Muna

The Los Angeles-based trio MUNA crafts lucid pop that channels exuberance and thrill through queer viewpoints. Their first major breakthrough arrived in 2016 via the buoyant single "I Know a Place," which climbed into the Top 40 on Billboard's Adult Pop Songs chart and opened doors for the subsequent albums About U in 2017, Saves the World in 2019, and the self-titled MUNA in 2022—their initial project on Phoebe Bridgers' Saddest Factory imprint.

Vocalist Katie Gavin, guitarist-vocalist Naomi McPherson, and guitarist-vocalist Josette Maskin assembled the band in 2013 after crossing paths as students at the University of Southern California. They soon assembled their debut EP, More Perfect, which surfaced in the middle of 2014 and fused their affinity for '80s new wave, synth-pop, R&B, and contemporary experimental pop. Over the following year the members focused on fresh songs while securing deals with RCA in the United States and National Anthem in the United Kingdom, culminating in the May 2016 release of their second EP, Loudspeaker. By year's end they had finished tracking their first full-length, About U, which emerged in early 2017. The record, co-produced by the band alongside Dan Grech-Marguerat (Radiohead, Lana Del Rey) and anchored by the single "I Know a Place," entered the Top Ten of Billboard's Heatseekers Albums chart. That September they issued the standalone track "In My Way" and began supporting Harry Styles on tour.

In 2019 MUNA returned with the more introspective sophomore album Saves the World, which duplicated the Heatseekers chart placement of its predecessor. After joining Phoebe Bridgers' Saddest Factory roster in 2021, they released the single "Silk Chiffon" featuring Bridgers; the track appeared on the band's fourth studio album, the self-titled MUNA, in 2022. The set entered the Billboard 200 and peaked at number 21 on the Top Alternative Albums chart. Also that year the group issued the EP Live at Electric Lady, which included their rendition of Taylor Swift's "August." The standalone song "One That Got Away" followed in April 2023.