Janelle Kroll’s EP Outsider, out this Friday, already has a few certified hits. “FVR” is a bouncy, hook-laden jam. When Kroll released it, she also came out with a Yoko Ono-type performance art instruction of what the song was about ("collect the bits of nostalgia from when you were together.../crumpled receipts/ticket stubs/reasons to stay/reasons to go/take a photo or else it didn't happen. DO NOT POST PHOTO"), which just proves how cerebral of a songwriter she is. (Although, in simpler terms, she says of "FVR," “That song is a reflection of the happy couples I see walking down the streets of my neighborhood at 11am on Saturday morning."

“24 hrs,” written and produced with Penguin Prison and Andy Seltzer, is another get-your-butt-on-the-dancefloor track; the kind of song you’d want to be listening to when watching the sunrise with your friends after a full night of partying. Ironically, it’s an ode to alienation and disengagement in big cities — not exactly the kind of vibe you’d expect from the club hits  Kroll sings on.

Yes, club hits. If you think Kroll's voice is infinitely familiar, it's because she was the voice on Dennis Ferrer’s “Mind Ur Step,” Autograf’s “Metaphysical,” and Moon Boots’ “Utopia.” In 2014, she went on tour with Big Data as lead vocalist. She also released a fan-fucking-tastic cover of Joni Mitchell's "Down to You" as a dance track. On her EP, Kroll is finally able to introduce an aesthetic all her own; she dubs her sound “dependent music.” What’s that? “I sing about emotional dependencies,” she says.

Hometown: Chicago

Homebase: New York City

What did you grow up listening to?

As a kid I listened to a lot of what my mom listened to, plenty of pop/R&B. The '90s were such an incredible time for strong female voices so there was plenty of contemporary inspiration. The pop balled hit its peak then, ya know? And feminist perspectives were in pop music! I also loved watching old movie musicals. And then a great deal of music discovery was through MTV and VH1. Music videos were at their peak. I would go home from school and immediately turn on TRL.

Did you always know you wanted to be a singer?

The eureka moment happened when I was six. I was in a play called When I Grow Up and in the opening song each person declared what profession they wanted. When we were assigning lines, I threw my hand in the air with great certainty and said ‘A SINGER.’ I didn't know I would be writing my own songs too.

Why is your song “FVR” called that? What was your inspiration for it?

Because the song is fire [laughs], but seriously I would say sonically it's inspired by Michael Jackson. And in the song I'm exploring the theme of romantic commitment, which seems like such a novel idea these days. Relationships require work, and this song is a celebration of two people hashing out their issues together instead of taking the easy way out.

And the rest of your EP?

Emotional in/dependence, nostalgia, longing for connection, being alone and feeling complete, being surrounded by others and feeling lonely. I like contrasts. If there's no sense of conflict there's no reason to write. The darkness needs the light.

Talk about the first time you realized you wanted to sing and perform for others.

When I was in kindergarten we went trick or treating AT THE MALL (because apparently that's what you do in the suburbs in the '90s), and I stood up on my chair in the food court and sang "Part of That World" from The Little Mermaid. I wasn't even Ariel for Halloween, by the way.

What about your transition to being a songwriter? Do you remember the first song you ever wrote?

When I was about 10 I wrote a song called "Put A Little Love In Your Heart" that was an interpolation of the Jackie DeShannon song... I sped up the tag and made my own verses. The concept was that love is omnipresent. The song itself was pretty cheesy, but the sentiment was there. My friends and I performed it a cappella at my friend Nikki's house for her parents. It may or may not have been an overlooked hit record sung by what could have been the next generation of Spice Girls.

Who are your musical heroes and why do they inspire you?

Oh man, this question is very difficult for me to answer! My heroes are my heroes either because they are unabashedly themselves, they've had prolific careers and evolved over time, or a certain album is a part of my DNA now. Some of them include: Lauryn Hill, Erykah Badu, Lou Reed, Roberta Flack, Kanye West, Joni Mitchell, John Lennon, Janet Jackson, St. Vincent, Arthur Russell, Stevie Wonder and Dinah Washington.

What's your songwriting process like?

It's much like throwing paint against a wall or doing a jigsaw puzzle blindfolded. My favorite way to write is when a producer gets a basic beat going and then I just improvise until we like something. I love pulling ideas out of thin air. Writing to a pre-made track can be too constraining.

What's  the best part of being a musician for you?

All that I want is to make music that affects people. So when I see that happening because someone says they've been streaming my song or someone comes up to me after a show, it's a reminder that I’m on the right path and the energy going into the music is reverberating beyond me.

On a "career" level though, the best part has been those moments when in a glimmer of a way I’m in the same sentence as my idols. Playing Lollapalooza was surreal... probably the greatest homecoming I could imagine. The other week I shared a bill at Webster Hall with another hero of mine, Corrine Bailey Rae. It's getting to be more of an actualization than a distant dream.

If you were a hashtag, what would you be?

#AreYouAnOutsider