Skip to main content
  • News
    • Trending News
    • Videos & Interviews
    • Taylor Swift
    • One Direction
    • Kim Kardashian
  • Music
    • Music Highlights
    • Music Videos
    • Charts
    • Playlists
    • EMAs
    • Brand New For 2018
    • MTV PUSH
    • Artists
  • Shows
    • Latest Shows
    • The Charlotte Show
    • Geordie Shore
    • Ex on the Beach
    • Floribama Shore
    • Just Tattoo Of Us
    • Teen Mom UK
  • Movies
    • Movies Highlights
    • New Movies Coming Soon
    • Videos & Interviews
    • Trailers
    • Moana
  • Games
    • New Games
    • Quizzes
  • Style
  • Life
    • Life
    • MTV Breaks
    • Sex
    • WTF
    • SRS
    • Travel
    • Fitness
  • Pictures
  • Win
  • MTV Bump
  • TV Guide
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Search
  • Pictures
  • Win
  • MTV Bump
  • TV Guide
Home
  • News
    • Trending News
    • Videos & Interviews
    • Taylor Swift
    • One Direction
    • Kim Kardashian
  • Music
    • Music Highlights
    • Music Videos
    • Charts
    • Playlists
    • EMAs
    • Brand New For 2018
    • MTV PUSH
    • Artists
  • Shows
    • Latest Shows
    • The Charlotte Show
    • Geordie Shore
    • Ex on the Beach
    • Floribama Shore
    • Just Tattoo Of Us
    • Teen Mom UK
  • Movies
    • Movies Highlights
    • New Movies Coming Soon
    • Videos & Interviews
    • Trailers
    • Moana
  • Games
    • New Games
    • Quizzes
  • Style
  • Life
    • Life
    • MTV Breaks
    • Sex
    • WTF
    • SRS
    • Travel
    • Fitness
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Search

BANKS

  • Main
  • Videos
  • News

"I Am The Purest Form Of Myself On Stage": An Interview With BANKS

BANKS lets us into her mind, and shares exclusive behind the scenes images...

  • Share to Facebook
  • Tweet to Twitter
  • Share to Google plus
Wednesday, November 26, 2014 - 16:18

By: Tamara Roper

A vision in monochrome, BANKS is thoughtful as she picks her way through interview questions with wavering certainty. It's a gloomy November day, and MTV is interviewing the elusive popstress against an equally as gloomy backdrop, but as we look onto a car park drowning in slate great sky, BANKS reveals she's rather a fan of the weather.

“I love grey. My mom told me that when I was younger I would get mildly depressed when it was grey all the time. I’d be darker when it was dark out. But, as an adult I really love it.”

View the lyrics
So, I got edges that scratch
And sometimes I don't got a filter
But I'm so tired of eatin' all of my misspoken words

I know my disposition gets confusing
My disproportionate reactions fuse with my eager state
That's why you want to come out and play with me (yeah)
(Why, why, why)

Stooped down and out you got me beggin' for thread
To sew this hole up that you ripped in my head
Stupidly you think you had it under control
Strapped down to something that you don't understand
Don't know what you were getting yourself into
You should have known, secretly I'm think you knew

I got some dirt on my shoes
My words can come out as a pistol
And I'm no good at aiming, but I can aim it at you

I know my actions, they may get confusing
But my unstableness is my solution, to even space
That's why you want to come out and play with me (yeah)

Stooped down and out you got me beggin' for thread
To sew this hole up that you ripped in my head
Stupidly you think you had it under control

Strapped down to something that you don't understand
Don't know what you were getting yourself into
You should have known, secretly I'm think you knew

Hold it out, (woah-oah) try to hide it out
But my tracks are better

Hold it out, (woah-oah) try to hide it out
But my tracks are better

Hold it out, (woah-oah) try to hide it out
But my tracks are better

Hold it out, (woah-oah) try to hide it out
But my tracks are better

Stooped down and out you got me beggin' for thread
To sew this hole up that you ripped in my head
Stupidly you think you had it under control

Strapped down to something that you don't understand
Don't know what you were getting yourself into
You should have known, secretly I'm think you knew
Secretly I'm think you knew
Writer(s): Jillian Banks, Tim Anderson, Jesse Rogg Lyrics powered by www.musixmatch.com
Hide the lyrics

It’s a fitting acquiescence for the woman who has managed to turn songs about melancholia into a career. Jillian Banks, a dark elf from the City of Angels, has become a master in the art of sombre R’n’B. Turning old diary entries into musical tales of heartbreak, her debut album, Goddess, became one of the most anticipated albums of 2014.

Informed by ill-fated princess Aaliyah and mastered by bright star Brit producers like Jamie Woon and Lil Silva, she found herself on the hit-list of last year’s tastemakers, and ended up on the BBC Sound Of 2014 and MTV’s own Brand New For 2014 list.

Back in the middle of last year, BANKS was still a relative unknown. Reluctant to do press and notoriously private, an active social media presence was replaced by a personal phone number on her Facebook page. Talking to fans is “one of her favourite parts… physically touching someone who connects to your music, it’s like connecting with the biggest part of you”.

Eighteen months later and BANKS is structured lines and couture, a fledged pop star. “I feel like a more developed version of me from a year ago. When you broaden the little box that you’ve been living in for so long, it can be very uncomfortable at first.”

Now the one time face of Chanel and Coach, BANKS is no longer the “very, very, very private person” of last year. A successful tour with The Weeknd (where she was “thrown in at the deep end”) and critical success has resulted in a veritable rebirth.

BANKS credits London as a main part of her success. “It’s kind of where I started. I had a month in London, about a year and a half ago, when I had a breakthrough artistically and personally, as an adult woman.” On stage in Brixton she is emotional, close to tears in her thanks to the crowd who've helped her fill theatres she visited as a child. BANKS is “the purest form” of herself on stage: "you have to tune out all of the smoke and the foggy mirrors. All of a sudden there is an atmosphere, and it is your music.”

Latest News

Avicii
Avicii Songs Re-Enter UK Top 40 Following His Death
11 Of The Best Pieces Of Celeb Merch You Need To Buy Right Now
Xbox Live Avatar Leak
Someone Leaked The New Xbox Live Avatars And They're More Inclusive Than Ever
Take This Quiz About Your Career To Find Out Exactly When You'll Get Married
Khloe Kardashian and Tristan Thompson's love timeline
Tristan Thompson Reportedly Cheated On Khloe Kardashian Using Instagram
Love Island's Olivia Buckland Opens Up About Her Battle With Depression
Fortnite
Check Out All The New Weapons That Just Came To Fortnite
Braided Rose Hair is Trending Rn And It’s Very Summer Appropriate
Yoku's Island Express
This Super Cute Dung Beetle Adventure Game Finally Has A Release Date
Sophie Kasaei free's the nipple
Geordie Shore's Sophie Kasaei Frees The Nipple In White Lace Bralette And Double Denim Ensemble
Holly Hagan Channels Dirrty Era Christina Aguilera In Bottomless Leather Chaps
Every Type Of Ear Piercing You Can Get
Louisa - YES - Music Video
Louisa Talks 'YES', Partying & LA In MTV Laid Bare
Rihanna’s Lingerie Line Looks Set To Be Size Inclusive
Beyonce Attempts To Lift Solange Up At Coachella And It Ends In An Epic On-Stage Fall
KJ Apa Performed At Coachella And Riverdale Fans Loved Every Second
7 Ways To Tackle Hormonal Acne Outbreaks
MTV Staff Share Their Tried And Tested Daily Skincare Routines
Teen Mom UK Episode 7 Spoiler Video: Chloe Patton And Jordan Edwards Argue About Cleaning In Their New Home: ‘When Do I Get A Break?’
Shawn Mendes Reveals He Spoke To A Therapist About His Anxiety

More From BANKS

BANKS Gives Magical Performance At Sold-Out London Show
Music
“I F**k With Myself More Than Anybody Else” BANKS Tells Us What Inspired Her Awesome New Album
BANKS
Gemini Feed
Music
"I Am The Purest Form Of Myself On Stage": An Interview With BANKS
BANKS
Beggin For Thread
BANKS Announces Debut Album 'Goddess'
BANKS
Brain
BANKS Premieres ‘Brain’ Music Video
The Sound Of SXSW - Listen To Our 2014 Preview Playlist
The Vamps Win MTV Brand New For 2014!
Sam Smith Crowned BBC Sound Of 2014 Winner
Banks: "I Gave Out My Telephone Number To Fans"

Trending Articles

Sophie Kasaei free's the nipple
Geordie Shore's Sophie Kasaei Frees The Nipple In White Lace Bralette And Double Denim Ensemble
TV Shows
Ex On The Beach Spoiler: Becky Taylor Finds Out About Ex Zach Tull’s Filthy Shower Sex After He And Laura Brown Confess All To Marnie Simpson And Casey Johnson
Charlotte Crosby hints that Joshua Ritchie is her true love after posting a page from a self-help book about love
Charlotte Crosby Drops A Massive Hint That New Boyfriend Joshua Ritchie Is Her ‘True Love’
Niall Horan has revealed that he has 'mild' OCD
Niall Horan Reveals ‘Mild’ Obsessive Compulsive Disorder Diagnosis
Fans Are Losing It Over Nathan Henry’s Incredible Peach In This Geordie Shore Shot
Holly Hagan Channels Dirrty Era Christina Aguilera In Bottomless Leather Chaps
Chloe Ferry Promises She’ll Love Boyfriend Sam Gowland ‘For The Rest Of Her Life’
Teen Mom UK Episode 7 Spoiler Video: Chloe Patton And Jordan Edwards Argue About Cleaning In Their New Home: ‘When Do I Get A Break?’
Khloe Kardashian and Tristan Thompson's love timeline
Tristan Thompson Reportedly Cheated On Khloe Kardashian Using Instagram
Rihanna’s Lingerie Line Looks Set To Be Size Inclusive
Watch Marnie Simpson Squirm In Horror As She Faces Ricky Rayment For The First Time Since Their Split
Avicii
Avicii Songs Re-Enter UK Top 40 Following His Death
  • Contact Us
  • Access Services
  • Website Terms
  • Mobile Terms
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • MTV Jobs
  • MTV Press
  • Anti-Slavery
  • Global Tax Policy Statement
Hit us with some keywords!