When Leah Kate's heartbreak anthem “10 Things I Hate About You” went viral, the singer became an overnight global sensation, amassing millions of streams and views within hours. But with great success comes criticism—and trolls. Fortunately, Kate's mastered the art of using the bad press to her advantage.
“If I'm not getting trolled, I must be doing something wrong, because whatever I'm doing isn't good enough to be talked shit about," Kate tells Glamour.
If you've not yet heard “10 Things,” I'll warn you now: The pop-punk hit is so catchy it's impossible to forget, or get out of your head. But that's also why it (rightfully) became an overnight sensation. Within literal hours of teasing a clip of the track, “10 Things” garnering millions of millions of views on TikTok and has since gone onto become pop radio's most added song, reach the Top 30 in the US and Australia, and racked up nearly 150 million streams on Spotify.
“It just blew up. I was like, Oh my God, this is going to be massive,” says Kate of the moment she realized this one was different, “My other songs, like ‘Fuck Up the Friendship’ and ‘Fuck You Anthem,’ were definitely 'viral,’ but this was another level—like millions and millions of streams and videos. This was viral.”
But of course, overnight success can be both a blessing and a curse. Before Kate could even wrap her head around what had happened, a handful of trolls took it upon themselves to mock her online and in person at her shows. The most notable instance was when Kate opened for Chase Atlantic, where concertgoers seemingly took a page right out of the fictional-high-school-bully book and pretended to record her on their phones while displaying the calculator app on their screen. Some even took the “prank” even further, showing unkind messages that read “Get out of here” and “I didn’t pay for this BS” on their screens.
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“The Chase Atlantic tour was internet trolling at its finest, and for a few days I was just so sad,” Kate says. “But eventually I thought it was funny, because my streams were spiking because of troll videos making fun of me.”
Indeed, while these videos were taken with the intention of shaming Kate and her music, they actually boosted her fanbase. “I'd ask people in my meet-and-greets where they found my music, and they'd say they found my music in a trolling video,” Kate says. Finally, she decided to troll the trolls back and would whip out her own phone—calculator app and all—onstage for her fans at shows. “Everyone would freak out when they saw it,” she says. “I did that every single show for the rest of the tour.”
Since, Kate has released her Alive and Unwell EP and headlined her own tour in Australia. “I get really sad when I'm not on tour,” she says. “It's just so fun, and it's my favorite part about what I do. Performing is so much fun for me, and it used to be my biggest fear. It was something I had to overcome and it was really hard.”
Kate didn't just hate performing—she had intense social anxiety that often left her too nervous to even raise her hand in class in high school. “I had the worst anxiety ever,” she says. “I couldn't speak! So the fact that I'm a performer is kind of crazy.” And I can vouch for that: Kate and I went to high school together, and her exterior persona has done a complete one-eighty (in a great way, obviously).
The year ahead has a lot in store for Leah Kate: more music and more live shows, and therefore, probably cyber trolls too. But she knows that's a good thing in the long run: “If people aren't ripping me apart for it on TikTok, then it must not be cool at all.” May we all face 2023 with Kate's confidence.
Glamour: You’ve had several songs blow up online, but it seems the real turning point was “10 Things I Hate About You” going viral—another level of viral. Was there a moment when you realized, “Oh, this is different”?
Leah Kate: I was in bed on a Sunday and had just put out a song a week before that wasn't doing really well. So I thought, I'm going to tease “10 Things I Hate About You.” I'd just shot the music video and had a good feeling about it; when I wrote it, it felt like a hit. So I was in bed and decided to tease it, and within minutes it had millions of views. Everyone was like, “Drop this now.”
So I called up my manager and said, “We're going to drop a new song next week.” And when we did, it blew up. It really taught me what “viral” means.
Seeing so much success within literal minutes seems like a dream come true, but it can be a blessing and a curse. How have you dealt with the darker side of fame?
I've gotten tons of internet hate, which is something I didn't experience until “10 Things.” For a few days I was just so sad. But eventually I thought it was funny, because my streams were spiking because of troll videos [making fun of me]. So I was like, You know what? If I'm getting trolled, I'm doing something right. I know that my music is good, and I have so many supporters, and there were so many supporters at those concerts. There were probably a group of only 10 people each night posting those videos. So I decided to troll them right back [with the calculator app], and everyone would freak out when they saw it. I did that every single show for the rest of the tour.
Now I always want to be empowered to stay strong and not care what people think of me. I've learned that I'm good and have really thick skin, but you have to teach yourself how to do it and remember that it doesn't really matter what anyone thinks about you, as long as you're happy and doing what you love.
How do you maintain a healthy relationship with social media when so much of your success comes from it? It seems like a lot, constantly using social media for music and interacting with fans while trying to tune out trolls who negatively affect your mood or mental health.
I built this wall where I don't let it bother me. If anything, if I'm not getting trolled, I must be doing something wrong, because whatever I'm doing isn't good enough to be talked shit about. I have that mentality now and don't let it get to me. I did in the beginning. It was really painful; I was really depressed. But I figured, I can either let these people bring me down and ruin what I've been working toward for my whole life, or be strong and laugh at it. So I'm constantly reminding myself of that and making light of it.
It's something that even in high school I've dealt with. There are always going to be people who don't like me, same thing as people who don't like me online. You just have to remind yourself that it doesn't matter and learn not to care what other people think, which takes a lot of time and self-love.
Obviously social media’s not always bad, and I love how you use it to engage with your fans. What inspired you to take this approach to integrating your fan base into the way that you tease music, atop your whole approach to social media?
My fandom was really created when I was opening for Madison Beer. They call themselves Leah Nation. It's a really tight-knit community of people, and I don't want to lose that. It's so special. So the way to keep that community and my fans engage is by communicating with them. For example, I'm doing a contest. I'm giving away one of my tour fits. All you have to do to enter is make a video to “My Bed” on TikTok. And now it has thousands of videos.
Having such a loyal community of supporters, I feel like the way to give back is by engaging. I'm always answering messages and replying to comments because I want to keep this community strong. Leah Nation is my favorite group of people ever, obviously, so it's really important to me to show how grateful I am for the support I get.
Speaking of not being able to get things out of your head, or bed, every song you put out gets stuck in my head. How do you and your team do it? Do you have specific genres or eras that you pull inspiration from?
It always starts with a concept, and the stories are all true stories, from the heart, real life. Alive and Unwell was pretty rock, pop rock driven. The new songs on the deluxe EP have more Robyn, dance influences, and they're actually meant for the next era of music that's more pop, just straight pop leaning.
The lyrics and the concepts, which I feel like really is what makes my music stand out, is the storytelling of it all. It comes from my life. I can't, I won't like a song if it's not true to me. It could be a hit record, but if it's not something I can connect with, I won't ever want to put it out. It always starts with the story.
When it comes to writing lyrics, a lot of them do seem to be about breakups and relationships. At what point do you know you want to write about someone or something that’s happening?
Right away. If they cause any emotion in me. There's always something hectic with one of my relationships, so usually immediately. If I care about them, immediately. There's always emotion. If it's not working out or they don't like me back is when I'm really inspired because I'm pissed off. I don't really write love songs.
How do people you date feel about your music? Do your exes feel called out?
100%. A lot of them think some of the songs are about them when they're not, which gets awkward. So many guys think “10 Things” is about them and will go to my friends and be like, “She ripped me apart in that list, didn't she?” I'm like, “Calm down. It's not about you!” Some guys love it though.
Your music seems to really resonate with young women because you allow yourself to be angry, you say and sing exactly what’s on your mind, use curse words, and let your emotions out as they are—which aren’t things women are historically encouraged to do. What made you realize that being true to yourself and your emotions was more important to you than curating an acceptable image for the public?
After I wrote “Fuck Up the Friendship,” which was a very true to me story, I realized people really like the honest lyrics. So I decided: I'm going to be brutally honest in every other song moving forward, have no shame about it, and hope that will allow the songs to cut through more. It's so hard cutting through pop music, but the more honest it got, the more they cut through.
“10 Things” is as honest as it gets. It was like a page from my notes in my phone when I was literally trying to get over someone, and it became one of the biggest pop songs ever. So from now on, I'm being honest.
I’d love to talk about beauty and your style. It’s kind of a mix of early-2000s pop punk but a very glamorous take on that. Who or what would you say is the inspiration for your aesthetic, and how do you get ideas for your looks and concert ’fits?
I love when an outfit is hot, grungy, and makes no sense. While touring, I would wear bras over tank tops, just the weirdest put-together but still hot, you know what I mean? I wanted having a little bit of sex appeal but have it be cool and weird. If people aren't ripping me apart for it on TikTok, then it must not be cool at all. Like a skirt pant or a bra over a shirt and fishnets under my pants. I work really close with my stylist. We'll thrift to try and find really cool one-of-a-kind pieces, and then mix and match it all.
Style is such a huge part of my life. I used to want to be a fashion designer, still do, still will eventually. I love putting together outfits and I work with stylists, but I basically style myself. I'm 100% involved in all the outfit creations because I have so much fun with it.
Do you have a favorite outfit or beauty look?
I think my favorite look was—God, that's so hard. I randomly really liked my outfit from Paris on the Europe headline tour. I really love a lot of the ’fits.
I feel like the Leah Kate staple is like a bra over a chopped white tea with thrifted pants that are super old, the boots are Prada, and then a colored fishnet glove. This is a classic Leah look with the hair extensions.
I love how you use hair extensions. Did you come up with the idea to mix up the colors?
One day I was like, I'm going to put in pink hair extensions for this music festival and decided to be in my hair extension era now. It felt right. But pink clashes with red, and I loved wearing the color red. When I wear red, I put in red extensions,.
You’ve toured all over the world. What is your favorite part of touring?
I love touring. I get really sad when I'm not on tour. It's so fun, and it's my favorite part about what I do: putting on a show, talking about what the songs are about, performing the music, and engaging with the fans. Performing is so much fun for me, and it used to be my biggest fear. It was something I had to overcome and it was really hard.
I used to do theater as a kid, and I would get sick and throw up before [from nerves]. I couldn't even talk in class in high school. I couldn't even raise my hand. I had the worst anxiety ever; I couldn't speak. So the fact that I'm a performer is kind of crazy, but now it's my favorite part of the whole thing. I think I'm off topic. What was your initial question again?
Your favorite part of touring, but that mostly covered it.
Putting together the outfits, the songs I love, and meeting the fans is honestly my favorite. Seeing people scream the lyrics back at you. It's like, wow, this is everything I've worked so hard toward, to have people connect with these songs and love them, and make people feel something. To hear people scream your music is really wild. I still don't believe it when I hear people sing my songs.
If you could give your younger self, the one who had anxiety and didn’t want to raise her hand in class, one piece of advice, what would it be?
Go after what you want. Have fun and follow your heart because you only live once. And really, who cares what anyone thinks? It doesn't matter. Go get it.
What’s in store for the year ahead? What do fans have to look forward to in 2023?
New music. It's so fun, I'm so excited about it. There's this one song that's the title of the album that is so iconic, and you're going to love it. It's so cool and fun and evolving, but if you like the old Leah music, you'll love this.
Is there anything else that you want to share with your fans?
Thank you for the support, I'm so grateful, and get ready for 2023.
Oh, and anything you’d like to say to your haters?
Thank you for the promo!
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
Danielle Sinay is the associate beauty editor at Glamour. Follow her on Instagram @daniellesinay.
