beabadoobee

beabadoobee is the stage name of Beatrice Kristi Ilejay Laus, a Filipino and English musician and singer-songwriter. She is born in Iloilo City in the Philippines and moves to the United Kingdom at the age of three, growing up in West London. She studies at Sacred Heart High School and later completes her thirteenth year at Hammersmith Academy. She is bisexual and says she understands Hiligaynon and Tagalog, though she does not speak them.

Early releases and Dirty Hit

She begins releasing music in 2017 with her first song on guitar, “Coffee”, and a cover of Karen O’s “The Moon Song”. “Coffee” draws attention online and leads to a deal with Dirty Hit in 2018. Under the label, she releases a run of EPs: Lice and Patched Up in 2018, followed by Loveworm in 2019, an acoustic version titled Loveworm (Bedroom Sessions) in July 2019, and Space Cadet in October 2019. She also releases a pair of Spotify Singles in November 2019, including a cover of Simple Minds’ “Don’t You Forget About Me” and a version of “She Plays Bass” recorded at Abbey Road Studios in London.

Albums and singles

Her debut studio album, Fake It Flowers, is released in 2020 and receives critical acclaim. It includes the singles “Care”, “Sorry”, “Worth It”, “How Was Your Day?” and “Together”, and reaches number 8 on the UK Albums Chart. In 2021, she releases “Last Day on Earth”, produced and co-written by Matty Healy and George Daniel of the 1975, and the track is taken from the EP Our Extended Play.

Her second album, Beatopia, is released in 2022 and includes “The Perfect Pair”, which becomes a notable hit and earns RIAA gold certification. In 2023 she releases “Glue Song”, later followed by a version featuring Clairo, and also issues “The Way Things Go” and “A Night to Remember” with Laufey. Her third studio album, This Is How Tomorrow Moves, is released in 2024 and debuts at number one on the UK Albums Chart, becoming her first chart-topping album there.

Performances, touring and recognition

beabadoobee supports Clairo on the Immunity Tour, supports the 1975 on several legs of their Music for Cars Tour, and also appears as a supporting act for Olivia Rodrigo’s Guts World Tour and Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour. She performs on the U.S. leg of Swift’s tour as an opening act on twelve shows. She wins the Radar Award at the 2020 NME Awards, is shortlisted and nominated for the Rising Star Award at the 2020 Brit Awards, and is placed on BBC’s Sound of 2020 poll of music critics. Billboard ranks her as the Top New Rock Artist of 2020 in the United States.

Musical style and influences

Her music sits within indie pop, indie rock, bedroom pop, indie and dream pop. She cites Apo Hiking Society, the Beatles, Mac DeMarco, Daniel Johnston, Mazzy Star, the Moldy Peaches, Pavement, Simon and Garfunkel, Elliott Smith and the Sundays among her influences, along with 1980s alternative rock and shoegaze acts such as the Cure, My Bloody Valentine, the Smashing Pumpkins and the Smiths. She also says that film soundtracks inspire her work.