Regina Song jumps down the rabbit hole with her sophomore album everland.
Following her debut fangirl, this record drops her out of fantasy and into reality. Inspired by the tale of Alice in Wonderland, Song describes the narrative pop project as a “wonderland of core memories” as she stumbles through love and heartbreak.
Curiouser and curiouser, we chatted with one of Singapore’s most promising new artists to talk about the making of everland, the stories behind its songs, and the world she built along the way.
JUICE BOX PRESS: Your previous record explored falling in love from afar, while this album dives right into it. What inspired that shift?
REGINA SONG: I think that shift was really natural for me. I guess it comes from having experienced real romantic relationships that are not out of my own imagination. It definitely changed a lot of my perspectives, and of course, my writing.
JUICE BOX PRESS: What drew you to Alice in Wonderland, and how does that world reflect the emotions or themes of the album?
REGINA SONG: I love how Alice in Wonderland is such a classic. What I enjoy most about it is the whimsical and abstract concepts that the show inspires – like the Cheshire Cat, the concept of time and space, and rabbit holes. I love the chaos and unpredictable nature of a wonderland. And that’s exactly what falling in love felt like for me – a very magical place that I have no idea where it might lead me to. Feeling lifted and carefree one second, then downward spiralling in another. I write songs about vivid and intense feelings, with a curiosity of my own mind. I feel like Alice in Wonderland captures just that.
JUICE BOX PRESS: Your songwriting often feels like reading someone’s diary. Did approaching this album through a more fantastical lens make it easier to be vulnerable?
REGINA SONG: I never really thought about it that way. My lens to writing music has always stayed quite consistent – I’d just write whatever I want at that moment. It’s just quite interesting that certain topics would come up during a season of writing, and with this album it was elements of nature. When I decided upon the Alice in Wonderland concept, I then went back into my music – particularly some of the already written ones like “Your Charm” – to add certain lyrics that would nod to that concept, and I finished the rest of my songs with that in mind. One lyric I really enjoy is in my song “But what do you think?”, and it goes “You’d hate her/ Despise her/ Off with her head, ah” I think coming up with that line was one of the moments where I felt like the album was really coming together.
JUICE BOX PRESS: You have a background in classical music. In what ways does that influence your approach to making pop music?
REGINA SONG: I think I like to approach my music and writing with a certain element of timelessness. That’s what classical music is for me. I’d never ever get bored of listening to classical music, and that’s the charm of music that transcends eras. I want my writing to be something I can look back at 20 years from now and think, “Wow, I still really like this song”. I think that’s also the beauty of making a great pop song; they’re memorable and catchy but you don’t get bored of it.
JUICE BOX PRESS: How did you decide on the sequencing of the album? Was it designed to be experienced from front to back?
REGINA SONG: Yes, that’s definitely the case! It kind of goes in the flow of the exciting start of a romantic relationship to its tragic ending. I think that’s a very foolproof way of sequencing an album, and I like it very much. I like that the introspection comes a lot later in the album, so that my audience can hear my head buffering and my frontal lobe developing as they listen to the album from front to back.
JUICE BOX PRESS: You recently played a sold-out Southeast Asia tour. Do you see yourself expanding the album’s world visually for the live shows?
REGINA SONG: I would honestly love to do that. I had the best time of my life being on tour, honestly. And the thought of re-arranging my songs and creating exciting new sets for them truly makes me so excited. I think performing songs live is the best way to connect with my audience of course, but also get really creative with the skeletal material of the songs that already exists. I’d also love to play more songs that I haven’t released. I’m always writing, and playing unreleased music for people who’ve come down to support me is such a thrilling experience.
JUICE BOX PRESS: Looking back on the album as a whole, what are you most proud of?
REGINA SONG: As an independent artist, I think I’m just proud that I got it out. It was an incredibly long and arduous process figuring out a lot of things on my own. It feels like a great accomplishment to me, and honestly I haven’t even had the chance to sit down and process that it’s out. Everything’s moving really fast all the time, but at this moment, I’m just so glad I made this album and put it out. But besides that, I think I’m the proudest about my writing. I really hope that my active listeners resonate with it.
Amelia Cordischi, Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Juice Box Press, is an accomplished digital marketing professional with over a decade of experience in media and communications. Her work has been featured in notable publications, including The Boston Globe. A communications graduate of Simmons University in Boston, Amelia served as manager of Simmons College Radio (“The Shark”), where she also launched and co-hosted her radio show, The Find.
In addition to her editorial work, Amelia is an established freelance photographer, with bylines in Blended Magazine and CelebMix, capturing artists and cultural moments across the music and media landscape. Her career began at WCVB-TV’s Chronicle, the ABC affiliate in Boston, where she gained firsthand experience in broadcast journalism and storytelling.
When she’s not taking photos from the photo pit, interviewing emerging artists, or crafting the next Juice Box Press feature, Amelia can be found thrifting and exploring the world of sustainable fashion.