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Photo by Andrea Candelaria

In today’s music world, artists are often encouraged to strip back, shedding costumes and sensational production for something viewed as more “real.” However, all that bareness can get boring — enter VANITY, a rock-opera band bent on shaking things up with debut album Mascara Masquerade. 

“It’s larger than life,” lead singer Billy Titko told OnesToWatch, calling the upcoming album a “rock-opera” with a storyline that flows through Mascara Masquerade from start to finish. 

It’s something Titko felt strongly about, pointing out that many artists today are focused on “releasing so many singles and not projects.”

“I felt like it was something that was maybe missing,” she said. “Like, a full project that was super thought out and really dramatic and really over the top...I really wanted to build a world that people could step into, not just release a song I thought people might like.”

Fans are already liking what they’re hearing; singles “(T)OUCH!” and “Size Two” — the latter of which Titko says she is “most proud of” creating — have earned thousands of streams, and drawn new fans to VANITY’s baroque rock sound. 

“(T)OUCH!” is a particular standout, with zinging guitars and a marching-band drumbeat that make the single sound like a lost track from Queen. “When we touch, it hurts so good,” Titko purrs. “Not my lover, not even my friend // with blood, my fate’s secured // in the mirror, I see how it ends.”

“‘(T)OUCH!’ was the first song that I wrote with my collaborators that ended up doing the whole project,” Titko shared, adding, “One of them is now my boyfriend.”

She continued, “I’d just never written a song like that before and I didn’t think I was capable of it until I met them and started working with them….it’s just all fondness for me, when I hear that song.”

That gilded, glamorous sound is matched by the band’s look, something Titko said was really important to her as a “theater kid, through and through.”

“I want people to be able to look around and see something and be like, ‘Oh, my God, that’s so VANITY,’” she said, listing off visual inspirations like Liza Minnelli in Cabaret, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, and Tim Burton’s movies. 

VANITY is preparing to take their rock-opera on the road with a tour this October. 

“The second I’m onstage, I feel like it’s just me and [the fans],” Titko shared, emphasizing that performing is a vital part of her artistic identity. 

“I put a lot of work and a lot of blood, sweat, and tears into learning how to become a songwriter and learning how to become a musician and learning how to be a CEO and a businesswoman,” she mused. “But I’ve never had to blink about being onstage.”

So, prepare to enter the excessive and exciting musical world of VANITY — Mascara Masquerade has arrived.. 

Listen to Mascara Masquerade below: