Reign Judge Is Building Her World
11 Nov, 2026
Photos Rachell Smith
Words Defined Team
Styling Sebastien Hohl
Reign Judge trained in opera from a young age, performed at the Hollywood Bowl, and worked as a model before she ever wrote a song. When she finally got the chance, she wrote ten in two weeks.
Just months after her first single, “Infatuation”, she sounds certain of the world she’s building. It runs on old Hollywood glamour and a New Yorker’s bluntness. She comes from fashion, and says people have sometimes reduced her to a pretty face. There’s a lot more to her than that.
It’s a lot of talent this early in a career, and we wanted to work with her while it’s all still new. For this cover story, Reign teamed up with photographer and Defined founder Rachell Smith to build the shoot together. We also spoke to her about writing from real life, why she looks to old records over new ones, and what she wants people to know that the songs alone can’t tell them.
Where's your head at right now, today, in this moment of your career?
Right now in my career I just feel super excited and challenged. I'm the type of person that really loves feeling challenged and I love pressure. I love good pressure because pressure makes diamonds. And I have such high expectations for myself, but not in a toxic way. I just really believe in myself and my ability. So I’m excited to continue sharpening my skills across the board in regard to music, songwriting, creating visuals, all of it. And I'm looking forward to continuing to build out the world that I see.
You trained in opera and classical music, and even performed at the Hollywood Bowl, long before any of this. What did that world teach you that's still in your voice today?
I think my background in opera and classical gave me a good foundation on how to sing healthily, which I think is so important. And as much as it’s talked about, it's not really talked about enough. I think having a good technical foundation allows you to be able to experiment and play with your voice safely and keep longevity in mind. I want to be able to do this as long as I possibly can. And I feel like it really got instilled into me early how to sing healthily and how not to push myself in ways that can be dangerous. I had to do a lot of unlearning, honestly, to move from an opera and classical background into a more contemporary style of singing. But I've definitely kept the knowledge of vocal health - I steam and I drink these honeys and take these tablets and hydrate. It’s just something I really got to learn early from being in opera.
Sheer cape MOLLY GODDARD, Bra FRANKIE MORELLO FROM ARCHIVE X YANA
Did you have to retrain your voice to find this sound, or did the classical training carry over naturally?
I've definitely had to do quite a bit of retraining and start using a completely different part of the voice that I wasn't using for so long. Some habits that are encouraged in opera actually can work against you in a contemporary sense and vice versa. So it's been a lot of retraining, learning, unlearning, all those things.
Ten songs in two weeks, after years of never writing one. What opened the door for you, creatively, to write like that so suddenly?
I think when you're meant to do something, there's kind of nothing that can get in the way of it. I had never tried before and I'd never had that opportunity put in front of me. I don't play instruments as of yet, so it always felt difficult and daunting to write a song, because yeah, I could think of melodies, but I couldn't think of what a fleshed out song should be. It was just bottlenecking inside of me for quite some time so once given the opportunity, it just really kind of exploded out of me.
"Infatuation" was your first single, and you've said it felt like the nucleus of everything you're building. Listening back now, what does that song still tell you about your own world?
That's such an interesting question. I think Infatuation just feels like the foundation of who and what I am. I don't know, it just feels so me and so well-rounded in all of the things that I love. I love what I did lyrically and it felt so honest and so vulnerable, which made me very proud. And I think that song just reminds me of what's important to me and also what's instinctive to me. That was the second song I ever wrote. And it was so natural. I wrote it in one day and I cut it that same day. And I feel like if anything, it reminds me to just trust my instinct. It just feels so classic. And there wasn't so much thought put into it. It’s just what came. So I feel like that's what I take from that song.
Hat VIVENNE WESTWOOD FROM PECHUGA, Shirt VIVENNE WESTWOOD FROM ARCHIVE X YANA
When you're writing, where does it actually come from? Personal experience, a feeling you're trying to work through, something you've observed in someone else?
When I write, it's definitely from my personal experience and something usually that I'm going through in that moment or had recently gone through. I think the point of music, and art in general, is to alchemize your own life experiences; positive, negative, neutral, whatever. To alchemize those feelings into something beautiful for yourself and for the world. And I definitely use it as a means to get stuff off my chest when there's something heavy on my mind. I just feel so proud to have turned something that I guess could feel negative into something beautiful. It's such a specific type of therapy.
Do you think the pressure on new artists today is different, or just louder than it's always been?
I think the pressure on artists and what it is to be an artist is so different today. The expectation of social media - you're expected to kind of be an in-house marketing genius and videographer and this, that, and the other. I think the old school way was kind of like, as an artist, your responsibility was to make the song and to sing the song and to just be an artist and have ideas. And it was more of a streamlined process in terms of marketing and all of that. It was just a simpler time. I think social media has created constant access whereas old school media was so controlled and gatekept. There's so much beauty and empowerment to that. But I think with that empowerment just comes greater responsibility as well.
What's something about how music gets consumed right now, fifteen second clips, algorithms deciding what breaks, that you find yourself pushing back against?
I mean, to be fair, I think that notion is something I push back against in general. I don't know, it's hard to say because that's one of those things that just is what it is. It's an empowering thing and it allows so much opportunity. But I also think it's a whole other type of algorithmic gatekeeping that can be so discouraging for people just starting out. And that’s such a shame because there's so much talent and so much amazing art being created, but due to people's short attention spans and the algorithm of it all, it can just be so discouraging. But I think there's always been versions of that and always will be versions of that. It's kind of just what it is to be an artist at the end of the day.
Skirt Belt AGANOVICH, Gloves VIVIENNE WESTWOOD FROM ARCHIVE X YANA
If you were a character in an old film, who would you be and what would you be wearing?
To be fair, I feel like I kind of live my life as if I'm a character in an old film! And obviously my aesthetics are heavily inspired by old Hollywood and old glamour, specifically Black glamour. I kind of feel like you could pick me up and put me in a different time and I would maybe fit right in because it's such a heavy reference for me. I definitely think I have an old soul in that sense.
You grew up in New York. What's something about that city that you think is still in your bones, whether you notice it or not?
I think New York just creates people with such tenacity and boldness and bluntness. And I think that's just so present in my personality. I definitely have a New York state of mind. No matter where you put me, it's just like I'm a New Yorker through and through. The boldness and the unapologetic-ness is a very, very New York quality.
What's the most "you" way to spend a Sunday, no obligations, no plans?
Sunday is my favorite day of the week. I do the same thing pretty much every Sunday. I wake up early, I go to the farmer's market, I do my groceries for the week. I come home and I always buy flowers at the farmer's market on Sundays. I make my flower arrangements and I just have a nice afternoon or evening with friends, whether we go to the movies, or have a game night or we make dinner. I just think Sunday is a very sacred day. It's a day for rest and reflection and togetherness. So, most of my Sundays look like that unless there's Rose Bowl which is the second Sunday of every month. And I'm an avid Rose Bowler. So if it's second Sunday of the month and I'm in LA, then I'm probably at Rose Bowl, but I still get in my farmer's market.
Bra FRANKIE MORELLO FROM ARCHIVE X YANA
You've said the way you dress in your videos isn't a persona, it's just you. Where's the line for you between the artist and the everyday version of yourself?
That's such an interesting question. And I think that's something I'm actively figuring out, honestly. It's not even been five months since my first song came out. And I think ideally I don't want separation. I never want to be in a position in terms of my career where I don’t feel like myself. It's really important for me to feel like me and feel comfortable and feel authentic. It's super important to me for so many reasons. I don't want to hide the things in myself that I'm ashamed of or make it seem that I'm this when I'm that. I want it to be me and I want it to be real. And I think obviously, for
art, sometimes you exaggerate things. But ideally, I don't really want there to be a separation. And to be fair, maybe that's something that might change with time. And I'm aware of that, but I don't want it to be a persona. I just want it to be Reign and I want it to be the same Reign that's in the house with my friends playing board games and just being silly and open and honest.
It's clear you know exactly what works for you visually, nothing borrowed, nothing generic. Where does that instinct come from?
I think I'm very fortunate to be embarking on this at the age I am because I feel like I spent the beginning years of my 20s in self-discovery and playing and experimenting and learning and researching and all those things. I feel like I really went on a mission to know myself because I just think it's the most important thing in the world. I'm so blessed to have so many amazing creative minds around me and I feel like we've all just loved creating together for years and experimenting and trying things. That practice and that intention has just given me such a clarity. It's given me such an instinct. But it comes from me actively pursuing self-discovery and I still do to this day. I never want to stop getting to know myself and giving myself that space to change and flow and not be rigid.
Dress OSCAR DE LA RENTA, Hat DILARA FINDIKOGLU FROM ARCHIVE X YANA
Do you find yourself more inspired by old work or new work right now, and why?
I'm definitely more inspired by old work. I think old work just has a purity. There was something about the process back in the days with the limit of a creative resource. You know, they were going into the studio and it wasn't like you could have a hundred takes. You had maybe like two tapes and you got to do like two to three takes and that was what it was. So it was instinctual and it was so raw. And I think the limitlessness of the resource nowadays is so wonderful and amazing and helps create so much amazing art. But you can get caught up in trying to be perfect. And I think art isn't meant to be perfect. It's just meant to be real. The old art has that instinct and that rawness that I really strive for. I try to do things as much as I possibly can in the old school way and not hyper fixate on perfection.
What does the next year actually look like for you, on stage, in the studio, wherever you want to take it?
All the places?
I definitely want to be on stage and that's coming very soon. I know it's something I'm going to be addicted to in the same way that I'm addicted to being in the studio. I love songwriting and I love learning about production. I really want to push myself and create the best art that I possibly can and just be focused and be intentional.
Dress OSCAR DE LA RENTA, Hat DILARA FINDIKOGLU FROM ARCHIVE X YANA
Skirt Belt AGANOVICH, Gloves VIVIENNE WESTWOOD FROM ARCHIVE X YANA
TEAM:
Talent: Reign Judge
Photographer / EIC: Rachell Smith
Producer: WIB Agency
Casting Director: Annabel Brog
Stylist: Sebastien Hohl @ The Only Agency
Makeup Artist: Francie Tomalonis @ The Visionaries Agency
Hair Stylist: Albert Morrison @ Forward Artists
Manicure: Sayo Irie
DOP: Jennifer Juniper
Photo Assistant: James Dean
Studio: DUST LA