DIVA sat down with the Aussie singer to learn more about their skyrocketing stardom
BY ELLA GAUCI, IMAGE BY CALLUM WALKER HUTCHINSON
Sat behind their trusty drum kit, sunglasses on, chain swinging, tattoos out, Australian singer G Flip belts out Taylor Swift’s hit song Cruel Summer. Within hours, the internet goes crazy. That is the G Flip effect.
The Aussie singer, songwriter, drummer, and producer found overnight success in 2018 when they released their song About You to the internet. From there, G Flip has garnered millions of streams online, played across the world, and become half of the internet’s favourite queer couple after they married Selling Sunset’s Chrishell Stause.
Effortlessly cool, G Flip joins our call having just played a sold-out acoustic show in Brighton. They’re warming up to play three nights at London’s infamous KOKO which has hosted everyone from The Rolling Stones to Madonna. In fact, this morning G Flip has announced that they won’t be gone long from the UK as they’re continuing their DRUMMER tour in September. You can find out morehere.
Before we can start talking about their new album DRUMMER, I can’t resist asking about their Cruel Summer cover which has completely taken over the internet with over 800k views on YouTube alone. Taylor Swift herself even gave her nod of approval by liking the cover.
“Cruel Summer is one of the best pop songs of all time,” G Flip explains when I ask why they chose that song. “It was a song on tour which was the pump-up song for me and the band before we went on stage.”
There is currently a petition created by G Flip’s mum to convince Taylor Nation to let G Flip open for the Australian leg of the Eras tour. “Go my mum!” G Flip laughs.
Going viral online overnight is not a new thing for the Aussie singer, who found their footing as a solo act after one of their songs blew up on the website Triple J. Before then, G Flip was working as a drummer in various bands, honing their skills to find that big break. After finding confidence in their vocals, G Flip soon began asking lead singers whether they could collaborate on songwriting together. Often, G Flip was ignored.
“I wanted to be my own boss. I was sick of working under people,” they expand. “ I found that if I had my own project, I could determine the amount of work that I wanted. I didn’t want to keep working for the man.”
Released in August last year, G Flip’s album DRUMMER reflects a new, “more mature” dawn of their work. “The whole thread line of the record is that in my heart and soul I’m a drummer first,” G Flip says. Exploring everything from heartbreak to falling in love, DRUMMER has quickly found its status as a fan favourite, especially with queer audiences.
But what are some of TV sensation Chrishell Stause‘s favourite songs from the album? “Her favourite songs are Australia, Be Your Man, Rough, and The Worst Person Alive,” G Flip beams.
The pair met back in 2021 at a Halloween party and soon were inseparable. In May last year, the couple shocked queer fans everywhere by hard launching their wedding. G Flip gushes about how they can’t wait for Chrishell to land in London so they can be reunited once again.
But, with both having such hectic work lives, what’s the secret to such a happy marriage? “It’s always looking at the calendar and seeing who’s flying to who,” G Flip explains. “We don’t like going more than two or three weeks apart. For the healthiness of our relationship, we just love being together.”
“We hate being apart but at the same time we’re both so busy,” they continue. “We’re both working all the time, FaceTiming all the time – I was up at 3 am on FaceTime with her just so I could catch her before she went to sleep.”
Despite the differences in their time zones and work calendars, the pair wouldn’t have it any other way. “We’re both very understanding and supportive of each other’s careers,” G Flip smiles. “She’s in her element – she’s filming Selling Sunset. I’m out here hustling doing my music. We both adore each other and we’re both so supportive of each other. I’m so excited to see her.”
It’s clear from the smile on G Flip’s face that the pair are still incredibly loved up.
On tour, it can be hard to feel rooted in one space. For G Flip – having spent a large part of their career playing in bands – it’s all about having a close-knit team behind them. During our call, members of the band walk past in slow-mo just to make G Flip smile. They tell me later that before every show the band does a Gregorian chant just to get in the mood.
Alongside providing some head-banging tunes, G Flip has also been giving fans back something even more powerful: representation. When I ask what fans should take from DRUMMER, G Flip says: “One of the baselines of my whole project is being the representation that I never had.”
“Growing up I never had a queer artist. I never had a non-binary artist. I never saw anyone who looked like me drumming and lead singing. I never saw anyone who dressed like me making pop music. I never heard any music that used she/her pronouns that were overtly queer love songs. For anyone listening to my music, I hope it inspires any creatives out there that you can write about whatever you want.”
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