Miss Orange Juicy Return With The Fizzy ‘Sorry Not Sorry’
- Benjamin Bahr
- 4 days ago
- 5 min read
Miss Orange Juicy
Heatseeker 🔥 Pop with bite, fizz, and full-bodied confidence. 🍊
Adelaide’s own Miss Orange Juicy — the sweet-n-sour pop duo of Paige and Mario — are back with ‘Sorry Not Sorry’, a hook-laced, tongue-in-cheek anthem for the chronic over-apologisers among us. It's sickly sweet vocally and about as cheeky as it is hooky. It’s the perfect follow-up to their debut ‘Orange Juicy’: sparkly, sharp, and brimming with citrus-charged attitude, all wrapped in the duo’s trademark chaos, humour and heart.
For this Heatseeker, Mario steps up to answer our questions, fresh off the release of the new single — a track that bottles up frustration, defiance and pure pop sunshine in equal measure. From weaponising weirdness to writing without fear, to the early seeds of the Miss Orange Juicy universe, Mario gives us a beautifully candid look behind the fizz.
Let’s get juicy. 🍊
MISS ORANGE JUICY — HEATSEEKER Q&A
Let’s start at the top — who are Miss Orange Juicy? Tell us about how you two met, what drew you together creatively, and how this sweet n’ sour world first came to life.
Miss Orange Juicy are/is Paige and Mario. We first met at 50 Songs In 5 Days, a magical songwriting camp that used to happen annually in Sydney. We actually never worked together there, but we were both from SA so as soon as we got back, I hit up Paige and our other songwriter/producer friend Benny Tamblyn for a writing session, and we’ve been working together in various forms ever since. The project really took shape when we both found ourselves in a bit of a creative hole, so we got together and started writing just for the pure fun of it. Miss Orange Juicy is what came out of those sessions. We weren’t really looking for anything — but as anyone who’s ever lost their car keys knows, things always turn up when you stop looking.
You’ve said Miss Orange Juicy isn’t just a band — it’s a mood and a movement. What does that mean to you both?
We both bonded over the fact that we feel slightly out of place in the world — that it doesn’t quite make sense, or that we’re the wrong shape for most scenarios. Rather than try to hide those things and do the “cool” thing, we’re weaponising our weirdness through music. If you feel out of place, you can always come sit at our table. We saved you the middle seat.
‘Sorry Not Sorry’ feels like the perfect anthem for anyone who’s ever said sorry just to keep the peace. What moment or conversation sparked that realisation that it was time to stop biting your tongues?
YES. We hope it is. Both Paige and I are chronic apologists, so when Paige put those initial lines down, the song came together very quickly. I’m sure most of us can relate.
The track walks that fine line between playful and powerful — like bubblegum laced with bite. And those vocals are KILLER! How do you find that balance between sugar and sting in your sound?
We’ve talked a lot about this actually. If it were a recipe, the ingredients would look something like this: ½ cup — grounded & deeply relatable ¼ cup — quirkiness ¼ cup — f*%k you.
You describe yourselves as “sweet n’ sour” and “liquid sunshine.” What does that duality represent — in your personalities as much as your music?
“Sweet n’ sour” and “liquid sunshine” is basically our whole personality distilled. We’re warm and bright and silly, but we’ve also got a tang, a kick, a little chaos in the aftertaste. It’s the duality of being the friend who hypes you up and the friend who tells you to stop accepting crumbs. In the music, that shows up as sparkly pop with a sting. In us, it’s softness with boundaries, sunshine with attitude, joy that isn’t naive, and honesty that still tastes good.
Between ‘Orange Juicy’ and ‘Sorry Not Sorry’, there’s already a sense of sonic and emotional growth. What’s evolved since your debut, and what threads still tie the two songs together?
The first single was coincidentally also the first song we ever wrote for this project, so I think we’ve just started to scratch the surface. Writing is my favourite place to be and it’s where I feel completely free. We try not to put too much pressure on writing the song — just a song. Songwriting is like fishing: mostly you get nothing, but you still gotta show up if you want to snag a good one. We show up — and that’s 80% of it.
Pop’s in a fascinating phase right now — artists are embracing the genre’s joy, emotion and complexity again. Where do you see Miss Orange Juicy fitting into that pop resurgence?
If pop music was a Year 12 formal, we’re dancing in a small circle off to the side — and we’ve completely misread the dress code.
There’s a strong message of self-worth and boundary-setting in your lyrics. Who or what gives you both the courage to keep owning your truth — even when it ruffles feathers?
I really think the only superpower you have as a songwriter is your personal experience. Wanna write a cool beat? There’s an app for that. Wanna write a generic love song? There’s an app for that.We try to get real close to the place just before you feel so embarrassed you might never want to show anyone. Vulnerability and a slight sense of embarrassment — that’s our sweet spot.
You’re set to make your live debut at Queer Club: Loud & Queer later this month. What kind of energy can people expect — chaos, choreography, costume changes, or all of the above?
We’re going to try and live up to the event’s name :)
Your visuals, tone and personality feel like part of a bigger pop universe. How much of the Miss Orange Juicy aesthetic is carefully crafted, and how much just... happens in the glorious chaos?
It’s a mix of both. We love talking concept, but at the same time, we want to leave room to surprise ourselves — our little orange tree is still growing.
The name itself feels more like a character or alter ego than just a band name. Who is Miss Orange Juicy to you both — and what does she allow you to express that maybe you couldn’t otherwise?
She’s the version of us who says the thing you’re scared to say — but with a wink. She’s confident, camp, citrusy, dramatic, and just a bit feral. Through her, we get to exaggerate our truest selves and leave the boring parts at home.
Finally, if Miss Orange Juicy came in an actual juice box, what would it say on the label — and what flavour are we sipping?
The label would say: “WARNING: MAY CAUSE CONFIDENCE, CRYING, OR BOTH.”And the flavour? A sparkling citrus punch with a chilli kick. Sweet, but a little dangerous.