Carlie Hanson

A dusky pop vocalist, Carlie Hanson first rose to prominence in 2016 thanks to the viral success of her single “Only One.” Frequently likened to Billie Eilish and Lorde, she followed that breakthrough with the EPs Junk in 2019 and DestroyDestroyDestroyDestroy in 2020, then unveiled her debut full-length album Tough Boy at the start of 2022. Remaining active in the studio, she rolled out further singles such as “608” and “Pretender,” both of which anchored her 2023 sophomore effort Wisconsin.

Born in 2000 and brought up in Onalaska, Wisconsin, Hanson first felt drawn to performance after absorbing the music of Justin Bieber and One Direction during childhood. By roughly age fourteen she had begun sharing cover versions on the internet. While employed as a cashier at a mall restaurant in 2016, she filmed herself performing Zayn’s “Pillowtalk” inside her car and submitted the clip to a social-media competition offering concert tickets. Though she did not win, the footage attracted a surge of followers once it spread online. Capitalizing on that momentum, she journeyed to Toronto alongside her mother to collaborate with producer Rey Villalobos, known as House of Wolves, who assisted in composing and tracking several songs; she later spent additional time in Los Angeles alongside songwriter Dale Anthoni.

Her single “Only One” achieved viral status in 2018, prompting a period of live shows supporting Troye Sivan, Yungblud, and Bad Suns. The following year brought the release of her first EP, Junk, highlighted by the track “Back in My Arms.” A second EP, DestroyDestroyDestroyDestroy, appeared in 2020 and included “Ego,” a collaboration with rapper Iann Dior. In 2021 she continued issuing standalone cuts, among them “Off My Neck” and “Snot” featuring Deb Never, both later included on her February 2022 debut album Tough Boy. Work on the subsequent project began almost at once, yielding the well-received singles “608” and “Pretender” that joined the driving track “Illusion” as the foundation of her 2023 album Wisconsin.