Alisa Xayalith needed to go solo to reclaim her narrative

Roots and resilience

Xayalith’s story begins in South Auckland, where her parents rebuilt their lives after fleeing Laos in the aftermath of the Vietnam War. Her father, a political refugee who has never returned to Laos after escaping in the 1970s, worked tirelessly in various roles to provide for the family. Her mother grounded them with warm, home-cooked meals of sticky rice, jerky, and coconut noodle soups. “We didn't even have a dining table for years,” Xayalith recalls. “We’d sit on the floor to eat [in traditional Lao fashion]. But it felt like home.”

Despite her parents’ sacrifices and being the middle child among seven siblings, the 38-year-old Xayalith often felt invisible. “Music was my way of navigating the world and coping,” she reflects. “Singing is a very somatic thing to do. Without me realizing it, it was very healing.” Music became her way to process the challenges of growing up amid cultural expectations and hardships.

Even as a child, she was determined to follow her passion. “I remember being a kid, looking through the Yellow Pages after I wrote my first couple of songs and thinking, ‘How do I record music?’” she says. “I found a studio and called them—just this kid trying to figure it out.” That determination carried her forward, despite frequent moves and the strain of her father's gambling addiction.

A pivotal moment arrived when she enrolled in a government-funded music school in New Zealand. “I had this ambition to learn more about performing, guitar, and songwriting,” she says. There, she met Tom Powers and Aaron Short, with whom she co-founded The Naked and Famous. Their breakthrough track, “Young Blood,” went platinum and debuted at number one on the New Zealand charts. “I thought, ‘Wow, I guess I’m pretty good at this,’” she says.

Music not only gave her a voice but also a way to be seen. What began as an act of survival grew into a calling.

Watching her parents navigate their struggles instilled in her a determination to create something meaningful. Music not only gave her a voice but also a way to be seen. What began as an act of survival grew into a calling.

The Naked and Famous: A hiatus for evolution

When Xayalith stepped onto the global stage with The Naked and Famous, her voice was radiant and commanding, anchoring the band’s electropop anthems. Tracks like “Young Blood” and “Punching in a Dream” captured a generation’s yearning, becoming synonymous with indie-electronic exuberance. Yet, even at the height of the band’s success, she felt a pull toward something quieter and more introspective.

Alisa Xayalith sang for The Naked and Famous for a decade before the band went on hiatus during the pandemic.

Frances Carter

She poured her heart into the band for a decade. “I gave it my all, invested my entire life into this project,” she says. But when COVID-19 disrupted the world, it offered a chance for reflection. “I was able to reexamine my life and what I wanted to do with the time that I was given.”

The pandemic provided the opportunity to take a break from The Naked and Famous, now on hiatus, and to focus on herself creatively. “I wasn’t feeling great about who I was as an artist and a band member. So I listened to my gut and decided to reconnect with the part of myself that I felt like I’d lost,” Xayalith says.

This reconnection began during the creation of Recover, the band’s final album, when she started experimenting with solo songwriting. The result of her solo songwriting is music that balances her gift for shimmering melodies with a more intimate touch—a stark evolution from the anthems of her past. “It felt like the perfect opportunity to fortify myself creatively,” she reflects. In this current introspective phase, Xayalith is carving out space for her own voice.

A solo journey: Artistic liberation

Xayalith’s solo work represents a pivot toward vulnerability. Her debut EP Superpowers, released in 2022, hinted at this shift with tracks like “High Fidelity,” blending ethereal synths with introspective lyrics. Collaborating with producers like Tyler Spry and Benjamin Francis Leftwich, she explored themes of love, resilience, and identity on her own terms. “I had to learn to advocate for myself, to trust my instincts,” she says.

Her recent singles build on this foundation. “Ordinary Love,” co-written with Leftwich and released this fall, celebrates everyday moments in relationships. “Boys & Guitars” dives into nostalgia, reflecting on youthful infatuations with musicians. In “Roses,” released this summer, she uses garden imagery to explore growth and perseverance.