Chiffon Dior: Hi there Scarlett! Thanks for making time to talk with me the day before your new video drops! The kids are still saying drop right? I don’t want to appear any less hip than I am.
Scarlett BoBo: Laughs Drop it like it’s hot!! Yaaay I love when I get to talk to Chiffon!
CD: Flattery will get you everywhere my dear. How are you doing?
SB: Laughs So I’ve been told! I’m fabulous darling. Life and drag has been treating me well lately. No complaints here.
CD: So before we talk about “Break My Heart”, let’s talk about you first for a bit. You’re currently in Toronto but is that where you’re from originally?
SB: I am from the “glorious” Capitol of Canada which is Ottawa. A small city about five hours from Toronto.
CD: What was your first exposure to the world of drag growing up in Ottawa? I can’t imagine there were any cross-dressing moose or caribou running around.
SB: Laughs Well, we don’t like to talk about our queens like that! It was definitely a lot different from Toronto. My first ever exposure to drag was at a bar called Helsinki for Ginette BoBo‘s Hump Night drag show and I thought drag queens were so scary. Little did I know I would eventually be taking on her name as a drag queen myself. Then I did drag for fun on Halloween and shortly after did my first show with Ginette BoBo and my new last name which I still carry around very proudly.
CD: Gee, halloween. Didn’t see that coming. Let me guess, it was going to be one time only right?
SB: Right? Like every little homo wanting attention, it was definitely a one time thing. I did it so I could get into the bars because I was underage.
CD: Drag really is a free pass to get in. So were you hooked right away on drag or was there some time before you did it again?
SB: It is, and it worked. I did it a few more times and then someone booked me for a free show, I don’t know why, I was awful! Laughs But I had great….personality?? Then after I performed, I got hooked and wanted to perform all the time.
CD: You mentioned Ginette BoBo before. Would you consider her your drag mom? How did you come up with your name?
SB: She started the BoBo’s twenty years ago. She’s like THE mom to the BoBo’s and a dear friend of mine. Tenora BoBo was the one who found me in a dumpster, cleaned me off and sent me into the world of drag with some of the tricks of the trade. So I guess I’m lucky enough to have two moms! laughs Heroine Marks who is a drag queen in Toronto helped me immensely when I first moved to the city to get myself set up here. It was a totally different ball game when I moved. My last name was obviously going to be BoBo and for my first name, I was getting my make up done sitting on a toilet and we were going though names. I wanted something that was a mix between a stroller and somewhat Hollywood glam and we came up with Scarlett. laughs
CD: That sounds about right. What are some of the challenges about being a drag queen in Canada? Don’t you have like eleven and a half months of winter there?
SB: Ha. Pretty much. Walking to your shows in the winter is really cute. Some of the challenges with being a queen in Canada is exposure I think. We aren’t recognized as much as a lot of American cities and queens. We can’t get on Drag Race. A lot of us don’t have the opportunity to get work in the states unless you have connection or enter an American pageant. I’ve just been hitting the ground running in NYC and LA trying to get work and get noticed.
CD: So I got to talk with your briefly before you first song but I didn’t get to delve in deep with you (Original article here). Was creating music something you always wanted to do?
SB: It’s always something I’ve loved and have been interested in. I’m not the best singer by any means but I’m very creative and I love to create things like music. My producer Matt Silver and I usually get together and have some drinks and listen to the instrumentals and start the writing process. My bestie Quanah Styles has been a huge help with the writing process. Other than that just personal experience when I wrote. “Still Fucking Going” is my “let’s party” song song and I feel all queens have been in some crazy silly situation at one point. “Break My Heart” is a little more serious and club like. The album is gonna be a mix / trial of different sounds and what not.
CD: Yes, you have an album coming out this June! Are you excited?
SB: I’m SO excited!! The album is called “BoBoSexuality” and it will have eight tracks and a few bonus songs / mixes.
CD: Let’s talk about “Break My Heart” (Buy it now on iTunes here!). Where did that song come from? What is the video about?
SB: I wrote “Break My Heart” with the intention of it being more mainstream. It’s like when you first meet a guy and you’re so infatuated and horny but you’re like, wait a minute, don’t break my heart after I put out or else we’re gonna have an issue! Laughs
CD: Spoken from experience?
SB: Laughs I never kiss and tell… but yes. More than once! The video is so good!! It’s kind of like that after party you go to after your show and you’re all fucked up trying to find the hottest guy in the bar. It’s a bit of vaudeville and kin mixed together with a love triangle between me and my two beautiful boys. I have a bunch of Toronto nightlife socialites and some of the top burlesque dancers in the city in the video. I’m so excited!
CD: An after party? That’s what the cool kids get invited to right? My after party usually involved a threesome with Ben and Jerry and maybe a Netflix chaser.
SB: Laughs I wanna go to your parties!!
CD: I’ve seen your tiny little figure bitch! You could use a little Cherry Garcia!
SB: Yummmmm!
CD: So once the album comes out, what are you thinking, a stadium tour or would you rather do a more intimate arena tour?
SB: Laughs Stadiums ALL THE WAY! Ya that’s probably not gonna happen anytime soon. I would LOVE to take the album on tour to different bars around Canada and the US but that is in hopes that people wanna book me to tour it!!
CD: Well get on that all you fans and club promoters out there, if you want Scarlett BoBo in your bar, just contact me and I’ll make the magic happen! (I’m also taking 15% right off the top Scarlett just so you know.)
SB: Laughs I don’t mind at all. Get me those bookings!
CD: So after the album comes out, what is next for you? What is on your glittery bucket list of drag goals for you gurl?
SB: Well I have a bunch of pride show’s during Toronto pride and various other prides around Canada. I’ll be starting fresh and working on the follow up album to come out and pushing this album as far as I can. I’ll be in NYC whoring myself and the album out in June / July and I’ll be visiting Greece and Europe again in the fall!
CD: Gee, is that all?
SB: Laughs I know I wish I could do better! I’m slowly working on my work visa so I can station myself in NYC!
CD: I’m sure I could arrange a sham marriage to expedite things for you but we can talk about that off the record.
SB: Perfect!
CD: Thank you so much for your time baby! Best of luck with the new album! I hope its a big hit! Any final words of wisdom before we call it a night Scarlett?
SB: Aww thanks so much for all the love! You’re the bomb!!! I guess all I have to say it BUY MY ALBUM! I’m putting out a kickstarter campaign with my album tomorrow with some giveaways and what not and I’ll have hard copies of the album to sell as well! Oh, and book me to perform at your bars!
