Lizzy McAlpine
Elizabeth Catherine McAlpine (born September 21, 1999) is an American singer-songwriter. Born and raised in the suburbs of Philadelphia, McAlpine began gaining recognition by posting original songs and covers on the platforms SoundCloud and YouTube.[1]
Lizzy McAlpine
- Singer
- songwriter
2016–present
- Vocals
- guitar
- piano
In 2020, she released her debut studio album, Give Me a Minute, to critical acclaim. Her second album, Five Seconds Flat (2022), gave her her first appearance in both U.S. Billboard 200 and the Billboard Hot 100, with the TikTok-viral single "Ceilings". Following her 2023 signing with RCA Records, McAlpine released her third studio album, Older, on April 5, 2024, which was supported by the lead single of the same name.
Early and personal life[edit]
Lizzy McAlpine was born on September 7, 1999 to father Mark McAlpine and mother Robin Lacey and grew up in Narberth, Pennsylvania, in the suburbs of Philadelphia with her sister Emma.[2][3][4] She has written music since she was in 6th grade.[5] She attended Lower Merion High School, where she sang in a co-ed a cappella group and did theater.[6]
McAlpine studied songwriting at Berklee College of Music located in Boston before leaving in her junior year to pursue music full-time.[7][8] In April 2020 at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, she started the Instagram #BerkleeAtHome streaming concert series.[9]
McAlpine's father passed away on March 12, 2020.[2][10] Since his passing, she vowed to dedicate track 13 to him. She wrote the song "Headstones and Land Mines" about him on her first album, Give Me a Minute, dedicated the song "chemtrails" to him on her second album, Five Seconds Flat, and wrote the song "March" on her latest album, Older for him.[11][12][13]
Career[edit]
In 2018, McAlpine released her debut EP, Indigo.[14] She studied in Spain in the fall of 2019, where she wrote her debut studio album, Give Me a Minute.[14] The album was released in August 2020, to critical acclaim.[15][16] The album has been streamed millions of times on Spotify and other digital service providers.[17][18] The Dallas Observer named it one of the best albums of 2020,[19] and BBC Media Centre has called her an "up-and-coming vocalist".[20] In April 2021, McAlpine released an 8-song EP, When the World Stopped Moving: The Live EP.[21] She made her late-night debut on November 22, 2021, performing "Erase Me" on Jimmy Kimmel Live!.[22]
McAlpine has garnered supporters from TikTok and Instagram, with several publications calling her a "TikTok star", though McAlpine dislikes this title.[23][24][25] Her unreleased song "You Ruined the 1975", posted in June 2020, has over 8 million views on TikTok as of April 2021.[26]
McAlpine released her second studio album, Five Seconds Flat on April 8, 2022.[27][28] The album debuted at number five on US Billboard Heatseekers chart, while also peaking at number nine on Alternative New Artist Albums and number 19 on Top New Artist Albums charts.[29] One song on the album, "Ceilings," went viral on TikTok, making it the most streamed song from the album.[30] "Ceilings" peaked at No. 54 on the Billboard Hot 100, with over 230 million streams.[31]
Following the release of her album, McAlpine announced her debut headline tour in 2022.[29] In November 2022, McAlpine performed a set on NPR Music's Tiny Desk Concert with the band Tiny Habits as backing vocalists.[32] NPR listeners ranked her in the top 10 Tiny Desk Concerts of 2022.[33] Her tour started in April 2023, performing 27 shows across several countries. She cancelled the UK and Europe dates of this tour citing mental health reasons and feeling burnt out. [34]
McAlpine collaborated with American singer-songwriter Noah Kahan and Irish singer-songwriter Niall Horan during 2023, on the duet versions of the songs "Call Your Mom" and "You Could Start a Cult", respectively.[35][36][37] At the beginning of 2024, McAlpine announced the single "Older", released on February 13.[38] On the same day, she announced her third studio album of the same name, that represents "who [she] became over the past three years". It was released on April 5, 2024.[39] To promote the project, she will embark on the Older Tour through North America and Europe, starting on April 21.[40]
Musical style[edit]
Lizzy McAlpine has been named mainly as an indie pop[41][42] and folk singer,[43] while her musical sound has been defined as bedroom pop[35] and a "blend" of jazz, pop, and R&B.[44] On her debut album, Give Me a Minute (2020), she focused on folk and folk-pop styles.[16][17] Her collaborators include Jacob Collier, Dodie, Tom Rosenthal, Ben Kessler, Noah Kahan, John Mayer, Finneas, and Thomas Headon.[45][46][47][48]