{"id":1795718,"date":"2024-06-24T13:05:54","date_gmt":"2024-06-24T17:05:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stylecaster.com\/?p=1795718"},"modified":"2024-08-12T13:59:57","modified_gmt":"2024-08-12T17:59:57","slug":"fletcher-in-search-of-the-antidote","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stylecaster.com\/entertainment\/music\/1795718\/fletcher-in-search-of-the-antidote\/","title":{"rendered":"FLETCHER: Join the Rebellion"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

The first song Cari Fletcher ever wrote was in sixth grade. She still remembers the words. Hell, even the melody. \u201cI\u2019m such a Pisces<\/a>, because these lyrics are so fucking dramatic about having my heart broken,\u201d she says, laughing. \u201cI had never kissed a single person, never been in a relationship, nothing. But I just had this longing for love.\u201d Then, she sings it to me. Why should it be so hard to carry on? I need the strength to move along and mend my broken heart.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Fletcher
Dress: DiPetsa. Hair extensions: BELLAMI Hair. Cuff: Boudoir Athanasiou. Rings: Maria Nilsdotter. Earrings: Stylist’s own. Creative direction: Sasha Purdy. Photographer: Michael Buckner.<\/cite><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

These sorts of intimate, heart-on-her-sleeve lyrics define FLETCHER (her stage name) as an artist\u2014someone who challenges the notion that pop music isn\u2019t deep. (And yes, there are plenty of naysayers out there.) With the release of her sophomore album In Search of the Antidote<\/em> in March and dates locked in for a tour that\u2019ll take her across the U.S., FLETCHER has emerged as a rare gem of the music industry: one who can seamlessly fuse glossy pop sensibilities with the kind of raw lyrical honesty that will rip your goddamn heart out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The New Jersey native’s talent was obvious from an early age. \u201cI was singing before I was speaking,\u201d she says. \u201cI was belting made-up songs, show tunes, and Celine Dion<\/a> from when I was a baby.\u201d She was so impassioned and unbridled that her mom entered her into classical training so her daughter wouldn\u2019t fry her vocal cords. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Fletcher
Top: Gasanova. Skirt: Entire Studios. Ring: Lillian Shalom. Creative direction, design: Sasha Purdy. Photographer: Michael Buckner.<\/cite><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

At 17, FLETCHER debuted on the first season of The X Factor (U.S.) <\/em>under the mentorship of Paula Abdul, grouped in the all-girl, country-pop ensemble Lakoda Rayne. Finishing in ninth place, she was told she wasn\u2019t confident enough to sing lead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI don\u2019t regret anything that I\u2019ve done in my life, [but] knowing what I know now, I wouldn\u2019t have done that experience,\u201d she reflects. \u201cIt was part of this belief that there\u2019s always competition, that I\u2019m not good enough to be at the forefront.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Fletcher
Creative direction: Sasha Purdy. Photographer: Michael Buckner.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Anyone lucky enough to see FLETCHER live would know that is categorically<\/em> not the case, but she admits it\u2019s taken time to unlearn the idea that she needs to prove herself or fight for her place. \u201cThere is this underlying energy and belief fed to women that there\u2019s not enough room at the table for you,\u201d she says. \u201cThat idea of, \u2018I have to be so different and so unique that if there\u2019s anybody else doing what I\u2019m doing, I\u2019m not going to be successful … It\u2019s a lie.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Amid her studies at New York University\u2019s Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music, FLETCHER experienced her first taste of virality with her single, \u201cWar Paint,\u201d in 2015. Her debut EP, Finding Fletcher,<\/em> was released independently in September 2016. In 2018, she signed with Capitol Records\u2014a division of Universal Music Group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Fletcher
Creative direction: Sasha Purdy. Photographer: Michael Buckner.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cUndrunk\u201d from her second EP, You Ruined New York City for Me<\/em>, put much of 2019 in a chokehold and FLETCHER on the map, with lyrics like, \u201cSo I squeeze out the lime on the ice of my drink \/ And the juice hits the cuts on my fingers \/ It still doesn\u2019t burn \/ As much as the thought of you.\u201d The song has amassed more than 170 million streams on Spotify. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is this underlying energy and belief fed to women that there\u2019s not enough room at the table for you. That idea of, ‘I have to be so different and so unique that if there\u2019s anybody else doing what I\u2019m doing, I\u2019m not going to be successful’ … It\u2019s a lie.<\/p>FLETCHER<\/cite><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s such a visceral, specific image,\u201d she says of those lyrics. \u201cIt\u2019s something I\u2019ve always loved to do, to draw people into a specific image and a really specific feeling.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That same year, FLETCHER scored an invite to Taylor Swift\u2019s birthday party. How, exactly? She\u2019s light on the details, but she did illuminate one of their conversations. \u201cI asked her what she was drinking, and she said it was an old fashioned,\u201d she explains. Bourbon, bitters, and a tiny bit of sugar, served on the rocks with an orange rind. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Fletcher
Dress: Acne Studios. Shoes: ByFar. Tights: Wolford. Creative direction: Sasha Purdy. Photographer: Michael Buckner.<\/cite><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cShe said, \u2018It\u2019s a man\u2019s drink,\u2019\u201d to which FLETCHER replied, \u201cWell, you\u2019re the fucking man.\u201d This interaction inspired her lyrics \u201csipped her like an old fashioned\u201d in \u201cgirls girls girls\u201d\u2014a standalone single ahead of her debut album, Girl of My Dreams<\/em>, in 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A year later, in the spring of her 2023 tour, FLETCHER\u2019s health took an unexpected turn. She was diagnosed with Lyme disease\u2014a bacterial infection that can cause extreme fatigue and neurological complications. Things got so bad that she wasn\u2019t sure she\u2019d return to music. She returned to her childhood home in New Jersey for treatment and as she began to heal, music began to flow again. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Search of the Antidote<\/em>, released on March 22, 2024, is FLETCHER\u2019s bold attempt at emotional and physical catharsis. \u201cIt\u2019s a screenshot of where I was in a particular season of my life, navigating a lot of things with my health, in search of a literal antidote,\u201d she says. \u201cAnd also a reflection of a lot of life events, relationships, career moments up until that point. It was a deep dive during a period of a lot of discovery in how to heal my heart and body.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Fletcher
Creative direction: Sasha Purdy. Photographer: Michael Buckner.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

It also coincided, give or take a couple of days, with her 30th birthday. \u201cI feel like the day I turned 30, I was like, \u2018I\u2019m a new woman,\u2019\u201d she says. \u201cI was so scared because there\u2019s so much pressure\u2014even in the music industry\u2014on if you don\u2019t make it to this milestone by this age, it\u2019s a matter of time before [your] clock runs out \u2026 With turning 30, I was able to exhale.\u201d She adds, \u201cEvery version of me that I have been, I have so much gratitude for [because I\u2019m] here right now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Swift gets another shoutout, this time on Antidote<\/em>\u2019s sixth track, \u201cEras of Us,\u201d which captures FLETCHER running into an ex during the Eras tour<\/a>. \u201cI was hit with a wave of emotion and reminded of all the eras of us. So, the song sort of wrote itself in the studio the following day,\u201d she says. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Fletcher
Creative direction: Sasha Purdy. Photographer: Michael Buckner.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Despite her setbacks, FLETCHER\u2019s devoted fanbase has been with her every step of the way\u2014though sometimes they have an interesting way of showing affection. \u201cOne time somebody threw a dildo on stage, I will never forget that,\u201d she laughs. Another fan asked if they could be a human mic stand during \u201cBecky\u2019s So Hot.\u201d There have also been countless proposals in the moshpit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The luck that FLETCHER gets to experience a life very few do certainly isn\u2019t lost on her. \u201cWhen I was a little kid in my bedroom, singing into a hairbrush, practicing and pretending to be on stage in front of thousands of people, it was me manifesting this as a little kid,\u201d she says. \u201cFor that to be real life is so wild.\u201d  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her tour to support In Search of the Antidote<\/em> comes at a time when the United States feels like it’s standing on the edge of a precipice. \u201cWe live in a time where there is just so much division, so much hatred in the world, and so many people are being denied their existence and their right to live and to be safe in the world. Just to exist,\u201d FLETCHER says. \u201cIt hurts my heart on so many levels.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Fletcher
Creative direction: Sasha Purdy. Photographer: Michael Buckner.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

On how she wrestles with performing in conservative states, she says, \u201cShowing up is the most radical act of rebellion … That\u2019s where the responsibility lies for me.\u201d Rest assured, wherever you see FLETCHER perform, her shows remain a haven for anyone wanting to live unapologetically and love themselves with reckless abandon. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“It feels really beautiful and special to be able to curate that space for people,” she says. “That was something I really needed as a kid growing up, I wanted to have that space where I could just go be me … That’s the culture of a FLETCHER show\u2014come and be a freak, come and be you, come and be the truest expression of who you are.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Creative Direction: Sasha Purdy<\/em>
Photographer: Michael Buckner<\/em>
Production Assistant: Roya Backlund<\/em>
Stylist: Marc Eram with A-Frame Agency
Makeup: Lilly Keys with A-Frame Agency
Hair: Nathaniel Dezan with Opus Beauty
Styling Assistant: Lauren Grey <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n

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