Girli

Girli is from northwest London.[10][11][12] She was born on 6 December 1997 to acting parents,[13] and is half-Australian.[14] She has a younger sister.[15][16] As a child she wanted to be an actor, but abandoned her ambition after 2 unsuccessful auditions.[7] She wrote her first song aged 8, about a boy in her class at school who she liked.[17]

She attended Hampstead School,[18] a comprehensive secondary school in Cricklewood. Girli describes her experience of secondary school as "the worst five years of my life, it was so bad", experiencing bullying that "made me quite an anxious person".[16] She was nonetheless active in extracurricular activities, getting elected as a Deputy Young MP for Camden in 2012[19] and spending lunchtimes in the music room playing instruments.[20]

Girli realised that she wanted to be a musician aged 14 after feeling inspired at a Tegan and Sara concert.[17] She started her career doing open mics under her legal name, Milly Toomey.[21] She later formed indie rock band Ask Martin with older girls she met online, performing vocals and guitar. After her bandmates went away to university, Girli started performing solo.[22]

Girli attended the East London Arts & Music college in Bromley-by-Bow from 2014 to 2016.[3][23] During that period she developed interests in beatmaking, rap, and drum and bass,[24] and made her musical debut as Girli. She released her first single, "So You Think You Can Fuck With Me Do Ya?" in 2015, aged 17. She was signed by PMR Records in October 2015.[25]

In 2016, Girli toured the UK throughout September and October supporting musician Oscar.[26][27]

In 2017, Girli released the Feel OK EP,[28] supported Declan McKenna around the UK and performed at Latitude Festival.[29] She also had a headline UK tour, titled "Hot Mess", in support of an EP of the same name which was released in October 2017 and showed elements of pop punk.

In 2018, Girli performed at the MTV Presents Gibraltar Calling festival.[30] In 2019, she released the single "Deal With It" and released her debut studio album, Odd One Out, 4 years after her debut single.[31] In July 2019, Girli released the single "Up & Down". Later in 2019, Girli was dropped by her record label. She wrote her subsequent single "Has Been" in response, stating on Instagram, "This song is for my ex record label who didn't think I was perfect or pop star enough to sell records."[32] Girli was due to take her Sofa Tour around the UK in March 2020,[33] but cancelled the dates due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[34] Her first EP on the independent record label AllPoints, Ex Talk, was released in February 2021.[35]

Girli previously performed on stage with DJ Kitty (Rosalie Sylvia Fountain), who provided backing vocals.[36] DJ Kitty was later replaced by DJ GG, after DJ Kitty resigned due to other commitments.[37]

Girli is openly bisexual/queer.[47] She first came out as bisexual aged 15 at a Tegan and Sara concert.[7] She also uses the word pansexual to describe herself.[48] Commenting on gender identity in a 2017 interview, she said : "Right now I identify as a woman, but what does that even mean? Is that what I say, who I am? Right now I feel like a woman, but that may change. Some days, I'm like 'fuck it, I don't feel like a woman or a man.'"[49]

She has stated that she has obsessive–compulsive disorder[16][50] and takes antidepressants.[7] Her single "Up & Down" is about her mental health struggles.[16] She is a skateboarder.[45]

• Official website
• Girli discography at Discogs