Bella Poarch in our Fall/Fall 2023 issue.

At just 26 years old, singer and social media superstar Bella Poarch has already lived more life than people twice or even three times her age. Poarch came to public attention when, after creating a TikTok account in early 2020, she began posting videos of herself lip-syncing and talking about her life in Hawaii. Normal 2020 stuff, right? Well, by August of that year, Poarch had created the most popular video of them all on the platform.
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The 10-second clip, which features Poarch lip-syncing to rapper Millie B’s “M to the B” while bobbing her head back and forth, has been viewed more than 763 million times and has 62.1 million likes to date. Since 2020, Poarch has been posting videos with his French bulldog PuPu, cat Pee Pee, Brazilian superstar Anitta, and friend and fellow Filipino creator Bretman Rock. She donned cosplay, introduced her followers to a stuffed alpaca (aptly named Pucka), and nervously shared herself humming Ariana Grande’s “Raindrops (An Angel Cried)” in her bathroom mirror. She has 92.6 million followers and 2.3 billion likes on the platform, and in real life she’s moved to Los Angeles – but there’s so much more to this shining star than TikTok. Poarch was born in the Philippines and was raised by her grandmother until she was adopted at age three by an American man and his Filipino wife, along with two sisters and a brother who were also adopted by the couple. The family owned a farm where Poarch and her brother were forced to do excessive housework in the middle of the night due to their bully father, who became abusive if the work did not meet his standards.

Poarch’s older sisters escaped their father’s behavior, although they chose to stay in the Philippines when the family moved to the United States when Poarch was 13 years old. Her brother moved with her and joined the Navy; she followed in his footsteps at age 17 and began basic training (boot camp) in Chicago. She then attended aviation school in Florida and was stationed in Virginia for several months before ending up in Japan and then Hawaii.

“The Navy taught me a lot of lessons, and I think the most important one was patience,” Poarch smiles a few days after filming Wonderland. “Not many people have the patience. It also taught me to be detail-oriented, so I’m something of a perfectionist when it comes to music.”

Her perfectionism has paid dividends so far. Poarch released her first single, “Build a Bitch,” in 2021; a catchy pop track that showcases the societal pressures on women to look a certain way and adhere to Barbie-style beauty standards. It charted on the Billboard Hot 100, and its accompanying video, set in a factory where men can choose different body parts to create the girl of their dreams, has been viewed 465 million times on YouTube. Poarch’s friends and fellow social media stars appear in the video, including The Rock and Mia Khalifa.

“It was really important to me that my first song had a really strong message,” says Poarch. “It’s also important to me that my fans can understand my music. “At first I was like, ‘Do I really want to make ‘Build a Bitch’ my first song?’ Because the word “bitch” was there, but I thought it had the most powerful message. I was very excited and scared when I first released it because I wasn’t sure how my fans would react to it; they’ll either love it or hate it. I was nervous and had mixed feelings, but was very grateful when they liked the song and video. It was really amazing.”

Poarch followed “Build a Bitch” with the 2022 release of the “Dolls” EP, a six-track dark pop record featuring collaborations with Grimes (“No Man’s Land”) and Sub Urban (“INFERNO”), the latter of whom is fellow
Signing with Warner Records, who produced most of the EP. She is currently working on her debut album. “My musical style has definitely changed,” says Poarch. “I’m going for a more fun and bright sound, changing it up a little. Hopefully I’ll release (an album) this year. I was working with a lot of new producers and was just looking for the right sound.” Also on Poarch’s long to-do list is touring and performing live for her fans. “Definitely in the future,” she says. “Stay with us!”

Since her massive TikTok predates her musical success, I ask Poarch if she considers the platform’s ability to make a song go viral when writing new tracks. “My priority would be to write a song that is true to me, and if it does well on TikTok, it will do well on TikTok. That’s the last thing on my mind,” she laughs. “Great music will always be on TikTok, you know?” As for who she watches on the platform, Poarch says, “I’ve been obsessed with Terry Jo lately. He streams a lot on TikTok and collaborates with many people. It’s so interesting; he portrays this character and it’s very interesting.” Terry Jo is a character created by Houston creator Kelon Campbell, who has lived with everyone from Madonna to Doja Cat.

While Poarch is already building an impressive list of collaborators, he has many more on his wish list, including a host of K-Pop heavyweights. “I have a lot. I want to collaborate with BLACKPINK,” she shares. “There is also a new group called NewJeans. Then Aespa, TXT and SB19.”

Poarch has been busy collaborating with HUGO on a capsule collection lately, having already starred in the brand’s spring/summer 2023 campaign. “This is my first collection with the brand, so I was very, very excited,” she says. “The HUGO team is very talented and creative and they helped me throughout the entire design process. It was something special and I’m honored to team up and work with them.”

Poarch says her favorite pieces from the collection are “the bodysuits and jeans with
denim crop top. It’s just disgusting. Glasses, sunglasses are very cute. I usually wear fashionable, cool and comfortable clothes… Like now.” She points to her oversized black slogan sweatshirt, which she styled with impeccable hair and makeup. “When Hugo asked if I wanted to do a collection with them, I was truly honored.”

Friend and “Build a Bitch” video star Rock is high on her list of gifts for the collection. “I think he’ll totally kill it; I just know he’ll look good,” Poarch says. “I mean, he looks good in everything, but I’ll definitely send this to him.”

She also cites rock as one of her main fashion inspirations, along with her friend Giuliano Calza, founder and creative director of GCDS. However, her style – especially when on duty – is also influenced by her viewing habits. “Usually in my music videos there are a lot of things that I
the clothes are very anime-esque because I’m obsessed with anime,” explains Poarch. “I watch One Punch Man and I like Chainsaw Man. It’s funny that they both have the word “man”. This is my main anime now, but I watch it a lot. I also love sci-fi films.”

As her star steadily rises, Poarch is traveling more and more and hopes to perform some live shows for fans in the near future – but what’s the one thing she can’t hit the road without? “I travel with a lot of things, but the thing I need most is perfume, which I’ve been wearing for three years in a row,” she laughs. “Aquaphor because I have very dry and cracked lips. I can’t go anywhere without my AirPods. Clorox wipes, you know those Clorox travel wipes? I should always have them. I always wipe down airplane seats; I don’t trust them. I also tend to break out when I travel, so acne patches are a must.”

Poarch has already achieved a lot, overcoming challenges along the way, but she keeps it simple while thinking about her greatest victory to date. “My biggest achievement will be my music and being able to represent the Philippines,” she says. As for her biggest inspiration? “I would say my fans. They are definitely the reason I create my music and content. I’m so happy that they like my music and that they continue to support me.”