Alternative music is full of work created by strong and talented women and non-binary musicians, from Alanis to Florence, to Halsey. We’ve seen Gwen Stefani and Shirley Manson shattering stereotypes in the 90s, the high emo energy of Hayley Williams and Paramore, and genre-defying newcomers like Billie Eilish, King Princess and WILLOW transform the way we view alternative music.
LISTEN NOW: girl in red talks with Audacy's Nicole Alvarez
They’ve inspired us to use our own voices together, working towards equality and against bias. This International Women’s Day, Audacy honors these artists by highlighting their songs and sharing powerful conversations with the voices who have shaped the genre - and are taking it into the future.
As girl in red, A.K.A. Marie Ulven’s star has risen, the artist tells us that she doesn’t often think of herself as a “female artist in the music industry” because throughout her career thus far she has not experienced discrimination based on her gender identity. “I’m kinda just doing my own thing, and I just happen to be a woman,” said girl in red.
“I’m also very grateful that I’m alive at this time because I don’t think I would be able to just do whatever I wanted to do if I was born 60 years ago,” added Ulven. “It’s just a huge privilege to even be able to say that.”
However, throughout her conversation with Alvarez, Ulven was reminded of some adversity she’s faced when it comes to the production of her music. The “Serotonin” singer tells us that often, people have not believed that she produces her own music because there is also a man’s name beside her name in the production credits. “Therefore a lot of people have reached out to him and are like ‘wow what you did on girl in red’s record is amazing,’ but it’s like I did my own record,” explained Ulven.
From experiencing a lack of recognition on her album’s production, girl in red concluded, “I think probably that has always happened. Women have always been underestimated.”
Ulven tells us she has spoken up about the music she has produced. When she released “Serotonin” many media outlets did not highlight the fact that Ulven had produced the song before FINNEAS joined the creative process at the end. “FINNEAS was on that track, and what a lot of media or like publications do, they’re kind of like ‘wow FINNEAS made this song with girl in red,’ and it’s like no, the song was there and he came in at the very end of the process,” noted girl in red. She added, “When people specifically mention ‘wow so FINNEAS produced this song,’ I’m like ‘b***h no! I produced this song too!’”
Start streaming She Sings, Audacy's Women's History Month station
Reflecting on the saying, “the future is female” Ulven said, “I don’t think that people saying ‘the future is female’ is like wow f*** all men, I think because everything is so male-dominated… I think saying something like ‘the future is female’ is going to equal things out.”
Currently, on her tour, girl in red revealed that there are only three women on her tour bus filled with thirteen people. Besides herself, it’s just Ulven’s assistant and her merch manager. “So saying that the future is female is literally just being like we need to believe more in women so that we can be equal,” girl in red shared resolutely.
Check out girl in red’s full interview above!
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