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Ruth Koleva | Pushing To End Slut-Shaming In “All The Guys"

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Ruth Koleva Wearing Ji Won Choi ![Ruth Koleva Wearing Ji Won Choi](https://assets-global.website-files.com/62ee0bbe0c783a903ecc0ddb/6472d1b1cfd948e79655b163_Ruth%2BKoleva%2Bx%2BJi%2BWon%2BChoi%2B10%2BFLAUNT.jpeg) Ruth Koleva Wearing Ji Won Choi [Ruth Koleva](https://www.instagram.com/ruthkoleva/?hl=en) is a powerhouse singer with a whole lot to say. Carving her own lane of electro-soul-pop, the Bulgarian-born, New York City-based musician, model, and activist carries an unwavering passion for music, fashion, and activism—covering topics from LGBTQ+ rights, to female empowerment to body positivity.   When it comes to equal rights and different social issues she finds important, Ruth has been doing her part for 6 years and counting, describing it as “it’s very interconnected with my personality.” Carrying that same energy into her music, the rising star prides herself in creating timeless, ageless, genre-inclusive records, using her voice and platform to continue to push the narrative. Following her previous singles “Candy Coated,” “Life Of The Party,” and “On My Way,” Ruth returns with her fourth single titled “All The Guys.” Dedicated entirely to the stereotypes and pressures placed on women today, the record holds fans over until the release of her forthcoming EP. _Flaunt_ caught up with Ruth via Zoom, who was located in her home city of Sofia, Bulgaria, also the capital. Read below as we discuss her current reality TV show, biggest influences, the inspiration behind “All The Guys,” studio essentials, tying in fashion, her forthcoming album, and more! Ruth Koleva x Ji Won Choi 3 FLAUNT.JPG ![Ruth Koleva x Ji Won Choi 3 FLAUNT.JPG](https://assets-global.website-files.com/62ee0bbe0c783a903ecc0ddb/6472d1b1cfd948e79655b167_Ruth%2BKoleva%2Bx%2BJi%2BWon%2BChoi%2B3%2BFLAUNT.jpeg) **What are you currently filming?** I’m doing a TV show called _The Cherry on Top_, a reality show where 5 celebrities have dinners together every night. The host cooks for everyone and then we rate each other. It's been a very nice group of people. In my group this week, I have the acro pilot/base jumper, Veso Ovcharov. who’s one of the best in the world. I've been dying to meet him for a long time now. It’s really a privilege to be together. It’s been fun, a little hectic because we start filming around 3pm until almost 11pm.  **That’s exciting though!** Thank you, I’ve done this show before a few years back in a different season and I actually won. I cooked well enough and they gave me the best course in the all-star season. I’m cooking last this week so it's high expectations, I’m not really well prepared to be honest. \[laughs\] Hopefully I’ll do something cool. I brought some ingredients from New York, trying to be exotic about it, maybe do a North Thai dinner or something. **You were born and raised in Bulgaria, correct?**  I was born in Bulgaria but I was raised in different countries in Asia. I grew up in India, Thailand, and Bahrain where my dad was coaching the weightlifting national teams of these countries. He’s an Olympic and 2x World and European champion so I was very privileged in that sense. I was able to experience different cultures from a very early age. That broadened up my perception of the world. Growing up in India from when I was 4 until 6, I was perceiving my environment as my natural habitat, doing everything the Indian kids around me were doing. That’s early 90’s where the digital era wasn’t happening, I couldn’t distinguish that I’m from a different place. I felt totally natural there. Growing up in all these different places made me more of a world citizen. **How does that influence your music?** The fact I grew up in a small country that was communist for nearly 40 years did influence my music a lot. I was one of the first generations of democracy. We didn't experience proper democracy until I was 17, when we got into the European Union. That really changed the game of opportunities. I was able to create a bridge between music and activism. I’m a person with different interests, but music in my language and way of expression.  **Biggest influences growing up?** My mom was playing a lot of jazz music when I was young, that was the forbidden music back in the communist era. Biggest influences were Nat King Cole, Ella Fitzgerald, and Billie Holiday. She used to play a lot of Edith Piaf, a French singer in our house. She’d teach me how to sing and what words mean and teach me how to play the piano. Music was always a part of my upbringing. When my parents divorced around the age of 10, that was my way to escape the harsh reality of being a child of divorced parents going through a very ugly separation process, to be honest. I was being bullied, kids in school weren’t supportive. They weren’t really nice to me. Music really helped me isolate myself and find my way to express my feelings. **How therapeutic was it to write “All The Guys”?** Music’s always been my medicine, the way to heal my soul. “All The Guys” is very deep because it’s not only about all of my experiences with guys, with men. In general, I have great experiences with the male individuals around me. My father’s a great role model, I have 2 brothers, I have a twin brother. All the band members in my music band are guys, we’ve been together for almost 12 years. It's more about how I’ve experienced being treated as a woman in society throughout the years.  I’ve had a few very rough experiences in which I was shamed for decisions I made, for wanting to stand up for myself, to be who I am and be proud of my decisions. Stand my ground in a way. I was shamed and humiliated by a guy for not fitting the ideal woman criteria. I realized in time that’s something very common. Even in very liberal and developed societies, that happens to so many women. They experience being shamed and humiliated for not being a perfect woman. I wrote this song to embrace the idea of women being able to stand by our decisions, to give voice to anyone anywhere who’s been a victim of shaming. To raise awareness on the issue and topic that it doesn't matter what your decisions are, no one has the right to blame you, to demonize you, to shame you for who you are. A woman’s business is the woman’s business, there isn't a single guy out there that can tell you what to do.  **Talk about reeling in your love for fashion as well.** The video itself is a fashionable statement itself. We were able to create this beautiful costume with the director who’s a very creative person, they’re very into fashion and art. We wanted to give a modern redinition of the La Vie en Rose idea of “he loves me, he loves me”. I've always been keen on supporting fashion brands with a statement. The fashion industry is not only one of the biggest industries in the world, but it's one of the most ecologically damaging industries. I want to support designers and fashion artists doing something sustainable with a message, and support female designers creating something unique and speaking out with their fashion/art towards the issues I care about. We recently did a collaboration with a brand called Ji Won Choi. A very beautiful brand, very interesting designer, very interesting story she has herself that I resonate with. Music is a great way for the arts to unite. Cinematography with music and fashion is a very good recipe for something beautiful and creative.  **How was the music video shoot during COVID? What were you trying to convey?** We shot it in the summer a few months back in a very beautiful location, thank God during a time where COVID was practically “gone”. We did take all precautions. Everything went well, no spike in cases around us. We’re very cautious because we had an elderly woman in our video we filmed. A little about the symbolism of the flower petals—we have this anxious young woman picking up the flower like “oh my gosh this person I’m thinking of right now, does he love me?” All these anxieties we go through in our youth. The elderly lady at the end takes all these petals of the flowers, puts them in a bucket and throws all the problems and anxieties out of the window.  From the distance of time, that translates to such a wise thing. Even now from my age when I look back 10 years ago about a situation that I was so traumatized by a relationship. I was really anxious thinking, what are they feeling towards me? Is this going to happen, not going to happen? Does this person love me? That seems so silly right now. It's funny, a bunch of rubbish. We translated that from a wider perspective of time where we have me picking all the flowers then we have the elderly woman taking all that and throwing it out. Embraces the fact that all this is a bunch of nonsense. Whatever we’re going through, there’s nothing that can damage us as much as our own thoughts.  **What does women empowerment mean to you?** It's a very important topic because I was predominantly raised by my father, feeling like I’m nothing less than a man. I'm equal. And that's how I was raised to think. I clashed with the harsh reality of seeing that women in many places, in many developed societies are not treated equally. They’re not receiving equal pay, not receiving equal treatment. It's a long fight and we still need to fight for that. Even Roe v. Wade is in danger right now in the States of being overturned. We need to stay strong and stay together, talk about this however we can. My tool of expression is music so I take all the measures and all the access I have to speak out. It’s really really important not only for us as grown up women, but for the young girls currently growing up. They need to follow an example. We need to show them we’re fighting not only for ourselves, but for them as the generations to come.  **One thing you want fans to get from “On My Way”?** “On My Way” is a song I dedicate to a very important issue: domestic violence. Unfortunately during COVID, we saw a huge spike in domestic violence cases throughout everywhere in the world. Every fourth woman in the world has been a victim of domestic violence. So many people know something, they hear something, the neighbours, the friends, the relatives, and they let it slide. It's such a big problem to me that everyone turns a blind eye. Even seeing how many women die every year from domestic violence hasn't changed a lot of the perception and people’s mentalities towards this.  Me having the tool of music to raise awareness on the issue, I find very much important that I speak out about this. I’ve seen this firsthand, even experienced it myself. You can feel like the loneliest person, but there's always hope. Women in that situation really need encouragement and music’s a great way to deliver a message of hope without putting someone in danger. Sometimes even thinking or talking about this with friends can cause some sort of problem or issue in the domestic environment. Music’s a great way to encourage these women to find the strength the leave.  **3 things you need in the studio?** I always need a microphone, that's the most important thing. I’m picky about my equipment. I really like working with people I know, who are aware of my energy and my behavior. I really want to be myself and express myself properly in the studio. Not “ehh, is this tone going to sound fine?” It's really important who you’re surrounded with when you're recording, I prefer working with people I already know. I need a coffee, I need my phone. \[laughs\] Sometimes I need to find distractions. I always need a piece of paper and a pen, I’m old school. I like writing ideas currently going through my mind when I'm recording because that's how ideas are born.  **What can we expect from your forthcoming album?** The idea for this album was to be called _All The Guys_ because that summarized my experiences in the last few years, everything I went through on a personal and professional level is in a way interconnected with that song. We had to delay the release because of the pandemic. Things are changing emotionally for me so I’m not 100% sure. The album’s a great mixture between pop, a little bit of rhythm and blues, a little bit of neo-soul, styles and genres that have influenced me throughout the years. We have a new single coming out after the new year. The best songs on that record are still not released. Even though we’re in lockdown, people aren’t filming or recording a lot. I was very fortunate to be able to put all my ducks in a row, be able to really nail amazing videos and amazing content. The best is yet to come.