Singer/Songwriter Yola’s New Album “Stand for Myself”

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR: “Diamond Studded Shoes,” it’s a wonderful, wonderful song. Great tune but it also comes with a helpful picture, I think, on which it was based, the crystal incrusted shoes of won female British prime minister. Is that right? Was that the inspiration?

YOLA, SINGER/SONGWRITER: That was the inspiration, yes. Theresa May. Probably not often thought of as an inspiration or a muse for music. But, you know, it took a second to the field and was inspired by those shoes. And how incongruous and appropriate they were given the context in which they were being worn, which was to deliver news. That we don’t have any money anymore.

AMANPOUR: You know, it’s really interesting that you say that because I was expecting you to say, she looks so great, she stepped out, she was being, you know, edgy, but you put it right back to, you know, some of the very — I mean, very harsh policies that her government and previous, you know, certainly, conservative governments had that have left kids and women and so many out in the cold. Was that what you were trying to say with that?

YOLA: 100 percent. You almost concluded it for me. Thank you. It was unbelievable and it was the sheer unabashed caucacity (ph) of it all that was to be so proud and marching out, looking so utterly fierce to say, you know how you pay me. Well, yes. Well, I’m wearing the spoils of what I’ve managed to acquire from you. And I’m going to tell you that there’s nothing left because I’ve just spent it. So, Little Tommy is not going to get dinner anymore. And it was just absolutely like infuriating. And I don’t come from everything. A lot of my friends don’t come from anything. And we all have different backgrounds, you know, very mixed friendship group. But like the one thing we have in common is that it was — it felt like they were taking the mickey (ph). And so, yes, like that song just jumped out to me.