61. Her Biggest Song Has 552K Streams… and She Can’t Listen to It, with V!ctoria

V!ctoria wrote her first hit during COVID at 15, posted it on a whim, and watched it rack up over half a million streams. Now she can barely press play on it.The 20-year-old New York artist blends R&B, pop, rock, and hip-hop into something Julian straight up couldn't categorize; and that's exactly the point. V!ctoria produces everything herself on Logic, works exclusively in the dark, and refuses to be boxed into a single genre. She opens up about the comparison trap of outgrowing your own viral moment, why she won't force herself to write, what she learned about collaboration from Rome's closed music scene, and how consistency beats talent every time.IN THIS CONVERSATION, WE GET INTO:Why her 553K-stream debut single is the one song she can't play out loud anymoreThe comparison trap: measuring your current self against your 15-year-old self's numbersBeing your own manager, distributor, and creative director at 20, and what it costsWhat Rome's private music scene taught her about collaboration and communityTalent vs. work ethic, and why showing up matters more than being giftedABOUT V!CTORIA:V!ctoria is a 20-year-old New York-based indie artist making genre-defiant music that blends R&B, pop, rock, and hip-hop. She writes, produces, and releases everything independently. Her 2021 debut single "let me go" reached 553K Spotify streams without a single playlist placement, and her latest single "wondering" dropped May 2026.CONNECT WITH V!CTORIA:Instagram: instagram.com/imvxctoriaTikTok: tiktok.com/@imvxctoriaSpotify: open.spotify.com/artist/1TIGLYKA8kApefnVSPuhWSListen to "wondering": open.spotify.com/album/40SukE7Q9VDsdRam3GFb7NMORE RESOURCES:Follow the OFFICIAL "loves music" playlist on Apple Music:https://music.apple.com/library/playlist/p.4Y0J406i03DQrX"loves music" playlist on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0qE3kq89oyg3tFNbmRfHEO?si=vopaKQnNS8OHn0r2fFTVBgCheck out the "loves music" podcast website: https://www.podpage.com/loves-music/Julian on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/julianjones417/Julian on Threads: https://www.threads.net/@julianjones417Check out Julian's book: https://a.co/d/0hzWNkiDThis podcast is managed by Wildwave Podcasting: https://www.wildwavepodcasting.comMUSIC MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:Songs:"let me go" — V!ctoria"wondering" — V!ctoria"HOW I DO" — V!ctoria"POCKETFUL" — V!ctoria"Swimming Pools (Drank)" — Kendrick LamarArtists & Bands:V!ctoriaKendrick Lamar