Mette says Taylor Swift's 'prowess is unreal' ahead of her opening London Eras Tour slot
When Mette takes the Wembley Stadium stage to open the first of Taylor Swift's Eras Tour of five shows, it won’t be her debut at one of the most famous venues in the world. But it will be the first time she’s there with a microphone in hand.
Starting in 2014, Mette toured the world with Pharrell Williams as one of The Baes, his renowned dance troupe. Summer Sonic in Japan, Glastonbury in England and other massive festivals around the globe – Mette has had plenty of opportunities to perform in front of tens of thousands.
But when she becomes part of the Eras Tour lineage on June 21, it will be different.
“I’m going to be so present on that stage,” she says. “Twenty-five minutes is going to go by fast.”
Mette’s debut EP, “METTENARRATIVE,” arrived last fall and launched the world-beat-pop single, “Mama’s Eyes,” which earned her a prestigious Ivor Novello award nomination this year. Her single, “Bet,” is a slice of irresistible dance-pop with a funk groove, and she’s readying the release of three more songs, “Muscle,” “Coming of Age” and “Small World.”
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But despite her quickly thriving musical pivot, she and Swift initially crossed paths when both were exploring a film opportunity – the critically mauled 2019 film version of “Cats.”
So who is Mette and why did Swift choose her for a coveted opening slot?
Mette admires Taylor Swift's ‘creative prowess’
Mette, 33, says the combination of performing at a show with not only the biggest artist in the world, but fellow opening act Paramore is “one of the many incredible circles of life surrounding me right now.”
She recalls attending the Vans Warped Tour in the mid-'00s and seeing Paramore perform and also remembers the year she turned 22 while at a dance camp in Duluth, Minnesota. Swift’s anthem in tribute to her age at the time was ubiquitous on radio and Mette happily bounced on her bed, singing along.
Though she hasn’t seen the Eras Tour live yet – Mette plans to head into the audience as soon as she can after performing – she’s watched key moments online, with a keen eye toward Swift’s dancers as well as the woman in the spotlight.
“Her work ethic, I admire it so much,” Mette says of Swift. “Her creative prowess is unreal. People talk about the fandemonium, but it’s a true passion connecting people around the world and she’s delivering it in a 3 ½-hour show. She’s an athlete.”
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Mette touts the inspiration of Beyoncé and Shakira
Born Mette Towley, she spent her childhood in the small town of Alexandria, Minnesota, and Baltimore, where she attended dance camp and learned about musical theater in movies such as “Singin’ in the Rain.” It’s also where Mette, whose Scandinavian name references her father’s roots, found her “tribe in the performance world.”
Growing up mixed race in a provincial area of the Midwest (her recent song “Darling Drive” harkens to a place where she felt protected by her white father and Black mother but also dealt with “challenging and sometimes unfair” experiences) and then finding comfort in the diversity of artsier Baltimore, Mette refers to her background as “stark intersections.”
She listened to pop and rock, appreciating the brilliance of Prince and also running home from school to watch “TRL” on MTV and be awed by the women owning the video world at the time – Shakira, Destiny’s Child, Nelly Furtado, Gwen Stefani – and soaking in their auras.
Beyoncé and Shakira left impressions on her creative brain and remain idols – Mette can recollect Beyoncé’s “Ring the Alarm” VMAs performance with awed clarity.
“They rent space in my head,” she says with a laugh. “I’m always impressed by artists who continue to evolve and be unbridled by ideas when people say they’re too old or they had a child or whatever. It’s incredible to watch artists I grew up loving continue to strive for excellence.”
‘Barbie’ movie opened Mette’s mind ‘to how fun music can be’
Mette still has a foot in film and appears briefly in the Greta Gerwig blockbuster "Barbie" as Video Girl Barbie, sporting a tuft of long black curls and a hot pink zip-up jacket with zebra-stripe inlays.
She says her current hairstyle is inspired by her celluloid counterpart, but she also gleaned deeper lessons from her monthlong-plus time on set.
“Those costumes were so fun and I accessed a level of camp that informed my video for ‘Van Gogh,’” she says. “Working on that set opened my mind to how fun music can be. I want to be taken seriously, yes, but the fun and the costumes and the hair and the makeup … ‘Barbie’ was just really inspiring for the look I’ve been rocking.”
Mette also recalls quietly watching Gerwig at work and marveling at how the director never raised her voice to make a point.
“The way she would reference a scene in a movie, like ‘The Wizard of Oz,’ she’d draw you in with what was in her brain and bring that out of you. She’s so talented, so smart, such a badass,” Mette says. “I’m so grateful for the people I’ve met in my journey through film and dance and music who are so inspiring, but they can be so humble.”
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Mette’s concert journey continues through the summer
The summer of Mette will continue as she hits the festival circuit in Europe, as well as Lollapalooza in Chicago in August.
Her second EP – home to the aforementioned singles – will be out in a few months and she’s invigorated by the “launching pad” that her moment in the Swift-iverse might bring.
“It’s really incredible to me that all of these seeds I planted are really starting to grow,” Mette says. “There are so many points in my life that are electrifying me and making me believe in my journey.”