Gina Zo is the woman to watch. Her music, from her tenure as the frontwoman of Velvet Rouge in Philadelphia to her independence as a soloist in Los Angeles, are high-octane, but no less genuine as she empowers people on and off stage. Her song, ‘Dirty Habits’ is the song of the summer about romanticizing our dreams and a teaser for her debut album.
The Honey POP got the amazing chance to talk to Gina Zo about her origins, the color red, new music, and more! Without further ado, let’s jump right in!
You started your music career in Philadelphia, PA. How is the music scene different from the one in Los Angeles? Has your sound been influenced while living on the West Coast?
The music scene in Philly is so different than out here. The Philadelphia scene was a small community — we all knew each other, hustled together, and played the same venues as bigger bands that came in on tour.
For reference, my favorite band, Wilderado, played Johnny Brenda’s just a handful of months before I played and sold out that venue. It’s a very special place to come up in your music — there are a handful of producers that help run the scene there — really such a special place.
When I moved to LA I discovered there are #1 a lot more musicians but #2 there is still that same sense of community, just at a larger scale. I think I am still figuring out what that looks like out here. I was in a band in Philly and now as a solo artist only as of a handful of months ago, it is still a very new life for me. My West Coast life influenced me to change my music back to my original stage name, Gina Zo — the influence on my sound has been huge. I discovered pop music like I never had before.
From the name of your rock band Velvet Rouge to your hair, red is a trademark of yours. What is the significance of the color to you?
Red not only is the color of fire, lust, love, and power, but it also is a staple of my family. One of my family’s last names is Colorusso which means the color red in Italian — so we are just born to be red. I am a natural blonde, funny enough!
But red has felt so ingrained in me because of my background, my energetic and fire-y personality, and I love that color on me so that doesn’t hurt. Haha!
How did you know you wanted to make a career out of music? Is there a milestone you have where you’ll know you’ll have “made it”?
When I was on The Voice in 2016, I started to recognize that my talent was not just something for my small town I grew up in to get excited over. This talent was something that people in the industry saw as something worth growing, which helped me realize my true potential.
As I grew my rock band, I also started to realize I no longer could juggle a full-time career in retail as a store manager and a full-time career as a musician because keep in mind I have no representation from a record label or management team. I do those tasks all [by] myself.
As far as making it… I am not sure the exact moment I will feel it. I am a hustler at heart so I think that there may not be an exact moment cause I’ll always reach for more, HOWEVER, two career milestones that I am aiming for are a Grammy win and playing a stadium show. Those are the things I speak into the universe a lot.
Empowerment is a tenet of your career. What advice can you give women who want to pursue a career in music, or any male-dominated field?
First: You have to accept that no one is going to believe in you more than you do, especially men.
Second: You have to realize your power as a woman because our ability to focus and be conscious in every move is something not every man is capable of, in my opinion. For example, I don’t think that all men realize that they are putting down women constantly. I don’t think that it is always a conscious behavior but a learned one that overtime they have just ingrained into their day to day life.
Third: Learn to move on from people’s comments fast. Let yourself grieve on it for the day and then pick yourself back up. There is no time to waste.
You came out as bisexual in ‘Faking It.’ Was the song created with the intention of being your announcement? What feelings and thoughts did you experience during the production and promotion of it?
The song wasn’t written to come out per se, it was really just written as something I was feeling as someone who had just come out to their family and friends. When I realized the divine timing of it being just in time for Pride Month and at a time when I wanted to introduce my sexuality to my community of people, I knew I had to do it. I was truly terrified to come out and say it because you just don’t know what to expect from people’s reactions.
I certainly had some comments that were very negative on my social media pages, but the majority were all very positive and even uplifting. The promotion surrounded flowers — because we often overlook how there is sexuality in nature — and all around us. Every single flower looks a bit different just like our bodies, our sexualities, and our beings. I thought flowers were the perfect representation of who we are as people — all unique even if we have a similar background or DNA — it is still all different.
We saw that you’re a fan of crime fiction! If you had to associate ‘Dirty Habits’ with a crime novel, what would it be?
OMG THIS IS A GREAT QUESTION. Okay okay. I recently read The House Across The Lake by Riley Sager. An incredible novel about an actress who goes to her family home in Vermont and discovers some dark secrets. I think that this goes perfectly with ‘Dirty Habits’ because this poor woman cannot get away from her habit of drinking, snooping, and being in love with someone completely forbidden (AKA one of my ‘Dirty Habits’).
‘Dirty Habits’ is a memorable and fun song we’ll be listening to all summer! What is the story behind it?
The song itself didn’t get written because of a specific person or thing that happened to me. If I remember correctly it was an earworm type scenario that I couldn’t get out of my head. It turned into this sexy summer song about the people we dream of or the scenarios we dream of in our head that end up having us completely spiraling. Those dream people and lives are often so much better than our reality. This song is about that – those sexy dreams we just cannot let go of. Writing this was a freedom like I have never felt — the pop song of my dreams that for so long I felt like I wasn’t able to write and put out.
‘Dirty Habits’ is a taste of your debut album. What else can we expect? Anything you’re able to tell us!
I have 3 more singles for you that are going to blow your mind. They are about breakups, becoming free of yourself by finding your people, and forbidden loves. The whole album is so much fun to listen to and it is all very different from what I’ve done before and an invitation into the new version of my music. I am so proud of these songs — be prepared to have a lot to dance to for the rest of the year and into 2026.
Are you like us and can’t wait for 2026? Listen to her new singles ‘Only Bad Men Make Me Feel This Way’ and ‘I Need to Cry’ now! We’d like to thank Gina Zo for taking the time to chat with us! What was your favorite part of this interview and o you love ‘Dirty Habits’ as much as we do? Let us know on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter!
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