Zolita

Zoë Montana Hoetzel (born September 23, 1994), known professionally as Zolita, is an American singer-songwriter. She gained viral success with the music video for "Explosion", which has over sixteen million views on YouTube as of December 2020. Following its success, she released the music videos for the singles "Holy" (2016) and "Fight Like a Girl" (2017) directed by herself.[1] On October 13, 2015 she released independently her debut extended play Immaculate Conception, and on May 18, 2018 she released her second extended play Sappho.[2][3]

Zolita
Zolita performing at The Grove in Los Angeles, California in June 2018
Background information
Birth nameZoë Montana Hoetzel
Born (1994-09-23) September 23, 1994
Genres
Occupation(s)
  • Singer
  • songwriter
  • director
  • photographer
Instruments
  • Vocals
  • guitar
  • piano
Years active2015–present
Labels
  • Tuxedo Media Group LLC
Websitezolitamusic.com

Early life and career

Zolita was born on September 23, 1994, in New York to Heidi Schwarck and Holger Hoetzel, and was raised in Calabasas, California. Her father is of German descent, and her mother is of Danish descent. Her father inspired her to start making music and she grew up playing bluegrass and flat pick guitar.[4] She has a brother, Max, a basketball player, and a sister, Luna, a YouTuber and ballerina. She and her siblings all share the middle name Montana.[5]

She started her career with the music video for "Explosion" which gained viral success, it was also listed on Billboard's list of "30 Lesbian Love Songs".[6] She further released the second video for the single "Holy", the concept is exploring themes of female sexuality, spirituality, and feminism.[7] On October 13, 2015 she released her debut extended play Immaculate Conception.[8] In 2017 she released the first single from her second extended play Sappho titled "Fight Like a Girl", which is a protest song with feminist themes inspired by the 2016 presidential campaign of Donald Trump.[1] On October 26, 2017 she released "Come Home with Me" as the second single, and on May 4, 2018 she released "New You" as the third single from her second extended play Sappho which was released on May 18 of that year.[9][10][3] On December 5, 2018 she released "Truth Tea" along with a music video as the lead single from her debut album, Evil Angel.[11] On March 8, 2019 she released "Black Magic" along with a visual video, however, the song wasn't included on the final tracklist of her debut album. On June 28, 2019 she released "Shut Up and Cry" along with a lyric video as the second single from Evil Angel.[12][13][11] On February 14, 2020 she released a cover of Usher's song "U Remind Me" with a music video.[14] On August 7, 2020 she released "Oblivion" along with a music video as the third single from Evil Angel.[15] On September 25 of the same year she released "Bedspell" as the fourth single from the album, and on November 20 she premiered the music video on the online magazine's website Them.[16][17] The promotional single, "Loveline" was released a week before the album's release,[18] and on December 4, 2020 her debut studio album, Evil Angel, was released.[19]

Artistry

Zolita's music has been described as "a blend of dark-pop and R&B".[20] Her musical style incorporates witchcraft and religion. She says that religious and witchcraft magic aesthetics are a huge part of her life saying "I feel like queer people are so drawn to Wicca and witchcraft because it's always been the alternative religion, it puts the power in yourself, and it's not historically been a religion that doesn't like queer people."[21] She also cites Lady Gaga as her biggest influence.[22]

Personal life

Zolita is an open lesbian, and she identifies herself as a feminist. She came out at an early age. In a 2017 interview she expressed how lucky she was for growing in a liberal family surrounded by open-minded friends. In her school days, she was afraid to come out to her female friends, saying "I was also worried that my female friends would no longer want to have girls' nights or sleepovers for fear that I might be attracted to them. So, I decided to keep my newfound queerness a secret."[23] She also identifies herself as a witch, she explains this in videos on her YouTube channel, but also in her music videos where witchcraft is incorporated.[24]

Discography

Studio albums
Title Details
Evil Angel[19]

Extended plays
Title Details
Immaculate Conception[8]
  • Released: October 13, 2015
  • Format: Digital download
  • Label: Self-released
Sappho[3]
  • Released: May 18, 2018
  • Format: CD, digital download
  • Label: Tuxedo Media Group LLC

Singles
Title Year Album
"Explosion"[25] 2015 Immaculate Conception
"Holy"[7] 2016
"Fight Like a Girl"[26] 2017 Sappho
"Come Home with Me"[9]
"New You"[10] 2018
"Truth Tea"[27][11] Evil Angel
"Black Magic"[12] 2019 Non-album single
"Shut Up and Cry"[13] Evil Angel
"U Remind Me"[14] 2020 Non-album single
"Oblivion"[15] Evil Angel
"Bedspell"[16]

Promotional singles
Title Year Album
"Like Heaven"[28] 2018 Sappho
"Loveline"[18] 2020 Evil Angel

References
  1. Moran, Justin (August 17, 2017). "Zolita: The Queer Feminist Pop Star We Need". Out. Retrieved May 24, 2018.
  2. Scott, Jason (May 7, 2017). "Zolita Celebrates Her Sexuality In New 'Holy' Music Video". PopDust. Retrieved May 24, 2018.
  3. "Sappho - EP by Zolita". iTunes Store (US). May 18, 2018. Retrieved May 24, 2018.
  4. Sirisuk, J.L. (August 4, 2017). "Video premiere: future queer icon zolita's feminist pop anthem". i-D. Retrieved May 27, 2018.
  5. Schmitt, Ralf (February 7, 2019). "Basketball-Profi Max Montana Vom 90. Geburtstag zu den Towers". Bild (in German). Retrieved March 17, 2020.
  6. Vincent, Brittany (September 20, 2017). "30 Lesbian Love Songs: Tegan & Sara, Hayley Kiyoko, Le Tigre & More". Billboard. Retrieved May 27, 2018.
  7. Bulut, Selim (June 21, 2016). "Watch love blossom in a dystopian schoolhouse". Dazed. Retrieved May 28, 2018.
  8. "Immaculate Conception - EP by Zolita". iTunes Store (US). December 4, 2020. Retrieved December 7, 2020.
  9. "Come Home with Me - Single by Zolita". iTunes Store (US). October 26, 2017. Retrieved May 27, 2018.
  10. "New You - Single by Zolita". iTunes Store (US). May 4, 2018. Retrieved May 27, 2018.
  11. "Zolita Talks 'Big Dyke Energy' and Her Queer Heartbreak Banger". Papermag. December 5, 2018. Retrieved January 21, 2019.
  12. "Black Magic - Single by Zolita". iTunes Store (US). March 8, 2019. Retrieved July 2, 2019.
  13. "Shut Up and Cry - Single by Zolita". iTunes Store (US). June 28, 2019. Retrieved July 2, 2019.
  14. "U Remind Me - Single by Zolita". Apple Music. Retrieved March 1, 2020.
  15. "Oblivion - Single by Zolita". Apple Music. Retrieved August 9, 2020.
  16. "Bedspell - Single by Zolita". Apple Music. Retrieved September 25, 2020.
  17. Cuby, Michael (November 20, 2020). "Premiere: Zolita Delivers a Sexy Pop Fantasy in a New Video for Single "Bedspell"". Them. Retrieved December 7, 2020.
  18. "Loveline - Single by Zolita". iTunes Store (US). November 13, 2020. Retrieved December 7, 2020.
  19. "Evil Angel by Zolita". iTunes Store (US). December 4, 2020. Retrieved December 7, 2020.
  20. Pitts, Ciara (January 18, 2019). "Zolita Is The Lesbian Indie Pop Artist Of Our Fantasies". GO. Retrieved December 8, 2020.
  21. Damshenas, Sam (December 4, 2020). "Zolita solidifies her status as the reigning queen of witch-pop with her debut album". Gay Times. Retrieved December 8, 2020.
  22. Damshenas, Sam. "Zolita on the importance of being a "feminist lesbian" in the music industry". Gay Times. Retrieved December 8, 2020.
  23. "Zolita on Coming Out & Owning Her Queerness in Music". Out. October 11, 2017. Retrieved May 24, 2018.
  24. Damshenas, Sam (February 18, 2019). "Zolita on why she incorporates witchcraft into her music". Gay Times. Retrieved March 7, 2019.
  25. "Explosion - Single by Zolita". iTunes Store (US). August 11, 2015. Retrieved May 27, 2018.
  26. "Fight Like a Girl - Single by Zolita". iTunes Store (US). July 28, 2017. Retrieved May 27, 2018.
  27. "Truth Tea - Single by Zolita". iTunes Store (US). December 5, 2018. Retrieved January 21, 2019.
  28. "Like Heaven - Single by Zolita". iTunes Store (US). May 11, 2018. Retrieved May 27, 2018.
  • Media related to Zolita at Wikimedia Commons
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