Dalmatian
Viji Interview
by Joseph McCain
28 April 2026
Where did the name Viji come from?
I wanted to do something that was related to my actual name. My birth name is Vanilla Jenner, so I kind of just took the initials V and J, and put two eyes in between; it's a little timeless.
Your real name is Vanilla?
Yes, it's from an album called Vanilla by this Irish folk band called Blowzabella. My dad thought that's a pretty name for his future daughter, I guess.
Was it intentional that you've been dropping less the past couple of years?
It wasn't necessarily intentional. I dropped an album with my producer's label, and after that, I was touring a lot and writing. I was kind of stuck waiting on a lot of motions, so in the end, I just started self-releasing again, because I want to keep putting out music.
Politics. What are your thoughts on releasing, like a single versus a full project?
I prefer releasing a project because I've always liked listening to albums. But the way it's set up with streaming right now, when you do a single, it tends to reach more people than if you drop an album. There are usually some songs that, because of everybody's listening habits nowadays, where they just like cherry-pick what they like without actually looking at the whole thing, there are things that can get lost. So sometimes it's more rewarding to release singles after singles, but I'm definitely an album girly.
Are you making one right now?
Yes! I've written a lot, so hopefully.
Do you have a person in mind when you're writing?
Most of the songs that are easy to write are from personal experiences. Or sometimes I start writing something that I think is personal, and then I later realize that it was about my friend's situation. But I think it's very heavily drawn from real-life things that happen, or also things that move me, like movies. I used to do more movie-based stuff, but it definitely comes from a very personal perspective.
What's your favorite movie?
Oh, that's extremely hard, because I used to watch a movie like every single night growing up. I’d look at Sundance selections every year and watch every single movie. I never had a Letterboxd, but I just recently made one. But then I was like, damn, all of the movies that I already had seen are not on there, so now I’m re-watching some of the movies. I can't tell you a single movie right now, but my favorites are more independent coming-of-age or ones with a good plot twist.
I just watched Arrival.
That's definitely in the top three, I think. I love Amy Adams, especially now in her adult acting career.
Your recent single feels more grungy than some of your past pop ones. Was it intentional?
It's funny, because when I was writing it, I was thinking it’s really poppy. Now everyone has been talking to me about how the guitars are so heavy. But I think the melodies are very poppy, and the melodies and the harmonies are very cutesy. So no, it's definitely not intentional; it's just whatever the song shapes up to be. But I don't consciously think about it so much.
Viji on Instagram
I’ll Make It Easier on Spotify and Apple Music.