Songwriter and producer Whitney Tai fuses electro-pop, rock, and alternative metal into sweeping, cinematic arrangements anchored by her layered, expansive voice. Following the pop-oriented debut Metamorphosis from 2015, she and primary partner Tim Janssens strengthened that hybrid approach on the 2020 follow-up Apogee.
Born Whitney Tai Vlasaty in New York City, she began composing poetry and songs at seven and soon envisioned a life in music. The death of her mother from cancer when Tai was ten prompted her to pour her focus into creative work, leading her to pursue college studies in architecture and design. While employed as a designer, she faced another loss when her grandfather fell ill and later died from heart complications. Tai moved to Los Angeles, resolved to honor his encouragement by committing to her ambitions; there she assembled a backing band and began securing live dates. She connected with producer Tim Janssens, and together they developed material for her debut record, which arrived as the self-released Metamorphosis in April 2015.
The EP Forever surfaced in 2016, after which she joined Janssens’ dance project Sunfreakz for the 2017 single “Shockwave.” She later reunited with Janssens to craft songs for her next album. In January 2020, Tai headlined a stage at the NAMM trade convention, then issued her second full-length, Apogee, that June. Janssens handled production, engineering, and mixing throughout the project.
