Interview by Adeline Chai.

Futuremag Music had the opportunity to sit down and chat with popstar Senhit about visiting Australia for the first time, representing San Marino in Eurovision, and being a multi-dimensional artist. 

FMM: I’m so excited to talk to you but first of all, I wanted to start off by saying, welcome to Australia.

Senhit: Thank you very, very much!

FMM: Do you have any first impressions of the country yet?

Senhit: I mean, I just arrived, and it's too soon to say, but I love the vibe! I love first of all, the weather because it’s summer here, and Europe is super freaking cold. I hope I have more time tomorrow and the day after, just to enjoy the cities in Australia, the food, the people.

FMM: How have rehearsals been today and how are you feeling about tonight?

Senhit: I'm very excited. My expectation is very high. *laughs* Everybody talks about Australia, that the audience is very warm, and they're very excited to have all these people here for the first time for the first Eurovision on Tour so we are very happy to be here. We are very privileged and honoured to be here in Australia.

FMM: I think you’ll love the energy here!

Senhit: You have to come to sit and watch the show. You have to!

FMM: I will for sure, I’m really keen for it! On that note actually, is there anyone else on the Eurovision on Tour lineup that you’re excited to watch perform?

Senhit: Everybody. We became a family. Yes, we are on tour together. We started with Madrid and they gave us a very full welcome. Madrid had a very beautiful audience, and then we did London and Warsaw. We know each other [artists on Eurovision on Tour lineup] very well as artists, but they are also very incredible and beautiful people, with incredible voices.

Everything is going very, very smooth. And yeah, we are very happy. It's not always easy to find so many beautiful people altogether but the organisation did a very cool work, and we are very positive about it.

FMM: It’s beautiful that you’re all from such different cultures.

Senhit: Exactly, exactly. I represent San Marino, and then we have Dami from Australia, and then Silia from Cyprus, and then Romania, Malta, Italy, you know, beautiful, beautiful cast.

FMM: It's amazing, it’s such a stellar lineup. We actually have a question for you from one of your fans – which musicians are you inspired by, if any?

Senhit: Oh, wow! I don't have somebody in particular. I love music in general. I listen to a lot of music and yeah I don’t have a name or one person. I’m a very curious person so I love to listen to a lot of music, theatre art in general. So yeah, it’s a very difficult question because I don't have one person or artist.

FMM: That’s so interesting! So, my favourite song from your album Dangerous is Try To Love You.

Senhit: Oh, wow! You're a romantic girl!

FMM: You’re right, I am actually! *laughs* I was curious, is there a song you’ve written that you're most proud of thus far?

Senhit: I love Adrenalina, you know. Adrenalina helped me a lot to become the freaky queen I am, and Adrenalina, that song gave me popularity and visibility all over the world, and even in the music industry I became well known, thanks to this song. I met so many producers, so many writers and they gave me the opportunity then to work with them, with the amazing Steve Aoki, Flo Rider. Try To Love You too, but yeah, I think Adrenalina is my baby.

FMM: I love that, and you've been in Eurovision three different times with three different songs. If you were to do it for a fourth time, what song would you pick, and why?

Senhit: You know, it's very difficult question, because I was talking about this to my boss yesterday. I mean, I feel Adrenalina, it's my song. I didn't know the contest actually so in that time I trusted a friend of mine, a guy that worked with us who knows Eurovision very well, and he chose, Stand By, but I was not very convinced of the song because it's a beautiful ballad, but I was not very prepared. So I enjoyed that moment, but not 100%. When San Marino offered me to do Eurovision again, after 10 years, I said, “Okay, now it's my time and I choose.” I then decided to do Freaky but the contest was cancelled for COVID so we had one more year to work on Adrenalina.

So now, if I have to be honest with you, I don’t know, because I love Adrenalina! I love to be on stage with this kind of music, this kind of up-tempo song, but probably even a ballad song, such as a beautiful love song could be cool, too. Try To Love You – that’s a ballad, but with a very strong beat. I don’t know, we'll see, I will think about it.

FMM: I love to see that duality in your music too. You have your bops but you also do have slower songs that are a bit more melodramatic.

Senhit: Exactly, like Nectar, then I have Try To Love You in the album. I’m all of that. Sometimes, when you have to choose the song for an event like Eurovision, you have to think even of the future of the project because the song has to be ready, phonic, catchy and everything. To be on a stage like that, it’s not only about the song, but also about the sonography, the costumes, the dancer, the stylist, everything. But you never know. Now that everybody knows who Freaky Queen is, it's probably time for me to be a little bit more naked -- of course, in a metaphoric way, like a little bit more intimate.

FMM: For people who first discovered you from Eurovision, what do you think they would be the most surprised to learn about you as an artist?

Senhit: I'm very authentic. What you see on stage is the same as what you listen to on the CD. I'm very spontaneous too. I'm very free sometimes, I'm super crazy because I love to show myself as a hundred percent. The way that I talk to you is the same way that I talk to my fans, my family, and my friends. So this is why I believe they love me because I'm very honest. First of all to myself, and second to my fans.

FMM: I think the way that you speak to people is through being transparent and authentic.

Senhit: Exactly, super. Sometimes too much, because they -- how do you say in English? -- I don't know how to say that word but some of my team will come to me and say, “Oh, my God! You have to be more this and this,” but I cannot. I mean, I'm like this. I really cannot be more natural and spontaneous. And yeah, sometimes I’m super crazy but yes, I like it. It's part of being an artist because you’re full of creativity and many ideas.

FMM: We love that about you. You’ve been in the industry for a while, and I know that there are a lot of up and coming musicians who might not know what to do with themselves, their music or their career. I wanted to ask, on behalf of them, what advice do you have for people who are coming up in the industry?

Senhit: Persist and be very patient, because it's a crazy world. It's a crazy business. Don't stop studying, because it's very important even if you become a superstar. To me it's important to be updated with any kind of music and be aware of everything. Have a very open mind and have a lot of patience, because I understand it’s very hard.

I mean, I'm very lucky. I feel very blessed because I started my career with the musical industry first through musicals on stage, through theatre and I met so many people and became strong enough to be on a stage like Eurovision through that. It gave me the confidence to sing and be super free. I was also surrounded by amazing producers, writers, and musicians but this was a lot of time and a lot of study, a lot of patience. So, this is the only advice that I can give.

FMM: I love that. My last question for you is actually, if you had an opportunity to speak with that version of you, the girl who was still doing musical theatre. What would you say to her?

Senhit: Wow. I would probably say, keep the lightness. Keep the happiness. Don’t take it so seriously because I do this magic job and I'm very proud. Keep smiling because it's very important!

FMM: Oh, that is so lovely! Thank you so much for your time, Senhit.