Step aside, surface-level pop — XTINE is here to turn emotional chaos into art that stuns, soothes, and stays. With her gripping new single “Nobody Stays,” the rising alt-pop force blends sweeping orchestration, glitchy textures, and raw vulnerability to confront borderline personality disorder and the ache of abandonment head-on. From bullied beginnings to building a sound shaped by Sia, Björk, and Sleeping at Last, XTINE has turned pain into purpose, and in this exclusive interview, she shares how music became her survival, her sanctuary, and her most powerful truth.
How did your early experiences with bullying and learning challenges shape the way you express yourself through music today?
I was bullied and treated badly at my first middle school I attended. It made me believe I was not good enough, I was dumb, and that I would never achieve anything in my life. When I moved schools, it made me feel the opposite. That school is where I discovered my passion for music. We were provided a laptop, and that is where I started to learn GarageBand. I was performing at the school, showing everyone my songs, and constantly receiving so much support for my music. My music teacher at that school helped me navigate the beginnings of GarageBand, and years later, I ended up teaching his class GarageBand! Everything that I’ve been through – including bullying – has always made me want to help people with my music. So my entire intention and goal with my songs is to help as many people and hearts as I can.
Can you share what it was like discovering GarageBand and how technology helped you find your voice at such a young age?
Discovering GarageBand was the most exciting time of my life. I was so fueled with a passion I never felt before, and the excitement and curiosity lit a fire in my soul. I have spent thousands and thousands of hours producing, writing, recording, and learning instruments 24/7 since I was that age. Now it’s been 14 years, and still to this day, I never stop. I made progress very fast, and I kept getting better and better, and I always wondered what I would sound like a year from whatever time it was. I love listening to my old songs because it makes me proud of how far I’ve come with my craft and progress.
How do you navigate your mental health through your music, especially when addressing topics like borderline personality disorder in your new single “Nobody Stays”?
Music to me is my outlet and escape for everything I have been through. It’s been my safe haven, the place I go to let my emotions be free. Music has saved my life during my darkest moments. I feel that language has limits, but the voice of music does not. I can describe how I am feeling, but with music I can show the depth of my emotions through audio form. Music has always given me purpose where I felt I lacked, a voice when I felt unheard, and a lifebuoy, and it fills the emptiness and hole in my heart. “Nobody Stays” is my most personal song I’ve created, showing the entirety of my vulnerable heart. I want to end the stigma on BPD and help others know that they are not alone and that this song helps them as much as it helped me.
You draw inspiration from artists like Sia, Sleeping at Last, and Björk. What elements from each of these artists resonate most with you, and how do you blend them into your unique sound?
The roots of my songs stem from Sia – the vocal melodies are dark, emotional, and powerful like Sia’s melodies, and my pop structure and arrangements come from her as well. Sleeping At Last is my biggest influence in all of my songs. He has so much emotion in his music, powerful layers of strings and orchestration, and his indie/folk vocal style influenced the way I sing. I use strings and orchestral drums in almost all of my songs I create, and my vocal style is like Sleeping At Last, but also with a hint of jazz style. Most of my songs have avant-garde splashes here and there where the music sounds a little unsettling and haunting yet beautiful and ethereal. That stems from my influence from Bjork. She inspired my entire being, and I even learned Icelandic and wrote a song in that language called “Falleg Kona,” which means beautiful woman. She has classical and jazz roots as well as electronic, and I incorporate classical and jazz into some of my music. With all of my influences, my genre would be defined as a blend of pop, film/orchestral, electronic, avant-garde, and hints of classical and jazz.
Looking back, what advice would you give to your 12-year-old self, who was just starting to write songs?
I would tell her to never stop, don’t ever give up on your dream, believe in yourself, your worth, and value, and to use your gift to help as many people as you can in this world.
What are some new directions or themes you are excited to explore in your future projects?
Usually I write about my own personal experiences that usually have a plot and a storyline, but after crafting this song about mental health and borderline personality disorder, I am so excited to make and release more songs about that and help as many people as I can, whether it’s making people not feel alone or giving hope and bringing better awareness to mental health.
What is your favorite song to belt out in the car/for karaoke?
“Soon We’ll Be Found” by Sia. It’s a very hard song to sing, and when I first started music, I couldn’t sing it or reach any of the high notes at all, so I always dreamed that one day maybe I could sing it. 14 years later I was able to work so hard to learn and be able to sing this song with full vocal control, mixing my head/chest voice, expanding my range, and hitting those high notes, and now that I am older and have experienced life, I can sing this song with real emotion that comes from the heart, and it’s just my favorite.
