Exclusive Preview: Eli for The Besties Issue
Words: Noa Rosenberg | Photography and Creative Direction: Allie Pilcher | Makeup: Ghost | Hair: Virginie Pineda | Styling: Mariah Kock | LA editor: Camille Mariet | Photo assist: Odin Frostad | Styling assist: Fernanda Lopez
Make it stand out
Eli is the girl you wished you were at 12. She’s the girl she wished she was, too.
In the past year, the glimmering, hot pink pop of America’s Next Stage Girl has taken the internet by storm. From Video Star-core edits to a trademark sequined fedora, her world looks the way many tweens imagined theirs could, with just a couple more trips to Limited Too. Eli’s music would’ve been at home on 2008’s Radio Disney, and your mom would’ve enjoyed it as much as you when it came on. Listening to an Eli song is like traveling to an alternate universe where Ariana Grande played Hannah Montana, and Malibu was an intergalactic butterfly sanctuary - by which I mean, it’s awesome.
It’s so impossible to be grumpy while listening to Eli’s music that recently, while I was getting an uncomfortable procedure at the doctor’s office - and the team of gruff medical students were certified fans by the time they degloved. One listen of “Stars (Lullabye)” is like bubble wrap against having a bad day or experiencing self doubt ever again.
Her lyrics are equally confessional and philosophical, grounding her music emotionally against the bouncing bass and athletic riffs that define her Y2K throwback sound, making the listener experience a sudden need to don a skinny scarf and hurry to Orange Julius. But what inspired Eli to write her debut album Stage Girl?
“I wanted to process that story of me in my bedroom transitioning, or becoming,” she tells me over Zoom through impeccably frosted lips. “Transitioning literally, and then also the Hannah Montana cliché of coming up with a pop star.”
You can grab your copy of The Besties Issue now to read the full interview.
