We had the chance to talk to Australian duo HeyHolly to celebrate the release of their latest single “Glitter”
Congratulations on the release of your new song Glitter! Glitter is described as raw and unapologetic—what was going through your minds while writing and recording it? The last 2 years have been a roller coaster to say the least. Being around other individuals and seeing their struggles with toxicity while also balancing our own personal problems we wanted to shine light on how this can ultimately make us better people and hold it in a positive light instead of allowing it to swallow us whole.
Was there a particular experience or moment that inspired the message behind Glitter? I guess it is pretty personal looking back at glitter. The time that it was written. The experiences we were having then and also I think it’s a collection of different experiences from over the years. For me (Bryce) most definitely this is targeted towards a more recent and personal experience that had happened over the last couple years and this in a way was a therapy writing session and something I felt we needed to release. For Cruise I think he is fantastic when it comes to observation. He manages to pull inspiration and create art from stories. Whether they’re real life experiences for other individuals or fantasy film and tv. He just knows how to tap in and use that to his advantage.
The track feels like a rebirth—how did it feel emotionally to release this one compared to your earlier songs? This is something we have sat on for a while now. Generally when it comes to making music. You sit in a studio session and make what you think is a masterpiece , pour your heart into it, take it away and love it until you hate it. We have felt that way with most of our songs and demo syndrome is a real thing. For GLITTER it wasn’t like that. There was still this undying love for it after months and months of sitting on it. It feels amazing to finally have it out there and hopefully people feel the same way about it as we do.
How would you describe your individual roles in HeyHolly—Cruise as the vocalist and Bryce as the rapper? How do those elements come together when writing a song?
I guess we are very different with what we deliver but also complimentary to each other at the same time. I think the dynamic of our voices jell really well together while offering different things. Cruise has a strong voice and often this soft angelic tone to it that I enjoy. I think it’s comforting, I think it’s easy listening and something people engage with. Not to mention his parts are always so catchy.
For myself. Story telling has always been a big part of my life. I find it comforting and quite easy to write. Where I sometimes lack communication and finding the right words at the right times I find it way easier to sit and pour my heart into a pad and pen. Or more so these days iphone notes. I don’t think my rap voice is confrontational, it’s not aggressive, it’s not loud and obnoxious and whether it comes across this way to the listener or not but my lyrics have a lot of meaning behind them.
Since your debut in 2022, you’ve played WOMADelaide and supported WOMBAT—what’s been your most surreal moment so far? Both of them have been unreal. We have been so blessed to have a great team and could not have done it without Bianca from Renegade, our friends and family, the listeners and the two of us by each other’s side. WOMAD was an incredible experience and bringing in such an unexpected large crowd meant the world to us. Having strangers wait around after the show just to tell us how much they enjoyed our set and wanting photos is something we will never forget.
If you could collaborate with any artist—local or international—who would it be and why? Okay now we are getting into the hard questions. For Cruise I’m sure if it’s Dead or alive. Mac Miller or Matt Corby would be his go to. Mac is truly a songbird of a generation when you think about it. In terms of his creativity he is unmatched and also very versatile. The type of artist you could listen to day in and day out and still pick up on new things on the same song you have heard a million times. Corby is incredible. Rainbow valley would have to be one of the greatest albums to come out of Australia. That man’s voice is truly out of this world.
For Bryce. I think we all know it would be Sticky Fingers. Even having the lads come in to collaborate on a writing session and lay down instrumentals would be insane but actually having Dylan Frost on a Chorus would be a dream come true. Every release they have is a front to back listen with no skips. I also think Dominic Fike would be an awesome artist to collaborate with. His music makes me feel good.
What message do you hope people take away when they listen to your music, especially Glitter? If you smile, laugh, cry or just get in your feelings in general when listening to any of our songs then that’s the best thing we could have ever hoped for. We just want people to feel something. It’s cool to create music that bangs and just has a good beat but to be able to make the listener actually feel emotions. That’s what we want. Dont take life seriously. Have a laugh, have a drink to our music with friends, have a cry. Feelings are a part of the human experience and we believe music is the best feeling of all time.
source https://undergroundhiphopblog.com/qa-interviews/heyholly-interview-june-2025/
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