Claire Elizabeth Cottrill (born August 18, 1998), known professionally as Clairo, is an American singer-songwriter. She began posting music on the internet at age 13. Clairo rose to prominence following the viral success of the music video for her

lo-fi Lo-fi (also typeset as lofi or low-fi; short for low fidelity) is a music or production quality in which elements usually regarded as imperfections in the context of a recording or performance are present, sometimes as a deliberate stylistic ch ...

single " Pretty Girl" in 2017. She signed a

record deal A recording contract (commonly called a record contract or record deal) is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording act (artist or group), where the act makes an audio recording (or series of recordings) for the label to sell and ...

, releasing her debut EP ''

Diary 001 ''Diary 001'' is the solo debut studio extended play by American singer-songwriter Clairo. It is her twelfth extended play overall, following several demos and collaborative releases under the name Claire Cottrill. The EP was released on May 25, ...

'' (2018) with

Fader Label FADER Label is an American independent record label founded in 2002 by Rob Stone and Jon Cohen. They are currently based in New York City. History FADER Label was founded in 2002 by Rob Stone and Jon Cohen. In January 2016 the label esta ...

, which was created by her father's friend. Her debut studio album ''

Immunity Immunity may refer to: Medicine * Immunity (medical), resistance of an organism to infection or disease * ''Immunity'' (journal), a scientific journal published by Cell Press Biology * Immune system Engineering * Radiofrequence immunity ...

'' (2019) spawned the singles "

Bags A bag, also known regionally as a sack, is a common tool in the form of a floppy container, typically made of cloth, leather, bamboo, paper, or plastic. The use of bags predates recorded history, with the earliest bags being lengths of animal s ...

" and "

Sofia Sofia is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain, in the western part of the country. The city is built west of the Is ...

", the latter of which became her first single to chart on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Cottrill's second studio album, '' Sling'', was released in 2021 to commercial success, debuting in the top 20 of the US ''Billboard'' 200. Her third studio album, ''

Charm Charm or Charms may refer to: Arts and entertainment * The Charms, an American garage rock band * Otis Williams and the Charms, an American doo-wop group * The Charm (Bubba Sparxxx album), ''The Charm'' (Bubba Sparxxx album), 2006 * Charm (Danny! ...

'', was self-released on July 12, 2024, and received a

Grammy The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...

nomination for

Best Alternative Music Album The Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album is an award presented to recording artists for quality albums in the alternative genre at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards. Ho ...

Early life

Claire Elizabeth Cottrill was born on August 18, 1998 in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

. She is the daughter of marketing executive

Geoff Cottrill Geoffrey Cottrill (born July 4, 1963) is an American marketer who most recently served as Chief Brand & Games Officer at Topgolf. He formerly held top positions at Procter & Gamble, Coca-Cola, Starbucks, and Converse. He is the father of the mus ...

and Allie Cottrill, a photographer and designer. She and her family lived in Atlanta until age seven, when they moved to

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

for three years before settling in

Carlisle, Massachusetts Carlisle is a town located northwest of Boston in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the town had a population of 5,237. History English colonists first settled the area now incorporated as the town of ...

Career

2011–2016: Early career

Cottrill began recording covers on her laptop at the age of 13, beginning with a cover of a

Maroon 5 Maroon 5 is an American pop rock band from Los Angeles, California. It consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Adam Levine, rhythm guitarist and keyboardist Jesse Carmichael, lead guitarist James Valentine (musician), James Valentine, d ...

song. In a 2015 interview with ''

Rookie A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience, a rookie is typically considered needing more tra ...

'', she recalled of this first recording, "It took me hours to figure out if I wanted to post it on

Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...

or not to even tell my friends that I'd made it. I was so nervous about it! I just closed my eyes and did it, and then I closed my computer and tried not to think about it". She performed cover songs at local businesses including Blue Dry Goods.

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

contacted her at the time to record a song to be used as background music for a television show on MTV, but the song was never aired.Moreland, Quinn (January 16, 2018)
Meet Clairo, the YouTube Star Turning Teenage Awkwardness Into Viral Gold
, ''Pitchfork'' She began posting music to

Bandcamp Bandcamp is an American online music distribution platform founded in 2008 by Oddpost co-founder Ethan Diamond and programmers Shawn Grunberger, Joe Holt and Neal Tucker, with an office and record store in Oakland, California. Acquired by Epic ...

under the names Clairo and DJ Baby Benz while attending

Concord-Carlisle High School Concord-Carlisle High School (CCHS) is a public high school located in Concord, Massachusetts, United States. It is northwest of Boston. The school serves grades 9–12, and as part of the Concord-Carlisle Regional School District has students ...

Concord, Massachusetts Concord () is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. In the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the town population was 18,491. The United States Census Bureau considers Concord part of Greater Boston. The town center is n ...

. She began posting covers, songs, and

DJ mix A DJ mix or DJ mixset is a sequence of musical tracks typically beatmixing, mixed together by a Disc jockey, DJ to appear as one continuous track. DJ mixes are usually performed using a DJ mixer and multiple sounds sources, such as Phonograph, tur ...

es of

rap music Rapping (also rhyming, flowing, spitting, emceeing, or MCing) is an artistic form of vocal delivery and emotive expression that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and ommonlystreet vernacular". It is usually performed over a backing ...

SoundCloud SoundCloud is a German audio streaming service owned and operated by SoundCloud Global Limited & Co. KG. The service enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio. Founded in 2007 by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss, SoundCloud is ...

. She also put three short films on an old

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

channel and maintained a second channel for covers and short films. She launched her EP ''Do U Wanna Fall in Love?'' in 2013 after releasing several

home recording Home recording is the practice of recording sound in a private home instead of a professional recording studio. A studio set up for home recording is called a home studio or project studio. Home recording is widely practiced by voice actors, narra ...

s. A few additional EPs, including ''Aquarius Boy'', ''Late Show, Moth Girl'', ''Metal Heart'', and ''Have a Nice Day'', came after this in 2015.

2017–2018: ''diary 001'' EP

Clairo first drew wide attention in late 2017 when the video for her song " Pretty Girl" went

viral The word ''Viral'' means "relating to viruses" (small infectious agents). It may also refer to: Viral behavior, or virality Memetic behavior likened that of a virus, for example: * Viral marketing, the use of existing social networks to spre ...

on YouTube. The song was recorded for an

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand in the early to mid-1980s. Although the term was originally used to describe rock music released through independent reco ...

compilation benefiting the

Transgender Law Center The Transgender Law Center (TLC) is the largest American transgender-led civil rights organization in the United States. They were originally California's first "fully staffed, state-wide transgender legal organization" and were initially a fisca ...

. According to her, she recorded the track "using the resources around me which were pretty s_. I used like a little keyboard that I had and I was really into '80s pop music–my mom is obsessed with it–so it kind of inspired me to do something like that." She attributes audience interest in the video to YouTube's algorithm system. The video was quickly put into the growing genre of bedroom pop and became popular on

vaporwave Vaporwave is a microgenre of electronic music, a visual art style, and an Internet meme that emerged in the early 2010s and became well-known in 2015. It is defined partly by its slowed-down, chopped and screwed samples of smooth jazz, 1970 ...

-centric Facebook groups. "Pretty Girl" had amassed more than 110 million views on YouTube by 2024. Another video, "Flaming Hot Cheetos", was released a month before "Pretty Girl" on YouTube. It garnered 3 million views by July 2018. The success of "Pretty Girl" led to interest from major labels such as Capitol,

RCA RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded in 1919 as the Radio Corporation of America. It was initially a patent pool, patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse Electric Corporation, Westinghou ...

, and Columbia. Jon Cohen, the co-founder of ''

The Fader ''The Fader'' is a magazine established in 1999 as an outlet for Cornerstone Agency, a marketing and public relations firm established by Rob Stone and Jon Cohen. The magazine covers music, style and culture. History and work It is owned by T ...

'', signed Clairo to the magazine's associated record label with a 12-song

record contract A recording contract (commonly called a record contract or record deal) is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording act (artist or group), where the act makes an audio recording (or series of recordings) for the label to sell and ...

and introduced her to Pat Corcoran, manager of

Chance the Rapper Chancelor Johnathan Bennett (born April 16, 1993), known professionally as Chance the Rapper, is an American rapper. Born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, he released his debut mixtape '' 10 Day'' (2012) during one of his high school suspension ...

. She became a client of talent agency Haight Brand near the end of 2017. On May 25, 2018, the

released Clairo's debut record, titled ''

''. In her review for ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...

'', ''Fader'' contributor Sasha Geffen wrote that the EP ought to subside the "legions of naysayers who dismissed her as a one-hit fluke or an industry plant." A piece written by Joe Coscarelli of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' said that the EP "bridges both worlds, building on the coy, understated bedroom pop of 'Pretty Girl' and 'Flaming Hot Cheetos' toward sturdier numbers like '4EVER' and 'B.O.M.D.'" Also in May, Clairo announced a headlining tour throughout

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

, as well as select dates opening for

Dua Lipa Dua Lipa ( ; born22 August 1995) is an English and Albanian singer, songwriter and actress. List of awards and nominations received by Dua Lipa, Her accolades include seven Brit Awards and three Grammy Awards. Lipa worked as a model before v ...

. Her July performance at the

Bowery Ballroom The Bowery Ballroom is a New York City live music venue located at 6 Delancey Street in Manhattan's Bowery neighborhood. The venue has enjoyed a fabled reputation among musicians as well as audiences. In 2013, industry insiders polled by ''Roll ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

was a sold-out show. In August 2018, she performed at

Lollapalooza Lollapalooza () is an annual American four-day music festival held in Grant Park (Chicago), Grant Park in Chicago. It originally started as a touring event in 1991, with Chicago becoming its permanent location beginning in 2005. Music genres i ...

. She performed at

Coachella Coachella (officially called the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival and sometimes known as Coachella Festival) is an annual music festival, music and arts festival held at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, in the Coachella Valle ...

in 2019.

2019–2020: ''Immunity''

On May 24, 2019, Clairo released a new single, "

", and announced her debut studio album ''

'', which was released on August 2, 2019. She would further release two more singles from the album, "Closer to You" and "

". Following the album's commercial success,

Apple Music Apple Music is an audio and video streaming service developed by Apple Inc. Users can select music to stream to their device on-demand, or listen to existing playlists. The service also includes the sister internet radio stations Apple Musi ...

named Clairo an ''

Up Next ''Apple Music: Up Next'' is a monthly program published by Apple Music aimed at identifying, showcasing and elevating rising star talent. Each month, Apple Music's editorial team selects an artist to promote in order to raise global awareness o ...

'' artist in August 2019. Clairo made her television debut performing "I Wouldn't Ask You" on

Jimmy Kimmel Live! ''Jimmy Kimmel Live!'', sometimes shortened to ''JKL'', is an American late-night talk show, created and hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, and broadcast on ABC. The nightly hour-long show tapes and is based out of the Hollywood Masonic Temple in Hollywo ...

in September 2019, before performing "Bags" on

The Ellen DeGeneres Show ''The Ellen DeGeneres Show'' is an American first-run syndicated talk show that was hosted by Ellen DeGeneres. The show ran for nineteen seasons from September 8, 2003, to May 26, 2022, in which it broadcast 3,339 episodes. It was produced by ...

a few days later. In December 2019, she won Pop Artist of the Year at the 2019 Boston Music Awards for the second consecutive year, as well as Album of the Year for ''Immunity''. "Bags" was included in over 15 critics' lists ranking the year's top songs including ''

's'' and ''Paste'''s lists of best songs of the decade. ''Immunity'' was included in over 10 critics' end of year lists, including ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'', ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

,'' and the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

.'' Since 2019, Clairo has been managed by Mike Ahern and Jimmy Bui.

2020–2023: ''Sling''

In April 2020, Clairo revealed that she had begun working on her second studio album via a tweet of a screenshot of a playlist titled "Album 2 (demos so far)". Also in October 2020, she formed a new band called Shelly with indie pop artist

Claud Claud is a given name. Notable people with the name include: *Claud Allister (1888–1970), English actor *Claud Beelman (1883–1963), American architect *Claud Irvine Boswell (1742–1824), Scottish judge *Claud Thomas Bourchier (1831–1877), E ...

and their two friends from

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York, United States. It was established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church but has been nonsectarian since 1920 ...

, Josh Mehling and Noa Frances Getzug. The group released two songs, "Steeeam" and "Natural", on October 30, 2020. On June 11, 2021, Clairo released "

Blouse A blouse () is a loose-fitting upper garment that may be worn by workmen, peasants, artists, women, and children.The Concise Oxford English Dictionary It is typically gathered at the waist or hips (by tight hem, pleats, parter, or belt) so th ...

", the first single from her second studio album, '' Sling'', which was announced on the same day. The record was released on July 16, 2021, co-produced by

Jack Antonoff Jack Michael Antonoff (born March 31, 1984) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is the lead vocalist of the rock band Bleachers, and previously the guitarist and drummer for the pop band Fun and the lead vocalist of t ...

, and was praised for Clairo's artistic progression and thematic songwriting that ponders future motherhood, domesticity and the responsibility of becoming a caregiver. It appeared on numerous "best albums of 2021" lists. In February 2022, Clairo embarked on the US leg of the Sling tour. She canceled the last three dates of her North American tour, after a technical incident at her gig in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

left her with temporary hearing damage. After two songs, her opening show of the UK tour in

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

had to be canceled due to a case of sinusitis that was affecting her voice, leading to her having a panic attack onstage and leaving afterward. The

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

show was canceled but the show the day after it in

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

went ahead, and her final UK show of that tour was in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. In 2023, the singer appeared as an opening act for

Boygenius Boygenius (stylized in lowercase as boygenius) is an American indie rock supergroup consisting of American singer-songwriters Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers, and Lucy Dacus. They debuted with their self-titled EP in 2018, and then returned af ...

during the inaugural Re:SET Concert Series. In May, after being featured on remixes by Phoenix and

Beabadoobee Beatrice Kristi Ilejay Laus (born 3 June 2000), known professionally as Beabadoobee (; '), is a British singer-songwriter. From 2018 to 2021, she released five extended plays (EPs) under the independent label Dirty Hit: ''Lice'' (2018), ''Patc ...

, she released the EP ''Live at Electric Lady'', containing new versions of songs from her first two albums. She also released two charity singles on Bandcamp, "For Now" with all proceeds directed to

Everytown for Gun Safety Everytown for Gun Safety is an American non-profit organization which advocates for gun control and against gun violence. Everytown was formed in 2013 due to a merger between ''Mayors Against Illegal Guns'' and ''Moms Demand Action for Gun Sens ...

and For the Gworls, and "Lavender" to raise funds for

Doctors Without Borders Doctor, Doctors, The Doctor or The Doctors may refer to: Titles and occupations * Physician, a medical practitioner * Doctor (title), an academic title for the holder of a doctoral-level degree ** Doctorate ** List of doctoral degrees awarded ...

during the

Gaza war The Gaza war is an armed conflict in the Gaza Strip and southern Israel fought since 7 October 2023. A part of the unresolved Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Israeli–Palestinian and Gaza–Israel conflict, Gaza–Israel conflicts dating ...

2024–present: ''Charm''

In January 2024, Clairo teased a new album with a post on

Instagram Instagram is an American photo sharing, photo and Short-form content, short-form video sharing social networking service owned by Meta Platforms. It allows users to upload media that can be edited with Social media camera filter, filters, be ...

, captioning it "maybe this year". In March, she shared an Instagram post captioned with emojis depicting the number three, a check mark, and a purple heart. On May 23, Clairo announced her third album, titled ''

'', which she co-produced with

Leon Michels Leon Marcus Michels () (born 1982) is an American Record producer, music producer, Music executive, record executive, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist best known as the leader of the eclectic soul project El Michels Affair and co-founder of ...

. Its lead single, "Sexy to Someone" was released concurrently. On May 29, she announced two residencies to support the album in

and

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

in September 2024. On June 28, "Nomad" was released as the record's second and last single. ''Charm'' was released on July 12, 2024, to critical acclaim with music critics highlighting the record's jazz-like production, songwriting and Clairo's overall musical expansion. On July 18, 2024, to promote the record, Clairo performed "Juna", the seventh track of the album, live at ''

The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon ''The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by actor and comedian Jimmy Fallon that airs on NBC. The show premiered on February 17, 2014, and is produced by Broadway Video and Universal Television. It i ...

.'' On the same day, she also announced the dates of her 2024 North American tour spanning between September and November. The tour was supported by singer-songwriter

Alice Phoebe Lou Alice Phoebe Lou (born 19 July 1993) is a South African musician and singer. She has released five self-funded studio albums to date — ''Orbit'' (2016), ''Paper Castles (album), Paper Castles'' (2019), ''Glow'' (2021), ''Child's Play'' (2021) ...

as the opening act. On August 4, the music video for "Juna" was released. It marked Clairo's first music video in six years, and it is wrestling-themed. The next day, she released a cover of

Lana Del Rey Elizabeth Woolridge Grant (born June 21, 1985), known professionally as Lana Del Rey, is an American singer-songwriter. Lana Del Rey discography, Her music is noted for its melancholic exploration of Glamour (presentation), glamor and Romanc ...

's " Brooklyn Baby" exclusively on

Spotify Spotify (; ) is a List of companies of Sweden, Swedish Music streaming service, audio streaming and media service provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. , it is one of the largest providers of music streaming services ...

as part of the Spotify Singles series.' On October 9, Clairo released a cover of singer-songwriter

Margo Guryan Margo Guryan (September 20, 1937 – November 8, 2021) was an American singer-songwriter. As a songwriter, her work was first recorded in 1958, although it was for her 1960s song " Sunday Mornin', a hit for both Spanky and Our Gang and Oliver, ...

's "Love Songs". The cover song is a part of the Guryan tribute compilation album ''Like Someone I Know'', released on November 8, 2024. Simultaneously, ''Charm'' was nominated in the

category of the

67th Annual Grammy Awards The 67th Annual Grammy Awards honored the best recordings, compositions, and artists from September 16, 2023, to August 30, 2024, as chosen by the members of the Recording Academy, on February 2, 2025. In its 22nd year at Crypto.com Arena in L ...

. This marked Clairo's first Grammy nomination. On December 3, Clairo shared the music video for "Sexy to Someone". On February 6, 2025, a music video for "Terrapin" was released. It was directed by actress

Ayo Edebiri Ayo Edebiri ( ; born October 3, 1995) is an American actress, comedian, and television writer. Since 2022, she has played chef Sydney Adamu in the comedy-drama series '' The Bear'', for which she won a Golden Globe Award, two Screen Actors Guil ...

, and features

"Weird Al" Yankovic Alfred Matthew "Weird Al" Yankovic ( ; born October 23, 1959) is an American comedy musician, writer, and actor. He is best known for writing and performing Comedy music, comedy songs that often Parody music, parody specific songs by contempo ...

as "Clairo".

Influences

Clairo recalled that

the Shins The Shins are an American indie rock band formed in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in 1996. The band is the project of singer-songwriter James Mercer, who has served as the band's sole constant member throughout numerous line-up changes. The band's c ...

' ''

Wincing the Night Away ''Wincing the Night Away'' is the third studio album by the indie rock group The Shins. It was released by Sub Pop Records on January 23, 2007, and is the last album released under The Shins' contract with Sub Pop. The album was recorded in Jame ...

'' (2007) was the first album she "really completely geeked out over", crediting it as her inspiration to make music. Since many around her told her that a career in music was unlikely, she did not consider it a prospect and therefore did "whatever" she wanted musically. She said that her musical influences were a mixture of her mother and father's musical tastes, citing artists including

Al Green Albert Leornes Greene (born April 13, 1946), known professionally as Al Green, is an American singer, songwriter, pastor and record producer. He is best known for recording a series of soul hit singles in the early 1970s, including " Tired of ...

Brenton Wood Alfred Jesse Smith (July 26, 1941 – January 3, 2025), known professionally as Brenton Wood, was an American singer and songwriter. Three 1967 singles of Wood's, " The Oogum Boogum Song" (peaking at No. 34 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100), " G ...

Billy Paul Paul Williams (December 1, 1934 – April 24, 2016), known professionally as Billy Paul, was an American soul music, soul singer, known for his 1972 Record chart, No. 1 single "Me and Mrs. Jones". His 1973 album and single ''War of the Gods (alb ...

Cocteau Twins Cocteau Twins were a Scottish rock music, rock band active from 1979 to 1997. They were formed in Grangemouth on the Firth of Forth by Robin Guthrie (guitars, drum machine) and Will Heggie (bass), adding Elizabeth Fraser (vocals) in 1981. In 19 ...

, Trashcan Sinatras,

the The are an English rock band from London, formed in 1979 by singer-songwriter Matt Johnson, the only constant member, and often the sole member. achieved critical acclaim and commercial success in the UK, with 15 chart singles, seven reaching ...

, and

Public Image Ltd Public Image Ltd (abbreviated and stylized as PiL) are an English post-punk band formed by lead vocalist John Lydon (previously, as Johnny Rotten, lead vocalist of the Sex Pistols), guitarist Keith Levene (a founding member of the Clash), bassi ...

Activism

In July 2020, Clairo signed an

open letter An open letter is a Letter (message), letter that is intended to be read by a wide audience, or a letter intended for an individual, but that is nonetheless widely distributed intentionally. Open letters usually take the form of a letter (mess ...

to then-UK Equalities minister

Liz Truss Mary Elizabeth Truss (born 26 July 1975) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from September to October 2022. On her fiftieth da ...

calling for a ban on all forms of LGBT+

conversion therapy Conversion therapy is the pseudoscientific practice of attempting to change an individual's sexual orientation, romantic orientation, gender identity, or gender expression to align with heterosexual and cisgender norms. Methods that have ...

. In May 2022, a leaked draft opinion showed that the

U.S. Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that turn on question ...

was planning to overturn abortion rights established in ''

Roe v. Wade ''Roe v. Wade'', 410 U.S. 113 (1973),. was a List of landmark court decisions in the United States, landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in which the Court ruled that the Constitution of the United States protected the right to have an ...

''. Clairo, alongside other musical artists like

Lorde Ella Marija Lani Yelich-O'Connor (born 7 November 1996), known professionally as Lorde ( ), is a New Zealand singer and songwriter. She is known for her unconventional style of pop music and introspective songwriting, and has been referred to ...

Olivia Rodrigo Olivia Isabel Rodrigo (born February 20, 2003) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. She began her career as a child, appearing in commercials and the direct-to-video film '' An American Girl: Grace Stirs Up Success'' (2015). She rose ...

and

Phoebe Bridgers Phoebe Lucille Bridgers (born August 17, 1994) is an American singer-songwriter. Her indie folk music typically centers on acoustic guitar and Electronic music, electronic production, with melancholic lyrical themes. She has won four Grammy Aw ...

, signed a full-page ad in ''The New York Times'' condemning the planned Supreme Court decision. While performing at the

Glastonbury Festival The Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts (commonly referred to as simply Glastonbury Festival, known colloquially as Glasto) is a five-day festival of contemporary performing arts held near Pilton, Somerset, England, in most su ...

in June 2022, Clairo wore a T-shirt saying "Bans Off Our Bodies" in protest to the U.S. Supreme Court's ''

Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization ''Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization'', 597 U.S. 215 (2022), is a List of landmark court decisions in the United States, landmark decision of the Supreme Court of the United States, United States Supreme Court in which the court held ...

'' final decision which overturned access to abortion granted in ''Roe v. Wade''. In October 2023, Clairo signed the

Artists4Ceasefire Artists4Ceasefire is a collective of actors, filmmakers, and other artists calling for an immediate and permanent ceasefire during the Gaza war in Gaza, the delivery of humanitarian aid to civilians, and the release of all hostages. The collec ...

open letter calling for a ceasefire in the

to President

Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...

. In January and July 2024, she performed at the Artists for Aid Benefit Concert in

which raised funds for the

Gaza Strip The Gaza Strip, also known simply as Gaza, is a small territory located on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea; it is the smaller of the two Palestinian territories, the other being the West Bank, that make up the State of Palestine. I ...

and

Sudan Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...

Personal life

In 2017, Clairo began attending

. She enrolled in the Bandier Program for Recording and Entertainment Industries, but dropped out after one year to pursue music full time. Bandier Program director Bill Werde encouraged her to take time off, calling it a "rare opportunity." Clairo came out as

bisexual Bisexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior toward both males and females. It may also be defined as the attraction to more than one gender, to people of both the same and different gender, or the attraction t ...

to her fans via

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

in May 2018. In an interview, she explained that making friends in college is what helped her to come out, as her friends were openly gay and she was inspired by "their confidence and their willingness to be exposed." In a 2025 interview, Clairo said she is

queer ''Queer'' is an umbrella term for people who are non-heterosexual or non- cisgender. Originally meaning or , ''queer'' came to be used pejoratively against LGBTQ people in the late 19th century. From the late 1980s, queer activists began to ...

. She stated, "I don’t care for labels at all. I believe people should like who they want and no one should have a problem with it". Clairo was diagnosed with

juvenile idiopathic arthritis Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA), formerly known as juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (JRA), is the most common chronic rheumatic disease of childhood, affecting approximately 3.8 to 400 out of 100,000 children. ''Juvenile'', in this context, ref ...

at the age of 17.

Nepotism allegations

After the success of "Pretty Girl", a number of social media users (specifically on discussion website

Reddit Reddit ( ) is an American Proprietary software, proprietary social news news aggregator, aggregation and Internet forum, forum Social media, social media platform. Registered users (commonly referred to as "redditors") submit content to the ...

) began claiming that Clairo was an "

industry plant Industry plant is a pejorative used to describe musicians who become popular through nepotism, inheritance, wealth, favoritism, or their connections in the music industry rather than on their own merits or organic growth. Artists described as in ...

" who gained success through her father's

nepotism Nepotism is the act of granting an In-group favoritism, advantage, privilege, or position to Kinship, relatives in an occupation or field. These fields can include business, politics, academia, entertainment, sports, religion or health care. In ...

. She denied the claims, calling them sexist. Writers for ''The Guardian'' and '' The Ringer'' also stated that her father's connections facilitated her record contract signing. In 2021, she spoke openly about the accusations, telling ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'', "I definitely am not blind to the fact that things have been easier for me than other people's experiences. It would be stupid of me to not acknowledge the privilege I had from the start to be able to sign somewhere where there's trust, to be able to sign a record deal that doesn't revolve around keeping myself afloat financially."

Discography

Studio albums * ''

'' (2019) * '' Sling'' (2021) * ''

'' (2024)

Live performances

Headlining tours

* Lazy Days Tour (2018) * Immunity Tour (2019) * Sling Tour (2022–2023) *

Charm Tour The Charm Tour was the fourth concert tour by American singer-songwriter Clairo in support of her third studio album, ''Charm'' (2024). It began on September 6, 2024, in Los Angeles, with shows across North America and Europe, and concluded in ...

(2024–2025)

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * * {{Authority control 1998 births Living people 21st-century American LGBTQ people 21st-century American women singers American bisexual musicians American bisexual women American indie pop musicians American indie rock musicians American Internet celebrities American LGBTQ singers American women pop singers American women rock singers Bedroom pop musicians Bisexual singers Bisexual women musicians LGBTQ people from Massachusetts Musicians from Massachusetts NME Awards winners People from Carlisle, Massachusetts Syracuse University alumni LGBTQ women singers