We got on Cece Timing and spoke to Cece Natalie about how she was born in a lab, her “Joker” upbringing, her early forays into the online music scene, and how she’s leaving all that behind to go full pop—with an Isabella Lovestory tour soon to come.
There’s something so intoxicating about hearing a beat that instantly makes you feel like a bad ting. “Team Cece” sends me bouncing in my bedroom, transporting me to a utopia governed by a hot girl matriarchy called Cece Land. Cece Natalie rules as queen, trap claps fly out of every speaker, and every bitch is gifted their own microphone so they can spread Cece’s hot girl mantra. Everyone wears Cece Pants, everyone goes Cece Mode, everyone’s on Cece Timing.
The feeling of being overwhelmingly sexy spills out of every Cece song, from the ticking beat drops to the lusty lyrics. Her 2024 debut album Miss Behaves hurled out sensual hooks like “I’m like 5’3 I wanna feel your hands on me” and “I gotta get hot for the summer/I do my cardio.” Even “Miracle,” one of her earlier tracks released in 2023, reads as a siren call: “I’m moving pretty in the water, make you wanna come in closer. But you know I’ll pull you under.” Cece’s always in the driver’s seat, commanding and tantalizing even when she’s vulnerable.
The 20-year-old Mia Ferrentino has been hailed as a “pop enigma.” She got her start as a teen making music in online hyperpop communities, based out of a studio apartment in a small Connecticut town, and recorded as priscilla134 and other secret aliases she hasn’t yet disclosed. Back then, her sound was more reminiscent of haywire digicore. But she doesn’t identify with this music anymore: Under Cece Natalie, her sound radiates main pop girl Britney Spears Blackout energy—it’s a blend of the IDGAF I’m hot pop music of the 2000s and the new-gen weirdness of Drain Gang and Snow Strippers.
Cece just moved to New York City this April. A few months ago, she released her first track of 2025, “So Proud,” a woozy post-club comedown, signaling a darker new era. Her new single, “Not even lying,” released on September 5, follows in the same sound. Now, Cece Natalie—fresh off the high of playing with Snow Strippers in NYC—is preparing to open for Isabella Lovestory’s tour this fall.
Between nonchalant puffs of her Miami Mint Geek, Queen Cece enlightened us about what’s in store for this new era.
The interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.
Maleah: You were conceived in New York, right? That’s your land?
Cece Natalie: Yes! I was made in a lab. Apparently, my parents hated each other so much that they didn’t even want to, like, bang bang. They grew me like in a petri dish. I don’t know what they put in there, but yeah.
Maleah: Do you feel like you lead your life a little differently knowing you weren’t conceived the regular shmegular way?
Cece Natalie: I think it checks out because I’ve always felt a little bit alien. I’m not even being silly. Sometimes I really do think I’m psychic, I get visions, and they happen, even for other people. That’s why I’m saying, I don’t know what they put in that petri dish!
Maleah: Do you think that alienation comes from your small town too?
Cece Natalie: I think so. In small towns like mine, it’s very cookie-cutter. There’s only a couple of different types of people personality-wise. If you don’t fit into one of those, you don’t really have anywhere to go. You won’t be able to find a crew to click with if you’re not one of three personality types.
When I get on stage, I become the Hulk.
Maleah: I feel like you must’ve come out completely different from your Connecticut peers. What led you down the music path, and past the copy-pastes?
Cece Natalie: Honestly, it was partially being an only child and being really isolated. I lived on the outskirts of town, so I couldn’t really walk anywhere, and playing with friends in the street was not there either because like, nobody is ever your age. I guess I was also weird as a child. In preschool, it felt like I was always doing weird shit and my classmates were scared of me.
One time, I led everyone into the bathroom and flushed a bunch of paper clips down the toilet. I was lowkey always doing performance art like that until I got a bit older. I’ve always been and felt very outcasted and it somewhat led me to feel very rebellious against everyone else. Since moving, and making a lot of friends, I don’t feel how I did at all. But I can remember feeling very antagonized by society from the age of 4 to 17. I basically felt like the Joker. It’s kind of embarrassing to say.
Maleah: Age 4 to 17 is a pretty big gap to have your Joker arc.
Cece Natalie: Yeah, it wasn’t fun living it, but it shapes me. At a certain point, I made the best out of it, and it turned me into someone I like. I like society and I feel confident. I mean, me coming into preschool everyday and pulling crazy publicity stunts for my class has me like, “What was going on in your head?”
But, I really did feel as a little little kid, before spelling and counting, everything I did was so intentional. Everything was with intention and spite and I was very much aware of my feelings from a very, very young age.
Maleah: It seems like you’re leading your career with less intention. It’s strategic but it’s also intentionless in your own way?
Cece Natalie: It’s really a mixture of both. It’s more like I have long term intentions, and I have intentions of who I want to be and who I want to be seen as. But never short-term intention.
Maleah: I saw your tweet about how you don’t like end goals as an artist and wanting a slow burn. I’m really curious what you mean by that?
Cece Natalie: One thing I do know is that I don’t want to blow up because I think it’s corny. It feels very internet, very TikTok, it’s very Instagram Reels. I just hope and want to be a classic famous. People who are big-time famous like Lady Gaga did not blow up off TikTok; she was putting her ass to work in smaller shows and had the real organic come up.
I want to be prepared for long-term fame. If you blow up one day overnight, how are you going to get used to being in the spotlight?
Maleah: Yeah, like that Chappell Roan archetype. We can’t imagine that overnight feeling of your whole life changing in a split second. I hope things can go your way, it feels like a needed move to your career.
Cece Natalie: Oh, I force it to! In the past, when I was much smaller, I definitely turned down lots of opportunities and ignored some too, as it felt like it was too much. When I had way less motion than now, I knew I didn’t want to do the bigger scale things. Last year, I turned down a lot of shows as well because I wasn’t too used to performing. Like, last year I saw Alice Longyu Gao in my DMs and didn’t read it because I was so scared! She wanted me to open for a show or something, and I was just way too anxious. Before my team, I remember getting so many A&R and label DMs and I would simply ignore them.
Amber: Do you want to sign to a label?
Cece Natalie: No. I just feel like suggestions and getting told what to do steer me off. I feel like being in control and being queen of Cece Land is best. I feel like a label would contradict that.
Amber: Maleah and I were talking about that yesterday. You’re known for being really self-referential with “Cece Land,” “Cece timing,” “Team Cece,” “Cece Pants,” what does it mean to be in Cece Land?
Cece Natalie: They’re all kind of umbrella terms, but okay… Cece Pants is whatever music/style I’m making at the moment. Cece Mode is my artist mode versus my Mia mode. When I’m at a show, the Cece Pants are on and I’m in full Cece Mode. Whatever style I’m contributing to Cece, it means everything in relation to Cece.
Amber: So where’s Cece right now?
Cece Natalie: I feel like I’m in a very transitional place. I’m kind of just letting it create itself.
Maleah: I feel like when I read things like “Team Cece” and adjacent references, I’ve interpreted it as your very own Hulk persona. It’s like ripping into your Cece pants, and it feels silly.
Cece Natalie: When I get on stage, I become the Hulk.
Maleah: Do you feel like it’s still very early in your career? It kind of is in a way but I know you’ve had a couple of past names on SoundCloud and have had some other projects under them.
Cece Natalie: That’s when I was still learning to make music, I don’t really associate myself with anything I did before Cece. I feel like “Miracle” was the start of everything. And I feel like where I want to be in the end is even far from where I am now. I want to be like Beyoncé. You know, she’s been around and she’s not going anywhere.
Amber: Can you talk about your transition period right now? “So Proud” feels very different from the album Miss Behaves. What’s on the horizon?
Cece Natalie: I wouldn’t say the music itself is similar to Miss Behaves—the similarity lies in me and that it still has my own essence. It’s also similar to Miss Behaves in that that album didn’t have any singular repetitive drum patterns or sound, but it all had a similar vibe. I think the next album is like that. There’s also plenty more that I’ve been working on for a while. It’ll probably be a while before my next, but I think it’s going to sound different from Miss Behaves, and I really like it.
Maleah: Speaking of “So Proud,” the track feels like yearning and begging. Genius says the chorus, “I want to make you so proud,” is about your fans. Who are you singing to?
Cece Natalie: I cannot disclose that! I will say the Genius interpretation is fundamentally wrong, and I don’t mind because it’s actually cute. I do want to make them proud! I love Team Cece! I would say how you described the yearning is definitely how I intended it to be, but it’s also whatever you feel when you listen to it.
Maleah: What are some instant icks of yours, general or romantic?
Cece Natalie: You know those types of guys who call you “Twin?” Like, “Yeah, you so short twin! Are you 4’7? Damn twin. Get on Discord, let’s get on Valorant!” Those types of men disgust me on a fundamental level. I started in online scenes so I had to be in the presence of so many of those types of men. And it’s just so disgraceful. That’s why I don’t want to be associated with internet-y types of artists sometimes. I’d say in friendships, when people are really dry and don’t get into the deep stuff. Like one word sentences, and the love language of sending TikTok and Instagram Reels is so shallow.
Amber: You used to talk about making music in your mom’s car and apartment back in your hometown. Could you describe to us what your life in New York is like compared to Connecticut?
Cece Natalie: It’s a night-and-day difference! There are some things I miss about Connecticut even though I was unhappy there. Growing up an only child, I was always in my room and shy, anxious, and awkward at all times. That was me as a child and I wouldn’t really ever come out of my room. Going through a lot of different living situations and chaos within my family was major. I remember sleeping on an air mattress, and I really don’t know how I made an album in all these circumstances.
It was my mom and I at the time, who I love so much. I’m so glad that it was her out of everyone else in the world I got to share that studio with, but I can’t live like that. I don’t really know how I made an album in those circumstances because I was so depressed. Not having that private space to myself had me feeling like nothing was mine. Moving didn’t fix all of my problems, a lot of stuff was internal but I am so much happier. Now, I feel like I can just live.
Maleah: What’s been your favorite pastime when you have downtime in NYC?
Cece Natalie: It’s boring, but I love to explore places alone. I listen to music, walk around, and just take everything in. I like to find places that aren’t crowded, because I have very bad sensory issues. When I was seven, I was actually diagnosed with sensory processing disorder so as much as I love my neighborhood, the foot traffic can be really overwhelming.
Amber: Who are you listening to on said walks? Who’s on your “On Repeat” playlist?
Cece Natalie: So it’s kind of everything, but I have a lot of 2020, 2016, and 2018 era Travis Scott in rotation. I also love the album Goddess by Banks. I listen to a lot of Nicki Minaj too, her 2010s work, where she was at her most aggressive. It’s there for me when I’m feeling mad about something.
Amber: We’re curious about what it means to be a part of Team Cece. What do you feel are some non-negotiables one needs to possess?
Cece Natalie: Just understand me. I would say, try and see me as I see myself, and don’t put me in a box. See me as my own thing. See me as what I am. And don’t say your favorite song is “Ambulance.”
Amber: What are you looking forward to this year? And how do you get ready for your shows?
Cece Natalie: I think after the couple of shows that I’ve done, I’m less nervous. But I don’t get excited about those things until I’m at the venue, because I haven’t even really thought too much about the tour because I know if I think about it now, I’m going to overthink it. I’m not going to be excited, I’m going to be scared out of my ass. So I try not to think about those things until they come. Once I get to the venue, I get so hyped.
I fucking love [Isabella Lovestory]. Even though I can’t think about the tour right now without getting nervous, I just can’t believe that that’s going to be a thing.
properly curating your music is becoming a lost art for a lot of artists and promotes micro trends in music. it’s nice to see an upcoming artist with a different approach.
Fax