A new popstar has arrived. Robert Baxter is the non-binary Taiwanese/Australian musician and model. With a background in dance and impeccable pop influences, they are one to watch. We first saw Baxter open for Blusher at the end of 2025, where they put on a captivating live show at Oxford Art Factory, and we have since had their music in our pure pop rotation. As they release the new hard hitting single MUSIC 2 MY EARS, we met the rising icon to discuss the inspiration behind being Robert Baxter and what's next:

We're obsessed with you and your music! Before we begin, give us the Robert Baxter lowdown. When did you begin making music? Why? And what’s your star sign?!

Well first of all, okay taste!!! Thank you for having me <3 I believe I've been destined for stardom since I was born. I was dancing as soon as I could walk, started off with Elmo, and by the time I was nine I was really into Lady Gaga. I bought this poster of her where she was topless and my dad was like hey you can wait till you’re 16 to put that one up please? He took me to the concert though so he supported my path to fame in all the other ways. I’m a Pisces and I feel like that really comes out in my life and my songwriting because I can't keep my emotions down, when I’m feeling a strong emotion I want to write about it, if I feel like somebody is being a bad person I want to say something. I think some of the Pisces I’ve met are really emotionally intelligent and others are just emotional, I can’t speak for all of them.

Who are the core Robert Baxter musical influences?

My OG holy trinity of musical influences are Lady Gaga the Black Eyed Peas and Britney Spears. Their albums from the late 2000s (The Fame, The E.N.D. and Blackout) made me fall in love with music in a personal way, they’re innovative and cheeky and self referential and sexy and fun. I also love SZA, Doja Cat and JENNIE, love to see not only what they release but the looks and the videos and how they design their worlds.

We love your new single MUSIC 2 MY EARS. Tell us about the genesis of this song and what was inspiring you?

Thank you! I love it too. I was dating someone who made things that I thought could be quite simple, a bit complicated. I think because I have a lot of big decisions to make in my career, I try to make every other part of my life really simple and easy if I can. So I wrote a song about the idea of somebody saying yes to everything you want. They're so excited by you that they say yes in four different languages and that makes you feel sexy and like giving them some love. So really it's a fantasy, just like Robert Baxter is.

What’s your songwriting process? Where do you begin? 

My favourite way to write is when a producer (who gets the vision) is sitting in the chair producing the track as I sit next to them and write it because I think bouncing melodies off each other and being inspired by what each other is doing is a great way to really lock the vocal and the instrumental together, I don't want it to sound like I sung over a random track. Sometimes I’ll do both jobs.

Who do you work with who helps to shape the sonic world of Robert Baxter?

I made M2ME with Sweatbaby who is an amazing collaborator, he really gets the dance world and shapes things in a way that's built for the club and you know I'm always down for a club track. He's a really talented producer and he's only been releasing for about a year and we made ICY (TAKE IT OFF) and MUSIC 2 MY EARS really quickly, the flow was really nice and we have a lot of trust in each other. I also work with Keelan Mak a lot of different ways and he mixed my vocals for this track.

We love your live show and your look. Is fashion important to you? Do you have style icons?

Thank you! I love fashion, I always wanted to wear things no one else had as a kid, I would wear board shorts as regular shorts just so I wasn’t wearing the same denim shorts as everyone else. I think that people come to my show to see a fantasy and I want to deliver on that. I’m inspired by a lot of girl groups whether that is Pussycat Dolls, Destiny’s Child or BLACKPINK, they know how to keep everyone on theme but keep it fresh. I guess on tour I think of each show outfit as a different person in the same girl group. I really found a silhouette that accentuates my features and doesn’t get caught on shit it’s perfect!

What inspires your visual world? Movies, books etc?

My visual world is inspired by fashion and movies for sure, I love the camp extravagance of Michelle Pfeiffer as Catwoman and Uma Thurman as Poison Ivy in those batman movies, I’ve styled myself in looks inspired by The Matrix, and I generally love dystopian fantasy sci-fi type of references. When I walk fashion week as a model I'm always taking notes on which designers I love wearing (especially local and emerging ones) so I can work with them in the future. It also keeps me clued in on what pieces the stylists in Naarm/Melbourne are choosing and that inspires me, they're taste makers in an already really well dressed city.

Which other rising Australian artists are you excited about?

I love love love Miss Kaninna, Brazen Barbie and DEVAURA, three epic rap/rnb girls from Aus, such a sleek sound and so ready to go global. I love when I’m listening and thinking wow this is a great song and then I see it’s Australian and I’m even more excited and proud that our country can be represented by these new exciting voices.

What’s something important to you - aside from music - that you would like to use your growing platform for?

I’m always fighting for diverse voices to be heard, and diverse faces to be seen. The media could be selling the same old stories, same old songs, same old taste, same old rules from the majority and continue on that way. Or interesting new perspectives, music, taste, style and rule breaking comes from the voices of trans, queer, poc people, or people from any underrepresented community, because they’ve been heard from less, and they had to shed versions of themselves to work out how to live in this country, that’s a lot of growing to do and a lot of lessons to learn.

What’s next?

I’m going global, I’m going to play shows, collaborate with new artists, make art and get inspired. Can’t wait to share it all with you <3

Listen to Robert Baxter HERE.

@robertbaxtr