Amber Mark is fully leaning into her Capricorn energy. “I can be incredibly persistent when I decide I want something,” the 31-year-old Grammy-nominated singer, songwriter, and producer told me after performing to a packed Madison Square Garden crowd. “But I honestly think you need to be a little delulu if you want to achieve certain things in life.” It is a fitting mindset for the New York native, who has also spent time living in India, L.A., and Berlin, and who has been on the road these past few months as part of Sabrina Carpenter’s Short n’ Sweet tour. “Getting to do this with my best friend feels unreal,” she shared. While her second album Pretty Idea, which includes the songs “Sweet Serotonin” and “Let Me Love You”, has become a favorite with the audiences she has been performing for, her stage outfits, like a mirrored mini that brings Dreamgirls to mind, are what help tie the entire show together. A few days after taking the stage at the legendary venue she used to fantasize about, Mark hopped on Zoom with us to chat about post-show chicken tenders, hitting the road with your closest friend, and how a Madonna cover never fails to hype up a crowd.

OLAMIDE OYENUSI: I saw the Short n’ Sweet tour on Sunday, and it was fantastic.

AMBER MARK: Thank you.

OYENUSI: Five nights at MSG is a lot. How are you feeling?

MARK: So far, I’ve been feeling amazing. It’s definitely draining on the body, but I mean, it’s so surreal to be performing at MSG and to get this opportunity. New York is my hometown, so I’ve been dreaming of MSG for pretty much my whole life. I’m just so thankful for this opportunity that Sabrina [Carpenter] has given me and all of that. So, I’m just trying to bask in every second of it. 

OYENUSI: Where are you primarily located now?

MARK: Well, I guess between New York and L.A. This year specifically, it’s been more New York, but the past few years, it’s been more L.A., I would say.

OYENUSI: So you’re essentially just back home? 

MARK: Exactly. I go back to my parents’ apartment pretty much after every show.

OYENUSI: What’s your favorite borough?

MARK: I feel like everyone always says Brooklyn. I would probably say like, Queens, but I think I have to say Manhattan, just because I grew up in Manhattan. Honestly, it was overrated for a while, but I think because it was so overrated, it became underrated again. [Laughs]

OYENUSI: I know that you have Jamaican roots. Do you have a favorite Jamaican spot in the city?

MARK: I do have Jamaican roots. But I honestly don’t know much about my Jamaican side, so I feel like I’m not the best person to seek advice about that. I will say that I always loved going to Miss Lily’s. That was my go-to spot for both a good meal and a good little ki—a little dance moment.

OYENUSI: I know that you and Sabrina are pretty close. What’s it like touring with your friends?

MARK: I mean, it’s been amazing. It’s been so surreal just getting to see her on stage. She’s absolutely killing it every single night. I’m constantly awestruck by her. I mean, I’ve seen the show so many times just as a friend—going to see her perform and everything—so it’s a little different now that I’m working the show. But honestly, I love it. It’s weirdly the plot of some Disney movie or something like that—touring all these crazy arenas with your best friend.

OYENUSI: Has there been a standout show so far?

MARK: Every night at MSG has just gotten better and better, I would say. I’ve never performed at that scale before, so it took me some getting used to in Pittsburgh and stuff like that. But every night, I feel like my show itself gets stronger and stronger. Last night was probably my favorite one yet, but I’m hoping tomorrow night I’m going to feel the same way.

OYENUSI: What’s your favorite song to perform in your set?

MARK: I love “By The End of the Night.” We’re also performing an oldie that I think it’s such a fun song —“All the Work.” Then we do a fun little Madonna cover. I think it gets the crowd really going.

OYENUSI: You can’t go wrong with Madonna. Have you had a favorite look so far?

MARK: I think last night’s look was pretty amazing. I wore this stunning halter mini with a bunch of round little mirrors on it. It looked like a Dreamgirls dress and reflected light really beautifully.

OYENUSI: Have you seen that they’re doing auditions for Dreamgirls to come back on Broadway?

MARK: Really? My god, I can’t wait to see it.

OYENUSI: Me too. Do you have any pre-show rituals?

MARK: Yes, for the most part, I try to do a little vocal exercise, and lots of tea.

OYENUSI: Throat Coat?

MARK: [Laughs] Throat Coat, always, through and through. And lots of ginger chopped up, some lemon. Also, I tend to talk through a little bit of the show with my MD, who is also my bassist on stage. And I always have a little Chaka Khan moment right before we get on stage. That’s it, for the most part—some giggles, some laughs.

OYENUSI: What’s on your rider?

MARK: Every time somebody asks me this I always think of Alex Consani being like, “iPhone.” Ours is so boring. We have water. There’s mezcal, but I don’t really take that too much these days. We’ve got guac, chips, just basic stuff. And lots of Throat Coat. I try to just have some good, nutritionally dense things, despite the tequila.

OYENUSI: What’s an item that you can’t live without on tour?

MARK: Well, definitely my in-ears right now—but that’s just more logistical. I mean, there are many things: my phone, and I need the fits for sure.

OYENUSI: After a show, how do you decompress?

MARK: We high-five the band altogether—that’s always a thing. Then I’m always quickly trying to get pictures because we don’t have much time before the show, just because I know I’ll regret not having pictures of the looks and stuff like that. The decompressing happens pretty much after that, I would say. Then I run through the show with my MD again and just talk about things that we could have adjusted—certain things that I feel like we need to change, little notes about what went well and what we could have done better. After that, I usually have some meal. I’ve been pretty bad these days; I’ve been having lots of chicken tenders, which I’ve been trying to not do. But after every show, I’m like, “I just want anything breaded.” [Laughs]

OYENUSI: What’s the best meal that you’ve had on tour so far?

MARK: The best meal I’ve had so far on tour would probably be at Palma. Last Monday, we did a little dinner there. We had the whole restaurant to ourselves. It was really sweet. The chef made an amazing, amazing, meal: some pasta, some chicken Milanese. There was a delicious tuna tartare and the dessert was just on another level.

OYENUSI: You’ve lived in Berlin, Miami, India, and New York, correct?

MARK: Yes.

OYENUSI: Which city has the best music scene?

MARK: Well, I mean, they’re so different. India—there are so many mixes of sounds, and then you’ve just got this completely different culture that you’re experiencing there compared to being raised here in New York. That was definitely the most “out there” and amazing in that sense. It was a very formative time of my childhood; I was a pre-teen becoming a teenager. So I think the music scene there was quite a core memory for me. But I also think New York, honestly, was a really strong place for me musically. I’ve always been in love with music, but I think here it became such an important part of my life to the point where I knew I wanted to pursue it.

OYENUSI: I get that. Normally, I like to ask for zodiac signs, but I already did a little stalking and I see that we’re a day apart.

MARK: Are we really? Oh my god. Do you love it or do you hate it?

OYENUSI: Oh, I love it. Capricorn supremacy. Do you feel like a true Capricorn?

MARK: I do at times, yes. Within my career, I very much feel like a true Capricorn. I’m very stubborn when it comes to something I want. I will compromise within reason, but if I have a dream or something I want to accomplish, it’s hard to budge me out of that. But I feel like you have to be a little delulu in order to accomplish certain things in life.

OYENUSI: So my senior year of high school, I abused your song, “FOMO.”

MARK: Oh my god, that’s amazing.

OYENUSI: It was every single day—I thought I was that girl. On tour, do you ever get FOMO, like you’re missing out on something back home?

MARK: At times but honestly, so far with this tour, I can’t believe I get to perform on the stages I’m performing on. So I honestly feel like everybody else has FOMO, not me.

OYENUSI: [Laughs] Your music has moved from grief to self-expansion. What emotional space are you writing from these days?

MARK: It’s always from an inner-growth standpoint, even when I don’t know it. I feel like that’s a consistent subject matter in the music. But I also think there’s always going to be a little love in there. I’ve been continuing with that for the most part.

OYENUSI: What does your Notes app look like?

MARK: That’s where I write all my little lyrics, phrases, and things that come to mind—feelings that I’m feeling—that I come back to when I’m in the studio. That’s turned into my little portable journal. I have my recorded vocal lessons. I have some mock-up texts to crushes.

OYENUSI: [Laughs] So you don’t actually have to embarrass yourself by sending them.

MARK: [Laugh] And they don’t see the bubble or anything like that. 

OYENUSI: As a Black woman whose sound moves across genres, how do you navigate spaces that still want to box artists in?

MARK: Oof. I don’t really know, because I feel like that still happens to me. It’s honestly just constantly reminding people that it’s not just R&B. I mean, I do love R&B, so I’m always really happy when people put me in that “world,” I guess. But it’s definitely more than that, especially with this record. I think my vocals are always really R&B and soulful, but sonically, with the instrumentation and the production, I dip my toes in a few different worlds. I think this album in general is a little bit more pop-leaning, which I was quite intentional about. I wish I had an answer, but i’s more so just talking about it that allows me to show or express that it’s more than just R&B, or what some people call “urban” or whatever.

OYENUSI: We can’t act like Black people didn’t create—how many genres of music? 

MARK: Exactly. I would say the majority of them, to be honest.

OYENUSI: Literally. What grounds you?

MARK: I would say my family—my brother, definitely. The jokes he makes or the critiques he gives definitely ground me, honestly. He’s 10 years older, so I’m used to it at this point. When I’m in L.A., I’m in a very nature-y area with lots of trees around me, and it’s like this beautiful paradise oasis. So, I always try to be out there a lot, laying out in the grass and looking up at the trees. That definitely brings me back to Earth and keeps me humble. I want everything to be perfect—I always strive for that. Sometimes I can get in my head about things like that and get a little bit of imposter syndrome. Sometimes I can get a big head, but that’s not very good for the soul, so trying to remind myself of my surroundings, where I come from and how far I’ve come, can be very humbling as well.

OYENUSI: What does success look like to you now?

MARK: I am currently experiencing it, I would say. And each day, I feel like there’s always something bigger and bigger to be proud of. I sometimes have these moments where I’m like, “Well, I should be experiencing this” or “I should be here in my career” or whatever. I start to have these moments of not feeling good enough. But there are so many things I’ve already succeeded at. It’s about being thankful for that, but then also hoping that I continue to have that feeling throughout my career.

OYENUSI: I think that’s such a good way to think about it. What are your plans for after the tour ends?

MARK: Definitely getting back in the studio. I’m already thinking about the next project and just getting more music out there. That’s going to be my main focus. And then it’s the holidays—being with family. I love a winter sport, so I need to get a little winter-sport holiday trip in there. I’m trying to convince my family that we should go to the Dolomites, to Italy, to the Alps. We’ll see if I can convince them to do that. Every year I try.

OYENUSI: Wear a cute little ski fit.

MARK: I mean, I’m more of a snowboard girly, but I’ll definitely be up there. I wouldn’t say I’m pro, but I can do some blacks, I can do some blues. [Laughs]

OYENUSI: Go to the spa!

MARK: I am, girl. That’s my next mission today.