Premiere: Mia Gladstone goes heavy with the glitter for “Hold It Down”

In Mia Gladstone’s video for “Hold It Down” – premiered below – she dances on a gloomy beach with her friends, hangs out by the pier, visits a supermarket and then dances topless and covered in glitter in her local diner. Somehow it all seems to make sense. It’s the life of a New Jersey teenager, but elevated.

Scrolling through her Instagram, it becomes clear that Mia is all about elevation. She turns a selfie an act of rebellion, a subway platform into a make up room, a train ride into an acid trip and her experiences – of life, love, self-discovery and smoking in her basement studio – into chill pop songs that you want to put on loop until you enter the stratosphere as well. We’re here for it.

Check out “Hold It Down” below. And watch our Instagram stories for Mia’s thoughts on the platform’s oppressive community guidelines. Then follow her here.

Hey Mia, tell us about “Hold It Down” – the verses feel really empowered, while the chorus is super dreamy. Is your personality reflected in that balance?

I like this interpretation! I think it is reflected in my personality. Being empowered is a big part of what I stand for but I’m also pretty laid back as a person and spend a lot of time day dreaming and creating.

You seem so free in the video too. What was the shoot like?

The shoot was very freeing! I went into it with an open mind and the energy was reciprocated. We shot pretty much all day and night and I got glitter everywhere… and I got to be topless in a local diner. Good times.

You’re taking over our Instagram to talk about community guidelines. Could you give us a summary of your thoughts on the subject?

 I find the community guidelines to be very limiting and targeted towards certain demographics. I don’t support censorship as a concept in that it creates a false reality and shields us from expression and truth…and in the case of Instagram, the guidelines are abused and typically only enforced on women, specifically women who aren’t submitting to conventional beauty standards where they can be widely sexualized by cis men. It seems like the guidelines were created to restrict and silence art and people pushing boundaries.

I guess insta and the music industry have a lot in common – they’re mainly controlled by men…?

Yes…it’s very apparent and it’s something I’m actively working to change.

How do you find digital culture in general influences you?

I’m so inspired by so many of the artists I see on Instagram whose art I wouldn’t otherwise be exposed to… it makes it so much more accessible, less elitist, and more collaborative.

It feels like every emotion is magnified online – do you find people have really strong reactions to your music and your online presence in general?

Reactions are definitely magnified online. I find that my art and persona provokes strong reactions from people mostly because of how free and open I am. I’ve gotten backlash within the industry and in my daily life but I feel proud of what I represent. It’s really easy to portray a certain image on social media because you have full control of what’s being put out under your name… in reality I can be pretty shy but the internet allows me to express myself in ways that inspire my real life. As toxic as social media can be, I’ve definitely used it towards my progression and have gained a lot of confidence from it.

How would you describe your personal style?

My personal style is always shifting… it’s pretty inconsistent. I just express whatever feeling I have on a given day and experiment with colors and clothes and makeup.

We love your beauty looks. Are they DIY? What are your inspirations?

Hey thank you! My beauty looks are very DIY. They’re never really planned at all, I just experiment until I come to a look that I like. I love doing other people’s makeup because we’re all different canvases and the same style shows up differently on every face and I find it so enjoyable!

And finally, can you give us a prediction for the future?

I predict titties everywhere!

Follow Mia Gladstone here.