Tag: girl in red

Netflix Hit ‘Heartstopper’ Showcases Several LGBTQIA+ Artists in Its Official Playlist for Season 2

August 3, 2023

In 2022 Netflix released Heartstopper, a British television series that follows high schooler Charlie Spring, who falls in love with his classmate Nick Nelson. The coming-of-age show, based on the hit graphic novel, includes doses of drama, comedy, and romance as Charlie and his group of close-knit friends navigate the trials and tribulations of teenagedom.

The show features a captivating score from Adiescar Chase and a perfect parallel playlist from Spotify, Heartstopper: Official Playlist. It’s now back for a second season.

For Season 1, the official playlist featured 36 songs, many of which are by both established and emerging LGBTQIA+ artists. A track from Norwegian indie-pop star girl in red appeared alongside a song from Irish singer-songwriter Ezra Williams, giving users the opportunity to listen to their favorite artists while also discovering new ones. Fans can find the playlist within our Netflix hub, as well as our GLOW hub, a dedicated space on Spotify that highlights music and podcasts of LGBTQIA+ voices for queer listeners and allies.

To celebrate the release of Season 2, Spotify is updating the official Heartstopper playlist with a new batch of tracks, including ones from Baby Queen and Tegan and Sara. Devoted fans listening to Spotify on their phones will also quickly spot an Easter egg: animated leaves floating across the screen in a nod to the illustrated visual elements depicted in the show. And as a little extra love, visuals from the series will also be depicted on select tracks in the playlist through Spotify Canvas. 

Listeners looking for more can also dive into the character-driven playlists for Nick and Charlie, Tara and Darcy, and Elle and Tao. Music is a critical component of the series, and each character has music that uniquely defines them. When For the Record asked Yasmin Finney, who plays Elle Argent on the show, which song she thinks best represents her character, she said, “‘Dog Days Are Over’ by Florence + The Machine,” because it sort of represents new beginnings. “The dog days are over, the hiding is over,” she explained. “Elle gets to step into herself, and we all see that—and she’s a boss. That song, to me, resonates with her a lot.”

In advance of Season 2, For the Record caught up with Patrick Walters*, executive producer for the show, to learn more about the integral role music plays in Heartstopper, and what artists and music fans should look forward to hearing this season.

Of all the songs on Heartstopper’s official playlist, roughly half are by queer artists. How did you discover some of the emerging talent? 

Alice and I had been developing Season 1 during the pandemic, and lockdowns meant Alice had a whole year to write all eight episodes before we could get into production. Across that time, we would send songs back and forth to each other to our favorite tracks for particular moments, like Nick and Charlie’s first kiss, Charlie running in the rain, Nick typing “am I gay?” into Google, etc. The songs and artists we found were just what we were listening to at the time. Alice had found “Why Am I Like This?” by Orla Gartland around that time, and as soon as we discussed it as a potential song for Nick’s internet search, we became pretty sure it was the one. That was long before we started filming. I remember listening to “Internet Religion” by Baby Queen from a playlist on Spotify and thinking it could be a good song for Tara in Season 1. That ultimately didn’t work, but we found Baby Queen’s other tracks, and she ended up having more music than any other artist in the series! It was a very organic process.

Many of the artists on the playlist are bedroom pop stars with effervescent sounds that match perfectly with the light hues and illustrations that accompany the show. Why was it important for you to keep the music in this style?

There’s something raw and emotional in the music made by young artists independently. They wear their hearts on their sleeves, just like the characters in Heartstopper. Our music syncs work best when the emotion of the scene is underlined by the lyrics and swagger of the song and artist. We wanted the songs in the mixtape to feel like the characters’ favorite songs. “Bedroom pop” is perfect for us because we spend a lot of time in the bedrooms of our characters, where they can most freely express themselves and feel safe.

What can we look forward to musically in the new season? 

We wanted to remain consistent with Season 1 while also broadening the musical palette to be slightly more mature and in line with the characters’ journeys. There are more commercial tracks in Season 2. We spent a long time clearing some key tracks that felt important to us. “seven” by Taylor Swift initially reflects Tara and Darcy’s relationship breakthrough in Episode 8, but we then decided to keep it over the montage of all of the friends spending time together after prom. We also have “ur so pretty” by Wasia Project, Will Gao’s own band, as the final song of the season. Both of these tracks were vital for us because they show a maturity and an intimacy we hadn’t really conjured yet in Season 1. Season 2’s music tracks also nod more to different worlds and nostalgia—a reference to the characters stepping into adulthood. When we are in Paris, we have some French songs to reflect their new surroundings. And at the prom in Episode 8, Baby Queen makes a cameo to sing her own version of The Cure’s song “Just Like Heaven.” It’s an 80s throwback she expertly brings into the world and style of the show.

If you were creating a playlist for the graphic novel, how much would change?

A playlist for the graphic novel might have more variety. When we choose the music for the show it has to have a really clear identity that sits alongside the score by Adiescar Chase. We go back to a lot of the same artists again and again for this reason. For example, in the graphic novel, “Everywhere” by Fleetwood Mac is Nick and Charlie’s song, and would definitely be on the playlist. But for the show, this would sit so outside of our signature style; it would really take the audience out of the drama to suddenly have such a recognizable song from a different era. Maybe Baby Queen can cover it for Season 3 though . . .

If you had to pick a theme song for each of the four main characters, what would they be?

This is so tough! For Season 2 Charlie, I’d say “Shatter” by Maggie Rogers. For Nick, maybe “How Can I Make It OK?” by Wolf Alice. There’s a really great one for Tao we wanted to use but didn’t manage to get in this season: “The Most Beautiful Thing” by Thomas Headon. Elle’s would definitely be “mona lisa” by mxmtoon.

In addition to Patrick, Alice Oseman, the writer and creator of Heartstopper, revealed what songs she thinks best represent each character. Her picks did not disappoint:

Whether you’re planning to binge-watch Season 2 today or you’re saving it for a later date, get your heart pumping in anticipation with the Heartstopper: Official Playlist now.

 

 

*Interview content captured prior to July 13, 2023.

The Marias, Hannah Jadagu, glaive, and Cuco Have Made Lorem Their Musical Home—And So Have Their Fans

July 12, 2023

Spotify’s indie editors created Lorem five years ago to be a metaphorical “placeholder” for the artists who would go on to influence the future of music. Since then, the alt-pop playlist has written its way into the headphones of its young listeners, becoming Spotify’s home for Gen Z bedroom and indie-pop fans around the U.S. and beyond. The playlist now has one of the highest save rates on Spotify. 

Listeners flock to Lorem for its raw, unpolished collection of burgeoning stars who write music not to fit into a particular genre but to capture even a fleeting feeling. The vibe of the playlist changes constantly, but not chaotically. It reflects the culture, the places, and the headspaces that both artists and their fans come from.

“Lorem is meant for the artists who didn’t quite fit into mainstream pop but who we knew would end up shaping what we know now to be popular,” said Lizzy Szabo, Senior Editor for Indie Music at Spotify. 

“Back when we started the list, artists like BENEE, Conan Gray, Clairo, girl in red, and Dominic Fike were grouped in the bedroom pop category but all ended up making their way to Today’s Top Hits,” she shared. “So, before it was common practice, we’d add tracks that were starting to have viral moments—those you’d hear on TV shows, or random catalog tracks we knew the audience would love to rediscover or hear for the first time—alongside artists we’d find via social media, our submissions portal, or recommendations from blogs and artists.” 

Though the list’s sound has shifted over the years, it still follows artists along their journeys, throughout their progress, hits, and explorations. “We will continue to curate them alongside even more developing artists, and playful throwbacks,” said Lizzy.

Take some of the artists currently featured on Lorem, including glaive, Cuco, and Hannah Jadagu. When asked to describe their music, the only thing each of the Lorem-playlisted artists had in common was the flexibility of their categorization.

Spotify’s Latest U.S. RADAR Artist girl in red Turns the Volume Up Ahead of Her First Album Release

March 3, 2021

Marie Ulven, the 22-year-old Norwegian singer-songwriter better known as girl in red, was walking her dog Luna in her Oslo neighborhood when a group of teenage girls started singing at her. Marie started dancing while continuing to walk—they were singing her 2018 song “i wanna be your girlfriend,” one of her two standout tracks that have now accumulated over 150 million streams on Spotify. “I’m in love with you!” one called. 

Since the release of “i wanna be your girlfriend” and “we fell in love in october,” girl in red has continued putting out melodic, dreamy tracks about mental health and romance at a rapid pace, with several singles and two EPs over the last two years. Fans have flocked to her Spotify profile by way of social media, where she’s become something of a queer icon. Her music has landed on several Spotify playlists, including Lorem, Bedroom Pop, New Music Friday, and Out Now. And now, as Spotify’s fifth U.S. RADAR artist, girl in red will also be discoverable to new fans through the genre- and globe-crossing emerging artists program. 

Spotify created RADAR to help artists across all stages of their careers use the strength of our platform to deepen connections to their audiences. As Spotify’s latest RADAR artist, girl in red will be featured in the RADAR playlist, create a Spotify Singles recording, and release a forthcoming biographical mini documentary. She’ll also receive promotional support for her upcoming releases, including today’s billboards in NYC and Oslo, plus a full suite of marketing  and social promotion. 

“We’ve been closely watching girl in red’s steady ascent over the past few years—she’s built a tight-knit community of devoted fans in a remarkably organic way, based on her self-assured songwriting and deeply personal lyrics—all as an independent artist,” says Ned Monahan, Spotify’s Head of Global Hits. “We’re beyond excited for her debut full-length, and look forward to helping with her global ascent via RADAR.”

girl in red’s RADAR spotlight comes at an opportune time. As she announced today, girl in red will release her first full-length studio album, if i could make it go quiet, on April 30. After several years of bedroom production, the songwriter is now looking forward to the beginnings of a lifelong career in music. “I’ve had a little bit of a realization making this record. I just gained so much respect for people who’ve dropped their eighth studio album. I want to be like that artist—one day—who has eight records because they just love making music.” 

For the Record caught up with Marie after a busy day in which she reviewed the music video for her newest single (and FINNEAS collaboration), “Serotonin.” Read on to hear her thoughts on dabbling in rap, covering Maggie Rogers for Spotify’s Studio Oyster program, and Spotify Canvases. 

Uncover the Best Artists of the Nordics on Oyster, Spotify’s New Playlist and Studio Program

April 24, 2020

The Nordic region has long been a hotspot for game-changing and globally beloved music. Countless artists, producers, and songwriters (ranging from established names Robyn and Yung Lean to newcomers girl in red, SASSY 009, and Augustine) have made their mark on the industry and inspired fans around the world. But with so many of these impactful artists spanning multiple diverse genres, it can be difficult to experience them all in one place. That’s where our new playlist Oyster comes in.

With this playlist, Spotify listeners can discover the best and most relevant work across the Nordic region and beyond—just as they would discover a pearl within an oyster. 

“In a lot of the music I listen to, there’s an array of influences that come from everywhere,” says Swedish indie-pop artist Augustine. “It’s hard to categorize artists in one simple genre nowadays. I’m really excited that Spotify is creating a new space for this kind of music with its launch of Oyster, and I look forward to being a part of it.”

Spotify’s Front Left Live Returns to Australia for a Second Year, Celebrating the Best Genre-Defying New Music

August 6, 2019

Melbourne, Australia, has long been a music epicenter and live music hotspot. In keeping the music discovery game strong Down Under, Spotify has announced the return of our playlist event Front Left Live—moving from Sydney to Melbourne—on Wednesday, October 9.

This is the second consecutive year that Spotify has staged Front Left Live. The show will feature some of the world’s most genre-defying artists from near and far, including Tove Lo, who will perform exclusively in Australia for the Spotify event, Tones And I, girl in red, BENEE, and Electric Fields, with a special international guest soon to be announced. 

The showcase-format event is based on Spotify’s Front Left playlist, which boasts over 500,000 followers and has helped several rising Australian and Kiwi artists expand their fan bases at home and around the world—and vice versa. 

Here’s a look at some of the diverse artists slated to perform at Front Left Live:

  • Swedish pop sensation Tove Lo, best known for her hits “Habits,” “Talking Body,” and “Cool Girl,” is headlining the event in an exclusive Australian live performance. The artist struck a chord with local fans when she collaborated with Aussies Flume and Daniel Johns on “Say It” in 2016.  
  • Up-and-coming Australian indie pop star Tones and I started as a busker in 2018. Yet she has amassed the number one song on Spotify’s Australia Top 50, a number one single on the ARIA chart, tracks in 157 playlists worldwide, and over 40 million streams—in under four months. 
  • girl in red, the Norwegian singer-songwriter and self-produced artist Marie Ulven, is an innovative, authentic voice who’s building a global fan base on Spotify from the confines of her bedroom studio.
  • Auckland, New Zealand-based BENEE melds indie, R&B, and pop on her debut album FIRE ON MARZZ. Her breakout single “Soaked” has been streamed 21.5 million times since its release earlier this year.
  • Electric Fields, the Adelaide, Australia-based duo of producer-composer Michael Ross and vocalist Zaachariaha Fielding, combines an exciting blend of traditional Aboriginal culture and language with modern electronic beats.

Fans around the world can tune in to the exciting sounds of Front Left.