Milena Galasso, exclusive interview: «Something New» and the fear of stopping

Log of substantial updates: transparency on edits, corrections and informational additions.

• Sunday 27 July 2025 at 12:45: Publication: exclusive Q&A interview with Milena Galasso about «Something New», between insomnia, London and pop writing.
• Sunday 27 July 2025 at 13:10: Added the quick map with key themes and an orientation card for anyone discovering the artist today.
• Sunday 27 July 2025 at 13:25: Strengthened the FAQ and reading timeline to make the page more useful and easier to navigate.
• Monday 5 January 2026 at 10:05: Migrated the interview to the new editorial platform, preserving content integrity and improving navigation and readability.

This page is based on an exclusive interview in Q&A format. The context (places, competitions, commitment) is reported as stated by the artist in the interview. Where we add editorial interpretation, we do so to make the reading experience clearer and more useful, without replacing the interviewee’s voice.

«Something New» is about a gesture we all know: searching for the next “stimulus” so we do not have to stand still. Milena tells it without moralising: she looks it in the eye, calls it by name, and turns it into writing.

On this page you will find two layers: the artist’s direct voice (questions and answers) and reading tools that help you orient yourself - quick map, quotes, glossary, timeline, FAQ. The goal is not to “stretch” the piece, but to make the content more useful, verifiable and readable.

The theme of «Something New» is not only “social”: it is an inner rhythm. If you recognise yourself, try something small and concrete. You do not need to become a different person: you just need to create a micro-pause between impulse and action.

• 1 minute: put your phone out of reach (even just on the far side of the bedside table).
• 1 minute: breathe slowly and count 4-4-6 (inhale 4, hold 4, exhale 6).
• 1 minute: write one sentence: “What am I really looking for right now?”.
• 1 minute: choose a single action (message / note / water) and do only that.
• 1 minute: come back: if you want to resume scrolling, do it consciously - not on autopilot.

Some lines stay with you because they are not “pretty”: they are true. Here are four quotes from the conversation, with a button to copy and share them.

A quick help to better understand some terms that run through the interview. Open the entries you need.

«Something New» is your new single and it sounds like a step forward, emotionally too. What is the truth that, with this song, you finally had the courage to tell yourself?

Milena Galasso: That I never stop. That I have this tendency to always look for the next goal, the next validation, the next emotion. And that sometimes, behind that running, there is a fear of being still and really listening to myself. Something New was born from a sleepless night, when I asked myself: “What if nothing new comes? Would I know how to stay where I am?” It’s a vulnerable song, but also a liberating one.

«Honest» is another track you released recently: what is the key line that sums it up?

Milena Galasso: “I don’t like it when you compliment my body like I don’t own it.” It’s the line that sums up the entire meaning of the track. It’s a gentle but firm refusal, a stance towards anyone who praises you in an invasive way, as if your body were something to judge, not to respect. It’s the moment when you choose to stand up for yourself, even if it means being seen as uncomfortable.

In 2020 you left Udine for London and the BIMM master’s: what moment made you understand that leap could no longer be postponed?

Milena Galasso: When I found myself writing songs every night but feeling them suffocating in a drawer. London felt like the place where those songs could come alive. And then there was Brexit too: if I hadn’t moved immediately, I wouldn’t have been able to go anymore. It was as if everything was telling me: “it’s now or never.” Even though it was 2020 and everything was uncertain, the need to try was stronger than fear.

Italian and Serbian roots: point to a line where you feel this dual belonging beating strong

Milena Galasso: “Between those who whisper and those who shout, I learned to sing.” Growing up between two cultures so different made me attentive, sensitive, but also determined. There is always one part of me that observes in silence and another that cannot wait to speak up. That tension became my music.

Angel Studios and Abbey Road: do you remember the exact moment you realised you were recording where your idols had recorded?

Milena Galasso: Yes, it was when they told me the microphone I was singing into was the same one used by Christina Aguilera and Lady Gaga. I got a shiver down my spine. Until that moment I was focused on doing well, but then I truly realised where I was. I closed my eyes, took a deep breath and thought: “Now it’s my turn.”

From the first voice memo to «distant»: how does the creative work with Phil Boothroyd work, step by step?

Milena Galasso: I usually send Phil a super rough memo, voice and guitar. He listens to it, sends me some instrumental ideas, then we meet in the studio and develop it together. The best part is that there is a lot of freedom: if a song needs to be stripped back, we understand it together. If instead it wants to explode, we trust the moment.

Finalist at the Isle of Wight 2024 New Blood competition: what did performing in front of that jury teach you?

Milena Galasso: That the only thing you can control is your truth on stage. I stopped thinking about who was judging me and I sang as if I were alone in my room. And paradoxically, that is the moment when you truly reach others.

Stages like O2 Academy Islington, Camden Assembly and Scala: when did you feel you truly belonged to the London scene?

Milena Galasso: When I played at Scala. It’s a venue I had always looked at with admiration, one of those places you dream about when you move to London with a guitar in your hand and a thousand demos on your phone. I remember the soundcheck, the huge stage, the lights and then the audience singing with me. That’s when I realised I was no longer just “someone trying”. I was becoming part of something bigger and London was starting to respond.

To fund your first steps you worked at Wimbledon, VIP area: which skill learned there do you still use behind the scenes in music?

Milena Galasso: Managing stress with a smile. Even when things go wrong, being professional and kind makes a difference. And also: learning to read people in two seconds!

You are an artist-supporter of War Child UK: how do the commitment to children in conflict and the radio-friendly lightness of your pop talk to each other?

Milena Galasso: I believe pop music can carry deep messages with lightness. It’s not a contradiction: it’s a powerful tool to raise awareness without moralising. For me, being an artist also means using your voice for those who cannot.

Natalie Imbruglia and Taylor Swift are among your stated influences: what did you learn from them and how did you find a voice that was only yours?

Milena Galasso: I learned a lot from both: from Natalie, that delicate melancholy that can say everything even in silence; from Taylor, sincere writing that is not afraid to be vulnerable. But to find my voice I had to stop trying to “sound” like someone else. My voice is clear, bright, direct, and it needs space to breathe. At some point I understood that it was precisely that simplicity that made it recognisable.

In «distant» you show that void that opens when the person you love is far away and all you have left are their stories: have you ever felt truly close to someone only through a screen? And what remains when distance becomes everyday life?

Milena Galasso: Yes, and I think it’s a bittersweet illusion. You feel connected, but the body is missing, the shared silence, the scent. When distance becomes everyday life, only what is truly strong remains. Or everything collapses.

At nine you sang «My Heart Will Go On» in a square in Udine: what feeling do you still carry from that first open microphone?

Milena Galasso: The trembling in my legs and the feeling that, despite everything, there I felt alive. Even today, before every live show, there is a bit of that little girl.

Rachel Black has been a key figure in your vocal growth: what did she teach you and how did she change the way you sing?

Milena Galasso: Rachel taught me that to sing you don’t need to make any effort. Since I started studying with her, I have never felt so vocally free. Her vocal exercises are brilliant: simple but extremely powerful. That’s why I keep studying with her, and not only that, she inspired me so much that I’m following the path to become a vocal coach like her. Right now I’m doing Modern Vocal Training Level 2.

Italy saw you born, London welcomed you, but between a stage and a studio, have you found time to go back?

Milena Galasso: Yes, whenever I can I go back. Friuli is home: my family is there, the sea, coffee, spritz with my lifelong friends. I need it to find myself again. But London is part of me now. When I’m too long on one side, I miss the other. Maybe it’s precisely this balance that holds everything up.

Is there a place where you breathed something that inspired you, even just for a line?

Milena Galasso: Yes, the Netherlands. I lived there for five months, right before moving to London, and that’s where I understood I wanted to do only music. I could no longer afford chasing my plan B. I had to believe fully in plan A. That’s where I started writing Plan B and from that moment I never had doubts again.

If you want to explore the references mentioned in the interview, here are a few official pages. They are external links and are included as context, not as “proof” of what is said: the primary source remains the interview.

• War Child UK (official website)
• BIMM University (official website)
• Abbey Road Studios (official website)