Seattle-based pop artist Stella Mar makes music that’s an amalgamation of all the hurdles she’s cleared in her life; or as she puts it, “pop bangers for the languidly queer.” At age 13, Stella was told by professionals that she’d never be a good singer with her vocal tone, so she should give up her dreams of being a performer. Instead, she decided to push twice as hard.

She began playing shows in Portland and Seattle and released her debut album White Noise in 2021. The concept album, a blend of electronic production and acoustic guitar, received accolades from local press; Stella was invited to be a guest star on podcasts and her voice was described as, “part-Jeff Buckley, part-Arlo Parks.”

For her follow up singles “The Way” and “Mean to You” she worked with Seattle industry veterans Matthew Wolk (Dempsey Hope, Sol) and Nic Casey (Nicky Buell, Tye Maks). Watching the momentum around her music career take off this past year has been empowering. As Stella puts it, “If I’m going to get hurt I might as well turn that pain into a banger of an album.