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Photo: Janelle Detina

In a place like Los Angeles where heavy emphasis is often placed on the latest makeup trends and newest fashion brands rather than the person underneath them, being authentically you can seem like an insurmountable task. MARG is the exception. Effortlessly genuine, the internationally-raised alt-pop starlet is floating to the top of the music industry by way of her fearless and relatable smooth grooves.  

Today, Ones To Watch is proud to premiere MARG's new single and video "Moving," ahead of her upcoming sophomore album of the same name. While her lyrics emit the message, "The world keeps, the world keeps on moving," in truth, it was MARG, known to her friends as Margarita Landry, who was moving around the world her whole life until she settled in Los Angeles at the age of 15.

In her accompanying visual for  "Moving" MARG dances in front of a projector screen, puts on makeup in the bathtub, and lounges on couches with her homies. The soft lulls of her harmony-laden hooks behind the vintage-style analog visual makes for a dreamy experience.

MARG spoke on the making "Moving" and her forthcoming sophomore album, sharing,

"I felt like I could take some big strides with this album artistically and build off what I've been creating throughout my career to this point. I've surrounded myself with a great team that has helped me craft 'Moving' to set the tone for how this next album is going to feel and we thought it was the perfect song to kick off with."

In celebration of the new single and accompanying visual, we sat down with MARG to talk about her love affair with the color purple and her evolution as an artist.

OTW: How did you discover your passion for singing and songwriting?

MARG: I've always just had this thing where "lines" would pop into my head growing up. Lines I thought were cool ways to either describe how I was feeling or how I perceived a situation/emotion. That eventually turned into adding melodies then writing full songs and I haven't stopped since. I truly love it.

OTW: What artists or songs influenced you growing up?

MARG: Nirvana, The Beatles, Paramore, Katy Perry, All American Rejects, Lana Del Rey… I feel like the way I soak up music is through this like intense sadness (hence why my lyrics have dark twists to them). Maybe it's a way I’m able to cope with that emotion but I'll hear a song that gives me this intense longing, melancholy feeling, and I'm almost addicted to it. I'll literally play it on repeat and just be in my feels for hours. I'm a little less of an 'emo dark teen' now (I'm also not even a teen anymore), but the music I'm still writing to this day stems from that little girl.

OTW: Where do you like to go to write music and what helps you get the creativity flowing?

MARG: I guess I never really stop writing… it's become a big part of my life and identity. It's an outlet for me to really just say whatever I want whether it's alone in my room at three am or in a car full of strangers. It's easy cause I can take out my phone and quickly write a line in my notes. Yeah, I need creative breaks sometimes, and I'll just know when I need it but the way I really take in what I experience and think is by documenting it through my lyrics.

OTW: If you could convey a specific message to everyone who hears your music, what would it be and why?

MARG: I hope this puts you in your fucking feels!

OTW: How does your new song “MOVING” diverge from your debut album from last year? What did you change and what did you want to keep consistent?

MARG: I feel like all the stuff I've made so far, including this next album, documents time periods of my life. Releasing stuff that I've made like a year or two prior is difficult but also kind of therapeutic because I can reflect on what I was going through during that time. I feel like my younger self was in such this little depressing bubble and in my debut album the narrative is about this almost co-dependent young girl feeling like she would die without the man she loved (who on top of that would never love her back). I feel like this second album still has its fair share of those kinds of songs, but at this point, that young naive girl is now starting to realize her true self-worth and potential. She's evolving!!!

OTW: What color would you assign to the new single, and why?

MARG: Purple. It was my favorite color growing up because it was my moms favorite color. I feel like it's weird because everyone always makes you pick a favorite color or number at such a young age, and I never felt a certain connection to any specific color. So, I would just say my mom's favorite color. “Moving” is a song I wrote in a pretty dark place, but I'm out of that now and it's amazing to think about how much the meaning of the song has changed for me and how much I've grown mentally from that space. I picked purple because it reminds me of my mom and feeling safe.

OTW: Which artist or artists are your dream collaborators?

MARG: Jaden and Willow Smith. They're so incredibly talented it's ridiculous and I love the love and passion they share with the world.

OTW: If you could make up any name for your genre, what would it be?

MARG: Alternative Pop. I know it's already a genre but I make pop music and adding alternative to it just gives you a lot of freedom to experiment.

OTW: Who are your Ones To Watch?

MARG: I really love “I wish” by Hayley Kiyoko right now hehe. And Jaden Smith's' “Summertime in Paris.” Still searching for that smaller 'come up' artist to fall in love with.