Two sisters — two different goals.
The little sister of clean-cut Swedish activist Greta Thunberg is making a name for herself one dramatic ballad and split at a time.
In a recent virtual chat with Interview Magazine, Beata MonaLisa, AKA Bea, (yes, that’s her real name: “I was born with it. It’s from my grandma Mona and great grandma Lisa,” she explained to the outlet) proved she’s not living in the shadows of her older, by three years, sister, who’s known for challenging the government with her strong opinions on climate change and societal issues.
The multihyphenate 20-year-old, who is “self-trained,” has the singing chops of a jazz singer twice her age, vulnerably opened up in the interview, explaining that she’s been dancing since she was old enough to walk and singing since she was seven, which resulted in her being “bullied by everyone.”
“I performed in shows at school and everyone thought I was annoying,” she admitted.
Her recent cover of the 1949 French song, “Hymne à l’amour” by Édith Piaf, is enough to blow audience’s socks off as they wait in anticipation for her debut album, described as “Pro-queer, anti-macho,” which she revealed at the time of the interview is being finished and something she’s been working on since she was 13, writing every song herself.
“I keep coming back and changing things. There are nine songs, seven are finished…The album’s about the freedom of identity and empowering women,” the 20-year-old, who’s described as a “gay icon,” pointed out to Interview.
To address the activist elephant in the room, when asked about her headline-making sibling, she cooly turned down the question, responding, “I’m not responsible for other people’s lives.”
Clearly, having very different life goals compared to her sister, Bea described success as “Maybe it’s a feeling. You can be worldwide famous and not feel accepted, or you can have a small fan base and feel very successful.”
Similar to her sister, she’s a woman who also has strong opinions and clearly isn’t afraid to voice them.
“I have many straight male producers who tell me how to sing. They want to feel like they’ve taught me. A loud, young female is very provocative, especially to them, because they want to have control,” she explained in the interview.
She admitted to wanting worldwide fame, but to her, “it’s more important to have fans who understand you.”
“They’re very specific. They have the same interests, the same way of dressing, the same humor. I’m very sarcastic,” she described of her fan base.
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