Pandora Boxx dropped her new dance album, BOXX, one of her most personal works yet. It’s fun; it’s quirky, and it features the song, “Dance,” the album’s first hit single. Dance encourages people to pay no mind to what others think and dance like nobody’s watching.
While most of her previous releases are a little on the dirty side, BOXX is 100% PG. Pandora wrote all of the tracks and can’t pick a favorite. She thinks they’re all wonderful in their own special ways.
Pandora was born Michael R. Steck in Jamestown, NY. She grew up with her mom, dad, and younger sister and recalls her childhood being a “mixed bag of nuts”.
Steck knew he wanted to be an artist since he was five when he won a greeting card contest. His design was made into an Easter card sold in stores. It was a drawing of young Steck walking his rabbit on a leash (which he actually did). The card read: “Get into the Easter habit, go out and walk your rabbit.”
In the fifth grade, Steck wrote a play called The Trouble with Christmas and, with support from his mother as the director, he performed it in front of his whole school. Michael has always been a dreamer and a creator. After watching the first season of RuPaul’s Drag Race, he knew it was his destiny to be on the show. For Season Two, Pandora made the best audition video she could, and it worked.
“It was just a strong gut feeling,” she says. “I interviewed RuPaul years before Drag Race, and at the end of the interview, Ru said, ‘I hope I come across you in my travels.’ In my head, I said, ‘Oh, you definitely will.’”
Pandora placed fifth in the second season of RuPaul’s Drag Race, winning the title of Miss Congeniality. She subsequently returned for the first and sixth seasons of RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars. She also appeared in all three seasons of the show’s spin-off series, RuPaul’s Drag U.
Pandora wrote the hit single “Dance” for the little boy she used to be who was mercilessly bullied at school. She explains. “He would come home, lock his bedroom door, flip on a Madonna CD, and dance his troubles away. I have loved music since I was a kid. It was often my escape from the world. Sometimes the world becomes too much and too cruel. When I was younger, it was bold and fabulous pop stars like Cyndi Lauper and Boy George who made me think being different was not just ok but something to cherish.”
All of her songs come from her heart. She wrote “Pill” because it depicts some real-life struggles she faced as an adult through a combination of rock vibes and an Alice in Wonderland theme. Her other songs, like “Stars,” are a tribute to Star Trek and her childhood dream of traveling to the stars. The song “Gay” is her artistic response to Governor DeSantis’ horrific “Don’t Say Gay” legislation. And the song “Raspberries” is Pandora’s ode to Carol Channing, marking her farewell to the impersonation she famously performed on RuPaul’s Drag Race.
Brandon James Gwinn produced all of the tracks on BOXX except for the songs “Swish” and “Hey,” which were produced by Electropoint. The album was made by executive producers Michael R. Steck, Parvesh Cheena, Amelia Black, and Bruce Peters.
“I’m dedicating this album to anyone who has ever felt like they didn’t belong,” Pandora BOXX explains. “For all those weirdos like me who buck the norm and are true to themselves. Also, to everyone who believed in my artistry, especially Brandon James Gwinn, my producer, without whom this album wouldn’t be what it is.”
BOXX is now available on Spotify, Apple Music, and all digital platforms. Watch the video for “Dance” below:
Image provided by Pandora Boxx
