daine is in the middle of doing their makeup when I let them into our Zoom meeting. Brush in one hand and smoky eye shadow palette in the other, they apologize for the multitasking, though I assure them I don’t mind. “But this [interview] is going to be chill,” they say with a smile, less a question than a declaration. And it is. Perhaps for the same reason hundreds of thousands of new listeners have fallen in love with daine this year: their carefree, infectious joie de vivre that isn’t afraid of inhabiting life’s darker corners. The pop star curls their lashes while casually invoking Carl Jung’s philosophy to explain their music. They dance on tabletops while waving pom-poms in the music video for feel-good anthem “PQC,” even as the lyrics they chant grapple with public scrutiny and failure. It’s a duality written into the very title of their latest album, In Endless Awe & Agony , and woven throughout its tracks, which find the musician equally enchanted and disillusioned by love, friendship, and the everyday. “Life is really that way,” they say with a shrug. “It’s all the truth.”
To celebrate the release of In Endless Awe & Agony, daine sat down with us to discuss the album, how they’re injecting millennial optimism into Gen Z, and what everyone seems to get wrong about Australia.
MONDAY 5 PM OCTOBER 26, 2026 NEW YORK CITY
SOFI CISNEROS: How are you doing? I’m sorry you were sick last week.
DAINE: Oh my god, I’m still recovering. The antibiotics lowkey have me fucked up. I’m still sniffly and my voice is gone. But I’m pushing through it because I have to.
CISNEROS: Oh, okay, cool. So you’re still here in the city. How was your album release party?
DAINE: It was kind of magical. Like, it felt like a fairy tale. I feel like I finally have done the thing, you know? I never thought it was a possible feeling for me to have. I thought that no matter how big this gets, I won’t feel like I’ve ever achieved anything—also, I’m so sorry. I need a pass to be, like, unprofessional. This is so rude.
CISNEROS: No, you’re so okay. Your makeup looks fab. And, like, this is Interview mag. We’re professional when we need to be. But yeah, I saw that video of Harry Daniels serenading you with “PQC.”
DAINE: I was with him all day yesterday. He’s such a real one, and I think he’s a genius.
CISNEROS: Love him. I want to say real quick that I absolutely adored your moment at Niteharts with underscores raising the Filipino flag. That was everything.
CISNEROS: Pinoy pride! Ok, let’s talk about your album. Do you feel ready for In Endless Awe and Agony to be out in the world?
DAINE: Oh my god, no. Like, yes, but no. I’m a big believer in the jump-before-you-feel-ready type of thing. I wasn’t ready to write my first album. I was like, I can’t do this, I don’t even know what I’m gonna write about, which sounds really bad because I’m a musician. I’m supposed to want to write an album, but I think I was scared. I wasn’t sure if I had it in me, or if I had anything valuable to say to anyone except myself. For it to be received so well before it’s even out is really special. I can’t believe how all of this is going.
CISNEROS: You’ve had such an insane past few months. “PQC” had an immediate overwhelmingly positive reaction, you toured with Ninajirachi , your “Hello” cover is single-handedly reviving millennial optimism. What do you make of this moment in your career?
DAINE: I think it’s proof that with consistency, you’ll eventually have your moment. Everyone’s like, “You’re the new thing,” and, “you’re an overnight success,” blah blah blah. But it took so many years of trying and failing. I hope from this campaign that people see it’s okay to fail and to be like, “Fuck it.” When you let go, things may start to work more in your favor, whereas before, I was too attached to the outcome. Going through emotionally tumultuous things and life milestones, growing pains, the throes of your early 20s—all of that stuff actually makes you into a better artist. I also think that art is not something that you get better at over time in a linear way because some of your best art can be made when you’re a teenager and you’re so unashamed of yourself. My early stuff is actually really great, but I wasn’t landing with people because I didn’t seem sure of myself.
CISNEROS: Did you have any inkling when you were making this record that the response to your work was going to be this big, or were you taken completely by surprise?
DAINE: I think I had a feeling my life would get a little bit better and that things would start working out a bit, but I didn’t think that they would take off. I think other people knew before I did, if that makes sense.
CISNEROS: Totally. How do you feel about being the face of Gen Z optimism?
DAINE: It feels great. Like, someone’s gotta fucking do it. Millennials really had it all figured out, while Gen Z—we’re great, but no one’s bringing back the vibe that millennials had. They were so cool. I feel like we’ve got to step it up and get on their level.
CISNEROS: I agree. We love to clown them, but they were the blueprint.
DAINE: They had a cohesive cultural identity. They were the last generation to have a look, you know? Like, there’s no such thing as Gen Z fashion.
CISNEROS: It’s so true. That finger ‘stache you did during the “Hello” cover saved lives, by the way.
DAINE: Oh my god, thank you. It was so last minute. They were literally turning the cameras on, and we were like, “Wait!”
CISNEROS: It was so good. Your music has previously been described as more emo, grungy, darker in theme, and had more vocal distortion, whereas this record sounds like you’re leaning into a childlike, playful energy. There are so many bubbly melodies and production, and visually, it’s very pastel and pretty. What shifted over the past few years in your music and mentality?
DAINE: I genuinely just got happier. I had so much personal loss in my life that I was liberated spiritually from. I think that I used to be insecure about my voice. I was more insecure of my feelings. When I started the record and wrote the opening track first, I went home and I crashed out. I was like, “I fucking hate this song. I suck at music. I’m never gonna make music again. This is so corny, and lame, and vulnerable, and gross.” And then I showed it to people, and they were like, “This is the best thing you’ve ever written.” So that was a turning point for me. I was like, “Oh shit!” I was afraid of looking at myself, so when I made art that was actually authentic and truly me, I was disgusted by it and thought it was bad.
CISNEROS: That’s really real. Is that authenticity maybe why so many people resonated with “PQC” too? Why do you think that song in particular really popped off when it was released? It’s such a personal feel-good anthem for me.
DAINE: It’s so funny because it’s lowkey sad. The lyrics are sad as fuck, but the melody feels good, which is what I hope my music overall can be. I always wanted my music to be like a transmutation of things because life’s fucking hard. I feel things so deeply and intensely, and I’ve rejected that about myself for so much of my life. If my music can help me and other people embrace that, then that’s a job well done in my opinion.
CISNEROS: Are you willing to give Interview an exclusive reveal of what “PQC” stands for?
DAINE: I, like, want to tell people. It’s getting old. But also, we’re in too deep. I can’t reveal it now.
CISNEROS: You’re taking it to your grave. I feel like “Love Love (Love Love)” has that same happy-go-lucky melody with sad lyrics too. It’s about a girl you’re no longer friends with, but still wish well?
CISNEROS: Those friendships are so crucial to be able to grow and mature. I wish all those girls the best.
DAINE: For real. Well, like, I don’t know. She’s in psychosis and thinks that I am Ghislaine Maxwell or something.
CISNEROS: Oh, god. She’s going through it.
DAINE: Like, just please take your meds so we can hang out again.
CISNEROS: So true. Do you think that you’ve clarified your sound with this album?
DAINE: Oh my god, definitely not. I’m so scared because I don’t know what to make next. Also, I can’t pinpoint what the record sounds like because there’s a lot going on, so it really varies. I did not know what I was gonna do with the album in general, but I just kept making it song by song.
CISNEROS: What tracks are your favorites? And are there any that you’re nervous about releasing?
DAINE: It’s really hard. They’re like my babies. “Spider-man” and “Wishing Well” are the sleepers, the ones that people don’t really get but to me are extremely special on a personal level. “Spider-man” in particular is so vulnerable. It’s kind of about someone who abused me, which is really crazy. I’m apologizing to them, forgiving them, and viewing them in this really sweet, romantic light, which is so fucked up. Then, at the end, I flip it and say that I want to get violent with them, like I want to beat them up. It just shows the complexity of my feelings. I find the disturbing nature of it really beautiful and sweet because you can totally hate someone for doing the most disgusting shit to you ever, yet you can still have tender feelings towards them.
CISNEROS: Yeah, I feel like that comes through sonically too because you sang it in such a sing-songy, cutesy, coy voice. But, like you said, the lyrics are just so opposite that.
DAINE: Y eah, I literally sound like a kid on that song. My voice is so sweet and girly, which is crazy because I don’t really sound like that anywhere else on the record. I wanted to end on something acoustic and soft, so it’s an interesting note to leave it on.
CISNEROS: Definitely. Can you tell us about how Carl Jung played a role in the making of this album?
DAINE: Oh, yeah. I think because I didn’t go into the record with a plan, I let my subconscious take the wheel. If you look at Carl Jung’s map of the psyche, you can see that there’s all these parts of the self, and when listening [to the album], there’s all these different voices: the industry, the machine, the ego, the subconscious insecurities, and then the child. I was able to identify all of my feelings that I hadn’t realized yet. Jung describes the most dangerous type of person as someone who’s creatively inhibited because if you don’t integrate the different parts of your psyche, they dominate your life. You lash out at other people, you destroy yourself. I think that before this album, I was creatively inhibited. I was really on this path of destroying myself, but through creative expression I was able to get better.
CISNEROS: That’s really profound. More people need to listen to his philosophy and teachings. Maybe there’d be less scary people in the world.
DAINE: Like, girl, we’re repressed. There’s no way for those voices to come through because they’re hidden under these layers. And we don’t know it until we’re making art.
CISNEROS: Where did you write this album? Were you in Melbourne?
DAINE: Most of it was in Melbourne, which is good because I think I was really comfortable at home. Then, we spent 30 days straight in L.A. finishing up all the production, tying everything together, writing additional verses and what have you. That was probably the hardest, most focused work I’ve ever done in my life, and I’m so grateful that I did it because now I know that I can do it.
CISNEROS: What’s the ceiling of fame for you? I’m curious because you’re on this upward trend right now, but some artists prefer to stay niche.
DAINE: Yeah, I want to stay niche. I don’t know though. Like, here’s the thing: I’m being asked this a lot because everyone’s like, “Well, you’re at this crossroads. Are you gonna go big or what?” But it’s kind of whatever god has in store. I’m open to whatever. I’ve already exceeded all of my goals. I set a bunch of numerical goals for my career and I have doubled all of them. So now I’m like, “What the fuck? What do I do now?”
CISNEROS: That’s amazing. Are you excited for tour?
DAINE: I’m the type of person that gets sick all the time. I’m chronically ill, so my body does not handle this shit very well. I’m excited on an emotional level, but physically, I’m scared and stressed.
CISNEROS: I can relate to that. My body hates me.
DAINE: It’s fucked up. Maybe I need to change my mindset or something and my body will start acting right, but I don’t know.
CISNEROS: Maybe we gotta move to the Philippines. We’re out of our natural environment.
DAINE: It’s the fucking climate! We’re not built for this. I actually think that I’m supposed to be in a rice field somewhere.
CISNEROS: Exactly. I’m supposed to be on a beach.
DAINE: Like, this isn’t it. There’s concrete everywhere and carcinogens.
CISNEROS: It’s tough out here. What city rides for you the hardest? Is it Melbourne?
DAINE: It’s between Melbourne, L.A., and New York, which are all cities that I frequent. I’m always like, “People, where the fuck do you live?” I mostly live with my parents in Melbourne, but I feel a lot of love in those three cities.
CISNEROS: What about Melbourne and Australia as a whole produces such good artists, like you, Ninajirachi, and others? Is there a burgeoning music scene there?
DAINE: There definitely is. There is something in the water. Everyone is so great. People don’t realize how similar Australia is to the US. Melbourne and New York are very culturally similar too. They are such big, lively cities. Australia is just really, really fucking cool, and people don’t see it because the media representation is, like, deserts and shit. People are like, “Oh, you must see crazy animals.” Like no, I live in a big fucking city that looks like New York and feels like New York, except there’s healthcare and everything’s way cleaner and cheaper.
CISNEROS: Sounds like I need to take a trip out there.
DAINE: I’m trying to put people on. Australia’s fucking lit.
CISNEROS: What’s next post album rollout and tour?
DAINE: I’m just as excited to know. I don’t think we’re gonna have a chance to rest. This thing has wheels.
CISNEROS: Well, I hope your physical health improves. Get lots of rest and recovery.
Source: Fashion
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