Tinashe: Broke Boys, Golf Bros & Short Kings

Episode of Call Her Daddy · September 23, 2026 · 54 min

Alex Cooper talks with singer Tinashe about her girl-group beginnings, leaving her label, dating standards, situationships, heartbreak, internet hate and her album Popstar.

Summary

Alex Cooper hosted singer Tinashe on Call Her Daddy. Tinashe described herself as low-key and introverted despite loving performance, discussed her plant collection and curated social feeds, and said she channels vulnerability into her art. She recounted joining a girl group at 14, opening for Justin Bieber on his My World tour, and later struggling with a major label that she said did not know how to market her, describing the threat of being shelved and being the only woman in rooms of older men.

The conversation turned to dating. Tinashe said she is single and not actively dating, explaining that she had long prioritized her career but now feels assured enough to make relationships a priority. Using standards from her No Broke Boys music video, she joked about dating a broke man, avoiding DJs and club promoters, preferring tall men and partners with little social media presence, and finding out about infidelity through social media.

Tinashe discussed situationships, rekindling things with an ex, and avoidant partners, which she said inspired her song I'd Rather Be Alone, emphasizing that "potential is just potential." She said heartbreak can take years to heal and that she mourned the person she expected to become in a relationship. She also explained the sledgehammer car-smashing stunt promoting Crash Out, her experience with internet mockery, and her move away from needing external validation.

The episode closed with discussion of her album Popstar, which Tinashe framed as a genre-spanning body of work questioning what it means to be a pop star, and her definition of future success as sustaining her art comfortably on her own terms.

Chapters

0:03
Introduction and personality
Cooper recalls listening to 2 On in college and Tinashe discusses conspiracy-theory childhood interests, plants, and her curated algorithm.
3:43
Contradictions and vulnerability
Tinashe describes being both introverted and a performer and using her art as an outlet for vulnerability.
7:24
Girl group and Justin Bieber tour
Tinashe recalls joining a girl group at 14, opening for Justin Bieber, and her musical influences.
9:41
Label struggles and independence
Tinashe explains how her label struggled to market her, the threat of being shelved, and leaving to go independent.
14:50
Single life and career priorities
Tinashe says she is single, has prioritized her career, and only now feels ready to prioritize dating.
21:08
No Broke Boys standards game
Cooper runs through standards from the No Broke Boys video, prompting stories about broke men, social media, DJs and short kings.
29:22
Situationships and avoidant partners
The two discuss situationships, hooking up with exes, and the avoidance behind I'd Rather Be Alone.
38:35
Healing from heartbreak
Tinashe reflects on how long breakups take to heal, mourning potential, and loneliness on tour.
41:56
Crash Out stunt and internet hate
Tinashe explains the sledgehammer car stunt and how she handles online mockery and criticism.
44:59
Validation and the album Popstar
Tinashe discusses rejecting expectations, outgrowing the need for validation, the making of Popstar and her vision of success.

Key points

What was said, by whom, with the exact words. Timestamps jump to the moment.

Tinashe
Tinashe says she uses her art as the outlet for vulnerability she finds harder to express day to day.
“I use my art as kind of the funnel for my vulnerability. I think it kind of gives you a safe safety net in a sense”
Listen from 6:00
Tinashe
Tinashe says running her own business as an independent artist forced her to be honest about how she feels.
“being able to run my own business, like going independent, being able to like make my own art”
Listen from 7:12 · Independent music careers
Tinashe
Tinashe says that after 2 On she was pressured to water down or reshape her music to fit expectations.
“I had to continue to push back against i guess what people expected or how they expected me to water it down or change it”
Listen from 10:03 · Record label artist development and shelving
Tinashe
Tinashe explains that being shelved means a label stops funding an artist's project while keeping them signed.
“that's basically like when you're signed to a record label and they quit funding your project”
Listen from 12:40 · Record label artist development and shelving
Tinashe
Tinashe recounts often being the only woman among older men in label meetings, where her ideas were dismissed.
“it would be really interesting being in these rooms with these older men and it would only be me”
Listen from 13:08 · Record label artist development and shelving
Linked moment · 16:05Skip to 16:05 using a listen link in the info box.
Tinashe
Tinashe says she long feared a serious relationship would leave her unfulfilled in her career and felt she needed to achieve more first.
“I had fears that I wouldn't have felt fulfilled in my career”
Listen from 16:05 · Dating standards
Tinashe
Tinashe says she has never been in a place where she was willing to make sacrifices for a partner's career.
“I don't think I was ever in a place where I was willing to make sacrifices”
Listen from 18:09 · Dating standards
Tinashe
Tinashe argues situationships form easily when busy, with upfront chemistry but missing purposefulness, and warning signs get ignored.
“there's a lot of upfront chemistry and excitement and that purposefulness sometimes is what's missing”
Listen from 31:07 · Situationships
Tinashe
Tinashe says I'd Rather Be Alone is about the avoidance of a partner who remains emotionally distant even when physically close.
“I think with that song specifically, I think I'm just talking about the avoidance specifically”
Listen from 33:55 · I'd Rather Be Alone (Tinashe song)
Tinashe
Tinashe says the song's message is that one's own peace and fulfillment matter more than a near-miss relationship.
“your own peace of mind, like your own happiness, your own fulfillment is more important than like an almost”
Listen from 37:07 · I'd Rather Be Alone (Tinashe song)
Tinashe
Tinashe says after breakups she mourned the person she expected to become, and argues one can become that person without a relationship.
“a key is realizing that you can become that person without a relationship at all”
Listen from 39:50 · Breakup recovery
Tinashe
Tinashe says the car-smashing clip was a deliberate publicity stunt tied to the pop-star tropes of her album Popstar.
“my album's called Popstar and a lot of the themes surrounding it are like classic like pop star tropes”
Listen from 42:20 · Crash Out (Tinashe song)
Tinashe
Tinashe says the only online criticism that still bothers her is the kind she partly agrees with, such as critiques of her performances.
“The only internet stuff that bothers me to this day is the stuff that I, like, kind of agree with”
Listen from 44:20 · Online harassment and internet criticism
Tinashe
Tinashe describes pop star as an umbrella term spanning genres and argues pop has wrongly become more exclusive over time.
“I've always thought of it as an umbrella term something that you know kind of can encompass all the genres and isn't exclusive”
Listen from 49:35 · Popstar (Tinashe album)
Tinashe
Tinashe defines future success as being able to keep making art, touring and creating visuals comfortably without other worries.
“being able to continue to make art in a comfortable way is like my main priority”
Listen from 52:18 · Independent music careers

People

In the conversation

Alex CooperAmerican podcaster and media entrepreneur, host of Call Her Daddy
TinasheAmerican singer, songwriter and dancer

Discussed

Justin BieberSinger cast as Cupid in Maisel's Mythoverse film
Britney SpearsAmerican pop singer cited by Tinashe as an influence
Janet JacksonAmerican singer and dancer whose song inspired Holland's dancing
BeyoncéSinger, mother of Blue Ivy Carter

Topics

Sonja & Luann: Pirates, Palm Beach & Picking Up Men
Call Her Daddy · Sep 30, 2026 · 1 h 11 min
Alex Cooper talks with Sonja Morgan and Luann de Lesseps about their new E! series The Golden Life, RHONY memories, dating, aging, and friendship.
James Sexton, Matt McCusker & Rick Glassman - Mostly Wise #4 - #1156
Modern Wisdom · Sep 28, 2026 · 3 h 2 min
Chris Williamson, divorce lawyer James Sexton and comedians Matt McCusker and Rick Glassman riff on marriage, prenups, sex, dating standards, politics in relationships, sitcoms and masturbation.

From the publisher

Join Alex in the studio for a conversation with Tinashe. Tinashe gets real about the dating patterns she’s trying to break, navigating situationships, and healing after heartbreak. She also opens up about refusing to be put in a box by the industry and building a career on her own terms. Enjoy!

Summary, chapters and key points were generated from the episode transcript on October 3, 2026. Quotes are checked word for word against the transcript.

Categories: Music Interviews·Relationships