Girl in Red
Marie Ulven Ringheim (born 16 February 1999), also known as Marie Ulven or professionally as girl in red (stylized in all lowercase), is a Norwegian indie pop singer-songwriter. She is known for appealing to people with her "bedroom pop anthems about romance and mental health."[3] Her single "I Wanna Be Your Girlfriend" has gained over 150 million streams online, and was listed at No. 9 on The New York Times list of "The 68 Best Songs of 2018". Since 2018, Ulven has released two extended plays from her bedroom studio and has amassed over 5 million monthly streamers on Spotify.
girl in red | |
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girl in red at End of the Road 2019 | |
Background information | |
Birth name | Marie Ulven Ringheim[1][2] |
Also known as | Marie Ulven[3] |
Born | [4] Horten, Norway | 16 February 1999
Genres | |
Occupation(s) | Singer-songwriter |
Instruments |
|
Years active | 2017–present |
Labels | AWAL |
Associated acts | |
Website | worldinred |
Ulven has been named a "queer icon" by Paper,[8] and a "phenomenon" that is "one of the most astute and exciting singer-songwriters working in the world of guitar music" by New York Times.[9] Her music, which is made from the comfort of her bedroom, has amassed over 150 million streams as of October 2019.[10] Since 2019, Ulven has been on two North American tours and two European tours,[11] and has performed at festivals such as Lowlands,[12] Rock en Seine[13] and Øyafestivalen.[14] She was named by NME as "one of the most hyped acts at The Great Escape" in 2019.[15]
Early life
Marie Ulven Ringheim was born in the town of Horten, Norway on 16 February 1999.[16] She grew up in the town with her sisters and her divorced parents,[17] and described it as "quiet and kinda boring" in an interview with Triple J in October 2019.[18] Her mother worked with technology and her father worked as a policeman.[9] Her grandfather could play the guitar and piano, however she grew up without instruments in the home.[3] Ulven received her first guitar as a Christmas gift from her grandfather in 2012, but didn't start playing it until 2013 after losing interest in fingerboarding.[18] She credits her grandfather for sparking her interest in music.[18] Whilst in high school, Ulven was curious about becoming a teacher before she was introduced to the guitar and songwriting at the age of 14.[8] She had taught herself piano, guitar and music production from the comfort of her bedroom.[19] Ulven began by writing and releasing Norwegian music and planned to study music, but never concluded that she was going to become a musician.[8]
Career
2015–2017: SoundCloud and "I Wanna Be Your Girlfriend"
After getting a Blue Yeti microphone from her father in 2015,[18] Ulven began writing and releasing Norwegian music to SoundCloud under the moniker of "Lydia X".[8][20] She stopped attending guitar lessons after six months once her teacher refused to acknowledge her interest in songwriting and producing.[18] Ulven coined the stagename "girl in red" after attempting to identify herself in a crowd to a friend via text.[21] Using the new moniker, she published her debut single "I Wanna Be Your Girlfriend" on SoundCloud in November 2016,[22] where it got about 5 thousand streams within five months.[10] Following the single's feature on the Norwegian music website NRK Urørt, "I Wanna Be Your Girlfriend" amassed thousands of streams and gained Ulven a large online following.[23]
2018–2019: Chapter 1 and Chapter 2
Ulven's 2018 singles "Summer Depression" and "Girls" gained millions of views and streams online.[24] In early 2019, she won her first award when she was presented with "Norwegian Newcomer of the Year" at the 2018 GAFFA Awards.[25] Ulven released "I Wanna Be Your Girlfriend" on Apple Music in March 2018.[26] After the release of Ulven's debut EP, Chapter 1, on 14 September 2018. "I Wanna Be Your Girlfriend" was listed at number 9 on The New York Times list of "The 68 Best Songs of 2018".[27][28] The song currently has over 70 million streams on Spotify.[29] Ulven opened for Clairo in Dublin and Paris in September 2018 and released "We Fell in Love in October" in November 2018 which peaked at 14 on the US Rock Charts in October 2019.[30][31][32] In October 2018, the song "I Wanna Be Your Girlfriend" won "Årets Urørt" at the P3 Gull awards.[33] She performed the song as an interval act at the award ceremony in 2018, alongside names like Astrid S, Dagny, and Emilie Nicolas.[34] Ulven embarked on her first North American tour supporting Conan Gray in March 2019.[35] She released her second EP, Chapter 2, as well as Beginnings, a compilation of her entire single catalogue into one exclusively vinyl album on September 6, 2019 under AWAL in September 2019.[36][37][38] She embarked on her first international headlining "World in Red" tour in October 2019, performing in cities such as Dublin and San Francisco.[39][10]
In November 2019, announced that girl in red would be leading their Hype List of 2020, meaning that she will be making her first ever front cover appearance in December 2019.[40] Ulven was nominated for "Newcomer of the Year" at the 2019 P3 Gull awards.[41]
2020–present: World in Red
Ulven made the front cover of both Gay Times and Dork in December 2019,[42][43] as well as the cover of NME in January 2020.[16] She also provided the single "Kate's Not Here" for the original soundtrack of the 2020 supernatural horror film The Turning.[44] She told Billboard and NME that she aims to be releasing her debut album, World in Red around October 2020.[45][16] The lead single for the album, "Midnight Love" was released in April 2020, when Ulven told NME, "[the COVID-19 pandemic] ain’t gonna stop World In Red, baby!"[46] In May 2020, Ulven was included in the annual Dazed 100 list after her single "I Wanna Be Your Girlfriend" clocked 150 million streams.[47] In mid 2020, she became a popular symbol of queer identification on the online platform TikTok, where users would adopt the common euphemistic phrase, "Do you listen to Girl in Red?".[48][49]
Personal life
Ulven is currently based in the Grünerløkka district of Oslo and is openly gay.[50] She studied music production and songwriting at Westerdals Oslo School of Arts, Communication and Technology.[9]
Discography
Studio albums
Title | Details |
---|---|
World in Red |
|
Single compilations
Title | Details |
---|---|
Beginnings[51] |
Extended plays
Title | Details |
---|---|
Chapter 1[27] |
|
Chapter 2[36] |
|
Singles
As lead artist
Year | Title | Peak chart positions | Album/EP | |
---|---|---|---|---|
BEL (FL) [52] |
US Rock [53] | |||
2017 | "I Wanna Be Your Girlfriend"[upper-alpha 1] | — | — | Chapter 1 |
"Will She Come Back" | — | — | Non-album singles | |
"Dramatic Lil Bitch" | — | — | ||
2018 | "Say Anything" | — | — | Chapter 1 |
"She Was the Girl in Red" | — | — | Non-album single | |
"Summer Depression" | — | — | Chapter 1 | |
"4am" | — | — | ||
"Girls" | — | — | ||
"We Fell in Love in October"[upper-alpha 2] | — | 14 | Non-album single | |
2019 | "watch you sleep." | — | — | Chapter 2 |
"i need to be alone." | — | — | ||
"dead girl in the pool." | —[upper-alpha 3] | — | ||
"i’ll die anyway." | — | — | ||
"bad idea!" | — | — | ||
2020 | "kate’s not here" | — | — | The Turning (Soundtrack) |
"something new" | — | — | MOOMINVALLEY 2 (Official Soundtrack) | |
"midnight love" | — | — | TBA |
As featured artist
Year | Title | Album/EP |
---|---|---|
2018 | "Malibu" (with Lokoy) | Can We All Go To Bed |
Awards and nominations
Year | Organization | Award | Work | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2018 | GAFFA-Prisen | Norwegian Newcomer of the Year | Girl in Red | Won | [25] |
Best Norwegian Hit | "Girls" | Nominated | [56] | ||
P3 Gull | Untouched of the Year | "I Wanna Be Your Girlfriend" | Won | [33] | |
2019 | Newcomer of the Year | Girl in Red | Nominated | [41] | |
DIY | Class of 2020 | Included | [57] | ||
Dork | Hype List 2020 | First | [40] | ||
2020 | NME | The NME 100 | Included | [58] | |
Music Moves Europe Talent Awards | General Award | Won | [59][60] | ||
Spellemannprisen | Newcomer of the Year | Nominated | [61] | ||
Gramo scholarship | |||||
Tours
Headlining
Supporting
Notes
- "i wanna be your girlfriend" was originally published on girl in red's Bandcamp and SoundCloud in September 2017, before being released on Apple Music in March 2018.[54][26]
- "We Fell In Love In October" was released in a 2-song EP with the song "Forget Her".
- "Dead Girl in the Pool" did not enter the Ultratop Top 50, but spent 4 weeks as an extra tip on the Ultratop Bubbling Under chart.[55]
References
- Ringheim, Marie Ulven. "ASCAP Ace Search". American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP). Retrieved 29 August 2019.
- TheDirtyHarry, "11. Marie Ulven Ringheim v.s. Fabian Kronsteiner", YouTube, retrieved 17 November 2019
- Hannah, Andrew (28 November 2018). "A teenage queer icon for queer teenagers, Marie Ulven is breaking out of the bedroom as girl in red". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
- "despite my big yawn i'm very excited about turning 21. thank you for all the birthday wishes :') love u". @girl in red [verified account] on Instagram.
- Donelson, Marcy. "girl in red | Biography & History". AllMusic. Retrieved 1 October 2019.
- Lanigan, Roisin (26 July 2019). "girl in red is norwegian bedroom pop's answer to avril lavigne". i-D. Retrieved 5 October 2019.
- Arunarsirakul, Alissa (9 September 2019). "girl in red Offers a Happy Medium of Indie Rock and Dream Pop in 'chapter 2'". Ones To Watch. Retrieved 1 October 2019.
- Kaplan, Ilana (17 July 2019). "Meet Girl in Red: The Queer Artist Writing Teen Love Songs". Paper. Retrieved 2 October 2019.
- Caramanica, Jon (27 March 2019). "She's Becoming the Gay Musical Role Model She Never Had". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2 October 2019.
- "SPACES: girl in red Hit 150M Streams With Inclusive Self-Love And A $150 Mic". AWAL. 21 October 2019. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
- Antonette Solli, Martha (13 November 2019). "P3 Gull: De nominerte til Årets nykommer er klare!". NRK P3 (in Norwegian). Retrieved 14 November 2019.
- Taylor, Sam (11 April 2019). "James Blake, The Vaccines and more have joined the bill for Lowlands". Dork. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
- Emeline Blanc, Par (23 August 2019). "From Jorja Smith to The Cure: The complete lineup for the Rock en Seine 2019 festival". Vogue Paris. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
- Trendell, Andrew (19 August 2019). "Øya 2019 is inclusive, green and feel-good – like all festivals could be". NME. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
- Smith, Thomas (13 May 2019). "The Great Escape: The most exciting new artists we saw this year". NME. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
- Trendell, Andrew (3 January 2020). "The Big Read – Girl In Red: "World domination. That's what I want"". NME. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
- Bennett, Willa (2 September 2019). "Girl in Red's Music is Touching, Gorgeous, and Unabashedly Queer". them. Retrieved 2 October 2019.
- "GIRL IN RED: from a Norwegian bedroom to beyond". triple j. 18 October 2019. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
- "Neu Recommended (Girl In Red, SCALPING, NOV3L & more)". DIY. 25 March 2019. Retrieved 11 October 2019.
- "De Girl in Red à King Princess, qui sont ces jeunes artistes qui redéfinissent les questions du genre et de la sexualité ?". Beware Magazine (in French). 27 September 2019. Retrieved 2 October 2019.
- Aquino, Tara (14 February 2019). "No Mixed Signals: An Interview With Girl in Red". Complex. Retrieved 2 October 2019.
- girl in red (11 November 2016), "i wanna be your girlfriend", SoundCloud
- Donelson, Marcy. "girl in red | Biography & History". AllMusic.
- Trendell, Andrew (29 April 2019). "Girl in Red is the lo-fi queer pop icon changing lives". NME. Retrieved 2 October 2019.
- Lund, Ellen (21 January 2019). "GAFFA-Prisen 2018: Her er alle vinnerne". GAFFA (in Norwegian Bokmål). Retrieved 14 November 2019.
- "i wanna be your girlfriend by girl in red". Apple Music.
- "chapter 1 by girl in red". Apple Music.
- Pareles, Jon; Caramanica, Jon (6 December 2018). "The 65 Best Songs of 2018". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2 October 2019.
- "girl in red". Spotify.
- Moore, Jacob; Gardner, Alex (7 January 2019). "16 New Artists To Look Out For in 2019". Complex. Retrieved 3 October 2019.
- "we fell in love in october / forget her – Single by girl in red". Apple Music.
- "Hot Rock Songs | Week of 26 October 2019". Billboard. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
- Refsdal, Sissel-Alice (30 October 2018). "Girl In Red er Årets Urørt!". NRK P3 (in Norwegian). Retrieved 14 November 2019.
- Redaksjonen (24 November 2018). "Se høydepunktene fra P3 Gull 2018". NRK P3 (in Norwegian). Retrieved 14 November 2019.
- Marie Ulven [@_girlinred_] (25 November 2018). "holy MOLY IM GOING ON TOUR WITH CONAN GRAY @conangray" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- "chapter 2 by girl in red". Apple Music.
- Hatfield, Amanda (4 September 2019). "girl in red releasing 'beginnings,' touring (stream "bad idea!")". BrooklynVegan. Retrieved 29 December 2019.
- "Girl In Red - Beginnings". Discogs. Retrieved 29 December 2019.
- "girl in red | Official Website". World in Red. Retrieved 3 October 2019.
- "Hype! Hype! Hype! Introducing our brand new double issue, featuring Girl In Red, Inhaler and loads more!". Dork. 22 November 2019. Retrieved 24 November 2019.
- Mosti, Janina (30 November 2019). "Vinnerne av P3 Gull 2019". NRK (in Norwegian Bokmål). Retrieved 1 December 2019.
- "Gay Times Magazine • Issue 503". Gay Times. Retrieved 29 December 2019.
- "December 2019 / January 2020". Dork. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
- Daly, Rhian (25 January 2020). "Girl In Red shares surging new song 'Kate's Not Here'". NME. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
- Daw, Stephen (6 September 2019). "Meet Girl in Red, the Norwegian DIY Pop Savant Plotting Her 2020 'World Domination'". Billboard. Retrieved 3 October 2019.
- Trendell, Andrew (14 April 2020). "Girl In Red releases banging new single 'Midnight Love' and gives update on debut album". NME. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
- Dawson, Brit (28 April 2020). "girl in red on the #Dazed100". Dazed. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
- Wilson, Lena (29 June 2020). "For Lesbians, TikTok Is 'the Next Tinder'". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
- Isherwood, Alisha (28 June 2020). ""Yes, I listen to Girl In Red" – The Symbiotic Nature of Sexuality and Music". CUB Magazine. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
- "Get To Know... Girl in Red". DIY Magazine. 27 November 2018. Retrieved 2 October 2019.
- "Girl In Red - Beginnings". Discogs. Retrieved 29 December 2019.
- "Discografie girl in red". Ultratop. Retrieved 29 December 2019.
- "girl in red Chart History: Hot Rock Songs". Billboard. Retrieved 29 December 2019.
- Marie Ulven [@_girlinred_] (26 July 2019). "wow i wanna be your girlfriend hit 20 million streams today. i remember i released that song in september 2017 on soundcloud and it got 5k plays" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- "GAFFA-Prisen 2018". GAFFA (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 26 December 2018. Retrieved 6 February 2019.
- Hewitson, Rosie (11 December 2019). "Class of 2020: girl in red". DIY. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
- Smith, Thomas (3 January 2020). "The NME 100: Essential new artists for 2020". NME. Retrieved 8 January 2020.
- Amter, Charlie (18 January 2020). "Italy's Meduza, Dutch singer Naaz Among Winners at Music Moves Europe Talent Awards". Variety. Archived from the original on 26 February 2020. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
- Paine, Andre (17 January 2020). "Flohio, Meduza and Girl In Red among Music Moves Europe Talent Awards winners". MusicWeek. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
- "Nominerte til Spellemannpris". NRK (in Norwegian Bokmål). 7 February 2020. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
- Arunarsirakul, Allissa (9 September 2019). "girl in red Offers a Happy Medium of Indie Rock and Dream Pop in 'chapter 2'". Ones To Watch. Retrieved 8 November 2019.
- Clairo [@clairo] (5 September 2018). "fall tour" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- "Clairo announces Girl In Red as support for upcoming show in The Academy!". MCD Productions. Retrieved 8 November 2018.
- Lee, Craig (12 November 2018). "Conan Gray sets out for The Sunset Shows tour 2019". AXS. Retrieved 8 November 2019.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Girl in Red. |
- Official website
- girl in red discography at Discogs
- girl in red on Instagram
- girl in red on Twitter