Bea Miller

Bea Miller has carved out a reputation as a singer and actress whose work fuses fervent pop with electronic textures and emo sensibilities. Gaining broad notice in 2012 as a contestant on the second season of the U.S. X Factor, she achieved a Top Ten Billboard debut in 2015 via Not an Apology. A trio of color-themed EPs issued throughout 2017 paved the way for her sophomore album Aurora in early 2018. The Quarantine EP surfaced in 2020 and spotlighted the single “Feel Something,” while that same year she joined Jesse Reyez for “Feels Like Home” on Lust and unveiled the elated! EP. In 2023 she returned with the ’90s alt-rock-leaning anthem “Lonely Bitch.”

Born Beatrice Annika Miller in 1999 in Maplewood, New Jersey, she took to performing early and earned voice-acting roles in Ice Age 3 and Toy Story 3 during her teenage years. Miller secured her place on the 2012 season of the Fox competition after auditioning with the Dixie Chicks’ “Cowboy Take Me Away.” Britney Spears served as her mentor once the show reached its boot-camp stage. Though strong performances and a devoted audience marked her run, she finished in ninth place.

Miller inked a deal with Hollywood Records/Syco Music after departing The X Factor and started recording. An initial five-song EP preceded the 2015 full-length Not an Apology, which included contributions from the Suspex, Mike Del Rio, Matt Squire, and additional producers. The set climbed to number seven on the U.S. Billboard 200 and introduced the singles “Young Blood” and “Fire N Gold.” “Yes Girl” arrived in spring 2016 and became a staple of her summer concerts.

That winter she began previewing Aurora by releasing the first installment of a planned EP trilogy, Chapter One: Blue, in February 2017; Chapter Two: Red and Chapter Three: Yellow followed during the summer. Aurora appeared in 2018, gathering the three EPs alongside new material such as “Motherlove.” “It’s Not U It’s Me,” featuring 6lack, emerged the next year. Additional tracks arrived in 2019, among them “Feel Something,” later featured on both the Quarantine and Sad Boy Hours EPs, plus “Feels Like Home” with Jesse Reyez and “Never Gonna Like You” with Snakehips, both drawn from the September 2020 Lust EP.

October 2020 brought Miller’s eighth EP, elated!, highlighted by the buoyantly synthy cut “Wisdom Teeth.” She supplied the song “Playground” to the 2021 soundtrack for the animated series Arcane: League of Legends. Early 2023 saw the arrival of the non-album single “Lonely Bitch,” produced by Colin Brittain and marked by its edgier, ’90s-style alt-rock approach.