Sparkles, sequins and feathers—Kat Graham is dressed and ready to go. All that's left to do is press play.
The Vampire Diaries star just launched her latest music video for her new track, "'All Your Love," and E! News has the exclusive first look of the 27-year-old star in all her glamorous glory. In the video, fans get to follow the songstress as she gets gussied up backstage before joining her crew for some fierce struts down the runway. Graham explained to E! how the 1991 documentary, Paris Is Burning, inspired the theme of this new project.
"I think, especially with what's happening in the country and the world right now, I think unity is really important to be expressing right now and when I first saw this movie, Paris Is Burning, I really fell in love with the whole thing," she told E! News of the famous film about New York City drag queen culture.
"Now, I've kind of been a part of the drag scene before. Even before I was on Vampire Diaries, I was doing shows at gay clubs and those were the only clubs that would book me to perform. So, I had been in the scene for some time. I watched Paris Is Burning and at that point I was starting to get more into the drag scene and I had drag friends and then slowly over time I was in a house, House of Brooks. So, I really think that this video couldn't have come at a better time and I'm really excited for people to see it."
Throughout the music video, it was important for Graham to share the camera. "I said, 'Listen, I am just here to facilitate your fabulousness. That's all I'm here to do,'" she explained. "This is about showcasing all these incredible people and this incredible scene and really celebrating ourselves and who we are in the world. And for me, I wish I lived in a world like this. I think that it's really important for people to feel really empowered right now and know how special and being unique is to be celebrated."
In addition to being your go-to weekend jam, Graham wants the song to work as an anthem for everyone.
"As much as I love being the artist and everything, I really believe that everyone is a superstar and I really believe that you can be anything you want to be and anything you want to dream—whether you're a little girl or a young gay man, you can be anything that you desire," she told E! News.
"If you're black, if you're Jewish, if you're a massive supporter of the LGBT community and you feel discouraged, this is the time to feel really empowered and expressive and loud and powerful and I hope that this video expresses it."
If there was any other musician to represent that message of equality, it was the late Prince, who Graham had the opportunity to work with before he passed away in April.
"I sent him 'All Your Love' and he was like, 'You wrote this all yourself?' and I was like 'Yes?' and he was like 'Aw, my baby's all grown up,'" she recalled.
"He was really proud of everything, so it was really important to me that I included whatever we had started together—that it was finished and came to completion. That was really important for me and that I didn't change anything or any word or any melody that he had set out for me to do."