Bonnie McKee on What an "American Girl" Likes

Hello, I'm Bonnie McKee and this is my new single "American Girl".

1, 2, 3, 4.

I fell in love in a 7-Eleven parking lot. Sat on the curb drinking slurpees we mixed with alcohol. We talked the whole night.

The gorgeous, lovely Bonnie McKee. I mean it. You are.

Thanks. I'm very funky.

Oh, thank you. Funky. Funky. Look at this outfit. This is you just explaining how your jacket's very heavy. It's very lopsidedly heavy but...

The price that you pay for fashion.

Exactly. Um, and you're you're blowing up right now but you you started so long ago.

Mhm.

And your story is quite interesting. Tell us how you how this all started for you.

Oh, well, I started out as an artist originally. I moved to Los Angeles at 16 and got a record deal and um when that didn't work out, I started writing songs for other people. I was just broke and

Right.

needed the money and um and then it ended up really working out for me. So um I was lucky enough to work with Dr. Luke. Yeah. I I got lucky and got in the studio with Dr. Luke and Max Martin and Katie Perry and all these people. So I've been very fortunate in my songwriting career.

And there was one story that stuck out though where you nailed a CD to a tree.

Yeah.

of the Warner Brothers CEO. Is that true?

Well, yeah. You know, I I was signed at Warner and things weren't going well. Um people stopped returning my phone calls and so um, you know, I went down to Hollywood Boulevard, I bought a dagger that had a tiger on it with a jewel for an eye. And then I went to the CEO's house in the middle of the night and I stabbed a CD of my songs into a tree

into a tree

in front of his house. Thankfully, it was a tree.

The story ended with a tree.

With a tree. Yes. And then he came out the next morning and it was his kids' first day of school and everyone ran screaming and thought a maniac came in the middle of the night which they were right about. Don't you know I'm loco?

Um, and American Girl, which is your new record. Your your record that you're blowing up with.

Yes.

Tell us about that. How would you describe the sound of it?

Wow. Um, you know, I wanted to do something that was very uniquely personal to me. So, um, you know, I really did fall in love in a 7-Eleven parking lot and I do feel like I was raised by a television. Um, yeah. So it's just it's kind of a an ode to the freedom of youth and um, and yeah, celebrating being Americans, you know. And how us as girls, us,

Right.

Us girls. It's just us girls. You let my weekend secret out now. How we can do anything in this country and celebrating.

Girl power.

Yeah, exactly. Girl power.

Songwriting side. Is it hard when you write a song and then you hear someone else sing it? Because you've obviously created this little like baby and then you give it to someone.

Well, I've been fortunate enough to actually be in the studio with many of the artists that I've written with. So when I go in with Katie or Kesha or Adam Lambert or Kelly Clarkson, whoever. I'm there for them. You know, I put on my writer hat and I uh I ask them what they're going through and what inspires them and who they want to be, you know. So I'm I'm not really thinking about myself. I'm thinking about them.

Right. And is there any secret to writing a hit?

Um, I think it's all about unique simplicity. Um, don't overthink it. Uh, make it relatable and familiar but also unique and fresh.

Okay. I love that. Unique, fresh simplicity.

Mhm.

Okay. I'm going to come back with a hit. I promise.

Perfect.

Um if you could write for any musician that you haven't wrote for, who would it be? Or collaborate with maybe even sing with on stage? Because now you're singing.

Yeah. Right. Um, I would love to work with Bruno Mars. Mhm. Big fan. And Lady Gaga. Lady Gaga is kind of the last diva standing that I haven't gotten my hands on. So. Uh, I'm I'm a big fan of hers. I think she's incredible.

If if you haven't been able to tell from this interview, I do struggle to talk to American girls. I haven't had much luck in my love life. So we're going to play we're going to play a little game. Okay. Which is where I'm getting advice from you, okay? Just a few little things. Right. What do American girls love to do on a first date?

Um, probably I would say drink.

That would be mine. We're already we've been getting along then. I'm British. We should have been a match made in heaven. Um, what is the one food American girls typically like to eat?

Um, hmm. It's all changed now, isn't it? I feel like sushi is very is a very like clean, easy date food, you know.

Dead fish, of course.

Yeah, dead fish all the way.

Eat dead fish. What should you never do or say on a date with an American girl?

Um, well, I wouldn't bring up politics.

Okay. I know chance of that.

Yeah, no one. That's a safe bet. I wouldn't bring it up.

Um, and what's a gift that every American girl would love? Like if I was going to like, oh, you know, second date in, I'll buy her a gift.

Hmm. Maybe like a a trip to Fiji.

Cool. Expensive taste, American girls. In England, we're buying one rose and they're yours for life.

I mean if you ask me, you didn't put a price tag on it.

Okay. Okay. And how should you break up with an American girl?

Definitely not via text.

Definitely not via text. Okay.

In person. Definitely in person and um just be honest. Don't tiptoe around it. Don't say it's not you, it's me. Just be like, look, I met someone else. You know. Because that's usually the truth.

That's very harsh though.

Just I mean, but it's better to just cut it dry and not be like, oh, let's just take a break. Never say you're just going to take a break because then she keeps holding on. You just got to be like, done. Goodbye. Don't keep texting her. Leave her alone. Okay. Grow some. And just cut it off. Literally.

Okay. On that note, I now know how to deal with an American girl. She's got an American Girl record out that's amazing.