Zoe Ko is a hot pink enigma

Zoe Ko has a sense of style that’s hard to pin down. Cunty? Hot? Pink? Girly? According to her fans, she’s all of those things and more — while according to iHeart Radio, she’s both the second and third worst dressed celeb at the Music Awards. Basically, she’s a hot pink enigma.

Ko, born and raised in New York City, carried her “I don’t go above 14th street” spirit with her across the country when she made the move to Los Angeles two years ago and signed to Big Loud’s rock division. She carries a handy dandy pigeon purse. She exclusively thrifts her clothes. She screams NYC.

Since relocating to LA in Summer 2023, she’s grown exponentially, and only last week released her second EP (although like she says, it’s long enough to almost be considered an album). In 2024, she opened on four tours for artists such as UPSAHL and King Mala. She played the Elton John after party at this year’s Academy Awards, and, next, will be taking the BMI stage at Lollapalooza music festival this summer. 

Ladies and gentlemen, girls and gays: Zoe Ko.

Camille Bavera: You’re based in Los Angeles now, but grew up in and started your career in New York — which one gives you more inspiration? 

Zoe Ko: The weekend I arrived in Los Angeles, it was the fourth of July so there were crazy influencer pool parties. Everyone had one million followers plus so no one wanted to talk to me… New York City still feels like home. Also my skin and hair are so much better in New York. LA dries me out so much. I mean, I have split ends for the first time.

New York gives me more inspiration when it comes to my career and music — it’s shaped who I am as a person, what I believe in, how I act and what I value. So, naturally, that comes out in my music (and very loudly). The streets of NYC are often like a fashion show within themselves because of all the different characters people have. You saw a taste of it with the trash bag dress and the “thank you for shopping here” bag dress I made and wore on the two last red carpets. I can’t wait to keep making the bitches gagged with the fits.

When it comes to LA, I’ve made some life-long memories and relationships here that I write about everyday. Artistry is also a backbone of LA, and I always feel that fire under me.

CB:  What’s something about you that your followers don’t know?

ZK: I literally share so much that there’s not much I haven’t told them, but I’d say my last project (“not ur girlfriend”) has started making me feel like Zoe Ko the artist is more of a persona. So I’ve recently started to separate my personal life and persona a bit more. I love all animals and deeply care about their well-being and I think my love for pigeons and rats is because of that. They are at the bottom of the totem pole and usually get treated pretty shit, so I feel bad for them and see their beauty.

CB: You’ve experienced a crazy amount of growth since moving to LA two years ago — touring, Elton John’s Oscars after party and soon Lollapalooza. What’s the journey been like?

ZK: It’s hard to take a step back and see how far you’ve come. The moments in which the growth feels real is in person with fans at a meet and greet, or at a show where people are singing my songs back to me. Hugging girls who told me that my music gives them confidence and badass energy always hits me straight in the heart. I had no idea I was gonna get the Lollapalooza gig this year, so I was floored when it happened. I’ll be playing the BMI stage. That team has been supporting me from day one, so it’s really a special, full circle moment. I can’t wait to push myself. With every era I gotta go bigger and better and more committed. Even though I’ve been releasing music for almost three years now, I truly feel like I’m just getting started.

CB: You opened on four tours last year, and played more than sixty shows. What are your opening hat-tricks?

ZK: It took a minute, but now I know a lot of the tricks to get people excited. When you’re the opener, they’re not there for you, and you only have fifteen to thirty seconds to talk before a song and convince them to like you. You need statements that get crowd interaction, hype and good transition bits. 

CB: Do you have a foolproof one-liner that you always use?

ZK: Yeah, my favourite thing to get people’s attention is, “How we feeling?” And then, if I don’t get much, I say it again and tell them, “I shaved for you, I put on a spiky bra for you. I said how we fucking feeling?” That usually gets ‘em.

CB: Tell me about your EP that’s just come out.

ZK: This EP is so special to me. In a lot of ways it almost feels like my first real project. I adored the EP release party because I got to hear the songs remixed and in a club space. It felt so right. We had a pink, sparkly red carpet, a drag queen at the door who made you solemnly swear on a studded holy bible that you’d have a good time and shake ass. I made the grand entrance of my dreams where I was carried in by two guys wearing rat head costumes…

‘not ur girlfriend’ was about the time I was in way too many situationships, running back and forth from my rosters’ places every week and forgetting to actually date myself. When one of my main situationships finally asked me to make things serious (he told me he loved me even though he barely knew me), I realised it wasn’t working. I finally felt my sexual freedom and power for the first time in my life and really became the bad bitch I wanted to be without a man or girl by my side. 

CB: You’re cunty, cool and make it clear in your songs that you don’t have time or energy for the haters. Who’re the haters?

ZK: I had many mean girls and bullies in high school. Now instead, I have fashion critics and press talking about how I was number two and three worst dressed at the 2025 iHeart Radio Music Awards. I quite literally get hate comments almost every hour. So many music industry executives or dudes have some shit to say about what I’m doing. Haters are everywhere, but they kinda just make me wanna be even more unique and cunty, so really, who cares?