By Anaka Bretzke
ANNA KOBLISH/ @maudelstatus and @annakoblish on Instagram
Maude Latour may not be a name you currently see blowing up your social media feed, but soon enough this star on the rise will be a force to be reckoned with in the music industry.
The 21-year-old musician was born in Sweden and spent the majority of her childhood living with her parents in Hong Kong and London before moving to Manhattan for high school. After graduating, she took a gap year to travel and write music before enrolling at Columbia University, where she is now a Senior.
Latour started her songwriting journey in high school and soon after began playing her music at small bars around New York City. She even wrote one of her most streamed songs on Spotify, “Shoot and Run,” for a school project her senior year.
Since releasing her first EP Starsick in 2019, Latour has quickly racked up 935,000 monthly listeners on Spotify.
The majority of her discography is inspired by the sounds of some of her favorite artists, including Lorde, Lana Del Ray and Clairo. As a songwriter, she has progressed from writing about love and heartbreak in high school to writing more philosophical songs (after all, she is a philosophy major). She’s dabbled writing about religion, metaphysics, human mortality and the well-being of the planet.
In an article by the Columbia Spectator, Latour mentioned that she feels like her songs are publicized diary entries. She commented in the article:
“[Sometimes] I felt like, ‘I can’t believe I give every part of my soul to this,’ every single time I write a song, and I don’t even know if people are listening,” she said.
This past summer, Latour signed a record deal with Warner Records and spent her time in LA recording her debut album. The release date of the album is still TBD, but she frequently likes to tease new music and song lyrics on her Instagram (@maudelstatus).
However, she did release a new song titled “Clean” that she wrote two years ago after running into an ex-boyfriend at the Gov Ball Music Festival. This heartbreak anthem is most definitely on-brand for the singer, where much more lies beneath the upbeat track. She also released a music video to accompany the song, which featured some art and photographs sent in by her fans.
For the first time since 2019, Latour will be going on a cross-country tour playing shows in LA, Chicago, New York City and Washington D.C., all of which sold out in under two minutes.
Through her unique sound and personable lyrics, Maude Latour is most definitely a pop princess on the rise. So, if you’re looking for some new music to give your Spotify playlist a fall refresh, give her discography a listen!