Elle King

Elle King's emergence in 2015 via Love Stuff positioned her as a Stateside take on Amy Winehouse, merging retro-soul elements with energetic blues-rock vigor. That fusion found its peak expression in "Ex's & Oh's," a track that ascended to the summit of the Billboard Rock chart during 2014 en route to the Hot 100's upper echelon. Building upon this breakthrough, King broadened her artistic scope through partnerships spanning country star Dierks Bentley and rapper Wiz Khalifa. Her 2018 follow-up Shake the Spirit pulsed with exploratory sonic energy, yet the number one country success of her Miranda Lambert duet—which marked her initial Top 40 single since "Ex's & Oh's"—prompted a decisive shift toward country with the 2023 album Come Get Your Wife.

Born Tanner Elle Schneider in Los Angeles in 1989 to London King and Rob Schneider—the actor, comedian, and one-time Saturday Night Live cast member—she was raised in Ohio. An encounter with the all-girl pop-punk band the Donnas at age nine sparked her determination to become a singer and musician. Guitar mastery arrived by thirteen, with banjo soon added to her instrumental repertoire. Street performances and local gigs in New York commenced at sixteen, leading her to Philadelphia for studies at the University of the Arts, where she focused on painting and film. Film roles included a part in 2009's Wild Cherry. Following graduation, periods in Copenhagen and Los Angeles preceded her settlement in Brooklyn.

Under RCA Records, the 2012 four-song The Elle King EP marked her introduction. Love Stuff, her debut full-length, came in 2015 and boasted the single "Ex's & Oh's" that topped Billboard's Alternative Songs chart; this propelled Love Stuff to number twenty-eight on the Billboard 200 and number seven in Canada. The 2016 duet "Different for Girls" with Dierks Bentley, featured on his album Black, attained number one on Country Airplay upon single release, received a Grammy nomination for Best Country Duo/Group Performance, and captured the Country Music Association's Best Vocal Event of the Year honor.

Shake the Spirit, her second album, emerged in October 2018 and reached number sixty-eight on the U.S. album chart—slightly higher in Canada—alongside top-three placement on Billboard's Americana/Folk Albums and top-ten rankings on rock and alternative charts. She issued the Christmas duet "Under the Mistletoe" with Ronnie Spector late the next year and teamed with Andy Grammer for "Best of You" in 2020. Also that year, the three-track In Isolation EP appeared, and she contributed vocals to the movie Love, Weddings & Other Disasters.

A platinum-certified 2021 single, the Miranda Lambert collaboration "Drunk (And I Don't Wanna Go Home)" crossed over to hit number thirty-seven on the Hot 100, number four on rock charts, and number one on country charts. Such achievement directed King countryward, signaled through 2022 singles including the Dierks Bentley pairing "Worth a Shot," "Out Yonder," and "Try Jesus." Non-album releases in this phase featured a Nile Rodgers team-up titled "Honky Tonk Disco Nights," "Feelin' Alright" drawn from The Bad Guys, and "I Know Where I've Been" from Luckiest Girl Alive. "Tulsa" ushered in Come Get Your Wife during January 2023, where Elle King displayed her country transformation; the set attained number fifty-three on the Billboard 200 and number eleven on Top Country Albums.