WRGW Soundbites: tigerlily

BY JESS MAKLER//

Born and raised in Seattle, WA, rising pop star tigerlily seems like she’s lived a thousand lives. 

When she was just thirteen, the smoky-voiced vixen was fronting Bleachbear, an all-girl grunge band, later named “Seattle’s Best Underage Band” by Seattle Weekly and receiving support from KEXP and The Seattle Times. 

It wasn’t until she graduated from Fordham University with a business degree that tigerlily decided it was time to start pursuing her dream of a solo career. 

Working with coveted producer duo Nima Skeems and Elan Wright (whose credits include Macklemore and Travis Thompson), tigerlily has been coyly sharing her talents with the world over quarantine for the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Her newest single, “new york”, draws inspiration from her self-described “tumultuous” relationship with an NBA player she met in—you guessed it-—New York. Later noticing her former fling with a new girlfriend, her song is one we can relate to. Its message of heartbreak and despair ring true, despite the poppy plethora of beat drops and guitar licks. 

tigerlily’s songs have followed a travel theme so far, chronicling her adventures living in Barcelona, London, New York, and L.A., to name a few locations. Now, the singer is off to L.A. to pursue singing full-time. 

“The songs I write are letters to specific people,” tigerlily explains. “The city itself influences the relationship and your memories of a place. I attach these people to the cities themselves.”

With a traveled repertoire in the works, tigerlily wants to focus on more creative projects in her future, maybe bringing in some of the rock elements of her past projects or collaborating with other female artists in L.A. 

In addition to killer singles, tigerlily is passionate about amplifying the voices of Asian Americans and People of Color in the music industry. She recently hosted a benefit concert, where over 1,000 fans tuned in to raise money for the Martha P. Johnson Institute supporting Black trans lives.

“If you have a platform of any kind, no matter how small, you should be using it for something more than promoting your new single,” tigerlily said.

She is quick to point out the plight minority artists face, and wants to focus on harnessing community within the industry. 

Stream tigerlily’s latest single, new york, on Spotify, Apple Music (or wherever else you listen!) 

Soundbite

Jess Makler interviews tigerlily for WRGW

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