How a Janitor Became Croatia's Biggest Hope at Creating a Global Pop Star

Why You Have To Win Over This Country First to Become a Pop Star (ft. flowerovlove)

The blueprint for breaking a global music act has completely changed. In this episode of Middle Row, trend forecaster Coco Mocoe reveals how Southeast Asian "Trigger Cities"—specifically Manila, Philippines—have become the most powerful, unwritten launchpads for international chart success. Joining the Middle Row theater is London pop powerhouse flowerovlove, fresh off her debut Coachella performance. We break down the masterclass behind her hit track "Breaking News," which bypassed traditional Western media gates to spawn over 4.5 million user-generated videos on TikTok by captivating the world's most online fandom. From her DIY roots in a home garage to bringing out history-making P-pop sensation BINI on the Coachella stage, flowerovlove pulls back the curtain on running her own creative business engine. We discuss why she completely gatekeeps her visual branding, the unfair musical categorization of Black British artists, her predictive intuition for spotting superstars like Chappell Roan before they blow up, and the exact release timeline for her highly anticipated debut album. If you want to understand where the global creator economy and music business are heading next, this breakdown is essential listening. Rate, review, and subscribe to Middle Row on Apple Podcasts and Spotify for new episodes every other Monday.

How Holly Humberstone Got Noticed by Taylor Swift

WATCH THE OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO FOR "BEAUTY PAGENT" BY HOLLY HUMBERSTONE HERE [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3cedY9fE_g&list=RDl3cedY9fE_g&start_radio=1] 📺 Holly Humberstone grew up doing ballet in a small English town and somehow ended up walking the runway at Wembley Stadium in front of thousands of people while nearly having a wardrobe crisis in real time. She is telling us everything. In this episode of Middle Row, I sit down with BRIT Award-winning singer-songwriter Holly Humberstone fresh off her Coachella return and the release of her sophomore album Cruel World. This conversation goes deep. We cover family grief, childhood nostalgia, and why this album era feels so different from everything she has done before. Holly breaks down the exact cinematic references shaping her new visual world, the vocal production tricks behind tracks like Blue Dream, and what creative burnout actually looks like when you are a rising indie-pop artist with the whole industry watching. Plus the Taylor Swift Eras Tour call. She tells us what it was really like getting that surprise invite to open for Taylor, and the split-second decision she had to make while walking the Wembley runway that nobody knew about until now. We also do a full birth chart breakdown because obviously we do. And if you are someone who studies music marketing, artist branding, or the business of going from bedroom pop to festival headliner, this episode is genuinely essential listening. Holly Humberstone is one of the most interesting artists in music right now. This is the episode that explains why. Time Stamps: * 00:00:19 Holly Humberstone Ballet Background * 00:01:34 Last-Minute Wardrobe Crisis * 00:03:59 Wembley Stadium Runway Panic * 00:04:41 Taylor Swift Eras Tour * 00:07:11 Cruel World Album Lore & Family Grief * 00:12:31 Birth Chart Analysis * 00:18:45 Music Marketing & Artist Branding * 00:24:12 Cinematic Visual Era Inspiration * 00:31:05 Vocal Effects & Studio Production Secrets * 00:36:50 Creative Burnout & the Reality of Rising Fame Thank you coconuts for making it this far! Leave a review on Spotify or Apple Podcasts with a recommendation for what artists or topics you want next on the show ⭐️ Instagram: @cocomocoe [instagram.com/cocomocoe/] TikTok: @cocomocoe [tiktok.com/@cocomocoe] YouTube: Coco Mocoe [https://www.youtube.com/@CocoMocoe]

How Tiffany Stringer Turned Her EP into a Cinematic Universe

Singer-songwriter Tiffany Stringer joins Coco Mocoe in the Middle Row, recorded live at the Spotify Theater. The Texas-born, Atlantic Records artist opens up about the making of The Lone Starlet — her debut major-label EP dropping May 8th — a five-part cinematic concept project inspired by Babylon and Singin' in the Rain that follows a fictional actress through the highs and lows of fame. Tiffany talks about how she convinced Atlantic to greenlight high-budget music videos straight out of the gate, what it was actually like touring as a Kidz Bop kid at 15, the odd jobs she worked when she first moved to LA (including babysitting a tortoise), and the TikTok commitment in 2023 that changed everything. She also gets into the philosophy behind her visual branding, the real-life inspiration behind her songs, and the emotional tension at the heart of The Lone Starlet — performing a version of yourself while figuring out who you actually are offstage. Co-signs from Halsey, Addison Rae, Tate McRae, and Dove Cameron. This one's a great one. If this episode made you feel something, the best thing you can do is leave a review on Apple or Spotify — it takes 30 seconds and it genuinely helps Middle Row reach more people. And if you have a friend who's obsessed with finding artists before they blow up, send this one their way. Follow along between episodes: Instagram | ⁠@cocomocoe⁠ [https://www.instagram.com/cocomocoe/] TikTok | ⁠@cocomocoe⁠ [https://www.tiktok.com/@cocomocoe] Add the official Middle Row playlist on Spotify and stay in the world: ⁠https://open.spotify.com/playlist/19x3n1ZRyN4eeikwSy8sL9⁠ [https://open.spotify.com/playlist/19x3n1ZRyN4eeikwSy8sL9] Executive Producers: Coco Mocoe & Trinna Tracy Videographer: Operation Podcast Editor: Comfort Creator | Sammi Social Creator: Coco Mocoe Filming Location: Spotify Theater, Los Angeles Email | ⁠cocomocoe@gmail.com⁠ [cocomocoe@gmail.com]

Why Slayyyter Doesn't Want to be a Main Pop Girl

Slayyyter almost quit music. Now she's headlining Coachella with a live band, a major label deal, and an album she made purely for herself. The moment she stopped trying to go mainstream, the mainstream came to her. In this episode of Middle Row with Coco Mocoe, Slayyyter gets honest about the moment she decided to stop chasing commercial success and just make something she'd be proud of. They talk about the Saturn Return that stripped everything back, the Bunny Man lurking in her visuals, and how "Daddy AF" quietly became a good luck charm for indie cinema; such as, showing up in both Anora and Bodies Bodies Bodies before soundtracks. Plus: writing "Crank" in 30 minutes, the social climbing culture that inspired Starfucker, and why she'd rather drink at an old man biker bar than anywhere near Silver Lake 🍿 If this episode made you feel something, the best thing you can do is leave a review on Apple or Spotify — it takes 30 seconds and it genuinely helps Middle Row reach more people. And if you have a friend who's obsessed with finding artists before they blow up, send this one their way. Follow along between episodes: Instagram | @cocomocoe [https://www.instagram.com/cocomocoe/] TikTok | @cocomocoe [https://www.tiktok.com/@cocomocoe] Add the official Middle Row playlist on Spotify and stay in the world: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/19x3n1ZRyN4eeikwSy8sL9 [https://open.spotify.com/playlist/19x3n1ZRyN4eeikwSy8sL9] Executive Producers: Coco Mocoe & Trinna Tracy Videographer: Operation Podcast Editor: Comfort Creator | Sammi Social Creator: Coco Mocoe Filming Location: Spotify Theater, Los Angeles Email | cocomocoe@gmail.com [cocomocoe@gmail.com]

How a Janitor Became Croatia's Biggest Hope at Creating a Global Pop Star

This week on Middle Row, Coco Mocoe sits down with alt-pop artist Seb Torgus, and his story might be the most unexpected come-up in music right now. Before releasing music, Seb was working as a janitor in Chicago. Now he's based in LA, rocking iconic red hair, and building friendships with some of the biggest names in the alt and rock world including Yungblud and Jessie from The Neighbourhood. In this episode, Seb also talks about collaborating with Jesse Jo Stark, the daughter of Chrome Hearts founders Laurie Lynn and Richard Stark, and what it means to carry his Croatian heritage into his artistry as he sets his sights on becoming the first Croatian pop star. Filmed in the Spotify theater 📍 Follow Seb Torgus on Instagram: @sebtorgus [https://www.instagram.com/sebtorgus/] Follow Coco Mocoe on Instagram: @cocomocoe [https://www.instagram.com/cocomocoe/] Subscribe to the Middle Row YouTube channel [https://www.youtube.com/@CocoMocoe]for full video episodes.