If you’ve been on the internet at all since 2010, you probably know of Trevi Moran. A Youtuber turned X-Factor auditionee, turned influencer, turned pop star, Trevi has truly done it all. After nearly a decade of releasing music, she’s at the point in her career where she can finally dedicate herself fully to her music career. Her growth over the past few years has been inspiring to follow online, not only witnessing her start to live her truth as a woman, but also watching her recover from alcoholism. She recently celebrated one year of sobriety, releasing “too hot to be this hungover” just the day before the anniversary.
I’ve been a fan of Trevi since I saw her on X-Factor. I remember watching her audition on live TV. I was also a massive O2L stan (ask any of my middle school friends about my combination One Direction/5 Seconds Of Summer/Our 2nd Life fan account that I had on Instagram), and Trevi was my favorite member by far. We’re around the same age, and in a way, I feel like I’ve grown up with her. I’ve been finding my own identity while watching Trevi find hers.
I got the chance to hop on a phone call with Trevi, to chat with her about life in NYC and her incoming main pop girl era. Picking up the call from outside somewhere in the city, she gushed about how excited she was to be doing the interview. The feeling was mutual, as I was equally excited to pick the brain of someone I’d looked up to since I was a kid. We introduce ourselves and then jump into conversation.
Brigid: I’m super hyped that I get to chat with you today, thank you for doing this. Before we get into it, I have to tell you that I’m super pumped for this because I’m a really big fan. I’m talking like, I watched your X-Factor audition live on TV back in the day.
Trevi: I saw your email about “Echo”, I was dying!
Brigid: “Echo” was iconic! It defined an era.
Trevi: It really did! I wish she went mainstream.
Brigid: Maybe it’ll make a comeback on TikTok?
Trevi: Honestly, I hope not, because my voice was so underdeveloped in that! [laughs]
Brigid: So, we can hop right into it. Congratulations on your latest single release, “too hot to be this hungover”! Such a great track. How are you feeling about the fan response, and just everything that comes along with releasing a single?
Trevi: Thank you! The fan response has been a little different with this one, because it’s attached to such a personal journey, my sobriety journey. The song is very fun, very hype, and it’s pretty universal. You don’t need to be an alcoholic to relate to this song, everyone who’s drank before has been hungover. The response has been more heartfelt. More positive than usual. I always have those people that are like, “oh this is ass”, and those people are always going to be there, but it’s been widely more accepted than usual. It’s been such a beautiful thing to watch.
Brigid: Right, It’s very upbeat, but I think it’s a song that encapsulated a lot of healing.
Trevi: Yeah! That’s what it’s all about. That’s the way I write my music. I want to talk about things that need to be talked about, but make it appealing to listen to and not be a debbie downer.
Brigid: Totally. Can you tell me a bit about the creative process behind the track and how it all came together?
Trevi: So I moved to New York City, and I really just wanted to get in the studio with someone. I got connected with Gregory Dillon, by my friend Jared who lives in LA. So I DMed Gregory, and we got in the studio like, the next week. I went to his studio in Brooklyn. It was instant firecrackers, and we were bouncing ideas back and forth. The way we found it [too hot to be this hungover] was an accident, we were going to go in the route of something darker, maybe about heartbreak. We were doing the melody takes, and I accidentally sang “too hot” and “hungover” in the same sentence. I listened back to it, and I was like wait, what if we make this a power hot girl anthem about being hungover? And we just ran with that. It was enjoyable, and it went fast. He’s really good at encapsulating my vision. I’m really excited, I think this is a whole new era for me. I haven’t had music management in so long. It feels like a lot of things are falling into place, and that was part of my sobriety goal: throwing myself back into the industry. A lot of things are happening all at once, but I can handle it. I’ve handled it before, and I can handle it again.
Brigid: It’s like a new beginning. So we were talking about “Echo” earlier, how do you feel that your music has evolved along with your personal evolution?
Trevi: With each life experience, there’s more to write about. When I was 14/15, I was writing with a lot of co-writers who had more life experiences that come with being an adult. I think that with each second that passes by, I experience a new thing. It’s a lot more meaningful than, like, “I wanna hear your echo”. Like, do you even know what that means? You’re 15. Charlie [Puth] wrote that lyric, and we just went with it. We did that first EP, it was before any of his major songs. He was just a kid in New York making music in his bedroom.
Brigid: It’s cool to see, like you’ve grown a lot over these past few years and your music reflects that. So, like I said, I’ve been keeping up with you for a while now, and you got into the entertainment industry when you were like, fully a child. What was that experience like for you, growing up in the industry?
Trevi: I fully volunteered to do that. I was always so obsessed with pop culture and media, I’d be like “mom, we have to go to this casting call” or “mom, we have to walk to this agency”. You hear all these stories of parents pushing stuff onto their child, but I fully wanted to do it. People ask me all the time, “when you started your Youtube channel, did you expect it to become what it did?” And people expect me to say no, but I made the channel because I wanted to be a star! [laughs] Do you know what I mean? As awful as that sounds, I knew what I was doing. I was putting myself out there, and the best possible scenario happened. It’s a whole journey with lots of ups and downs, but I’m grateful for so much right now. My sobriety, my music stuff I’ve got going on right now, living in New York…
Brigid: When did you move out there?
Trevi: 10 months ago. I’m literally sitting on the streets of New York City, on someone’s stoop right now.
Brigid: How has your life changed since moving there from LA?
Trevi: I’m able to stay sober. Every time I tried before and was back in LA… you’re just surrounded by these places and people that remind you of what you’ve been through. I’m not blaming my addiction on other things, but in terms of healing, you have to step away. I did the smart thing, I ended up staying at a Sober Living for a few months just to make sure I was good. Then I moved out, and I’m still good! I’ve got my own apartment that’s gorgeous. The energy here just feels different. Instead of being party focused, it’s very work driven. I’m able to go and visit LA now, though, it’s been enough time. I’m trying to redesign the memories. I’ve been going to the clubs and creating new experiences, it’s been really healing. It’s like exposure therapy. I’m facing it head on, and I’m like, look at me! I’m holding a Red Bull! It’s been a power move.
Brigid: It’s like you’re reclaiming those spaces, that’s really powerful.
Trevi: I remember being younger, and I was like, I love life and I love being in control of it. For that to shift to me not wanting to be in control of anything just shows something definitely happened internally. It’s all about taking the power back, and that’s what the song is about. I’m too hot for this. Hot can mean so many different things, it’s not just about being physically attractive. It can mean being responsible, organized, in touch, accountable. That’s my own definition of hot.
Brigid: Being a hot girl is a mindset!
Trevi: It’s fully a mindset!
Brigid: Congratulations, seriously, on your sobriety.
Trevi: Thank you. It’s something I’ve struggled with for a while, and it’s not over. I just take it day by day, but for now I can say that I’m pretty fucking proud of myself. It was a hard thing to do.
Brigid: I wanted to talk about how open you were with both your struggles and your road to healing on social media. Did you have any reservations about sharing your sobriety journey with your audience on social media?
Trevi: I had reservations at first, with the proven track record of me being open, I always fall back. And it’s like, how do I explain that? But I think anyone who gets it, gets it: recovery isn’t linear. You fall, you get back up, you fall, you get back up. Until you stay up. It’s a very touchy topic. People think alcoholism is just mental illness, rather than believing that it can be a generational thing. It runs in my family, and I denied it for a long time. At the end of my addiction, everyday it felt like I was chasing my tail. Something spiritual then happened to me, I had a shift in mindset. I was looking at myself in the mirror and I was just like, Trev, this is not you. You’re losing yourself. I’ve always known in my gut that I’m supposed to do something in this world, a mission. Whether it’s being a public speaker or a full blown pop star, I have so much left to do here. I was seeing myself wither away. It was a reality check from myself to myself. I listened, and I went to rehab.
Brigid: That’s interesting that you had a moment where it all came to a head. It’s great that you not only had that moment, but were able to take action from it.
Trevi: Yeah, I know, it baffles me too!
Brigid: I think it’s great that you shared it on social media, too. Even if people aren’t struggling with alcoholism specifically, that road to healing can be inspiring nonetheless.
Trevi: Also, everyone’s version of recovery is different. As long as you’re actively working to make a change, you’re going to find what resonates with you. Personally I’m in AA, but it’s not the only thing that I do. That little exposure therapy I was telling you about helps me so much. I go to a club and see people drunk: barfing and swaying, and I’m like, I don’t want to do that! There’s a different way for everyone, there’s no one salvation.
Brigid: There’s no be all end all.
Trevi: Exactly! It was very difficult, too, because when you first start hormones it’s very tiring because you’re swapping out one hormone for another. It takes a toll on your mood and your brain. That was a whole new bitch. I was bringing this up to my friend today, I think that I was shocked as far as… I thought that when I was going to transition… like this was my big issue, I identify as a woman, and the entire public and my friends and family view me as a boy. I thought that when I transitioned, all of my other problems would go away. That just was not the case. I was super discouraged that I had to do more work, but life isn’t fair. I knocked it out, it took two more years, but I did. I’m still doing it, I’m going to be doing it for the rest of my life.
Brigid: It’s a journey, but it seems like you’ve gotten over the bigger hurdles.
Trevi: Absolutely.
Brigid: Circling back to “too hot to be this hungover”, this is your first release with a new management team. Can you tell me a bit about that?
Trevi: Yeah! I met Justin at a concert here in New York City and we immediately bonded. I didn’t know he was a manager, didn’t know he worked in music, we were just hanging out. I grabbed his number and we went out that night, and it was really fun. I’ve always had a good gut instinct about him. Then I found out he was a manager, and I haven’t had a manager in 4 years, because my old manager Angelica passed away. I’ve had a hard time finding someone who believes in me the way that she does. But, Justin has been watching me since “Echo” as well, which is funny, I didn’t have to do the whole selling aspect. I asked him one day, what he thought about managing me, and he thought about it. We went out for lunch in LA, and on the spot, he was like “I really want to do this.” He really believes in me. The best part is, the waiter was like, “Trevi, can I get a picture? Your music inspires me so much.” I was like, you couldn’t have done that at a better time! Justin probably thinks I paid him. We’ve only been together for about a month now, but we’ve done so much work since then. I’m so excited for the future, and so excited to have a team. It’s going to be an insane, fun, hectic journey.
Brigid: It sounds like you have a ton of exciting things happening for you right now!
Trevi: Yeah it’s weird, and not to like, trauma dump, but I feel like it’s always been negative for the past few years. It’s strange to have positive things happening again. I’m soaking it all up, and being really grateful.
Brigid: I’m so glad you’re able to have your moment now. So you obviously just had this great single release, what do you see yourself doing next?
Trevi: First of all, I’m gonna be a pop star.
Brigid: Oh, obviously! [both laughing]
Trevi: That’s me being optimistic! I’m going to do two shows I’m announcing soon in New York and LA, I’m really excited because I haven’t performed since before COVID. We’re going to make a project, not sure how many tracks so I can’t label it yet. I’m filming a music video for “too hot to be this hungover”, which I’m really excited about. We’re partnering with some really dope brands to help fund the music video. It’s going to be an insane storyline, upbeat but very meaningful.
Brigid: That’s awesome! I feel your main pop girl era incoming, I feel it in my bones.
Trevi: Thank you! It’s coming, it’s just a matter of time.
Brigid: That’s all I’ve got for you today in terms of questions, thank you so much again.
Trevi: Thank you so much for taking this! You’re an absolute fucking angel, and your questions are really, really good.
Brigid: Thank you! I really tried my best [laughs]. We’ll be in touch, have a great night!
Trevi: Thank you, you too!
Listen to “too hot to be this hungover” here!
