New Music: Kai Bosch – Popstar of Your Dreams

Kai Bosch has never shied away from difficult subjects, even though his music is avowedly and unashamedly pop in tone and temperament.

Popstar of Your Dreams – the title track of his new EP – sees him look at the perils of being an artist in an industry where algorithms are the new gatekeepers and tastemakers.

Bosch tackles this by looking at what it would take to succeed, not just the artistic compromises but also the personal ones. Here, a different Kai Bosch is prepared to reinvent himself – and lose himself – in a quest for fame, success, and all the filthy glamour that comes in their wake.

That may make this sound rather worthy, but it works, as the track is a maximalist indie-pop banger, designed to be enjoyed. Play it loud, sing along, and do a TikTok dance – the pop fan of your dreams would want you to.

Says Bosch about the song, “Popstar of Your Dreams is written from the perspective of an alter ego where I would do anything for success. I wrote it at a time where I was feeling very low about myself and my artist project – I felt like I was pushing myself to my absolute limit but it still wasn’t enough to change my life.”

“Being an artist in this day and age is about so much more than just making good music, but for someone that struggles really heavily with image, imposter syndrome and just generally is quite an introvert I’ve always felt really at odds with the modern-day tools to success within the music industry and the way it makes me feel.”

“I created this alter ego as an exploration of how things would be if I didn’t have any of these problems, would I be more successful or would it just make me unrecognisable? In the pursuit of success and validation I’ve often found myself at my lowest points, and I’ve come to find that I’m happy being in my own lane, making the music I want to make for myself!”

“The EP was all about taking myself less seriously and getting back to making music for my own enjoyment. I wrote it over a period of time where I was feeling really low about my artist project – I was really falling victim to comparison and external validation and couldn’t help but feel like nothing I was doing was enough to achieve the success I’ve always craved.”

“Ironically, in the end my path to feeling connected with my music again was through creating an alter ego – Kai Bosch, Popstar of Your Dreams! I set myself a manifesto for this project that I wouldn’t overthink anything in the process, I usually torture myself over lyrics and spend so long focusing on production that by the time a song is finished I’m sick to death of it.”

“With this project if it felt good that’s all that mattered, and in the process making this EP ended up being the most fun I’ve ever had in the studio.”

“What I love is that I can still hear so much of my story and life behind the songs, Everything is Beautiful is about meeting my boyfriend, Popstar is about having an identity crisis in the name of success – I always shied away from making this type of music in fear of losing detail and meaning, but I actually think these are my most direct songs yet and I’m very proud of that.

Popstar of Your Dreams is out now and streaming on Apple Music, Spotify, and SoundCloud. Bosch plays Paper Dress Vintage on the 28th of May, with gigs and festivals in the pipeline. Check out his Facebook, TikTok, and Instagram pages for all the latest news.