Kat Marcella remembers the moment she stopped hiding. For years, she told herself that the crushes she had on girls growing up weren’t real, that they couldn’t be. 

“When growing up in a Latin household, things tend to be more traditional and sexuality is not an open-ended topic,” she said. “This caused me to tell myself at a young age that the crushes I had on girls weren’t crushes because there wasn’t a world in which that could ever be possible or real.”

Her new single and upcoming music video “Girls,” out Nov. 7, is the sound of that self-denial breaking open. It’s not just a coming-out story, but a reclamation – a confession, a celebration and a quiet rebellion all wrapped in pastel light. 

“I finally owned it, and it felt so freeing,” she said. “My song ‘Girls’ is about that feeling of freedom. It’s about me owning the entirety of who I am and not just the pieces of myself that everyone will approve of.”

Marcella’s excitement about the “Girls” video is immediate and unfiltered. 

“Yes, it does, and I couldn’t be more excited!” she said of the release. “The visuals follow the story of me and a friend I have a secret crush on throughout the video.”

Her crush, played by actor Vera Viti, is open about her sexuality, while Marcella’s character wrestles with her own. A boyfriend character, portrayed by MacRae Dudman, represents what she calls “the romanticized hero in a relationship – the kind of boyfriend who loves you so much he’ll recklessly fight someone at a party just to prove it.”

But that type of devotion, she says, isn’t the same as real love. 

“That display of valor doesn’t equal real love, and that’s what my character is grappling with,” she said. “She knows she’s unfulfilled and wants to leave, but also knows everyone will say it’s the wrong choice. There’s a part in the song that feels like I’m drowning, and I wanted the visuals to show why – to capture the full weight of that feeling.”

For Marcella, the title word itself carries a lifetime of meaning. 

“In this song, the word girls is an ode to all of that,” she said. “It’s about the freedom and healing we experience when we’re with our girlfriends. It’s about celebrating everything we love about women and how we define and reclaim our womanhood throughout our lives.”

Most importantly, she adds, “in the context of the song, girls is about the beauty, love and tenderness shared between women. We often overlook it, but it’s really magical.”

That sense of tenderness shows up throughout Marcella’s work, where her sound feels both cinematic and intimate, like reading someone’s diary under a pink-tinted sky. 

“I tend to compartmentalize things in the moment, so I don’t always know how I feel until later,” she said. “Once I’ve had time to process, I start writing, sharing my experiences in a way that I hope helps others feel seen and less alone. Music that felt like a diary entry saved me when I was growing up, and I hope it can do the same for others.”

Some moments in the video struck deeper than others. 

“For me, the shot where I’m singing, ‘I love them too, not as much as I’m feeling you,’ was the most emotionally charged – both while filming and afterward,” she said. “That lyric comes from the fear of accepting my bisexuality, from knowing I could be attracted to both men and women. In the video, it’s about having a crush on a girl and not being able to act on it, and I think that scene really conveys the frustration and complexity of that feeling.”

Marcella’s ability to turn that tension into art has become her signature. Her work often hovers between confession and performance, never quite landing on one side. That balance gives her music the rawness that keeps it grounded in reality.

Asked what she loves most about the indie pop world, Marcella doesn’t hesitate. 

“Vulnerability – definitely that,” she said. “I think with indie music, there’s this freedom to not be so polished, and that lets us break more rules as artists. It can sound like cool guitar solos and muddled vocals (both of which I love), and lyrics that hit a little closer to home. It just feels more human – and that’s what I love about music.”

Her creative circle helps her stay connected to that humanity. She mentions her friend Anaïs, another experimental artist who pushes boundaries. 

“Artists like her and my other musician friends remind me that I’m not alone in this,” she said. “I’m grateful to know so many talented people who’ve given me a sense of community as I keep making music and performing. Sometimes, I’ll go to a friend’s show and see familiar faces at mine the next week. It really warms my heart to know that people care about what artists are creating – and, more importantly, that we’re all connected by one thing: music.”

If someone were to watch “Girls” without knowing anything about Marcella, she hopes they’d walk away with one feeling above all: freedom. 

“Whether it’s because the video brings a sense of excitement to their own journey in coming out or a sense of hope in knowing it’s OK to be yourself,” she said. “I want people to be able to celebrate who they really are, and I hope the video feels like a breath of fresh air – a reminder that there’s so much power in accepting every part of yourself.”

Throughout her art, Marcella uses soft, feminine textures – pastel tones, vulnerability, nostalgia – to express strength rather than fragility. 

“I feel like I’ve only recently become in touch with my feminine side, if I’m being honest,” she said. “I grew up wearing baggy clothes, skating, never wearing makeup or painting my nails. There’s a part of me now that wishes I grew up watching makeup tutorials on YouTube instead of prank videos.”

Her journey toward embracing femininity deepened after two major life events: accepting her sexuality and losing her father. 

“Everything seemed to unfold at once – I was grieving the loss of my father while also gaining a deeper understanding of myself and how I wanted to move forward,” she said. “Through all of that, I started to see the power in being soft while still having to be strong. I think that’s the real beauty of femininity.”

Aesthetically, that transformation shows in her work. 

“I’m drawn to colors and textures that feel raw or nostalgic because they carry emotion,” she said. “I’m finally allowing myself to feel everything fully – to embrace sensitivity instead of hiding it. That’s the energy I try to channel into my art – not femininity as something fragile, but as something honest, emotional and alive.”

At its core, “Girls” is more than a pop song or a video. It’s a love letter – to the girl who couldn’t yet say what she felt. 

“Girls is a love letter to my younger self – the part of me who would never have dared to say, ‘I like you,’ to a girl,” Marcella said. “I finally owned that part of who I am, and I think elementary school me would be so proud.”

With “Girls,” Kat Marcella transforms private reckoning into shared liberation. The song and its visuals invite listeners into her world, one where truth feels tender, fearless and unashamed.

Her message is simple: Freedom begins when you stop hiding from yourself.