Lolo Zouaï Says Touring with Dua Lipa Taught Her 'How to Adapt Under Pressure' in Massive Arenas (Exclusive)

The French-born pop star tells PEOPLE about her latest album Playgirl amid its Jägermeister-sponsored tour: "It's a whole experience"

Following an opening slot for Dua Lipa on the Future Nostalgia Tour last year, Lolo Zouaï is currently on the road performing sold-out shows of her own.

Shortly before hitting the stage at New York City's Irving Plaza as part of her Jägermeister-sponsored Playgirl Tour, the French-born singer-songwriter sat down with PEOPLE to discuss her latest album Playgirl, its shared name with the NSFW publication, life as an independent artist and more.

Zouaï, 28, was born to a French mother and Algerian father in Paris moved to San Francisco as an infant, attended a semester of college in Nashville, settled in N.Y.C. for seven years and spent time in Los Angeles before recently returning to the east coast. Her worldliness has largely inspired her artistry, as she sings in multiple languages and has crafted an eclectic sound that seamlessly blends pop, R&B and electronic elements.

Playgirl, her second and final album with RCA Records before going independent, represents different sides of her personality with an intricate, Y2K internet-inspired concept. The project's metaphoric world is expertly made four-dimensional on its accompanying tour, which blends tracks from Playgirl and her debut album High Highs and Low Lows with colorful visuals for a unique, high-energy experience.

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How has it felt to bring this Playgirl album to life on stage, on this tour?

It feels really good because it actually feels like it's the best way to physically understand the concept for me. To me, the show has fully brought out exactly what I was thinking, and I had a big part in creating the show. I put together all the visuals that we had to make the show, and each scene is a different Playgirl. It's a whole experience, and it takes you into the computer.

Before this album cycle started, you opened for Dua Lipa in massive arenas on the Future Nostalgia Tour last year. Can you tell me about that experience and what you learned from Dua on the road?

Watching Dua every night was so incredible because she's so hardworking, so kind, and she's so good at her job, being a performer. She's really singing her heart out every night. I was just watching and learning every single show. I definitely had some technical difficulties throughout the tour because it's an arena, and things can go wrong. Pretty much all the things that could go wrong technically did. I learned how to adapt under pressure at Madison Square Garden. There was an error with my sound, so I was up there in silence for three minutes just talking. I'm like, "OK, if I can do that, I think I can do anything at this point." It also just made me really value intimate shows too, because you're able to really connect with pretty much every single person, but arena shows, it's amazing, that energy. I'll never forget it.

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How did you come up with the digital Playgirl concept for this album? What was the creative process like?

I've always had a really hard time boxing myself into a genre and feeling like people didn't understand, "Is she pop? Is she R&B? What is she? Who is she?" With this album, I wanted to show multiple sides and make it very clear. Dreamgirl is my soft, childlike nostalgic side, and she makes sweet pop and R&B. Partygirl, she's the depressed, dark, moody girl, and she makes dark s—. Then we have Playgirl, who's experimental, fun, carefree, and those are all parts of my personality. I think everybody has different sides, so I just wanted to literally show you these three different girls. It reminds me of Powerpuff Girls, it reminds me of Bratz, it reminds me of all these things that I loved when I was a kid. Sometimes we're missing that fun in pop these days.

This has felt like a very thought-out era.

Exactly, and it's cool because at the beginning of the album, you're logging on to pl4yg1rl.com, and at the end you're signing off, and your free trial to pl4yg1rl.com is done. It's a full concept, and seeing my fans in the audience dress up like different playgirls every night is showing me that it's translating and that people are loving it.

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Have you run into any difficulties with adopting the same name as an NSFW publication?

Only as a joke, but nothing super serious because in the song ["pl4yg1rl"] it says, "A with the 4 and the I with the 1." Originally, I wanted to name the song "playgirl.com" spelled regularly, and then I was like, "There's no way. Let me make this more internetty. Let me make this a screen name that I would have on AIM back in the day." I have not yet been sued, but this guy I met at a meet and greet was like, "My boyfriend went to playgirl.com and only found a bunch of naked men." He was like, "Thank you."

Do you have a favorite song from the album to perform live?

I'm really loving "Give Me a Kiss" right now. There's heavy auto-tune on the verses, but then the pre-chorus is very soft, and people are singing it. It feels like a ballad. It's a really fun contrast.

Playgirl was released on RCA Records, but your contract came to an end, and now you're remaining independent. Tell me about that decision, your experience on a major label and why you've decided to go this route now.

My deal was for two albums. I started with an amazing group of 12 people at RCA, and then by the time Playgirl came out, 11 of them had left. I know that's a thing in the music industry, people are always changing, and so I just didn't feel like I had that team. I had a few people that really believed in me, but I didn't feel like I had the support that I needed. Even for Playgirl, I didn't feel confident in that release being on that label, but it turned out great. Now, I feel ready to go back to my independent ways. I've done it before, and that's how I started. Some of my best songs were the ones that I released independently, and I just feel like I have that fire in me again, and I have this amazing tour sponsored by Jägermeister. I have a lot of people that believe in me, and at the moment, I don't think that a label is what I need.

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What's exciting about that for you going forward? You've already hinted at new music.

Just being able to put anything out at your own pace and however you want. I have so many new songs that I'm working on. I already have new concepts, new exciting things. I've been teasing music. All my fans want to know more. It just feels like I'm free, and I'm excited for what's next.

How has this partnership with Jägermeister been fruitful for you?

I've been performing at their events since 2017. It's been a long relationship, and they've shown me over the years that they really care about me as an artist — even at the beginning. I was in Post Malone's [2021] commercial with Jäger, and I just feel like our core values are the same, and I love that. I love the people that I work with at Jäger, and so it just was only right to do this. They gave us a lot of creative freedom, pretty much all the creative freedom, and I'm super grateful to be able to work with brands that align with my vision.

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