Key Takeaways
- Suki Waterhouse’s musical awakening began with pop icons Britney Spears, Avril Lavigne, and Alanis Morissette, later deepened by hip‑hop/R&B acts like Missy Elliott and 50 Cent.
- Early songwriting with childhood friend Molly ranged from playful Harry Potter tunes to earnest covers of Liz Phair and Meredith Brooks, shaping her lyrical voice.
- Seeing Missy Elliott live at the Hammersmith Apollo was a transformative concert that showed her the power of a fully realized stage presence.
- Tracks like Of Montreal’s “Gallery Piece” and Karen O’s Crush Songs introduced her to unconventional, emotionally raw songwriting that embraced contradictions.
- The song “Brutally” marked a turning point where personal heartbreak became tangible art, giving her confidence to share vulnerable work.
- Live‑performance milestones—her first big festival at BottleRock, a last‑minute Jimmy Kimmel appearance, and opening for Taylor Swift—taught her to embrace nerves, stillness, and stagecraft.
- Music‑video creation remains a DIY, spontaneous process; she values authenticity over polished production, even when it leads to on‑set mishaps (e.g., the fan‑cut incident in “Good Looking”).
- Acting as Karen Sirko in Daisy Jones & The Six required intense preparation (learning piano, overcoming self‑doubt) and deepened her appreciation for collaborative storytelling.
- Throughout her career, Waterhouse balances experimentation with a core aesthetic: “slightly off‑time and maybe a tiny bit off‑key,” allowing her music to feel both dreamy and grounded.
Suki Waterhouse traces the start of her musical fascination to a childhood obsession with Britney Spears. Recalling drives over the Hammersmith Flyover with her mother, she marveled at Spears’ flawless complexion and soon plastered her bedroom with pink walls, posters, and a constant stream of pop. That early fixation opened the door to other influences—Avril Lavigne’s punk‑pop edge and Alanis Morissette’s candid rock woman albums—each marking a distinct phase in her evolving taste.
During those formative years, Waterhouse began writing songs with her lifelong friend Molly. Their repertoire ranged from whimsical Harry Potter‑themed ditties to earnest renditions of Liz Phair’s “Why Can’t I?” and Meredith Brooks’ “Bitch.” Even at twelve, she felt a deep connection to lyrics that captured complex emotions, a sensation she describes as feeling “all those multitudes inside of yourself before you’ve even really experienced life.” This early collaborative songwriting laid the groundwork for her later lyrical honesty.
A pivotal live moment arrived when, at around twelve, she convinced her mother to take Molly to a Missy Elliott concert at the Hammersmith Apollo. The show’s energy—crowds smoking weed, the electrifying hip‑hop/R&B atmosphere, and Elliott’s commanding stage presence—left an indelible impression. Waterhouse recalls it as the first time she witnessed an artist fully command a room, an experience that broadened her appreciation for performance beyond pop.
Her musical palate continued to expand with tracks that challenged conventional love songs. Of Montreal’s “Gallery Piece” struck her with its deadpan humor and stark imagery (“I want to paint your nails / I want to slap your face”), while Karen O’s Crush Songs offered unfiltered, demo‑style explorations of intense crushes. These works affirmed her belief that she could embrace contradictory feelings—desire, aggression, vulnerability—within her own songwriting.
The song “Brutally” emerged from a painful breakup and became a personal breakthrough. After months of waiting for her producer Blue May to share the track, hearing it filled her with pride and a sense of externalizing internal turmoil. “It was the first time I felt something from the inside now had a place on the outside,” she notes, describing how turning heartache into music helped her move forward.
Live performance milestones have similarly shaped her confidence. Her first large‑scale festival appearance at BottleRock felt “good nervous,” a sensation she later replicated on tours with Father John Misty and as an opener for Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour. A last‑minute Jimmy Kimmel slot taught her to embrace the fleeting nature of televised performances, while observing Swift’s masterful use of stillness and glances inspired her to refine her own stagecraft.
Waterhouse’s approach to music videos remains deliberately scrappy and spontaneous. Early videos like “Good Looking” were shot in hotel rooms with borrowed outfits and minimal crew, often resulting in unplanned, memorable moments—such as cutting her hand on a fan and filming the aftermath in a hospital. She cherishes these “heat‑of‑the‑moment” creations, valuing authenticity over polished production, a mindset that persists in recent projects like “Dream Woman,” filmed on freezing New York streets with her sisters.
Acting presented another creative challenge. Landing the role of Karen Sirko in Daisy Jones & The Six required her to learn piano from scratch, a process she undertook over Christmas with multiple teachers, despite finding the instrument intense for those around her. The audition chemistry test with co‑star Will Harrison—where she playfully jumped onto his back—cemented a rapport that translated to an on‑screen relationship she describes as a “dream come true.” The subsequent actors’ strike curtailed planned tours, but she reflects fondly on the collaborative experience.
Throughout her career, Waterhouse maintains a signature sonic identity: music that feels “slightly off‑time and maybe a tiny bit off‑key,” blending dreamy textures with an earnest, slightly imperfect edge. This aesthetic allows her to navigate pop, rock, hip‑hop, and theatrical influences while staying true to the emotional rawness that first sparked her love for music in a Britney‑filled bedroom.