16-year-old Trinity Jo-Li Bliss isn’t afraid of much. Not fronting one of Hollywood’s highest-grossing franchises, performing adrenaline-spiking stunts, pouring her heart out through song or getting swept up in an intense crush.
“I love being crushed by a crush,” says the singer, songwriter and star of Avatar: The Way of Water and Avatar: Fire and Ash (in theaters tomorrow!). “Whether it’s the dopamine rush or even the negative feelings that come with it. And music has been so important in giving me a space to express that freely.”
Anyone who’s heard her latest single “you make me wanna dance” knows exactly what she means. The wistful track is already an anthem for yearners everywhere. If you’ve ever been truly down bad, prepare to get hooked on Trinity’s cinematic and confessional approach to pop—just in time for her sophomore album that’s slated to drop next year.
We sat down with Trinity to get to know the side of her you don’t see on the silver screen (at least not yet…we’ll admit we’re manifesting a rom-com role for her future). Ready to uncover the truth about the quadruple threat with—spoiler alert—a verifiably huge heart?
1. She first fell in love with music because of Frozen.
It’s…TRUE!
“I think my earliest musical memory might be my obsession with the Frozen soundtrack,” recalls Trinity, a self-proclaimed lover of both Elsa and Olaf. “I remember just belting ‘Let It Go’ around the house with a toy microphone.”
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After that fateful toy microphone came the toy guitar (“It literally didn’t play a single note, but I was still “playing” it around the house the whole day”) which was followed by the very real guitar, piano and ukulele. Combine those instrumental skills with her love of penning her own lyrics and you’ve got Trinity’s musical origin story.
2. Her new song is based *solely* on her fave flick.
It’s…FALSE!
“you make me wanna dance” sounds like it’s ripped straight from your fave coming-of-age movie—and that’s by design. Trinity blends many different sources of inspiration when she’s in the studio, including books, TV shows, film and yes, some memories from her real life.
“I love to mix and match,” she says of her songwriting process. “But this song is very inspired by the cliché high school moments I always longed for.”
Since she was homeschooled for many years, those “classic” teenager pastimes (think: cheering in the stands at the football game, stopping by your bestie’s locker to gossip, attending a school dance) weren’t always accessible to Trinity.
“My friends would take me as a +1 to these parties or dances and I never really felt like I belonged,” she reflects. “It wasn’t always the most positive experience, but I found it all so inspiring and exhilarating. I felt this electricity in the air and I really wanted to write about that.”
3. She’s hidden some easter eggs in her latest music video.
It’s…TRUE!
As a co-director of the “you make me wanna dance” music vid, Trinity had the opportunity to weave in some visual references to her most-watched media. That includes Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, the Snow Ball sequence in season two of Stranger Things and Pride and Prejudice (the 2005 adaptation starring Keira Knightley).
“I did sneak in a Mr. Darcy hand flex,” she laughs (IYKYK, the proof is in the video above…). “I wanted to capture that heartfelt, cheesy, yearning—and that awkward, icky, coming-of-age stuff, too.”
4. All those crazy stunts in Avatar: Fire and Ash came naturally to her.
It’s…FALSE!
With her many talents—writing, acting, singing, directing, just to name a few—you might think it would be NBD to add “stuntwoman” to that list. On the set of Avatar: Fire and Ash, though, Trinity faced one of her biggest career challenges to date. And in order to portray little sib Tuktirey (aka “Tuk”), she was going to have to overcome that hurdle.
“Parkour was something I struggled with so much in training,” she says. “I think I’m just not coordinated in that way.”
She credits the film’s “amazing stunt team” with helping her nail the ultra-complicated moves (and psst, teases one especially thrilling chase sequence feat. Tuk, Kiri and Spider).
5. She’s got huge (and highly relatable) goals for the new year.
It’s…TRUE!
Fans of Trinity’s music will be pumped to hear that she’s got much more where “you make me wanna dance” came from. You heard it here first: She expects her next single to drop in early January.
Even with big dreams for her next chapter, Trinity is still a down-to-earth, normal teenage girl—with an oh-so-ordinary goal at the very top of her bucket list.
“My biggest resolution for 2026 is driving,” she says. “I still need to get my permit and my license. I can but I just haven’t done it yet!” To be fair, it sounds like she’s been pretty busy lately…
Stream “you make me wanna dance” HERE, grab tix to see Avatar: Fire and Ash HERE
and follow us on IG @girlslifemag for more new music recs!
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Top and slider image: Raquel Krelle
