Category: Dove Cameron
Dove Cameron knows people have never been sure what to make of her. The 23-year-old got her start on Disney, starring in the sitcom Liv and Maddie before helming the musical film franchise Descendants, in which she played Maleficent’s daughter. While she thrived on the platform, her life and celebrity felt separate from the entertainment engine for which she was working.
“I always felt like I was an actress-for-hire rather than a brand ambassador or a ‘Disney kid,’” she says bluntly. When Descendants 3 aired earlier this summer, her final appearance in the franchise, the feeling of something being “severed” came as a shock. “When it ended, I really didn’t anticipate having any sort of emotional page turn.”
What seemed to affect her more was public perception, especially as she was in the midst of figuring out her next move. “A lot of people had more ideas about me than even I had about myself,” she says, laughing. Cameron admits that her own personal preferences and image never helped the image placed on her.
“I happen to look quite clean, and I happen to not be interested in things that we would typically call ‘inappropriate,’ like things that might be bad for the brand,” she explains, referring to the impulse by past Disney stars to be rebellious. “I just happened to be one of those people that wasn’t naturally inclined to behave like that.”
As she came close to the end of her time with the company, Cameron realized she craved creativity, something that made her feel more like a participant, more than a watcher within the industry. So, after signing with Disruptor/Columbia Records, she explored other options and began working in the studio with seasoned writers and producers like the Orphanage, Jonas Jeberg, Delacey, Carly Paige Waldrip, and Chloe Angelides. Together, they cooked up a “pretty meaty collection” of songs she’s beginning to release. Dreamy, rock-tinged love song “Waste” and the darker, synthy break-up opus “Bloodshot” — both released last week — are the long-awaited taste of the new Dove Cameron, the real Dove Cameron.
“I do get the sense that I can feel a little bit far away from even my fans I have now, and I don’t know if that’s because of a highly glossy image,” she says. “I do think this music opens up more of who I really am.”
For both, Cameron wanted to approach stereotypical coming-of-age feelings from fresh angles. On “Waste,” a song she describes as one of her absolute favorites, she wanted to step away from the “melty, dripping, sappy love songs” she tends to loathe.
Continue reading INTERVIEW | Dove Cameron talks to Rolling Stone about her new songs
Before you went in the studio to start recording music, what did you envision your music sounding like? And how do you feel you achieved what you imagined?
Funny enough, my taste in music has always been relatively the same. I’ve been listening to Sleigh Bells since I was 13, classic rock since I was born, Lana [Del Rey] since I was 14, and musical scores and sonatas all my life. I have always had a highly stylized, romantic and dramatic taste in production, whether it was super minimal, or creatively placed bells and whistles, I love music that doesn’t sound like the rest. But, I never heard my own music — I could never project my taste into my own personal sound. So finding it for the first time was definitely a blind effort. I felt like I had all my senses removed and I had to re-learn my taste. Though, I did always know whatever I created would be different than what I personally listened to and liked. I wouldn’t ever be so arrogant or silly as to say that I’ve “found my sound” this early on, but I would say, I never dreamed that my music would make me feel as specifically me, as concentrated or vulnerable and as exposed as some of my first few releases have made me feel. So, I assume I’m on the path.
What are the stories behind “Waste” and “Bloodshot”?
“Waste” is very much about that feeling of being so fucked-up over someone that you just want to waste yourself on them, bleed out every ounce of you and live inside them. That kind of agonizing, pain/pleasure, mad love is what we all either know personally, or want. Obviously, I am in a very public relationship [with Descendants costar Thomas Doherty], so it’s safe to assume most love songs are about him.
“Bloodshot,” on the other hand, is less specific. I am very known by my label to say ‘I hate a breakup song,’ which I don’t anticipate changing anytime soon. To me, they’re boring and they make me itchy. What I love about “Bloodshot” is that it’s not necessarily about a breakup, but it is definitely about a loss of some kind. For me, it’s about loss, which I am always trying to put to lyrics.
What made you want to release both songs at the same time? Did it have to do with their contrasting takes on love?
I wanted to release them together because, just as you said, they’re very contrasted, and so am I, and so are my fans. “Bloodshot” is definitely the softest and most intimate of all the songs I’ve done, and “Waste” is one of my favorites. “Bloodshot” is vulnerable, and “Waste” is a bit sexy. I’ve waited so long to release my music, I didn’t want to start with [only] one. I wanted my fans to have a bit more to start with, and hopefully if you don’t hear yourself in one song, you hear yourself in the other.
How long have you been writing your own music?I’ve been writing music all my life. My mom is a poet, and my dad was a pianist, so music and writing was always a part of the deal. I doubt any of my earlier stuff will ever see the light of day, as I have changed so drastically as a person, even just in the last few months, and my feelings about the world, love and myself are changing every day. I may listen to the same kind of things, but my writing is light years apart and I’m very grateful for that. It is part of the joys of being an artist.
Continue reading INTERVIEW | Dove Cameron talks to Billboard about “Waste” and “Bloodshot”
Dove Cameron was interviewed by Gabe Bergado for Teen Vogue and talked about her two original songs:
“These songs highlight two very different sides of me which I thought was important in my new music. I have been growing and changing a lot over the past few months and I needed my music to reflect that. It’s not only representative of who I am, but it also allows my fans to connect to the music more,” Dove tells Teen Vogue. “‘Waste’ is one of my all-time favorites; it is so intense and sexy. It is about an all-consuming love. ‘Bloodshot’ is more intimate and vulnerable. ‘Bloodshot’ is about loss, whatever form that takes for you, whether that’s a breakup, a friendship that ended, or a death. A universal feeling, loss, that I’m always trying to put it into words. One that I think we need to talk about more.”
Our gallery has been updated with the screen captures from the video. Check them out:
– Screen Captures > Others > 2019 > ASOS Magazine: Dove Cameron Reads Fan Tweets
Dove Cameron is the cover of this summer edition of ASOS MAGAZINE (you can purchase it here) and the site Teen Vogue brought us a little sneak peek from the interview so you can check it out below:
“For the cover, Dove is wearing white, wide-legged trousers. The look is paired with a floral strapless top and a pair of bright green sandals.
Inside the issue, she wears additional summer-inspired items, including a yellow top and long, green skirt; a pair of red pants and a white flowing top; and there’s also one image which features a pink, paisley-printed top. The accompanying makeup is kept very neutral, with Dove wearing shades of pink eyeshadow, a glossy lip, and bobby pins in her long, straight hair.
Along with serving up potential outfit inspiration, she opens up about her friendship with Ariana Grande, saying, “I lean on her a lot. She facetimed me four days ago because I needed advice. I relate to her. We’ve both had great trauma and because she’s had so many of the same situation as me, it’s beautiful to ask her questions.”
Dove also touches on her experience with mental illness, saying, “I heard something when I was seven or eight about how we’re born alone and die alone. That stuck with me, not as anything emotional, but something interesting. There’s nothing to lose. It helps you enjoy your life because you’re aware of how fleeting it is. When I say I am not the biggest fan of the industry, people get up in arms. I am grateful, I’m just not cut out to revel in it. It was hard to let people know I was grateful, but also deal with anxiety, depression, eating disorders, loss and tragedy and breakups in the spotlight.”
Our gallery has been updated with the high quality pictures of Dove for ASOS Magazine. Check them out:
– Photoshoot > 2019 > Session 005
Check out the Dove’s new interview for Cosmopolitan and visit our gallery to see the whole photoshoot.
When Dove Cameron steps into the Cosmo offices, I can’t talk to her. It’s not that she’s on an important phone call or that I’m struck speechless by her celebrity. No, it’s that she’s on strict vocal rest and vowed to be silent throughout the two-day photo-shoot. The 22-year-old triple threat is currently starring in Clueless the Musical off Broadway and performing eight shows a week, so it’s pertinent that she find rest where she can, doctor’s orders. As an editor, I was nervous. How do you create a positive environment on set for five hours a day when your talent won’t say a word? I needn’t have worried.
Like the stereotypical Disney-bred star—she played twins on the network’s hit series Liv & Maddie for four seasons starting when she was just 16 years old—Dove entered the space with unparalleled pep. Under-eye masks plastered on her cheeks and a bright smile on her face, she lit up the room, despite just recently recovering from one hell of a flu and serious back issues (which would later take her out of a couple shows).
With her Siri dictation app in tow, she became fast friends with everyone and led us in a Joan Jett jam session while shooting her look based on The Craft. By the end of our time with her it was clear, without her saying a word, that Dove Cameron has what they call in the industry, “it.”
Fame, while never the goal, kind of just happened for Dove. After growing up in Washington and spending time in India where her parents used to design jewelry, her mother moved her and her sister to L.A. when she was about 15. She claims the success of Liv & Maddie occurred overnight, which led to her ubiquitous presence.
Since starring in the Descendants franchise as the conflicted daughter of Maleficent (played by her spiritual twin Kristen Chenoweth), her digital fandom has skyrocketed. Dove’s Instagram boasts 23 million followers who are more than willing to buy her merch, tickets to her limited New York performance, and new music—when she’s ready to release it. (Look out for that at the top of this year, she tells me… at least, once she has the time to promote it.)
Over a week after our photoshoot, I meet Dove again at a Joe & the Juice close to her hotel in midtown to finally get into it. Like the most well-known Disney stars before her (Selena Gomez, Miley Cyrus, etc…) superstardom seems to be well within reach, but there’s something different about Dove. Something that reminds me Molly Ringwald, Anne Hathaway, and Neve Campbell—the teen queens of the high-school rom-com era.
As we talk over cold brews with almond milk and an energizer juice (both Dove’s) I realize what it is: she feels a bit more grounded, touchable, and surprisingly, a little wounded.
Dove came into the iconic role of Cher Horowitz, the original launchpad of teen queen Alicia Silverstone’s career, incredibly last-minute. She’d just finished filming project after project. From appearing in Netflix’s Dumplin’ to voicing Gwen Stacy in Marvel Rising to wrapping Descendants 3, Dove was tired, but unwilling to miss out on the role of a lifetime.
“We decided that it’s a lightning in a bottle moment,” she says. “Clueless the Musical is happening right now and probably never again. They’re not going to come to us in six months. It doesn’t wait for you, a theater doesn’t wait. So do it now, or you don’t do it.”
After seeing Dove portray the original valley girl heroine, it’s hard to imagine anyone else filling those designer shoes. She’s the same Beverly Hills popular girl you already know and love (complete with the iconic yellow plaid skirt set), and yet nothing like Alicia Silverstone’s Cher. Dove’s Cher, she explains, is complicated. She’s naive, but somehow wise. “Clueless,” yes, but sometimes completely self aware. continue reading at cosmopolitan.com
– Photoshoot > 2019 > Session 001
A few months ago Dove was photographed by Davis Factor for L’Officiel Ukraine and I have added the outtakes (tagged, unfortunately) on our gallery. Check them out:
– Photoshoot > 2018 > Session 014
