Slayyyter Admits She 'Didn't Expect Anyone to Like' Her New Music — and the Response Has Been 'Wild' (Exclusive)

A lot has changed for Slayyyter since debuting in 2018 with songs recorded in her St. Louis bedroom closet.

The pop star, 29, is gearing up to release her upcoming third studio album, which marks her first major label release after signing with Columbia's RECORDS imprint earlier this year. And if recent singles "BEAT UP CHANEL$," "CANNIBALISM!" and "CRANK" are any indiction, the project will be positively bombastic and unhinged.

"The biggest difference is it's not just me anymore," Slayyyter tells PEOPLE of making the upcoming body of work. "[There are] other people to discuss your music with, consider things with and think about ideas with. And that's been really amazing."

Despite working with a massive record company, the "Daddy AF" singer's process for creating the new music itself remained pretty insular. "I didn't expect anyone to like it," she says. "I didn't even expect fans to like it."

Slayyyter was especially "nervous" to release "CRANK," a gritty and confident banger about a wild night that references the 1993 film Dazed and Confused in its NSFW lyrics.

"I was like, 'I feel like this is a little too aggressive. I don't know if people are going to like this.' It's not very pop," she says. "Columbia really loved it enough to sign me. And I've been grateful for that chance."

Luckily, fans have been loving the new material. "Seeing the response to everything has been really wild," says the musician. "Sometimes an artist's intuition really is best on a lot of things."

While making the new album, Slayyyter knew she could "make more dance pop music" like she has in the past and recreate the vibe of her last album, Starf---er. "But it just wasn't in my heart at the time, and I didn't feel inspired by doing that," she notes.

Last month, Slayyyter performed her new music at Grindr's Pleasure Ball in N.Y.C. for a rowdy crowd of largely LGBTQ+ people — who embraced the songs with open arms. "I feel like that is the space where my music lives and thrives, and I feel grateful to always perform in those spaces," she says.