Live in Vienna this fall

Girl In Red: Out of Taylor Swift’s puppy protection

A little more polished and more mainstream: Girl In Red successfully continue to write their pop history.

(Bild: Sony Music, Krone KREATIV)

With her second album "I'm Doing It Again Baby!", Norwegian Marie Ulven aka Girl In Red is all about conquering the pop world. Following concerts as Taylor Swift's opening act, she has also increased her fan base. In September, the 25-year-old will be coming to Vienna live for the first time.

When we spoke to Marie Ulven aka Girl In Red, who was still relatively unknown at the time, a good three years ago, she was on the verge of her big breakthrough and seemed set to launch a stellar career without a major record company behind her. Now the temptations (and contract modalities) of industry leader Sony Music were great enough for the long-awaited second album to be distributed globally on a large scale - the rather quiet Norwegian certainly deserved it. Girl In Red already created a TikTok and Internet hype with her first songs. The single "I Wanna Be Your Girlfried" became a kind of pop manifesto for the queer scene in 2018 and when the question "Do you listen to Girl In Red?" was raised in the virtual space, the question of whether you were a lesbian was also raised. Ulven then consciously moved away from querness-ideologizing status with her debut "If I Could Make It Go Quiet" because she also wanted to develop further in terms of content.

Support for the Queen
Released in April 2021, the Norwegian singer achieved more than considerable success. The album easily reached the top 10 in the UK, the Scandinavians and Dutch were crazy about the light-footed pop with indie quotes anyway and - perhaps the most important achievement - despite the lack of advertising funds in the budget, Girl In Red (thanks to the internet!) also became a popular new top talent in the USA with the album. In addition to numerous live performances of her own, one event was particularly influential - Girl In Red was able to prove herself as a support act at a handful of Taylor Swift's concerts in 2023. And what we definitely know about the current biggest pop star on the planet: when the "Swifties" welcome someone into their musical family, long-term success is almost guaranteed.

The tour was also rewarding for Ulven in that Swift is her biggest idol and is largely responsible for her becoming a musician herself. As is often the case with children striving for freedom - Swift's puppy protection was important for Girl In Red, but she no longer needed the metaphorical music mother to peel herself out of the cocoon. The second album "I'm Doing It Again Baby!" was treated like a hot potato by her record company - quite unusual in these times - and held back for as long as possible to keep the pre-release hype going as far as possible. As with her first album, Girl In Red focuses on self-cleansing rituals and lyrics that reach deep into the world of her own mental health. No wonder with an artist who has been medically diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive neurosis and anxiety disorders.

Soul cleansing in children's sound
In the very unusual, but therefore exciting sounding opener, she logically sings "I'm back, I feel like myself / I was gone for a minute, 'cause I went to get help / It's not like I want to die, at least not now, I love being alive / I was feeling so inadequate, never been so out of it / didn't think I make it this far". This is a soul striptease and disturbing insight at the same time, wrapped up in a sugary-sweet sound chorus almost reminiscent of a light-footed nursery rhyme. If Ulven's colleagues like to use such terms as trendy clichés, you can believe her constant search for herself and satisfaction in life at every second. In the radio single "Too Much", which has been in rotation for some time now, she addresses the common problem of often being too much for others in many respects and preferring to hide behind a quiet mask so as not to stand out too quickly in standardized society. The price you pay for this is the feeling of not being able to be yourself.

Girl In Red likes to pack the sometimes intense, sometimes all-encompassing themes into sweet melodies. The proportion of accessible mainstream pop has increased significantly compared to their debut. It's a shame that she has honed some of the rough edges of her sound, because the artist's clearly defined identity no longer stands out as much as it did three years ago. She presents the indie aspect in songs such as "New Love" and the song "Phantom Pain", which is clearly reminiscent of Taylor Swift. "A Night To Remember" shows Girl In Red's knack for a powerful ballad, while "Ugly Side" ventures into funk territory. In terms of content, "I'm Doing It Again Baby!" still serves as a guide to personal happiness, but musically you can tell that producers and advisors from outside have increasingly crept in. However, the career curve continues to rise steeply with this album - and perhaps there will be another stage comeback with Taylor Swift.

Live at the Gasometer
On September 22, Girl In Red will be coming to Austria for the first time - at the Vienna Gasometer. Visit www.oeticket.com for tickets and all other information on the pop event of early fall.