Emerging Queer Pop Star Zolita Releases New Album 'Queen of Hearts'

Queen of Hearts, the new album from emerging Queer pop star Zolita, is out now via AWAL.

The project is built around a pair of equally ambitious themes—one half, Zolita views as a giant queer celebration, while the other half is more meditative and introspective, diving deep into life’s turmoils and travails. The album serves as a testament to her vulnerability and honesty as a songwriter along with her willingness to go to depths she hasn’t revealed in her songs before. “I feel like I got to explore things that I had never written about before—things that maybe I was a little bit afraid to write about,” she recalls. 

Fans can watch videos for her album tracks “Grown Up,” "Small Town Scandal,” “All Girls Go to Heaven” and “Bloodstream.” 

To celebrate Pride month and Queen of Hearts, Zolita hosted a Queen of Hearts Pride Pageant extravaganza last night in Los Angeles with non-profit organization Queer Capita. The event featured an evening of Queer music and pageantry, inspired by the music video for her song “Bloodstream." In addition, Zolita will host another Pride event at New York’s Baby’s All Right on Wednesday, June 26, which will include performances from local LGBTQ+ DJs, a variety show of LGBTQ+ pageant entrants and appearances from other notable members of the Queer community. Further information to come soon. 

Zolita is also set to bring her lauded live show back on the road this fall with an extensive run of headline U.S. tour dates. Kicking off on September 13, the tour includes stops at New York’s Bowery Ballroom, Los Angeles’ Troubadour, Boston’s Brighton Music Hall, Philadelphia’s The Foundry, Nashville’s Exit/In, Chicago’s Chop Shop and many more. Further information can be found at zolitamusic.com while full tour routing can be found below. 

Born Zoë Hoetzel and raised near Los Angeles, Zolita grew up in a highly creative family who nurtured her artistic side from a young age. To that end, she first discovered her innate gift for music by playing flat-pick guitar with her father (a bluegrass aficionado and longtime banjo player) and later began writing her own folk-leaning songs in her bedroom. In high school, Zolita immersed herself in photography, almost instantly unveiling her left-of-center sensibilities.

Naming David Lynch and Sofia Coppola among her favorite filmmakers, Zolita headed to NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts to study film but soon found herself drawn to the world of music-video production. After refining her stylistic approach by creating a number of videos for her own songs, Zolita had a major breakthrough with the spellbinding visual for “Explosion.” Masterfully directing, producing and editing her own videos, Zolita made waves 2021 with her episodic viral trilogy that featured “Somebody I F*cked Once,” “Single In September” and “I F*cking Love You.” The three videos quickly garnered more than 85 million global streams on YouTube alone.

As a truly multidimensional artist, Zolita matches her wildly catchy pop-punk hooks and fiercely honest songwriting with vibrant and striking cinematic storytelling, earning her praise from the likes of i-D, V Magazine, NYLON, Gay Times, Dazed, Interview Magazine and more.

QUEEN OF HEARTS TRACKLIST

1. All Over Again
2. Bloodstream
3. Queen of Hearts
4. All Girls Go to Heaven
5. Small Town Scandal 
6. No One Tells You No When Your Beautiful 
7. What If
8. Grown Up

QUEEN OF HEARTS TOUR

September 9, 2024 - Santa Ana, CA - Constellation Room

September 14, 2024 - Phoenix, AZ - Rebel Lounge

September 16, 2024 - Dallas, TX - HOB Cambridge Room

September 17, 2024 - Austin, TX - 3Ten @ ACL

September 18, 2024 - Houston, TX - HOB Bronze Peacock

September 20, 2024 - Atlanta, GA - Aisle 5

September 21, 2024 - Charlotte, NC - Visulite

September 22, 2024 - Nashville, TN - Exit/In

September 24, 2024 - Washington, DC - Atlantis

September 25, 2024 - Philadelphia, PA - The Foundry @ The Fillmore

September 27, 2024 - New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom

September 28, 2024 - Boston, MA - Brighton Music Hall

October 1, 2024 - Toronto, ON - Velvet Underground

October 3, 2024 - Columbus, OH - The Basement

October 4, 2024 - Chicago, IL - Chop Shop

October 5, 2024 - Minneapolis, MN - 7th Street Entry

October 8, 2024 - Denver, CO - Larimer Lounge

October 9, 2024 - Salt Lake City, UT - Kilby Court

October 11, 2024 - Seattle, WA - Barboza

October 12, 2024 - Portland, OR - Holocene

October 15, 2024 - San Francisco, CA - The Independent

October 17, 2024 - San Diego, CA - SOMA Sidestage

October 18, 2024 - Los Angeles, CA - Troubadour

Photo credit: Katia Temkin

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