Summer Christova is music's newest hottest artist. Her debut single 'Selfish' already hitting gold a few weeks post release, and days after having our sit-down. I got to talk with Summer while on her first tour in Europe with fellow hard-hitters Cadeon and Harlow, and during her music video shoot for her latest single 'Good in Goodbye'. On observance, Summer is kind to those working with and for her. When I arrived to set, Summer immediately came over to greet me and give me a hug, thanking me for my time and then apologizing as she had to finish one more scene before lunch break so she could sit and we could speak. She is truly a delight, kind and attentive and making sure those around her are taken care of. Summer is a sight to behold, beautiful and humble, smiling as she has fun with her latest video shoot and keeping a calm head if she has to do a re-take. Where does this all stem from? Well, as I came to find out, Summer's road to where she is now has been a struggle. She has survived death not only once, but twice, and music's newest star is just "grateful to be here."

People: You're flying high from your first single 'Selfish', which is killing it on the charts, and now you're filming a video for your newest single 'Good in Goodbye'. How are you feeling?

Summer Christova: I feel great! It's been nothing short of exhilarating, honestly. When I wrote 'Selfish' I didn't realize what an impact that it'd have on people and just how many would actually relate to it. Maybe that's me just being naive, but when I originally wrote it, I had no intentions of actually recording it and releasing it. At the time I wasn't even on a label, and I had just recently quit my job.

P: How did you get hooked up with Cadeon for your EP?

SC: My boyfriend [CJ Cutshall] is the drummer for Harlow. Well, and now myself as well. As everyone knows, Harlow and Cadeon have been friends for a few years now. I went to a practice with CJ and Cadeon was there. At the time I was still healing from an attack that had happened. I'd been out of the hospital and trying to cope. Therapy and medication wasn't doing it for me, and please don't take that as a discouragement against those. They work for people, but for the time, they weren't working for me. I felt trapped, so to speak. So then I started writing music again and that's how 'Selfish' happened. Cadeon asked to see them as well as other songs. They liked what I had, and soon I was in a studio with them and then Interscope signing me to the label. It's been...wild...to say the least.

P: Seems like you and Cadeon are close. He's directing this music video and you're touring together along with Harlow.

SC: They. Cadeon is non-binary, so they use the they/them pronouns. But yes, they are. Cadeon has been truly amazing. I've always been a fan of their music, so getting to meet them and get to know them and becoming close friends has been a dream. They say "never meet your heroes", but they are the coolest person. I'm honored to be able to work with them and have their hands in what I'm doing because I wouldn't have even known where to start, but in the end, I'm just happy to be here and a part of this world.

P: Circling back, you said you wrote 'Selfish' after an attack. Do you want to elaborate?

SC: Had you asked me that question a month or two ago, I probably would've said no, but I feel like it's time to talk about it. I want to spread positivity and just like Cadeon, let people know that they aren't alone in what they might be going through. Long story short for the backstory, I dated a man off and on from the age of 18 up until around August of 2019. So a lot of my adult life was spent with him. I was a dancer at the strip club he owned in Las Vegas, which is where I was born and raised. It was great at first, like most relationships are, but soon it turned into something dark. It started as verbal, then mental and emotional, and then physical. My life was controlled by him. What I wore, what I did, what I ate. I had a GPS tracker on my car so he knew where I was at all times. I learned how to cover bruises with makeup and put on a smile like nothing was wrong. I was miserable and I didn't know how to get out of it. I needed that job because I didn't know anything else. People who have never experienced abuse can tell you, "Oh, just leave!" It's harder than that. Especially when you're in deep. I attempted suicide because I thought that was my only way out. At the time I was also an addict. I used drugs and alcohol to cope with how I felt and to be able to withstand what was done to me. I went to rehab, but fell into same patterns with him. Then one night I just left. I packed up everything I could fit in my car, had the GPS tracker taken off my car and threw it out in the street, and just drove. Then I ended up in Memphis. Fast forward several months, I'm with CJ and happy. He's working for Harlow by this point and he goes to play his first show and wouldn't be back until the next afternoon. My ex had been stalking me for a while, and knew that he was gone, and when I thought it was CJ coming home, I answered the door to the ex. I won't go into detail of what happened, but CJ came home at the right time. He saved my life. The nurses told me that if he didn't give me mouth-to-mouth when he did, I would've died.

P: How do you feel now coming away from that?

SC: I feel like I see the world with new eyes now, but, for a while afterwards I had a hard time coping. I started pushing CJ away, kind of turning into myself. I didn't know what to do. Therapy just made me angrier and more confused and sad. I didn't have the right outlet. Through all of it - the hospital stay, what could've been a relapse, and trying to move on from the attack - CJ stood by me through it all. Then I started writing music again. 'Selfish' felt like my closure to that past life.

P: You've overcome a lot. What are you looking forward to in this new chapter in your life?

SC: For one, CJ and I just got engaged. I cannot wait to marry him. He is a complete 180 from my previous relationship, and I have never been so happy. I'm at a really good spot in my life and I could float in this space forever. I'm so grateful to share this life with him as well as still be here. With what I'm doing now, I want to also use my voice to speak out on domestic violence. I want to help when and where I can. I want to hear your stories and I want to let my fans know that they aren't alone. I'm also incredibly grateful to those who have been digging my songs. I'm also grateful to Cadeon for helping me with my music, producing my album, directing this video, and being one of my best friends. Every single person I have in my life right now has helped me heal from all of this. Evie, Killian, my sisters Scarlett and Saje, Sin, Naomi...the list goes on. A lot of my songs right now are about that ex and things I went through or were feeling. My favorite song, however, is 'Baby', which is about CJ and how I felt when he first walked into my life.

P: Congratulations on your engagement! Myself and the world are so excited to see where you go from here. Anything you can give us on the nuptuals?

SC: Now that's going to be a secret! The only thing I will tell you is that we plan on having it be very small. Just family and our closest of friends. I've never done anything big or bougie, and I don't want that to change. It's about us and getting to spend the rest of our life together, so we want it as far away from grandiose and a media frenzy as much as possible. But I'm sure I'll share pictures once everything's said and done so it'll be a surprise.

As She Pleases, Summer's EP, is out now on iTunes and available for stream on Spotify. You can catch her as the openig act for Cadeon on their 'A Weird Time of Life' tour which opens on November 16th in London where the duo will be living on a plane as they fly around parts of Europe and the United States for a whirlwind musical experience.