Triple-threat Kylie Cantrall might just be your favorite Disney kid, and with her solo music career ramping up, she is giving her fans so much to love. In what she’s calling her “music moment,” Kylie is releasing tons of new music (a new song every month in fact) with dance moves to match.
Last week, Kylie’s single “Elastic” became our new favorite earworm. The catchy single about the frustration of bending to someone else’s whims in the name of love is equal parts self-empowering anthem and dance bop. We caught up with Kylie for a behind-the-scenes look at all things “Elastic” from the choreography (hip hop with some clear contemporary and ballroom influences) to her new dance video and how she’s teaching fans the moves on TikTok.
Showstopper Magazine Online: Hi Kylie! You just released your new single “Elastic.” You shared on IG that you first recorded this song in August. What inspired it?
Kylie Cantrall: Last August my record label sent me a batch of songs and said, “Let me know if you connect with any of these?” I was immediately blown away when I heard the demo of “Elastic.” I called my label and said, “Don’t let anyone cut this song. It has to go on my next EP.” I literally stopped what I was doing and started recording it that day. Sometimes records just speak to you, and I thought if I feel this strongly about this song, maybe everyone else will have the same reaction.
SMO: You’ve also recently celebrated the success of your “10-minute song” series by releasing six of those songs. How did the process for creating “Elastic” compare?
Kylie Cantrall: Well with the EP, most of the creation of it took place in my bedroom. I’d lock myself in there for hours, writing each song and tweaking each lyric to make it perfect. Then I’d walk into my living room where I have my home studio set up, and I’d record myself with the help of my dad who was my engineer during the process. So it was very DIY compared to “Elastic” that had been sent to me from my label. Although I love writing my own music, sometimes a song comes along that feels too good to pass up, and “Elastic” felt like one of those special ones, I just knew I had to record it.
Your promo for the song has been full of dance. How did you create the “Elastic” dance that you’ve been teaching fans on IG and TikTok?
The “Elastic” dance I’ve been teaching on TikTok is pretty much just a slight variation of the actual choreo from the video. For me, growing up as a dancer, I was obsessed with learning the choreography from music videos (Victoria Monet’s “On my Mama” was one of the most recent videos I had to play over and over to try and learn), but I think you develop a whole different type of connection to a dance video when you’re able to learn the steps, and that was one of my biggest goals with “Elastic,” to immerse my fans in the dance and give them the opportunity to try it themselves!
You hosted an “Elastic” dance class with Mary Mason. What was that experience like? What was it like to run a class with your own song?
I always found taking dance classes to be such a special experience. You get people from all over the world who come together for an hour to learn the same piece but each person interprets/performs it completely differently, and hosting dance meet-ups for my fans was something me and my choreographer Mary talked about early on, and this last one we did for “Elastic” was soooo much fun!!!! I even had one particular cutie who flew in all the way from Dallas, Texas with her dad, and she said it was her first time ever taking a dance class, and it just meant so much to me. The bonding I’ve been able to do with my fans from these dance meet-ups has been the best part of it for me!
What are your tips for pulling off the “Elastic” dance?
I think it’s all in the attitude and how you perform it. It’s a sassy song, and more than anything, I just want the girlies who learn the dance to feel like a baddie while they’re doing it!
The “Elastic” music video came out this weekend, and it’s full of dance. What was the inspiration for the video and choreography?
I wanted the visual for “Elastic” to match the playfulness of the song, so that was really the inspiration for the vibrant colors in the video, and I’ve been super inspired by K-pop groups like XG, BLACKPINK, NewJeans, etc. I just love how dance is always at the forefront of their videos, and telling a story through movement was something I really set out to accomplish with “Elastic.”
Do you have a favorite part of the video?
I really wanted this video to be wall-to-wall high-energy dancing, and the funny thing is my favorite section of this video is something Mary (my choreographer) and I thought we’d add as a simple section that would look interesting on TikTok clips. It’s in the verses where I’m completely in frame singing and my dancers are off to the side, so all we are able to see are their hands and arms. And as I sing, their hands enter the frame to accentuate the particular lines I’m on. It sounded so simple, but it was the hardest part of the video because everything had to be exact, and it’s a skill that none of my dancers had prepared for. But after 20 or 30 takes we got something I was really excited about combined with a feeling of relief that it was over.
Is there anything else you want people to know about “Elastic,” upcoming music, or any other projects?
I’ve been telling everyone this is my “music” moment. I’m releasing a single every month until my album drops in June. And of course, I’m shooting a video for each of them so be on the lookout for something exciting in April. Plus, I’m gearing up for the Descendants 4 movie release that’s also happening this summer. So that means even more music. I probably shouldn’t tell you this, but we shot a music video for one of the most iconic songs in the franchise. I can’t wait to see everyone’s reaction when this video is released it will be a glimpse into the world of Wonderland.
