Singer-songwriter and eternal It-Girl Cailin Russo is back with new music that showcases her fun, carefree side. Known for her emotional depth and genre-bending sound, Russo is stepping into a more playful space with her upcoming single and video ‘Roun U’. In a candid conversation, she opens up about the inspiration behind the track, the spontaneous video shoot, and how reconnecting with her roots—and some unexpected musical influences—has shaped her latest work. 

Cailin: "I think I’ll just give you a little brief on my upcoming single and video. It’s really sweet, super cute, and bubbly. It’s got this extremely happy vibe. I wrote it about my now-boyfriend before we were even dating, so it has this really sentimental feel. After the album—which took me four years and was such a labor of love—I wanted to create something looser, more fun, with no rules or genre, just pure vibes.

When you hear it, if you’re familiar with my album, you might think it sounds like a B-side track for 'Influx.' But it’s got its own charm—it’s so cute. I was doing some deep diving, trying to reconnect with my roots and things I grew up with. HARDR and I were talking about musicians—he actually doubled as an A&R and suggested that Mickey Avalon (a Southern California royalty) would be a perfect feature for the upcoming track. I was raised by men, so I feel like I’ve learned how to harness that sort of sensitive, yet raw energy, which I think you can hear in the song. 

There’s a video too! We shot it all in one night, which was crazy. I was in Hermosa Beach, and I basically jumped into the back of a golf cart with Mickey. He’s so energetic—he was like, ‘Let’s shoot this!’ I was hanging onto the golf cart with one foot while holding a 3D camera between us. We didn’t really know how it worked, but we just went with it. It was super impromptu. He even asked me to perform the song at the show, so I did, right before his last song. It was wild, but that’s how the best things happen, right?" 

“Roun U” is out now.

Cailin photographed by Ali Mitton 

Styled by Alexis Asquith 

Make up by Gabi Alvarez 

Hair by Eddie Cook

Song produced by JJ Scheff

Written by Cailin Russo and Linus Hablot

Performed by Cailin Russo and Mickey Avalon 

Mixed by Blue May