“Smith” is said to be the most common last name in the United States. There’s nothing ordinary about Will Smith’s family.
At age 10, Willow shot to fame — and out of the shadows of her famous dad — with 2010’s “Whip My Hair.” Now aged 20, and with three studio albums behind her, the youngest Smith returns with “Transparent Soul,” featuring Blink-182’s Travis Barker on drums.
On Tuesday night (May 18), Willow and Co. dropped by The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon to perform that fresh pop-punk track, unleashing all the confidence of youth, and the energy of a nuclear power plant.
Earlier, Willow Zoomed in for a chat with the late-night show’s host. On the artwork and in her performance, Smith appears comfortable wielding the axe.
So who and what inspired her to learn the guitar?
“I honestly think it was a brewing in me for a while that I knew I needed to play an instrument to really call myself and a musician, and really wanted to do that,” she explained. “It was around the time that I found out that Michael Cera had made music.” No joke. Willow found inspiration in the music of the man who played Scott Pilgrim. “I think that was the breaking point,” she recounted.
Willow also talked about reuniting her mom’s metal band for Mother’s Day, insecurities with her own voice, the nervous moment when she sent the new track to Barker and, yes, her new LP.
The followup to 2019’s Willow is going to drop this summer, she insists. “And we’re going to see a lot of collaborations on this album.”
Watch the performance and interview below.
