Article
Nat Luna is an artist from Adelaide that has had an incredible breakthrough throughout 2025, getting recognised by bringing absolutely gorgeous vocals to match high quality production and all while being an incredible advocate for people with physical disabilities. Fusing R&B with pop, her latest releases include Triple J high rotation tracks 'conditions' 'too pretty" and 'love me longer" that deserve the high praise they are receiving amongst listeners.
I sat down with her to discuss her early work and influences, the way people with disabilities are perceived in the industry, what is being done and what's coming up in the near future.
Adam: Thank you for joining me today. Nat Luna, a pop-R&B artist that has recently jumped onto the air of Triple J and other platforms with songs that are like Too Pretty and Conditions and bringing a real representation to the disability community in music. Welcome to the chat today, and I'm looking forward to the discussion.
Nat: Me too. I'm so excited. Thank you for having me.
My first question is when did you start making music?
Nat: It was around the time I turned 18, I always sang my whole life, I always loved music and writing poetry from a young age. I was always somebody who really thrived on creatively expressing myself. I was always very into either singing or doing arts and crafts, and things like that. I really enjoyed that but I didn't really start making music until a bit later on. I always had this dream of being a singer, but growing up, I thought it was only possible if I either signed to a major label or won a competition show like The X Factor or something. I didn't think I'd be able to do it independently, but it was just after I turned 18 on my For You pages, I started discovering heaps of independent artists pursuing music without a label or winning these competition shows.
And they were making the coolest art ever. And it was just such an inspiring moment for me in my life because I realized that I didn't have to be signed or get discovered randomly on YouTube or win one of these competition shows to be able to pursue my dream of a music career and so I bought myself a computer and my music program and I actually spent the entire year of the pandemic watching like YouTube tutorials and learning how to make music. I'd never done it before, but I went, you know what? I want a career as a singer. These other super cool people were doing it independently. So I thought it was a pandemic. I thought the world was going to end anyway. So I was like, I might as well try and see if I'm any good at it. So I went on YouTube and I tried learning production and songwriting.
Adam: it's so great just how accessible it is these days with the YouTube tutorials and obviously the four year pages and all that being a push independent music. It's such a great combination these days.
Nat: Yeah, like anyone can pursue music now. And I just think that's phenomenal.
And what has music brought to you over these years that you have been honing your craft and all that in this area?
Nat: Yeah, I mean, it's brought to me a lot of things. I think on a personal level, it's brought me a lot of growth and self-discovery. I think I really believe that when you make art it can make you view yourself and also the world and things around you and situations that you're in in so many different ways and you put on almost like different lenses and different hats for how you're viewing external and internal worlds.
And so when I was writing my EP, I felt very introspective at the time I was writing about my experiences and just how I felt as a human in the world in general, but also in my personal world. And through that process, I learned a lot about myself as a person. And it was just a really big journey of growth through the whole process of writing it that I really think the writing was a catalyst in that big growth journey for me at that time. And I do think, had I not been writing at that time, I don't think I would have grown in the way that I have. And that's an ongoing thing with all my projects. Like I let my worth and I learned how to lean into a lot of different parts of myself that I'd never leaned into before like sensuality and confidence and just feeling empowered.
And it was like a new level of maturity that I'd never felt before. And that helped bring a
greater sense of inner love. In saying that though, It brought a lot of external love as well over the years and it's been really, really touching. Like I still pinch myself most days, like I have the most loveliest listeners in the world. They are so kind and so sweet. I've had so much positive reception on my music. Like I get the sweetest comments and messages and I cry, like not out of sadness, out of happiness, these tears of joy, because people are so lovely.
And I've been played on national radio. I've got heaps of support from Triple J. I was one of their feature artists on Unearthed last year. And also like I got to play one Madelaide a couple of years ago. And it was amazing. It's all been such a privilege, but all around. There's just been so, so much love.
Adam: Yeah, bringing together communities and through shared experience. It's always such a lovely experience, the music communities, through that.
What artists influenced you in the early years of when you were making music?
Nat: Definitely Ariana Grande was a big influence, particularly in my vocal style. I was listening to her from back when she put out her very first single. So even before that, I used to watch Victorious and she was in it. So like I've been a fan of her from like the early, early Victorious days. And yeah, ever since she dropped her first single, like so many years ago now, she's just been such a big source of inspiration for me in terms of her vocal style. What really appealed to me was her range and her high notes and just the way she'd be able to sing things, but it would come off sometimes super soft, but she would also have such a strong belt. It just really inspired me almost unintentionally.
And then SZA has always been a really big influence in terms of not only production but also her lyricism. It's very raw and open and honest and real but it's also so badass at the same time. And she is just such an empowered boss girl and I look up to that so much because she's able to get across all of these feelings and really complex themes and emotions in such a poetic way in the R&B genre that I love so much.
Adam: It's just always those artists that make such a statement piece and just make you feel like they can take all the air out of the room whenever they perform. It's always so incredible, those types of artists. And obviously yourself being one of those too.
Which you push back on the narrative of what it means to be a disabled artist, both lyrically and stylistically. Do you feel like this was always intentional or was this something you developed with your personal growth that you touched on?
Nat: I don't think it was always fully intentional. It's not always fully intentional even now. Like I'm just making my art in the ways that resonate the most with me and that I feel best express whatever situation or experience or feeling that I need to express at that time. And naturally, that started to challenge the narrative because when you think about it, what even is the narrative of what it means to be a disabled artist. Like society has fed us this idea that if we're an artist with a disability, then we must make art about disability and nothing else rather than realizing we're multifaceted individuals with complex interests and hobbies and emotions and layers. Humans have so many layers. We are the most complex onions ever, and we are living our life and engaging in universal human experiences beyond just the lens of disability.
So I really could not reject this narrative that society puts on people with disability anymore if I tried, because I really just think it's a load of rubbish, because we can make any narrative for ourselves that we want, and I'm going to make any narrative for myself that I want, regardless of if I'm sitting or not. That's irrelevant, you know what I mean?
The core focus of my life isn't my disability. I don't think about it all day, every day, all the time. Most days, it doesn't really cross my mind at all. It's not the most important or defining aspect of me or my life, despite what society is dictating. And it sort of started this idea in my mind. I started realizing that there is such a big stigma in society where I realized this when I was writing my EP that society tells us you can either have a disability or be sexy, you can't have both. That's what society has told us.
And at the time when I was writing my EP, I was writing about a lot of mature, more adult themes as I was exploring different parts of my life. And it's when I started realizing I was like, hang on, hang on, hang on a minute. I can be both. Because I am. It's not a case of I can be both, it's actually the fact that I am both, like simultaneously. And so that's when I
realized how important this message is, like people can be disabled and sexy. Like it can, it can co-exist. I can be both at once.
Like, I can be disabled and empowered and confident and loud and take up space. Like, just because I'm one thing doesn't mean I'm not able to be another. Like, they can exist simultaneously. They're not exclusive to each other. So, you know, like, I don't write any of my music about disability or my experiences with it. That's not intentional. It really just hasn't been a source of inspiration for me. But if it ever was, one day, of course, I would explore that. It just hasn't been over the years for now. But if you look closely enough at all the music and all the visuals, especially as I start putting out my EP soon, there really is a big overarching underlying message I'm putting out there through my art. Even though I'm not saying it straight up in my lyrics, I'm really putting up a middle finger to society and saying, well, like, actually, I can have a disability and be sexy, watch me do it.
Adam: Yeah. I'm glad we have people like yourself that are able to express that and just, yeah, obviously see themselves as it's a part of their identity, but also, you know, they're another independent artist that can bring different stories to the table. So good to hear.
Why do you think it's important for us to have disability representation in the music industry in general?
Nat: I mean, it's important in so many ways, not just in the music industry but in the world overall, but specifically in the music industry. It's so important to challenge stereotypes that exist to show that we don't have to be limited to one specific narrative. Like we're multifaceted, multilayered, multi-talented humans, and as humans, all humans have so much depth, whether we have a disability or not, like that disability doesn't take away from the depth. And when I was a child, of course, I've always had a dream of being a singer, but I think a big part of why I never tried to pursue it sooner, I think a big part of that was because I never saw anyone like me on iTunes up seeing that disability representation in the music industry, I would have realized much sooner that there always was a place for me there.
You know, when you're a child, my goal in music is I really want to be the person in the music industry, in mainstream music, in the music videos, wherever it may be, making albums. I want to be that artist that I really needed to see when I was a kid that, I look back and think I want to be that person for all the other young children and the next generation of artists. I want to be that person for them that I never got to have.
And also diversity is so important. Like music creation thrives on unique perspectives, stories, and of course like lived experiences. And so having more disability representation in music means we'll be hearing from a whole new group of artists who we haven't really heard from before in mainstream music and that will open up a whole new world of art that we've never seen before. And I think that would also help really remove some of those incorrect stereotypes and narratives like the fact that we're not a charity or something for people to look at and feel pity or inspiration for, And just hopefully instead disability to be something that's celebrated and embraced as part of the human experience.
Do you see yourself as an advocate in the music industry, or do you want to focus on your art only?
Nat: I mean, look, like my primary focus is definitely on my music and making art that reflects whatever creative vision I'm having at the time. But I do see myself as an advocate in the music industry, you know, advocating for better representation through releasing my own music and just having a presence in the industry, that's going to challenge stereotypes and ideally I really, really want to pave the way for other disabled artists wanting to also pursue a music career because sometimes I watch like the Met Gala or award ceremonies and I'll see like steps to get on the stage for example and I sort of look at that and go, how would I get on there? How would I get up those steps? You know what I mean? And it's not even that, it's not always the physical barriers.
I think there are a lot of barriers embedded in those stereotypes as well, and just limiting beliefs around disability that I think I'm just excited to pave the way for all of that. Not just for the logistical, physical accessibility side of things, but also the internal misconceptions and getting rid of those barriers, And I really hope, like, as my platform grows, that I can keep empowering more budding disabled artists and help ideally champion and guide them so their art can be heard too, because I think everyone's art should be heard from all groups of people from all walks of life.
What's the future hold and obviously any more releases coming up?
Nat: Yes, I've got a new song dropping very, very soon. There'll be more details about that sooner than we think. And after that, I'm dropping my debut EP called Ultraviolet, which I'm so excited about. It's coming a little bit later this year. And I really can't wait for everyone to hear it. My team has been incredible in making it and just being such an amazing support. It's been so much fun and I can't wait to put out this body of work for everybody else to experience. And I've also been writing heaps with my team recently. We're playing with new sounds and vibes, but I mean, we're always playing with new stuff and experimenting, but that's really exciting. We've got a lot of cool projects I'm working on at the moment, and I really can't wait to see everything we've been bringing to life. It's really exciting.
Adam: And I'm so excited to hear all this being brought to life too. It's been a pleasure talking to you today and if anyone else is interested in finding your work, where would they specifically like to find you.
Nat: Socials, you can find me on Instagram and TikTok. And then if you want to hear my music, my music is on every streaming platform. But you want to follow my socials, stay up to date with what I'm doing. Thank you so much for having me. I think what Powerd Media is doing is really, really cool. And it's just such an honour to be on here with you guys.
Adam: And it's an honour to have people like yourself and you as well being represented on the website.