Pop Princess Lulu Simon on Forging Your Own Path in Music

Photo Courtesy of Ashley Osborn

Lulu Simon knows the world needs more fun, dreamy pop. The young singer/songwriter, daughter of renowned artists Paul Simon and Edie Brickell, has put herself on the map as a summer anthem star. She exudes a lightness and excitement when you meet her that’s reminiscent of the shimmery sound of her own music, and she’s not afraid to make her opinions known. She’s an avid hyperpop enthusiast and self-declared Taylor Swift acolyte — except for that period when she dated Harry Styles, the ultimate betrayal for Simon, a One Direction stan. While a Pisces, she demonstrates a streak of stubborn fire sign energy when describing why she never liked piano lessons: “I’m one of those people where I don’t like to not know how to do something, so I’m bad at taking lessons. It’s so embarrassing. So toxic of me.” I met with her to discuss her new single, “Something,” released on August 12, but we ended up covering much more than that. In the span of just a few minutes, we effortlessly bounced from the topics of music theory (or lack thereof), to Charli XCX’s badass wardrobe and the travesty that is image management in the music industry. 

For Simon, making music has always been a “no brainer,” since everyone in her family makes music, so she has been writing her own songs since she was twelve. But to be convinced she could make a career out of music took an extra bit of inspiration from her older brother. “There’s a weird kind of stigma about wanting to go into entertainment, where people think you need to have a plan B, but seeing my older brother do it convinced me it was something that wasn’t just for adults. I could do it too.” After graduating college — “Even though I wanted to drop out and do music full time, my parents wouldn’t let me!” — she began to release her own songs, beginning with the single “Wasted” in 2018. The experience of publicizing songs has been new for her and requires vulnerability: “Since I started releasing my music, I’ve had to start thinking about songs on a grander scale, but I write them in such an intimate way. I bring it to my producer and I don’t exactly know where it’s going to go because it’s so close to me and it feels really small and personal, and we have to beef it up and make it pop-y.” 

“Something,” like many of her songs, was born on the piano. Decidedly anti-music theory, she developed the main riff of the song by accident while messing around on the keys. “I took a music theory class in high school and was like, ‘This, to me, is hell.’ You’re making me do music math!” Her unstructured approach works, though. Built around the main piano riff, “Something” has the charm of a lullaby or a music box, a sweet melody that floats her wistful lyrics. “Something” is actually an important step forward for Simon in her growth as a songwriter. She says she often writes songs to prove a point: “Like, ‘You hurt me, and here I am, proving it through song, and now everyone’s gonna know, and that’s so bad!’” she admits. The new single is less strictly autobiographical and more reflective, allowing for more narrative freedom. Inspired by good ol’ T-Swift’s album “Folklore,” Simon gave herself permission to “color outside the lines of my life to finish the song,” allowing the universal truth to resonate even though specific details are altered. She has tapped the storyteller in her by “just following my brains!” she exclaims with a laugh. Her favorite line is

“It’s not like I’m hoping for you to come back home / I just leave the door open.”

“It’s kind of funny, to me, because like if the door’s still open you’re still hoping.” I agreed that this line distills the vibe of the song — one that any brave souls who have survived a situationship can relate to. “Something” is ultimately about the acceptance of an existing relationship, but also the ambiguity of unanswered questions. 

Simon was at her most passionate when discussing the hurdles female artists face in the industry. “There have definitely been issues,” she says. “When I graduated, I felt like I was behind, like I didn’t fully understand the industry, and because of that I was a bit naïve and trusting of people. One of the first industry people I had ever met told me that I was ‘too precious’ and ‘needed an edge.’” This is a hot take, we both agree, and not a very good one, because there are many examples of artists who create sweet and joyful pop music successfully. Simon cites one of her idols, Carly Rae Jepsen, as well as the band Kero Kero Bonito, whose song “Trampoline,” she points out, is super fun and entirely about just that title — jumping on a trampoline. There seems to be an obsession specifically with managing the image of femme-presenting creators, to either over-sexualize them or introduce an aspect of seriousness in order for them to “sell.” Simon wholeheartedly resists this, however, staunchly rooting her own image in authenticity. An old management team wanted her to follow the singer/songwriter route of the likes of Taylor Swift and Phoebe Bridgers, promising she could adopt more of her pop sound once she was deemed more established, but she wouldn’t hear it. “I would rather do things the hard way and make music I want to hear, and hope and pray people like this pop music the way I like it.” 

Heavily influenced by these early experiences in the industry, her advice for marginalized individuals in the music business is to “Trust your instincts. You want to look back and say ‘I’ve followed my own path, and it’s wholly representative of who I am.’ Don’t let yourself get erased by someone else’s idea of what your identity should be, because you don’t know what will and will not sell.” Quite sound insight in the era of the TikTok music boom, where the careers and images of young artists are so micromanaged. 

A snapshot of Simon is not complete without mentioning her love for Charli XCX. I had to ask —  what’s her all time Charli favorite? “To hit you with a throwback, I love ‘Superlove!’ I remember seeing her in that music video and being like, ‘There is no one cooler than Charli XCX.’ It set me on that path, and I discovered that kind of pop music.” It’s artists like Charli XCX that remind us that pure pop is important to have around; it makes us dance and provides a break from taking everything so seriously.

You’ll know exactly what I’m talking about when you give “Something” a listen. Simon proves that her lyricism packs a punch while delivering a sparkly track perfect for long car rides. You can listen now on Spotify, and follow Simon’s blossoming career on Instagram, Twitter and her website, as she has two EPs in the works and “a lot more in the cannons ready to fire!”