Eli doesn’t treat music like something that needs to be overanalyzed. The singer, who grew up in New Jersey and has quietly built a devoted audience with songs that channel the glittery energy of T-Mobile Sidekicks and J-14 magazines, adores pop without hesitation. For her, dismissing the power of iconic pop artists past and present shows “just devoid of understanding of what it means to be a creator and a musician.” “Why would you not be writing for all the people that created the [culture], that have a hand in shaping the voice that you have?” she says with a mix of disbelief and conviction.
That mindset explains why the 24-year-old throws herself fully into the “joy of pop.” It’s the heartbeat of her debut album ‘Stage Girl’, arriving October 31. The record blends the smooth, soulful pop-R&B of the ’90s with the playful bubblegum sound of early-2000s Disney Channel. “Making it was just like, ‘What do I need right now?’” she shares in a video interview with NME from Los Angeles. The answer came naturally. “I need something that feels like all of these things that were there for me when I was eight years old.”
‘Stage Girl’ is a love letter to the younger version of Eli who spent hours discovering new sounds in the CD aisle of Barnes & Noble. She paints a vivid picture of one memory in particular. “I see the ‘One of the Boys’ Katy Perry album, and I’m seeing her in this crazy big hat and the polka dots, and I’m seeing all these colours and flamingos and it’s grabbing me. I’m locked in. I need to hear every song. It’s colourful and it’s fun, but there’s so much depth under all of that.”
As a child, Eli was a self-proclaimed “living, breathing theatre kid” even though she never actually joined musical theatre in her small Norfolk, Massachusetts hometown. “I kind of resented the part of my upbringing that wasn’t able to have that outlet,” she admits. But she also acknowledges that she still found a way to express it online as a Vine star. Later on, she enrolled in NYU’s BFA program—“this arts degree that I didn’t get, but I almost did,” she jokes—before releasing songs under a different name and eventually relocating to Los Angeles.
“We’re at a time where all avenues of artistry and all lanes can exist all at once”
Revisiting the Y2K era is nothing new, but Eli approaches it with a level of wit and honesty that makes it stand out. She embraces the “mismatched, disgusting, kitschy” fashion of the time and creates lyric videos that look as if they were made on Windows Movie Maker, but she does it knowingly, with a wink. That playful approach pulses through her breakout singles ‘Marianne’ and ‘Girl Of Your Dreams’, the latter built around what she calls a “cheesy, cheap piano.” The songs have earned her praise from figures like Troye Sivan, Doechii and Zara Larsson.
‘Girl Of Your Dreams’ came together in a flash of inspiration. It was the final song of a long day in the studio with Mike White and Sean Kennedy, known for their work with Chappell Roan and UPSAHL. Even though it was instinctive, the rest of ‘Stage Girl’ is carefully shaped and deliberate. “I’m a firm believer in cohesion and curation, especially on a debut album,” she explains, noting its lean 10-track structure in a time when sprawling deluxe editions are the norm.
The unifying force behind ‘Stage Girl’, Eli says, is her voice. “Beyond writing and producing songs and having a hand in creating videos, ‘Stage Girl’ is a singing album and is about the pure artistry behind singing.” She references a TikTok video of 90s pop icons like Christina Aguilera and Destiny’s Child being asked to sing a cappella during interviews.
“I’m like, ‘That needs to happen’. Honestly, you need to ask me to sing a song right now,” she says, breaking into the chorus of ‘Girl Of Your Dreams’ mid-interview. “We’re at a time where all avenues of artistry and all lanes can exist all at once. And because they can exist all at once, singing is now also getting its flowers again.”
For Eli, the goal is to bring that vocal power into a space that feels fresh and expressive, while still connecting with fans who love artists like Ethel Cain and Lana Del Rey. “[It’s] also about blending those worlds, ’cause sometimes they can be separate,” she continues. “Not saying that Ethel and Lana aren’t singing down, because they are, but there’s also a difference in being like, [breaks out into a Mariah Carey-esque run], and whatever’s happening at the Waffle House.”
“Pop Is colourful and it’s fun, but there’s so much depth under all of that”
As she reflects on her sound and her place in pop, she lands on an unexpected realization. “This conversation is really honing in on the fact that I’m a fan, and you can be a fan and you can also be a star,” she says. To understand that fully, you need to look at the fictional TV singing competition Eli created as part of her album campaign—a kind of self-aware American Idol universe charting her journey from bedroom singer to the main stage.
Eli has been documenting that story on YouTube, showing every step of her “stage girl” transformation. Through these videos, she pokes fun at herself while also sharing real parts of her identity—from a nod to her experience as a trans artist (with the character ‘Eliza Mann’) to the story of a “small town girl who’s terrified to leave her bedroom.”
Her growing fanbase has fully embraced the world she’s built, even arriving at shows in character and declaring themselves the next stage girl. “When I’m seeing them be like, ‘I’m the next stage girl’, and talk about how they’re gonna fit into Stage Girl, what their talents are and how they’re gonna audition, I’m still having trouble understanding that they’re real because that’s really crazy,” she admits.
Eli might not fully grasp the scale of what’s happening yet, but the excitement around her debut album is set to grow even louder. As she looks ahead, she’s focused on exploring the “joy, potential, worth and value” of her artistry. Big plans are already in motion, including bringing her one-woman show ‘Stage Girl’ to the theatre in New York and then heading to Australia because “they stream my music, they’re killing it.”
With a laugh, she adds, “I believe in astrocartography and I got a reading that said my soulmate is in Australia, so I think I could kill two birds with one stone: become a pop act in Australia and be loved.” Judging by the way her music continues to connect, both of those things might not be far off.
Eli’s debut album ‘Stage Girl’ will be released on October 31 through Zelig Music/RCA Records.
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