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Out of nowhere, Mr. Fantasy has taken over TikTok’s algorithm.
Since August, there’s been viral footage of him gallivanting on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, “practicing” Kung fu in a tux and “sniffing” vintage clothes while thrifting. But currently, the elusive musician — whom fans say resembles KJ Apa — with a twee French bob that takes cues from Jim Morrison is currently stroking a stuffed cat toy on his burnt-sienna couch in Los Angeles.
“Everything that I do is for the music, and I nurture it like this, like this p—- you see right here. I touch the p—-, and I pat her, and that is exactly what it’s like to be my songs. I look after the pussycat and I look after my songs,” he tells PEOPLE with a cheeky British accent.
Clad in white oval sunglasses and a trippy, black and white leisure suit, Mr. Fantasy’s funky musical and stylistic aesthetic is fueled by ’70s funk, ’80s disco and icons like Prince, David Bowie and Earth, Wind & Fire.
“It all starts with the music. The music helps me to get specific. Mr. Fantasy is always changing depending on which world he’s entering, and the music is the pioneer. The music is the great master that pulls Mr. Fantasy into these worlds,” he says.
After releasing his self-titled debut single last month, which topped Spotify’s Viral 50 chart, he’s returned with his second offering, “Wayuwanna,” on Friday, Oct. 24. “When I wrote this song, I was on my feet the whole time,” he says of his latest track. “I couldn’t stop moving.”
In an exclusive interview with PEOPLE, Mr. Fantasy opens up about fame, his love of Taylor Swift and if he’s ever seen Riverdale.
Trevor Pikhart/Studio Super
PEOPLE: Mr. Fantasy, when did you first realize you wanted to be an artist?
MR. FANTASY: I never realized I wanted to be an artist. I believe that we are all artists. We are all creating. Our lives are always recording. Basically I’ve been creating ever since I was a little boy. But I realized I wanted to make music for myself and for others, professionally about five years ago, I’d say. There was no plan, there was no strategy, there was no rule book. It sort of just led itself.
PEOPLE: What was your experience with music growing up?
MR. FANTASY: My Nan always had music playing in the home, and she loved bands like Con Funk Shun [and] Earth, Wind & Fire. She loved David Bowie. She absolutely loved Johnny Cash very much. She loved Elvis. She loved Pink Floyd, Prince, Michael Jackson, all of which I feel inspire me very, very much in the music that I write. All of these artists, the connection between them is, it makes you want to move, makes you want to dance, and that’s something I’ve always been interested in.
PEOPLE: Why did you want your first single to be your stage name?
MR. FANTASY: When I was singing that tune, I just had this phrase, “I can be your Mr. Fantasy. I can be your Mr. Fantasy.” And me being Mr. Fantasy…couldn’t be more perfect. I thought, “Well, that makes the most sense because it’s my name, and that’s what I’m singing.” And it just kind of blew up, didn’t it? People have kind of grabbed onto that and started gripping it and have just started running with it. And that, to me, is beautiful. That’s an amazing thing for me to witness.
PEOPLE: Have you had any wild fan encounters since you emerged on the music scene?
MR. FANTASY: Well, when I am dancing about on the street, there are [my fans] “Fantasies” about, too, and sometimes they pull up their phones and make TikToks with me. I’m a big fan of Tiktok. I love TikTok, and I’m always watching and I’m always listening.
Nothing too crazy. It’s just people sharing love, and I get to share that love in real time. It’s a special thing, and that’s the power of music. We all have a tune stuck in our heads. It’s magic, isn’t it? Magic is the ability to make someone smile or laugh or sing a tune without even touching them. We’re manifesting to each other, love and joy.
PEOPLE: On TikTok, you spoke about living with your friend Blaine and sleeping on couch cushions on the floor. What’s the status of your living situation now?
MR. FANTASY: I’ve actually just moved in to a new house in the Hollywood Hills. I’m no longer sleeping at Blaine’s house. I thought it’d be good to get a proper place just because his girlfriend didn’t seem to be the biggest fan of me, and she was sort of always in the way at home. She was quite controlling of me and my time with Blaine.
I still get to hang out with Blaine, and he’s still my friend, but she just became a bit of a stiff rod, if you know what I mean. There wasn’t really much to her. She is my nemesis, and she wants to get me, and she’s never going to get me because she doesn’t know where I live anymore.
Trevor Pikhart/Studio Super
PEOPLE: You have an eclectic, retro sense of style. Where do you get your inspiration from?
MR. FANTASY: Style inspiration comes from the baboons that are swinging from the trees outside. Just kidding. The style inspiration just comes from my brilliant mind. I like going to vintage thrift stores. I like having a good thrift sniff. And Michael Jackson, Prince, David Bowie, Jimi Hendrix. It comes from many different people, but ultimately when I go into a thrift store, and I start sniffing things, I can’t be stopped.
PEOPLE: You’re often smelling vintage clothes on TikTok. What’s the weirdest piece of clothing you’ve smelled during your shopping expeditions?
MR. FANTASY: When I swim, I wear Speedos, so I do have to sniff the Speedos sometimes. Sometimes they have them at very specific thrift stores. And sometimes you get a little bit of a surprise when you sniff the Speedos. Do you know what I mean? That would probably be the most disgusting kind. But I do have to smell it just to make sure that what I’m wearing is healthy and dignified. I wouldn’t recommend that one. I wouldn’t recommend you go around sniffing old bikinis if that’s what you’re wanting to do. Don’t do it. Take it from me. Let me sniff them for you.
PEOPLE: What’s it been like going from a complete unknown artist to finding viral fame after your self-titled debut single?
MR. FANTASY: What’s it like? Well, nothing’s changed. It feels absolutely phenomenal to know that my music is entering many holes all around the world. By holes, I mean ear holes. And people are grooving, people are dancing, people are moving, people are touching, people are feeling, people are smiling, and that’s a good feeling. Mr. Fantasy is still Mr. Fantasy, and he still wants to lick you up and do all the things that he wants to do to you. Do you know what I mean? That’s the brilliant thing.
Fame doesn’t exist. There’s no such thing as fame because it’s ephemeral. You can’t touch it, you can’t sniff it, you can’t lick it. So it doesn’t exist to me. I’m not famous. And I bet you if you ask David Bowie if he was famous, he would say, “What are you talking about? Get out now.” Because he was just like the regular guy. He just thought outside the box, and I think I want to think outside the box. I’ve always thought outside the box, why do you think I’m going around sniffing underwear and things like that? I’m going to do what I want, just like Taylor Swift does. And that’s why I love her as an artist, because she does what she pleases, and she’s a powerful woman with magical Egyptian powers at her disposal.
PEOPLE: Speaking of Taylor Swift, you said she is your “favorite girlie” on TikTok. What’s your favorite song on The Life of a Showgirl?
MR. FANTASY: Me and John [my music video director], we were listening to that album together and we did come up with our favorite song. There’s a lot of controversy with her album because people are saying, “Oh, it’s not my favorite album of hers.” And that’s why I love what she said about the “art police” because she doesn’t judge art and neither does Mr. Fantasy. I don’t believe in competition when it comes to art. But “The Fate of Ophelia” is my favorite song on the album, and it will rest in my soul until I die.
PEOPLE: When do you like to listen to Taylor Swift?
MR. FANTASY: I listen to music constantly in my house. I go to sleep listening to music often with my earphones. So I listen to her sometimes when I sleep, in the morning. It all depends on when I feel. I mean, I listen to a lot of my own music too, constantly on repeat. She’s just another artist that’s on Mr. Fantasy’s playlist, and I love it. It’s a refresher. She cleanses my palate. And oftentimes before I go into the studio, I listen to her because it inspires me very much. She’s like a magical, beautiful, sexy pony that I just want to ride all day long. Do you know what I mean? Imagine that. Taylor Swift is a magical pony, and when I listen to her music, she makes me feel like I’m living in another magical land. The Taylor Swift land.
PEOPLE: Who do you dream of collaborating with?
MR. FANTASY: No one. I collaborate with God. That’s it.
PEOPLE: What does your daily Kung Fu warmup consist of?
MR. FANTASY: Oh, now we’re getting specific. Well, I get out of bed. I immediately lie on the floor on my backside with my arms up because it stretches my shoulders up, and I have bad rotator cuffs. Then, I get on my stomach and I do the downward dog, and I really love that position. And then when I stand up, I’m pretty much ready for my Kung Fu, and I just go through the usual stuff. It’s really improvisation. I pretend that I’m different sort of masters. I’m a big fan of Jackie Chan, Rush Hour 1, 2 and 3, and Chris Tucker, and I think he is the best martial artist. In my mind, it comes down to Jackie Chan.
When I do go to Asia, I’m going to meet him and we are going to do Kung fu together. And he will teach me everything I need to know if he is willing. I don’t want to get slapped on the bottom by Jackie Chan, although that would be quite iconic, Mr. Fantasy, getting slapped on the cheeks by Jackie Chan. If I did meet him, I would say, “You, me, and James Franco are going to be in the next Rush Hour 4, 5 or whatever it is. And we’re going to make one of the greatest masterpieces of all time.” And then I’ll say, “James, you should direct it because you haven’t directed anything in quite a long time, and I think this could be your big break.”
PEOPLE: You have a new single out today called “Wayuwanna.” Tell me the story behind that one.
MR. FANTASY: The song is about moving, it’s about dancing, it’s about feeling. And when I wrote this song, I was on my feet the whole time. I couldn’t stop moving. My greatest wish for this song is that people are just dancing and smiling. It’s disco, it’s ’80s. It’s a dance song and people are going to be moving [to] and people are going to be frolicking.
In “Wayuwanna” the song was directing me, inspiring me to feel like a royal king. I wanted to feel wealthy. I wanted to feel power. I wanted to live in a castle. We shot a music video, which I think is the best piece of cinema that I’ve ever seen, and when I watched that back, it takes me back to how I felt inhabiting this character that I’d formulated.
PEOPLE: Are you planning to release a debut album?
MR. FANTASY: When it comes to albums, the first thing that my mind thinks about is been there, done that. Not me, specifically, but everyone. Every artist in the history of mankind makes an album. Every artist in the history of mankind writes a song with a verse, a chorus, another verse, another chorus, a bridge, and then an outro.
So do I want to make an album? Honestly, today, no. I don’t want to make an album. Ask me tomorrow, might be a different answer. I quite enjoy just releasing singles because the singles direct me into different worlds that I can live in as Mr. Fantasy. Each song is a different fantasy.
PEOPLE: Have you ever seen the show Riverdale?
MR. FANTASY: No, I haven’t.
PEOPLE: Lili Reinhart spoke about being a fan of yours and said she knew your true identity. Have you crossed paths with her before?
MR. FANTASY: I’ve never crossed paths with “Lili Heinhart,” but I do know that many different people claim to have met Mr. Fantasy. Many people want to know what the true identity is. Mr. Fantasy’s identity is always expanding. My identity is in my name. Look no further. I am Mr. Fantasy. I’m interested in mankind. I’m interested in culture. I’m interested in different states of mind.
That’s why I love humans because I’m interested in behavior, and when I write music, I inhabit this behavior. I step into the shoes, and my fantasy is being lived out. So yes, “Mrs. Heinhart,” whoever you are, you are welcome into Mr. Fantasy’s world at whenever time you choose. Just let me know, and I will visit you in your dreams, and I will give you a good spanking.
PEOPLE: Can you give us any clues as to what the next single is after “Wayuwanna”?
MR. FANTASY: Okay, I’ll tease it with one word: primate. Let me just brief another word: primitive. One more word: poop. The key word is primate.
