is an important theme in your music. What more do you hope to accomplish with your platform to continue being that beacon of solidarity?
I honestly just hope to empower women through my music. A lot of music nowadays is excellent, but when I create music, I want to forget about those emotions. Like, I have been through relationships that were hard, hard times in life, just like everyone, and when I create music, I hope to empower and bring out the confidence. Even when I am singing a song about something silly, like snatching a wig, that is me talking my shit and being honest with everybody about how I feel. I am unapologetic, and you should feel this way too.

What does the rest of 2021 look like for you?
More new music, more exciting collabs, and more visuals. I am very excited. Then, next year, we are going to do tours, so I am excited to get on the road.

Before we wrap up, are there any other upcoming projects or anything else you would like to mention our plug?
Honestly, just “Wig!” and how important it is for everybody to celebrate and donate in honor of Pride Month. You can be prideful at all times of the year; it does not matter if it is June or not. So, get out there, and make sure that you are doing what you can.

Stay up-to-date with Alus by following her on Twitter and Instagram, or visit her official website. “Wig!” is available on Spotify and all other music streaming platforms.

Photos Courtesy of Alus