Penelope Scott is an American musician, singer-songwriter, and producer. She has self-produced all of her music. After releasing the compilation albums Junkyard (2020) and The Junkyard 2 (2020), Scott released her debut album, Public Void, in August 2020. Her song "Rät" peaked at 29 on Billboard's Hot Rock & Alternative Songs Chart. Scott's latest EP Hazards released in 2021.
Penelope Scott | |
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| Born | 2000 (age 21–22) |
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| Years active | 2019-present |
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| Website | penelopescott |
Scott began learning the piano at the age of eight.[1] In middle and high school, she focused on writing lyrics and learning how to record.[2] Scott began publishing her songs online while taking a music production class in college. She released the compilation album Junkyard on February 27, 2020, followed shortly by the release of The Junkyard 2 on May 13, 2020.[3] The latter explores themes of emotional labor, healthcare and insecurity.[1] A song from the second album, "Sweet Hibiscus Tea", went viral that same month.[3] Scott later expressed surprise at the success of The Junkyard 2 given its lack of mixing. Her college courses aided in her mixing skills, though she also took courses in philosophy and computer science.[1]
Her debut album, Public Void, was released on Bandcamp on August 29, 2020, then on streaming services on September 25, 2020. In late 2020, Scott's music found a larger audience on the short-form video-sharing app TikTok.[4] Her song "Rät" went viral in November 2020. The song is about disappointment with Silicon Valley and technology billionaires, including Elon Musk.[5] "Rät" peaked at 29 on Billboard's Hot Rock & Alternative Songs Chart.[6] Music producer Jesse Cannon described its lyrics as "so extremely online".[7] Tens of thousands of TikTok videos incorporate the song.[1] On November 4, 2020, Scott released the single "Born2Run", which had gone viral prior to its official release.[3] The song garnered attention after the 2021 storming of the United States Capitol, due to its lyrics describing a fictional storming of the U.S. capitol by politically involved youth.[1] On April 30, 2021, Scott was featured on the song "Brittle, Baby!" by Char Chris. She also appeared in its music video as an animated version of herself.[8]
In July 2021, Scott released the song "7 O'Clock" and announced an EP titled Hazards, which released on August 27, 2021, through Many Hats Distribution.[9] She released the song "Dead Girls" as a single a day before the release of the EP.[10] In December 2021, Scott covered Carrie Underwood's "Before He Cheats" for an episode of the Recording Academy's ReImagined.[11]
In November 2020, she appeared on Rolling Stone's Breakthrough 25, which showcases artists with large gains in streaming numbers—Scott was fifth, with 5.4 million streams that week.[12] Her song "Rät" appeared in the Top 40 of Billboard's Hot Rock & Alternative Songs.[13] Billboard's Danielle Chelosky said about her music, "Sonically, it's like being inside of a videogame; lyrically, it's like scrolling a Tumblr meme page of an edgy teenage girl."[1]
She has been described as an example of TikTok allowing for music artists to be successful without signing to a label; she reached 3 million monthly listeners on Spotify without substantial media coverage.[3][7] By March 2021, her music had been streamed an estimated 88 million times in the United States.[1]
Her music has been described as "baroque punk".[7] Danielle Chelosky of Billboard said that her music features aspects of hyperpop. Scott said that she has "been waiting for anyone to come up with an accurate description" of her genre of music.[1]
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions |
|---|---|---|
| LIT [14] | ||
| Public Void |
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85 |
| Title | Album details |
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| Junkyard |
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| The Junkyard 2 |
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| Title | EP details |
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| Goblin Hours |
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| Dancin' Times |
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| Hazards |
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| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Rock [6] | ||||
| "Rät" | 2020 | 29 |
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Public Void |
| "Born2Run" | — | Non-album singles | ||
| "Brittle, Baby!" (with Char Chris) |
2021 | — | ||
| "7 O'Clock" | — | Hazards | ||
| "Dead Girls" | — |