Violet Grohl has spoken candidly about her outlook on fame, creativity, and mortality, saying she has “always been fascinated by death” in a new interview with Hotpress Magazine discussing her debut album Be Sweet To Me.
The 19-year-old musician, daughter of Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl, addressed the attention surrounding her background and so-called “nepo baby” label in an interview with The Forty-Five, saying she has long accepted the privileges that come with her family name.
Dave Grohl. L Paul Mann, Shutterstock
She made clear she does not see the criticism as something worth engaging with.
“Obviously, doors are open for me because of my last name,” she said in the interview with The Forty-Five. “It’s not something I’m ever going to hide behind or say, ‘No, I worked so hard for this! You guys shouldn’t say that! That hurts my feelings.’ I don’t care — I really don’t. I’ve heard that since I was 13 years old.”
Grohl added that she would prefer audiences to judge her work on its own merit.
“Call me a nepo baby all you want. It’s ‘whatever’ to me. I just hope that eventually people will give me a shot. Come listen to my music and then you can decide for yourself if I’m worthy of this career or not.”
Her debut album Be Sweet To Me reflects a wide range of influences, including alternative rock acts such as Pixies, The Breeders and PJ Harvey, and was recorded with producer Justin Raisen alongside a rotating group of studio musicians.
Grohl described the shift from writing alone to working in a live studio environment as both challenging and creatively energising.
“Moving from the environment I was used to, which was really me by myself with my computer, and then going to being in an actual studio with a bunch of people was really shocking, but really fun in a good way,” she told Hotpress Magazine.
The album also explores more personal and darker themes, including songs inspired by supernatural experiences and reflections on mortality.
One track, Applefish, was shaped by what Grohl described as a distressing real-life incident during recording, which led her to process the experience through songwriting.
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“I’ve always been very fascinated by the macabre and by mortality and death,” she said in an exclusive interview with Hotpress Magazine.
“I’ve never found it scary. I’ve always found it very interesting and just a part of nature.”
She explained that music has long served as her primary way of processing difficult emotions, rather than traditional journaling or direct expression.
“It’s always been moments that have been really heavy. I’ve always turned to songwriting instead of journaling,” she said.
Grohl added that her early interest in writing music began as a teenager while travelling with her father, recalling experimenting with a ukulele during time spent on tour.
“I just thought: ‘Well, I can maybe try to write something down or figure out a chord progression,’” she said.
Despite the introspective themes of the album, Grohl said she is ultimately unconcerned with how it is received, emphasising that she simply wants listeners to engage with music in whatever way feels meaningful to them.
“People can love it, they can hate it. I don’t really care,” she said.
