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Learning how to get ketchup out of clothes is one of those skills you pick up the hard way, usually at a summer barbecue, usually on something you care about, always at the worst possible moment.

Mine was a July Fourth burger. One squeeze too many, a broken bottle seal, and suddenly my white Oxford had a bright red stripe across the chest. I grabbed a napkin and rubbed. That was mistake number one.

Here’s the thing about ketchup stains that most guides don’t bother to explain: ketchup isn’t just watery tomato sauce. It behaves differently on fabric, sets faster, and has one component that most tomato-based stains don’t have. If you treat it the same way you’d treat marinara, you’ll get worse results. I know because I tested both, deliberately, on the same fabrics, side by side.

I ran the same systematic testing I used for tomato sauce and red wine: stained fresh shirts, let some dry, put some through the dryer, tested every method I could find, and ranked them honestly.

Here’s what I learned.

Why Ketchup Stains Differently Than Tomato Sauce

Most people assume ketchup and tomato sauce are essentially the same stain. They share the same lycopene pigment, the same red color, the same basic tomato base. But ketchup has two ingredients that change how it behaves on fabric, and understanding them changes how you treat it.

Sugar: Ketchup contains significantly more sugar than tomato sauce. Most commercial ketchups are around 25% sugar by weight. A single tablespoon of Heinz contains 4 grams of sugar, which adds up quickly when a real spill hits fabric. Sugar is hygroscopic, meaning it pulls moisture from the air and bonds tightly with fabric fibers. More critically, sugar caramelizes when exposed to heat, which means a ketchup stain that goes through a warm or hot wash, or any time in the dryer before it’s fully removed, can turn brown and bond to fabric at a molecular level. This is why speed matters more with ketchup than almost any other condiment stain.

Vinegar: Ketchup already contains acetic acid, the same compound as white vinegar. This slightly aids the breakdown of the lycopene pigment, but it also means the stain’s pH is already working against you, accelerating how quickly the pigment cures into natural fibers like cotton and linen.

Lycopene (the red pigment): Shared with tomato sauce. Fat-soluble, water-resistant, requires a surfactant like dish soap or an oxidizer like hydrogen peroxide to break the bond with fabric fibers. The same orange ghost stain you see after washing tomato sauce is the same residual lycopene you’ll get with ketchup if you don’t treat it properly.

According to the American Cleaning Institute, ketchup and tomato-based stains should be treated by running cold water through the back of the stain as quickly as possible to force it back out through the fabric, not from the front, which drives it deeper. Understanding the sugar and lycopene chemistry is what makes that advice make sense.

The practical upshot: ketchup needs faster action and is less forgiving of heat than tomato sauce. Everything else carries over directly: the scrape-first rule, the cold water flush, the method hierarchy.

Scrape First: The Golden Rule for Every Ketchup Stain

This is where most people go wrong. Ketchup lands on your shirt and the instinct is to grab whatever’s nearby and wipe. Don’t. Wiping spreads the stain sideways and pushes it deeper into the fabric weave, turning a manageable spot into a much larger problem.

Instead, scrape. Use a spoon, the dull edge of a butter knife, or the edge of a credit card. Lift the ketchup off the surface rather than pressing it in. Work from the outside edge of the stain toward the center so you’re not pushing it outward as you go.

Then run cold water through the back of the stain, not the front. Pushing water from behind forces the ketchup back out through the fibers the same way it entered. This is the single most effective physical step you can take before applying any treatment.

My time test: I stained five shirts and treated them at 2 minutes, 10 minutes, 30 minutes, 2 hours, and 6 hours. The 2-minute shirt came out completely clean with dish soap alone. The 6-hour shirt still had a faint pink-orange tinge after three full treatment cycles. With ketchup specifically, every minute counts more than with tomato sauce because of that sugar content.

How to Get Ketchup Out of Clothes: 5 Methods Tested and Ranked

How to Get Dried Ketchup Out of Clothes

Dried ketchup is harder to remove than fresh but not impossible. The sugar content is what changes the equation. Dried ketchup has essentially become a sticky, partially caramelized film on top of the fabric, and you need to rehydrate it before any treatment will work.

Step 1: Scrape off the dried crust carefully with a spoon or butter knife. Lift rather than press down. Dried ketchup is brittle and will flake off if you’re patient.

Step 2: Soak the stained area in cold water for 15 to 20 minutes to rehydrate the stain fully.

Step 3: Apply dish soap and work it in firmly. You can be more aggressive with a dried stain than a fresh one. Let it sit 10 minutes, then rinse.

Step 4: Apply your main treatment: hydrogen peroxide and dish soap for white fabrics, or a one to three hour OxiClean soak for colors. Extend your soak time compared to a fresh stain.

Step 5: Be prepared to repeat the full cycle two to three times. Dried ketchup rarely comes out in one pass.

For stains that have been sitting more than a day, I’ve had the best results doing an initial dish soap pass, letting it air dry, then going back in with the hydrogen peroxide treatment on white fabrics or a longer OxiClean soak on colors. The two-pass approach consistently outperforms a single aggressive treatment on old stains.

What If It Already Went Through the Dryer?

This is the hardest scenario and the one most people quietly give up on. The dryer’s heat has caramelized the ketchup’s sugar content and set the lycopene pigment more deeply into the fabric. You’re dealing with a fundamentally different stain chemistry than what you started with.

The honest truth: heat-set ketchup stains have about a 60% removal rate in my testing, lower than heat-set tomato sauce because of the sugar component. But it’s worth trying before you write the garment off.

Step 1: Scrape off any surface residue. Apply dish soap and work it in firmly for three to five minutes, longer than you’d spend on a fresh stain.

Step 2: Soak the entire garment in an OxiClean solution overnight, eight hours minimum. The extended soak time gives the oxygen ions maximum time to work through the set stain.

Step 3: For white fabrics, apply the hydrogen peroxide and dish soap mixture after the soak, before washing. This second oxidation pass often breaks through what the OxiClean loosened.

Step 4: Air dry only. Never back in the dryer until the stain is definitively gone. For heat-set stains, expect two to four treatment rounds.

If you’re still seeing a ghost stain on white fabric after all of this, hang the damp garment in direct sunlight for two to four hours. UV light acts as a natural oxidizer and can clear residual lycopene that chemical treatments have already weakened.

How to Get Ketchup Out of White Clothes

White fabrics are both the easiest and the most unforgiving ketchup scenario. Easiest because you have the full arsenal available: hydrogen peroxide, extended soaks, and sunlight. Most unforgiving because any residual pink or orange tinge is immediately obvious against white.

The hydrogen peroxide and dish soap combination (3 parts peroxide, 1 part blue Dawn) is your primary weapon. Apply it as soon as possible after the initial cold water flush and dish soap pre-treatment. If you catch the stain within two minutes, one treatment is often all you need.

For a stain that’s been sitting longer, apply the hydrogen peroxide mixture and extend the soak to 45 minutes before rinsing and laundering. Check carefully in good light before drying, as the stain may look gone when wet but reveal a faint ghost once dry.

For ghost stains that survive washing, hang the garment damp in direct sunlight for two to four hours. UV light acts as a natural oxidizer and is remarkably effective at breaking down residual lycopene that chemical treatments have already weakened. This is the same trick that works on tomato sauce, and it works for the same reason: lycopene is sensitive to UV oxidation. It only works while the fabric is still damp, so don’t let it dry first.

One thing to avoid on white cotton: chlorine bleach. It can yellow white fabric over time and is far more aggressive than the stain requires. Hydrogen peroxide gets there without the risk.

How to Remove Ketchup Stains by Fabric Type

The method matters, but the fabric matters just as much. Here’s what I found works best per fabric:

Cotton and cotton blends: The most forgiving. Handles hydrogen peroxide, OxiClean, and vinegar soaks equally well. Multiple treatment cycles won’t damage the fabric, so you can be persistent.

Jeans and denim: Denim’s tight weave keeps ketchup closer to the surface than open-weave fabrics, which actually helps. Dish soap and a vinegar soak usually handles fresh stains. Avoid hot water, which fades denim unevenly on top of setting the stain.

Linen: Linen’s open weave allows ketchup to penetrate quickly. Act immediately. Extended OxiClean soaks (three to five hours) work best for colored linen. Hydrogen peroxide and sunlight for white linen.

Polyester and synthetics: Synthetic fibers don’t absorb liquid as readily, so ketchup tends to sit closer to the surface. Dish soap alone often handles a fresh stain on polyester. Add a vinegar soak for anything that resists.

Silk: Avoid hydrogen peroxide entirely, as it can permanently damage silk fibers. Don’t scrub. Blot as much as possible, then take it to a dry cleaner. If treating at home: cold water with a very small amount of gentle detergent (like Woolite), soak no more than five minutes, rinse very gently.

Wool and cashmere: Hand wash only in cold water with a specialty wool detergent. No agitation. For anything valuable, professional cleaning is the safest call. Never put wool in the dryer.

Ketchup vs. Other Condiment Stains: What Changes

If you’ve landed here after a broader condiment disaster, here’s how ketchup compares to its table companions. The chemistry differences are real and change what you reach for first.

Mustard: The hardest condiment stain to remove, by a significant margin. Mustard contains turmeric, which is literally a fabric dye that has been used for centuries. Once mustard dries and sets, especially through heat, it can be near-impossible to remove completely. Treat it even faster than ketchup, and use hydrogen peroxide on white fabrics immediately. Don’t wait for the dish soap pass first.

BBQ Sauce: Ketchup’s more complicated cousin. BBQ sauce shares the lycopene and sugar components but adds a smoke and molasses layer that makes it stickier and harder to lift. The double stain (tomato pigment plus caramelized sugars) means an enzyme cleaner or OxiClean soak is almost always necessary. Dish soap alone won’t get there.

Hot Sauce: Easier than ketchup overall. Hot sauce is mostly capsaicin and vinegar with minimal oil and less lycopene, which means it responds well to dish soap and a vinegar soak. The main variable is artificial food coloring, which some hot sauces contain. If the sauce is an unnatural red or orange, treat it as a dye stain and reach for OxiClean.

Tomato Sauce and Marinara: Similar chemistry to ketchup but with more oil and less sugar. Ketchup sets faster because of the sugar content, but tomato sauce is often harder to fully clear because of the higher oil layer. See our full guide to getting tomato sauce out of clothes for a complete breakdown.

What Definitely Doesn’t Work

My Step-by-Step Emergency Protocol

Based on everything I tested, here’s the exact sequence I follow now. I keep a version of this taped inside my laundry room cabinet alongside the one for tomato sauce and red wine.

Step 1: Scrape off excess ketchup with a spoon or card edge. Don’t rub. If you’re away from home, blot gently with a napkin from the outside edge inward.

Step 2: Run cold water through the back of the stain immediately. This is the most important physical step and the one most people skip when they’re flustered.

Step 3: Apply blue Dawn directly to the stain, work in gently with fingertips for two minutes. Rinse with cold water.

Step 4: White fabric gets the hydrogen peroxide and dish soap mixture (3:1 ratio), left to sit 20 to 30 minutes. Colored fabric gets a white vinegar soak (one part vinegar, two parts cold water) for 20 to 30 minutes, or an OxiClean soak if the stain has been sitting longer than 30 minutes.

Step 5: Launder in cold water with your regular detergent.

Step 6: Check the stain in good light with the fabric stretched flat before drying. Any trace remaining? Repeat Steps 4 and 5 before it goes anywhere near the dryer.

The Stain-Fighting Kit Worth Keeping Stocked

The same kit I assembled after my red wine testing handles ketchup, tomato sauce, and pretty much every other food stain I’ve thrown at it. Here’s what’s in it:

• Hydrogen peroxide (3%, standard drugstore bottle)
• Blue Dawn dish soap (small dedicated bottle for stain use)
• White vinegar (in a spray bottle for easy targeted application)
• OxiClean Versatile Stain Remover (for colored fabric soaks and stubborn stains)
• Enzyme-based stain remover spray (for on-the-go treatment and older stains)
• Clean white cloths or old t-shirt scraps for blotting
• A dull-edged spatula or old credit card for scraping

Total cost: under $20. If you’re looking to expand your cleaning approach with natural, non-toxic solutions around the home, this kit doubles as a starting point for that too.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does ketchup stain permanently?
Not if you treat it quickly. Fresh ketchup stains caught within the first few minutes are very removable. The risk of permanence increases significantly with time, heat, and especially if the garment goes through the dryer before the stain is fully gone. Ketchup’s sugar content makes it more heat-sensitive than most food stains, so the dryer warning is especially important here.

Can I get ketchup out after it’s dried?
Yes, often. Rehydrate the dried stain with a cold water soak for 15 to 20 minutes before applying any treatment. Don’t try to apply soap or vinegar to a completely dry, crusted stain. It won’t penetrate properly. Once rehydrated, follow the dried stain protocol above. Expect two to three treatment rounds.

Why does ketchup leave an orange stain after washing?
That orange residue is lycopene, the fat-soluble pigment that gives ketchup its red color. Regular washing won’t remove it because laundry detergent alone can’t break down a fat-soluble compound bonded to fabric fibers. You need an oxidizer to target the lycopene specifically: hydrogen peroxide for white fabrics, OxiClean or an enzyme remover for colors.

Is it safe to use hydrogen peroxide on colored clothes?
No. Hydrogen peroxide has a bleaching effect and will permanently lighten or spot colored fabrics. For anything that isn’t white or near-white, use the white vinegar soak or an OxiClean soak instead. If you’re unsure whether a fabric is colorfast, test a hidden area first.

Does the treatment change for different types of ketchup?
Slightly. Low-sugar or no-sugar ketchups set a little more slowly, so you have a slightly larger time window. Organic ketchups without added vinegar may respond even better to the vinegar soak since there’s less acid already in the stain. Spicy or flavored ketchups sometimes contain oil-based additives, in which case a more aggressive dish soap pre-treatment is worth the extra minute.

What about ketchup on jeans or dark clothes?
Dark clothes are actually somewhat forgiving because the stain is less visible. Treat with dish soap first, then a white vinegar soak. Avoid hydrogen peroxide entirely. OxiClean is labeled as color-safe but test a hidden seam first on dark fabrics. The main risk with dark clothing is that repeated soaking can slightly fade the fabric over time. Act fast so you need fewer treatment rounds.

Final Thoughts

Ketchup stains feel urgent because they are urgent. The sugar content means the window between “easily treatable” and “this is going to take real effort” is shorter than with most food stains. But the chemistry isn’t complicated once you understand it, and the treatment sequence is straightforward.

Scrape first. Cold water always. Dish soap for the surface, vinegar or OxiClean for colors, hydrogen peroxide for whites. Check before you dry. That sequence handles the overwhelming majority of ketchup stains completely.

The bigger lesson from testing: the method matters less than the timing. I got better results treating a five-minute-old stain with dish soap alone than I did treating a two-hour-old stain with hydrogen peroxide. Act fast and you’ll almost never lose a shirt to ketchup.

Keep that kit stocked. It takes five minutes to put together and has already saved more shirts in my house than I’d like to admit.

Have a method that worked, or a stain that beat everything you tried? Drop it in the comments. I’m always looking to update these guides.

The post How to Get Ketchup Out of Clothes (What Actually Works) appeared first on Better Living.

story / Jesse Roth

photos/ Juan Flores

Charlotte Sands is striking. The electric blue hair might be the first thing you notice, but it is the way she speaks, thoughtful, self-aware, and completely unfiltered, that keeps you hanging on every word. Originally from Nashville, Sands has built her career in the world of alternative rock while never quite fitting neatly into one box, something that feels reflected in both her music and her personality. As someone who occasionally dyes the tips of my hair bright colors for a month each summer before inevitably chopping it back into a blunt bob, I went into our conversation already a little enamored with how effortlessly cool she seems. Any intimidation quickly disappeared once we started talking, beginning with a shared appreciation for the oddly quaint suburban pockets of Los Angeles’ San Fernando Valley. Charlotte laughed, admitting, “I never thought I’d be a suburbs girl.”

That mix of confidence and self-reflection runs through Satellite her new album, which finds the Nashville-born artist expanding both sonically and emotionally. Written after years of constant touring and the release of her first full-length album “can we start over?”, “Satellite” captures a different chapter for Sands: one defined by stability, experimentation, and a growing trust in her own instincts. When we spoke, we covered everything from meticulous promotion strategies and genre fluidity to Pinterest vision boards and the quiet confidence that comes with finally creating music on your own terms. 

Would you say you’re more Type A or Type B when it comes to promoting your album?

I think I’ve definitely become more Type A over the last few years. I genuinely don’t think I was ever like that before, but it became necessary in my career to learn those skills. Now I love a strategy. I love an Excel sheet. If I could have a slideshow or a Venn diagram of every possible thing, that’s heaven to me. I have pretty intense ADHD, and sometimes the only way I can function is by being overly organized. Everything is like a yarn map in my head. There’s a switch between my creative brain and my business brain, and I’ve learned how to use both.

You wrote “Satellite” after putting out your first full-length album and doing a lot of touring. How much of the aftermath of that period made its way into the process of making this album?

It was interesting because it was the first time I had ever taken real time off from touring. While writing this album, I was actually stable in my normal life and not traveling constantly. I was in a consistent environment, which I had never really had in the last five years.

I also had to learn a new skill. When you’re used to being busy and overstimulated all the time, your body almost stays in reaction mode. You’re constantly thinking, “What’s today going to bring?” Sometimes it’s easier to create from that state of panic than from peace and calm. I had to relearn how to be a writer and figure out how to find inspiration without the chaos. I think it’s just part of getting older.

Your last album title was a question — “can we start over?” — whereas “Satellite” feels very strong and declarative. What’s something you used to question that now you feel more solid about?

During the last project and that phase of my life, I felt like I constantly had to prove myself. As a woman in rock music especially, people are always looking for ways to discredit you — your skills, your work, even your character.

I felt like I needed to prove that I deserved to be here, that I could actually sing, that people should take me seriously. I was always thinking about whether other people would like something or respect it.

Now I feel much more confident experimenting and making different choices. Ironically, I feel more comfortable collaborating with different people and trying different genres because I’m not constantly worried about proving myself anymore.

I remind myself that I can’t create something meaningful for other people unless I’m doing right by myself first. The best music comes from giving myself the freedom to trust my instincts. I owe that to the fans who have been here since day one — the people buying the tickets and the merch. The best way I can give back to them is by making the best music I possibly can, and that only happens when I stop listening to everyone else all the time.

Fluidity of genre is something that consistently appears in your work. Is that something you’re consciously thinking about when you’re making music? For example, did you go into “HUSH” thinking, “I’m going to make a dance song”?

That song is actually funny because I fully wrote it thinking it would be a pitch song. We had been writing heavier, more emotional songs for the album and I was honestly burnt out from digging so deep into myself.

So I said, “Let’s just write something fun. I have this random chorus and it would be fun to write a dance song.” Immediately the guys I was working with were like, “You have to cut this. It’s so catchy.”

But I couldn’t see it at first. I genuinely thought I would never put it out because it didn’t feel like it made sense for me. Then my producer Keith, who worked on most of the album, recorded live drums over the track and sent it back to me. The second I heard it I knew exactly what the song should be.

Sometimes in a session you know immediately what a song is going to be. Other times you have to sit with it. A lot of the time I’m also thinking about the live show. Where does this song fit in the set? What energy does the show need in that moment? Will I feel excited when I hear the cue for that song in my in-ears? Thinking about the live experience really helps guide the production and the energy of the songs.

Your songs move between confident, almost audacious moments and darker, more vulnerable ones. Which lane are you more comfortable writing in?

Honestly, it’s much easier for me to write sad or emotional songs. This is actually the first album where I feel like there are multiple happy songs.

When I’m writing in my journal, it’s usually about the things I don’t want to carry around inside my body anymore. Writing a song about those feelings lets me create a place for them to live outside of myself. That feels very natural.

Trying to explain happiness can be harder. Sometimes those feelings feel more private, like something I want to hold onto instead of dissecting.

With this album, though, I wanted it to feel like the full human experience. I wanted every emotion to exist somewhere in the project so that hopefully everyone can find at least one song that speaks to them on any given day.

Which song came together the fastest?

Probably “Sunday.” That was another moment where we just completely let go in the session. I knew I wanted an acoustic song, and I had been listening to artists like Sheryl Crow, Michelle Branch, Bonnie Raitt, and Dido.

We started playing around with some guitar chords, and I went into the vocal booth and basically made up sounds and phrases on the spot. Most of the lyrics came from those first takes. We kept them because the whole point of the song was capturing a feeling instead of overanalyzing it. It was very low pressure. It felt like the first thing we said was the right thing.

Which song required the most care to get right?

“Water Me Down.” That was one I felt like I had to be very careful with because I wanted it to be accurate to my experiences. It’s something I’ve wanted to write about for a long time.

I think a lot of women can relate to being in relationships where someone slowly tries to make you smaller. You see it happen with friends, you see it happen to yourself, and it’s strange how the things people first love about you can eventually become the things they resent.

It’s a complicated emotion, but I felt like if I didn’t include that song I would be doing a disservice to people who might hear it and recognize that experience in themselves. I’m really glad it ended up on the album.

How do you choose which songs to release as singles?

I try to choose songs that represent different sides of the album. “Push” shows the more electronic pop side. “Afterlife” leans into the acoustic, songwriter part of me, which is the kind of music I grew up listening to.

Even when I’m writing rock music, I never feel like I’m only one thing. I’m always both of those sides at once.

Then there’s “Neck Deep,” which has the heavier rock elements mixed with electronics. I wanted the singles to give people a small preview of all the different directions the album goes in.

I know you’re a Pinterest person, and so am I. What did the vision board for this album look like?

This process was really different from the first album. With that record, everything fell into place immediately. We wrote the first five singles in five days. I had been waiting so long to make my first album that everything just felt obvious.

This time it was much harder. I had all the music finished but couldn’t settle on visuals or artwork. Every song felt like it lived in a completely different universe.

Eventually I thought maybe I should start at the end of the process instead of the beginning. So I went to the place where we normally customize vinyl and started looking at colors. I found this dark olive green vinyl with black in it and immediately thought, “That’s the album.”

Green is grounding for me and it’s also my favorite color. From there I worked backwards, connecting visuals and references for each song like one of those detective boards with string connecting everything.

It was a really valuable lesson. Just because you feel stuck doesn’t mean you are. Sometimes you just have to find a different pathway to your creativity.

When during this process did you move from Nashville to Los Angeles?

That was in 2024. At the end of that year we had written a few songs, including “Satellite,” which always ends up becoming the title track somehow.

I went back to Nashville for a while and felt really stuck creatively. I was doing the same things every day and going to the same places every weekend. I realized I didn’t feel inspired there anymore.

So I moved to LA because I needed to be somewhere that felt constantly changing. I’m so used to touring and meeting new people and having new conversations every day. I thrive on that energy.

It was also a challenge to myself — starting over in a new city, building a new friend group, turning my relationship into long distance by choice. I wanted to take a risk on myself while I still felt hungry in my career.

That experience gave me a lot of confidence while making the album. I felt proud of myself for making that leap, and it pushed me to create exactly what I wanted.

What do you hope listeners take away after hearing “Satellite” for the first time?

I hope people realize that human beings have so much depth and that we’re never just one feeling. Even when you feel stuck in something, there are always other parts of you existing at the same time.

Feeling deeply is a superpower. Feeling empathy for other people is a superpower.

If someone listens to the album and realizes they can experience all these emotions and still end up somewhere peaceful — like the feeling at the end of “Sunday” — that would mean a lot to me.

More than anything, I hope listeners feel like they have a friend in the music. Even if they don’t know me personally, maybe the songs help them put words to something they’ve felt before. We’re all trying to figure life out, making mistakes and getting better along the way. Even when we feel far apart from each other, we’re still orbiting in the same space. That’s the whole idea behind “Satellite.”

Talking with Charlotte Sands made it clear that “Satellite” represents more than just a new collection of songs. It reflects an artist learning how to balance ambition with self-trust, structure with instinct, and vulnerability with confidence. Sands approaches her work with both the meticulous organization of someone who loves a spreadsheet and the emotional openness of someone unafraid to write about the messy, complicated parts of being human. That duality runs throughout “Satellite,” an album that moves between cathartic rock, glossy pop moments, and softer reflections without ever losing its center. If Sands’ goal was to capture the full spectrum of feeling and remind listeners that we are all navigating life’s orbit together, “Satellite” succeeds beautifully.

CONNECT WITH CHARLOTTE SANDS

INSTAGRAM

The post CHARLOTTE SANDS ON “SATELLITE”: SELF-TRUST, EXPERIMENTATION, AND A NEW CHAPTER appeared first on LADYGUNN.

This weekend, I caught a patented cold-and-cough combo from my kids. While recovering, I sucked on French lozenges and turned on a movie…

Have you seen Oh, Hi?… Read more

The post What Are Your Favorite Under-the-Radar Movies? appeared first on Cup of Jo.

Major pain in the head.

In women and gents.

Giving them a hard time always.

Resting all day long in bed.

As it’s required to be helpful.

In this awful situation.

Nausea is the symptom.

Explaining this condition!

Photos/CD: Aqua Rose @aquarosephoto x @mulletxbarbie

Model: @mengtiian

MUA: @mulletxbarbie 

MUA Assists: @_d_zoe_d_

Photo Assist: @chribun

Production Assist: @stephrommelt

The post SHAPESHIFTER appeared first on LADYGUNN.

When it comes to pancakes, I tend to stick with the basic styles — buttermilk, Bisquick, banana — and my general take is that if you don’t over-mix and you keep an eye on your burner, you’ll be great.… Read more

The post Minneapolis Salted Butter Pancakes appeared first on Cup of Jo.

When I first read the words “Afro-Scandi pop,” I couldn’t help but be intrigued. How is that going to work exactly? Will it even work at all in the first place? Fortunately, Tolou’s vision and talents are both so strong that it doesn’t take very long for the proposal to land and hook you in with her unique energy, and that’s precisely what she named her debut album.

“Energy” is made up of twelve tracks moving between pop, soul, gospel, and Afro rhythms, none of it feeling like fusion because nothing needed fusing. She calls it Afro-Scandi pop.

Rooted in classical training across opera and jazz and raised leading church choirs, Tolou was discovered by Wyclef Jean in one of those choirs. During lockdown, she taught herself production until the vivid sounds in her head could finally take shape. Influences peek through—Frank Ocean, Burna Boy, Robyn—but they’re signposts, not the destination.

The point is the title. Energy. What you carry. What you let in. Tolou calls the album a cleanse, a way back to what actually matters, and you believe her because nothing here strains.

You call your sound “Afro-Scandi Pop.” What helped you conceptualize and synthesize this blend? Any inspirations and references to point to? 

It really grew out of who I am—two cultures living inside one body. On one hand, I was raised with the pulse of African music, the rhythm, the storytelling, the soul. Artists like Wizkid, Burna, and Fela gave me my roots. On the other hand, Northern Norway gave me silence, space, and this haunting kind of beauty. I think that’s where the softness and melancholy come in. Afro-Scandi Pop, to me, is what happens when warmth meets stillness… It’s a blend I didn’t invent—I grew into it naturally.

You have called the album a coming-of-age story. Which track feels like the pivotal chapter where you truly understood yourself? 

Definitely “Unwind.” That was the moment I stopped hiding. It’s about letting my light spill out without apology—the softness, the sensuality, the joy. As women, we’re often told to tuck those parts away. But that song was me saying, No more shrinking. I’m allowed to be gentle and powerful, playful and grounded. That track was like giving myself a permission slip to be all of me.

Beyond sound, what does Afro-Scandi Pop represent for you as a way of moving through the world?

Freedom. It’s a way of being that says contrast doesn’t have to cancel itself out—it can dance. I don’t need to choose between this or that, soft or strong, sensual or spiritual. I can be all of it. Afro-Scandi is about trusting your full self, even the parts that seem like opposites, and making harmony from them. That’s how I live.

Stepping into full creative control during the pandemic was a profound shift. How has that changed the way you approach collaboration now? 

Whew—it changed everything. That season made me sit still with my own voice. No noise, no distractions, just me. I learned to trust my instincts, even the quiet ones. So now when I collaborate, I don’t come in trying to prove anything. I come in already rooted, already clear. It’s not about approval; it’s about creative exchange.

If Energy is meant to function as an energy cleanse, where is that cleansing most potent?

It starts right at the beginning with the title track, “Energy.” That song is a ritual. It’s me calling in what I want, clearing out what I don’t. Then the whole album kind of unfolds like my inner diary—full of doubt, light, softness, strength, and finally, peace. By the time we get to “Coco,” it’s like exhaling into self-love. That’s where the cleanse lands for me—in the return to self.

From “Coco” to now, how has the confidence you sing about evolved?

Mmm, back then, I had confidence that came from spark. Now it comes from depth. Life humbled me a bit; it broke me in places I didn’t expect. But I found God in those moments. I found grace. Now my confidence feels quieter, more anchored. It’s not loud, but it’s unshakeable. I don’t need to be seen to know I’m real.

Working with legends like Tricky Stewart is a major collaboration. What did you take away from that experience?

What struck me most was how sacred the space felt. Tricky created this atmosphere where everyone could just be… honest. No ego, no tension. Just flow. He’s intentional, like spiritually intentional—and that reminded me how important the energy in a room is. When the vibe is right, the music just breathes.

Your classical training is a unique layer. Does it still consciously inform your process?

It’s in the background, like muscle memory. Classical training gave me discipline, breath control, and a deep respect for the voice as an instrument. But now I let it whisper rather than lead. It gave me the map, and now I wander freely. It’s like… I know the rules well enough to break them beautifully.

You move between music, acting, and fashion. Are these separate canvases or the same frequency?

One frequency, just different textures. Music is the heartbeat. Fashion is how I dress the feeling. Acting is me stepping into different versions of myself. It all comes from the same river. I just shift how I pour it.

What kind of acting roles are you drawn to?

Ooh, the weird ones! I love characters who surprise you—women who are layered, messy, mysterious, and strong in quiet ways. I’m always pulled toward stories that expand what femininity can look like. More magic, less stereotypes.

What’s up next for Tolou?

Honestly? Play. I introduced myself with “Energy”—now I want to stretch. Get weirder. Get louder. Or softer. Collaborate with people who make me feel something. I’m in this season of curiosity… letting my art grow in whatever direction it wants. The foundation is laid; now I’m just dancing on top of it.

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