At Coachella, Tinashe & Content Creator Mai Pham Reveal the Secret to Storytelling on YouTube and Social Media
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Shot by Kaitlyn McNab/Teen Vogue
The mythology around Coachella is all sunshine, flower crowns, cowboy boots, and uninterrupted dancing — but in reality, Coachella is less about the aesthetics and more about the feeling.
The legendary music festival is a site of connection and magic; a once-in-a-lifetime experience for both musicians and their fans, a place for both parties to connect with each other on an unprecedented level. In this way, social media has enhanced the festival over recent years, inviting more and more fans from around the globe to join the unbridled joy across two weekends of performances.
The opportunity to capture such an experience is what entices content creators to descend upon in Indio, California in droves, ready to transmit the spirt of the festival across all of their respective social platforms. YouTube is an essential part of the Coachella story, as the longstanding streaming partner has continued to elevate the interactivity of both weekends for viewers at home.
Related: What It's Really Like to Be a Content Creator at Coachella
In partnership with YouTube, Teen Vogue went backstage and tapped singer Tinashe — who performed at the festival on both Friday dates — and creator Mai Pham to unpack the significance of social media storytelling as creatives, the different methods they each use to maintain their global audiences online, and why creating authentic content is key to connecting with fans both old and new. (Tinashe and Mai Pham also revealed their dream 2025 Coachella headliner trio, and it's undeniably good.)
Watch a cut of my conversation with Tinashe and Mai Pham on TikTok (part 1 and part 2) and Instagram Reels (part 1 and part 2), and read our full interview below.
Teen Vogue: Happy Coachella, y'all! How was your set on Friday, Tinashe?
Tinashe: It was so much fun, honestly. Just being up on [that] stage was a big bucket list [item] of mine. So it was really great to be up there and see the crowd, and having my family there in the audience... It was a very magical moment and the sun was setting. It was dreamy.
Mai Pham: Damn, you had a sunset?
T: Yeah, it was sunset, it was like right at seven o'clock. It was the perfect hour.
MP: The ambiance.
T: Yeah, it feels like night falls and all of the vibes change at Coachella. Everybody's here.
TV: The pictures were gorgeous. It was like golden hour.
T: It really was amazing.
TV: And how has your weekend one been so far, Mai?
MP: My weekend one has been good. It's my first time ever at Coachella. I came in here with no expectations and I'm really glad that I did because we've just been going with the flow, whatever you see, you see. It's been a lot better than I thought it would be.
TV: Tinashe, last year you came out as a surprise guest for Kaytranada. What was it like taking over the Mojave stage on your own this year?
T: Yeah, I mean, it was sick. I think every time that I come out as a special guest, that's always an amazing moment. You're like the surprise, so everybody's ready to go up for you. But having your own set is a whole 'nother level of just feeling like you get the time to really express yourself and your artistry and get the full well-rounded picture of what you can bring to the table. So it was really, really fun.
TV: Yeah, I love that. Mai, what is it about Tinashe and her artistry that draws you in as a fan?
MP: For me, what I love about you is you have this essence to you that's very ethereal in a way, and I love that everything that you do has a touch of that. Everything you do has a deeper meaning to it. That's something that's very beautiful, and I think that that's reflected in your set design, your songs… with that energy, being a fan [or] somebody that is watching your set, you could feel it. People just feel good vibes.
The crowd that you bring out, everybody there feels very comfortable, I'm assuming. I feel that that's the best. You could really love an artist and their songs, but if their audience and their fanbase doesn't reflect that, you're not going to feel that. You're so well-rounded in that, and that's something very unique that I love.
T: I'm really, really thankful for everyone that comes. I really do have such a sweet fanbase and so many people that are inspired, and we can have a safe creative space and a creative banter and have that positive energy when I'm onstage. Being able to give that back, I think that's what music's all about, right? It's just being able to share in that energy. Whatever that passion [is], just being able to feel something, get dancing. All that of magic.
TV: Was there anyone else during weekend one that you two were super excited to see perform?
T: I love Jungle. They were amazing.
MP: Oh my gosh, I love Jungle— or Sabrina Carpenter. They're just feel-good songs.
T: I missed Sabrina because it was right before my set, so maybe I'll have to see her next week.
MP: She's really good. Really good. I just want feel-good songs that you could sing and dance to. I feel like Jungle and Sabrina Carpenter are both that.
TV: Tinashe, congratulations on “Nasty.” We are so excited for the new album over here at Teen Vogue. How are you planning to utilize social media and YouTube specifically for this new rollout?
T: I think it's always important to be able to connect with the fans, and as an artist, you always want to incorporate that level of visual elements. That's something that is still really valuable to your story as a creative. Music videos and other kinds of content that really tells the narrative of what I'm trying to convey with this album has been really important.
We just dropped the trailer for the album, which is the start of the story, and then “Nasty” is kind of the first chapter, and then we have more coming that's obviously going to continue that narrative. It's so much fun to add that next layer of meaning and another dynamic to the music and how the fans are able to consume it and listen to it.
TV: What do you think are the similarities between being a musician on social media and being a creator on social media?
T: [To Mai] Yeah, what do you think? I mean, the expectation probably to perform, to constantly be releasing content.
MP: Since I've been posting content for a really long time— and you have as well, girl, I watched your video from 13 years ago.
T: Oh my gosh.
MP: Your “Fun Facts About Me,” I was like, oh, she's kind of a vibe! [But] people kind of grow up with you. And I think that the content you put up online, the things that people see, it's very much a representation of you.
T: You have to tell your story. It's having to create your legacy. Every part ends up becoming who you are in the eyes of everyone.
MP: With a new album or a new song, or, for me, a new era or new episodic series I'm coming out with on YouTube. That's a new chapter in your life… as people age and go throughout life, they're growing up with you, as well. That's one of the coolest parts about it, is that you can always resonate with people in different walks of life.
TV: Yeah, absolutely. And as artists and as creators, social media is such a crucial part of building that community and connecting with your audience across the world. How do you both use platforms like Discord or YouTube specifically to make that global connection and maintain it?
MP: I love, love, love talking about how I feel online and the things that I'm going through in real life. Since I've been doing it for so long, ever since I was a kid, I would always talk about the ups and downs that I went through. Being able to share things such as reading my old journals in my videos, or talking about all the things that I wish would happen when I was a kid and the things that happen now really can motivate people.
T: Curating an audience like a family… being able to get close to people is actually very valuable. You can really change people's lives and you can really influence a lot of people and your stuff can be really deep and powerful. Being able to connect with my audience in that way is definitely top tier.
MP: Showing behind the scenes and my thought process and not just a curated image of myself, but what I was actually feeling in the moment, is super important to me.
TV: What kind of challenges have you guys come up across when trying to connect with people through social media?
T: I think there's the obvious, there's the negativity, there's the comparison, the easy way to look at your content, look at someone else's, look at your numbers, try to make that mean something. With more experience and with growth and with knowing yourself, those things start to become less important in creating your legacy, and creating content and music that really touches people and feels really true to you… Following your instincts ends up becoming so clearly the path.
MP: I one hundred percent agree with that. I feel like doing this for so long, people will always say, “You've changed,” or "Your music has changed, she's not the same anymore." But staying true to yourself and knowing who you are at the core, as long as whatever you're creating is an essence of yourself and who you truly are… To me, creating content isn't about making a YouTube video. It's an actual art form.
And as long as I'm able to be creative and express myself, that creates a lifelong happiness… [sometimes] making content can feel like you're doing it for other people. But I try to step back and step back into myself and who I am or what I like to consume and [ask myself] what do I truly like to create? As long as I'm being myself and I'm happy with the things that I do, I think that that'll be reflected through the screen and people will be able to feel that.
TV: I can totally see that with musicians, too, because you're trying to connect on a basic human level.
T: A thousand percent. The more authentic you are, the more people can tell. It's all about tapping into that.
MP: I really do believe that people can feel the energy that you put into your art. If it's performative or you're doing it for somebody else, people can feel that… And it might be different, it might be unique, people might not be used to it, but the people that do get it, they're going to be able to connect a hundred times more.
TV: The girls that get it, get it. So why do you think Coachella is such a magical place for music and connection?
T: I don't know! Sometimes I'm like, is it just because I grew up in the area that I have such nostalgia about coming to this place since I was a teenager? But honestly, I think it really is just a great vibe. The energy is always really positive and really happy. Everyone's just here to have fun. Everyone's here to let loose. You see people having way more fun than you ever see them having at home in these very corporate environments. And everyone's just dressed up and the weather's cool. We all get to listen to music… we all get to dance. Everything's super positive.
MP: I noticed the energy of the crowd, it's definitely chill… it feels welcoming. I walk around the fields and I see everyone dancing and having a good time. It's very interesting to see the difference between Coachella and other music festivals. It's very laid back, and I really like that.
TV: Can you say more about that?
MP: Everyone's complimenting each other here. [At other] concerts or [other] festivals, that's not the vibe that I usually get, but I feel like everyone here has a smile on their face and everyone's just uplifted. It's super cool to see.
TV: Yeah, it's amazing. I had a bonding moment with three guys at Ice Spice last night. And where else am I going to do that, but Coachella?
T: Yes!
TV: OK, last question: If you could both choose next year's three Coachella headliners, who would you choose?
T: Myself…
TV: Of course!
T: Okay, let's see, who else. I would also pick SZA, and then my third headliner would be… we got to give a throwback moment. Janet Jackson.
TV: Wow. I will buy my tickets like, now.
MP: Okay. I like that.
T: All female headliners. Boom. Boom. Boom.
MP: Yes! I gotta say, I was saying this yesterday: Miley Cyrus.
T: Oh, yes.
MP: If Miley Cyrus headlined I just know the whole crowd would be screaming “Party in the USA,” and she'd be out here singing “Jolene” and all the throwbacks. I think Miley Cyrus would be 10 out of 10.
T: She's great.
MP: I think SZA would be really great, as well. Honestly, Hannah Montana and Miley Cyrus back to back, and then obviously, Tinashe.
TV: Another iconic female trio. On the grounds at Coachella weekend one, this is Kaitlyn McNab with Tinashe and Mai Pham.
Editor's note: This interview has been lightly edited for clarity.
Originally Appeared on Teen Vogue
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