A Quick Chat with Taylah Rose

Part love song, part public service announcement, Boyfriend Material flips modern dating into a recruitment campaign. With one very obvious position vacant in her life, Taylah is no longer accepting applicants who can't meet the bare minimum: reply to a text, show up on time, be consistent, and proudly call you their girlfriend. Equal parts witty, empowering, and painfully relatable, the track is an anthem for anyone who's stopped settling.

Boyfriend Material turns the frustrations of modern dating into something playful, confident and incredibly relatable. Where did the idea for the song first come from?

Boyfriend Material was written in collaboration with the incredibly talented R&B powerhouse and producer EMEREE. We had literally just connected over Zoom and got into this deep and meaningful conversation about modern dating and my chronically single relationship track record. I was talking about how, compared to my friends who seem to fall in and out of relationships, I feel like I've been very intentionally leaving this position vacant in my life for someone who's willing to go beyond the bare minimum.

We were comparing our experiences navigating queer and straight dating and realised that, regardless of who you're dating or how they identify, everyone is ultimately looking for boyfriend material. That line instantly clicked, and before long we'd turned the conversation into a song.

There's been so much conversation recently around whether having a boyfriend is even desirable anymore. Did that shift in attitudes around relationships influence the way you approached Boyfriend Material?

I think it's such an interesting discussion. As someone who has definitely decentralised the need to have a boyfriend or partner in my life, and who sees a lot of my friends doing the same thing, I think a lot of people my age are questioning the benefits of being in a relationship. Which is sad in a way.

I also see a massive contrast between my friends who have been in long-term relationships and their goals and aspirations for the immediate and long-term future. I feel like, in a generation where we've grown up very quickly with the internet and social media, there is this fear of settling down, and a fear of the compromise between who you are as a person and who you're expected to be as a girlfriend.

With Boyfriend Material, I really wanted to convey this idea of not compromising. Of someone needing to step up to match your energy and match your effort. All in all, I don't think it's embarrassing having a boyfriend. But having an embarrassing boyfriend is embarrassing in itself. You should never have to shrink yourself to be loved.

The song has this really playful, almost tongue-in-cheek take on dating, but there's a pretty serious message underneath it. What were some of the musical influences that helped shape that balance?

The track began with an eight-bar loop I produced, which EMEREE flipped, adding a killer bassline and smooth R&B-inspired drums. Her production gave it this fierce, confident energy that sounded like a nod to our queen, Ariana Grande. From there, the song came together incredibly naturally.

You recently performed alongside Kita Alexander. What did you take away from that experience, both as a performer and as an artist?

I had the absolute honour of performing as a support act for Kita Alexander alongside the standout talent Jourdan Evans. The Shannon Eckstein Classic Afterparty was an incredible experience, and it was amazing to see the Surf Life Saving community at BMD Northcliffe come together to support local music.

Kita is truly one of the girls. She stayed back to chat with fans, congratulated audience members on winning their heats, took photographs and signed T-shirts. Watching her, I felt so inspired by her kindness and grace. It really stressed to me the importance of remaining down to earth as an artist.

The Boyfriend Material music video leans heavily into the idea of a recruitment campaign. How did that concept come together?

I came up with the concept for the music video as a play on the words and lyrics, particularly the line, “bare minimum should be retiring.” I wanted to treat it as a real recruitment campaign, with a job interview set-up, position-vacant flyers and girl-boss outfits.

I go from looking overworked and thinly strung to being completely fed up with unsuccessful candidates. I wanted the imagery to feel almost editorial, like I was working in a fashion or marketing house, as a play on the "material" part of boyfriend material.

It was shot with the tag team of Renata Dominik and Alexander Leeway, who completely got behind my creative vision and took things to the next level.

Boyfriend Material feels like a glimpse into the world you're building with your upcoming EP. What can listeners expect when they hear the full project?

Expect so much! There are catchy pop anthems about the messy process of growing into yourself, standing up for yourself and figuring out who you want to be. It's girly, fun and totally reminiscent of the pop girls — Ari, Zara, Addison, Madison and more.

There's also some gut-wrenching material about the aftermath of falling out of relationships, the process of clawing yourself out of a bad place and becoming anew. I think there's a really nice balance between the fun, confident side of the project and the more vulnerable moments.

You're currently spending some time in Nashville and have been working internationally. How has being in the US shaped what's coming next for you?

Right now I'm working on my next project. I'm currently in Nashville working out of Warner Chappell Music, which has been such an exciting experience.

I'm also super excited to be performing a set from my upcoming EP live at the Haunted Ball in Los Angeles on 16 October at the Friendship Auditorium. It's been so much fun connecting with people all over the world through my music, and I'm really excited for what's coming next.