“Here’s the deal,” said Saturn Lane, a wide smile coming across her face as she leans into the camera. “I’m a REAL Ariana Grande fan. When she used to do following sprees, she had like, 100,000 followers. Now she has like, 200,000,000. I literally watched it happen in real time. Some of these people don’t get it.” It is a deep-rooted love and dedication to a favorite artist that, truly, only comes from a New Yorker on the rabbit hole that is “stan Twitter.” Lane, however, has been able to take her love for Grande beyond the fan culture. A rising artist herself, Lane emulates, not imitates, Grande in her own work. And though bits and pieces of her new single, “Messed Up,” refer to Grande’s signature powerhouse sound, Lane is an artist who is set on blazing her own path.

Saturn Lane, which is a stage name, was inspired by the street she grew up on of the same name on Staten Island. Despite the borough’s controversial political views and, overall, being the butt of many jokes in popular culture, Lane is proud of her hometown and is inspired by fellow Staten Island native, Bebe Rexha. Lane first met Rexha, a huge name in the pop world known for hits like “Meant To Be” with country duo Florida Georgia Line and “Me, Myself & I” with rapper G-Eazy, while the superstar was filming an MTV special at her Staten Island high school a number of years ago. The pair spoke on camera, with Rexha even requesting that Lane sing for her. The interaction aired, essentially in its entirety, on the special. Lane remembers it fondly. “Bebe said ‘I think that the fact that you’re here today even doing this shows me that you have real drive,” said Lane. “It was her manager, MTV, her parents and all these people. Bebe said ‘If I can give you a piece of advice it would be to just do it and don’t listen to anybody. Just go for it’. It was amazing. I’m so, so thankful.” The pair have met on multiple occasions since the MTV special and Lane continues to idolize her hometown hero.

Rexha would be proud, because years later, Lane is putting out her own original music. Her sensual 2018 single “Want You Bad” gives pre-“New Rules” Dua Lipa vibes while her newest song, “Messed Up” is distinctly pop, but with darker overtones than her previous release. Lane’s admiration for both Rexha and Grande is evident in terms of the songwriting and vocal delivery respectively. Lane shows off both her rich lower register as well as her clear, higher range and even breaks out a Grande-esque riff near the end of the track. 

The song, about the inner struggles she faced after the collapse of a personal relationship, was both therapeutic and cathartic for the singer. “There is a part of it where I’m taking all the blame,” she said. “But there are also parts of the song that are evolving. I’m spinning it on the other person because I’m having the realization that they were a reason it got to the point that it did, too. It takes two people to get to that point.” She references a poignant lyric from the track that points towards her being able to shift the blame away from herself; “Seven letters you’ll never say….’Miss you’ and ‘I’m sorry’. But I’ve had to learn that that’s ok.”

While music was a part of the healing process, Lane took other measures to move forward. “I’m a mental health advocate,” she said. “Music is my way of voicing my perspective of what happened in a way that is comforting to me but also doing the work behind the scene, like going to therapy, to figure out how I was going to deal with it. How I was going to feel better.” Lane has moved past those struggles, confidently saying, with a hint of sass in her voice, that she doesn’t think the subject of the song would spend five minutes listening to it and does not seem to be affected by that in the slightest. The song may be called “Messed Up”, but, right now, she seems to be in a good place.

Though there is no larger project, like an album, on the horizon, Lane plans to release a new single this summer and hopes to get back to playing shows in her local area post-COVID. Though seemingly slightly reserved, Lane is confident in her own skin. “I am myself everywhere,” she said. “I just very strongly believe in the idea of just being yourself. Some people are going to hate it but some people are going to love it. There are billions of people on this planet so the odds are in your favor to find at least a couple of people who are going to appreciate you for all that you are.” She feels the same way about performing. “I am who I am onstage and everywhere,” she said. “I say things that probably embarrass me, but that’s just my personality.” 

Lane continues to write with other collaborators and push herself as an artist, but she has a clear vision for what she wants. She wants to get signed, to grow her social media following and to have prominent placement for her music on streaming platforms but, in the end, it goes beyond the glitz and glamour of it all. “In a dream world I’d want to be nominated for an American Music Award,” she said. “To be in a place where people who I look up to know who I am but more importantly, just having an impact on people all across the world. So that I can give back to them what music gave to me. Still gives to me.” 

You can stream her new song, “Messed Up,” on all platforms today.