Xandra Pohl Talks Debut Single, ‘Body Say,’ Music Video and Future Plans

The 23-year-old DJ’s new song is the anthem of the summer.

Xandra Pohl / Arturo Holmes/Getty Images

Most weekends growing up, Xandra Pohl could be found in the crowd at a concert or a music festival. But her dream of being a DJ wasn’t really born until her junior year of high school.

She was at Lollapalooza in Chicago, and Australian DJ Alison Wonderland was performing. Pohl was entranced. “I immediately was like, that’s what I want to do,” she tells SI Swimsuit. “She was so cool.”

So, she went home and immediately told her mom her new ambitions: she wanted to become a DJ. Thankfully, her mom was willing to entertain the idea. “So we went, bought a board,” she says, and with the help of YouTube videos, Pohl taught herself how to DJ.

Her gigs started with high school dances, like her senior prom. The experiences had her hooked. So, she applied and committed to the University of Miami with the intention of pursuing a degree through their music business program. Soon after arriving, she took her sets to fraternity houses, where she would perform during parties, both a “great [and] very interesting way to break into that scene,” Pohl explains.

But she didn’t settle for college parties. “I ended up [performing] at my first club at 18,” she says, “and the rest is history.”

Her debut single, ‘Body Say’

Five years later, the 2024 SI Swimsuit rookie is celebrating her debut single, “Body Say.” The process of creating the song, which she describes as a sort of summer anthem “for the girls,” officially began in November or December of 2023, just about four months after she signed with Palm Tree Management. But she has been thinking about her first release for much longer.

Sometime during her junior or senior year of college, “when I really started to see that I had a true career in DJing,” Pohl says, “that’s when I instantly started [thinking] I want to come out with music, and I want to find my sound.” In other words, the release has “been years in the making.”

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Searching for her sound was, admittedly, anxiety-inducing. Since Pohl loves all sorts of music, she didn’t find herself “hooked on a certain vibe.” But, with a lot of time, effort and the help of her producers, she brought “Body Say” to fruition. The beat was inspired, in part, by a long-time favorite of hers, “I Can’t Wait” by Nu Shooz.

In choosing a partner for the project, Pohl wanted to find a female musician, who she could grow with. When her team introduced her to GiGi Grombacher, she “instantly fell in love with her voice, her vibe,” Pohl says. “She’s an amazing person. She’s very passionate about what she does and we just meshed on every single level. And then, ‘Body Say’ was made.”

Pohl considers herself bubbly and outgoing, and she wants that sound to come across in her music. “My music, my sound, I feel like everything has just kind of been like for the girls,” she says of her ambitions. She wants to create “fun dance music that I can listen to at a club and just have a time with my friends,” she explains.

“Body Say” is certainly that.

Her debut music video

For Pohl, a music video was a necessary complement to her new release. “I was very adamant about shooting a music video,” she says, “because I’m very video-based on everything that I do, and I felt like it was really important to show a visual behind the song.”

The idea for the video came together with the help of a seasoned director. She wanted it “to match the vibe of the song,” and decided there was no better way to do that than with a video that gives a little glimpse into her life. So, they filmed it at the house where she’s been staying all summer—or, Xandra’s Country Club, as she calls it in the video.

With the help of “very bright, colorful, fun” visuals, she ended up with a “fantasized” version of her summer. Pohl wanted fans to watch the final product and think “this is what I want my summer to look like,” and that’s exactly what she ended up with.

Her future plans

“The crazy thing about music,” Pohl says, “is as soon as one’s done, there are three more in the oven.”

In other words, she already has new releases in the works. She’s also planning her next tour, a follow-up to her first, “Drunk Tour,” which took place earlier this year. In August, she’ll play at Lollapalooza, where she was first inspired to pursue a DJ career.

There’s much to come, but Pohl is still caught up in the fanfare following her first release. “I’m really excited that [‘Body Say’] was my first,” she says.