Wrabel

Stephen Wrabel crafts pop songs whose solo output generally centers on intimate acoustic and piano-driven ballads, yet he has also achieved notable success alongside prominent EDM producers. His breakthrough arrived when Afrojack’s version of “Ten Feet Tall” appeared in a Bud Light commercial that aired during the 2014 Super Bowl. The LGBTQ+ community has embraced tracks such as “11 Blocks” (2016) and “The Village” (2017) for their focus on queer relationships and transgender rights. Among his vocal supporters and frequent collaborators are Kesha, P!nk, Louis the Child, and the Backstreet Boys. After issuing numerous singles, EPs, and a live album, Wrabel delivered his first full-length studio album, these words are all for you, in 2021; two years later he released the intimate dual-EP set Chapter of Me/Chapter of You.

Because his parents moved frequently, Wrabel spent his childhood in multiple U.S. cities before settling long enough to attend Boston’s Berklee College of Music. He later relocated to Los Angeles, where he began writing for artists including Phillip Phillips and Adam Lambert, though he continued developing his own material and ultimately secured a deal with Island Records after submitting a demo of “Ten Feet Tall.” He recorded the track with Dutch EDM DJ Afrojack; it first surfaced in early 2014 through the Super Bowl advertisement, appeared on Afrojack’s debut album Forget the World, and also closed Wrabel’s initial EP Sideways.

In 2015 he issued the single “I Want You,” later remixed by MNDR. The following year Wrabel teamed with songwriter-producer Alex Hope for his Epic debut single “11 Blocks,” a song drawn from the same relationship that inspired “Ten Feet Tall,” while also lending vocals to Marshmello’s “Ritual.” Early 2017 brought another deeply personal release, “Bloodstain,” which appeared on the EP We Could Be Beautiful; he also unveiled “The Village,” whose video portrayed a transgender teenager confronting gender dysphoria, earning Wrabel a nomination for Outstanding Music Artist at the 29th GLAAD Media Awards.

He continued collaborating with an array of pop and dance acts such as Kesha, Kygo, the Backstreet Boys, and Fitz and the Tantrums. Both the live album one nite only and the third EP One of Those Happy People surfaced in 2019 on Wrabel’s own Big Gay Records imprint. The 2020 EP Piano collected acoustic versions alongside live recordings. His Nettwerk-distributed debut album these words are all for you arrived in 2021, extending his body of autobiographical, emotionally direct songwriting. In 2023 Wrabel launched his most personal undertaking with the EP Chapter of Me, whose five tracks, including the hit “Happier,” addressed heartbreak, addiction, and self-empowerment; he completed the project later that year with the more outward-facing Chapter of You, which featured the summery anthem “Abstract Art” and the affirming “We All Could Use Some Help.”