Bea Miller

Singer and actress Bea Miller makes passionate, emo and electronic-inflected pop music. She first came to wide attention in 2012 while competing on the second season of the U.S. X Factor, before scoring a Top Ten Billboard debut with 2015′s Not an Apology. A series of color-themed EPs during 2017 led to the release of her second album, Aurora, in early 2018. 2020′s Quarantine EP featured the single “Feel Something,” and that same year, she collaborated with Jesse Reyez on “Feels Like Home” off 2020′s Lust and released the elated! EP. In 2023, she delivered the ’90s alt-rock-leaning anthem, “Lonely Bitch.”
Beatrice Annika Miller was born in 1999 in Maplewood, New Jersey. She began performing at a young age and by her teens had garnered voice-acting credits in such films as Ice Age 3 and Toy Story 3. In 2012, Miller auditioned for and won a spot on the second season of the Fox singing competition with her performance of the Dixie Chicks’ “Cowboy Take Me Away.” During the show’s boot-camp phase, Miller was assigned pop star and judge Britney Spears as her mentor. Although she performed well on the show and drew a large fan following, she ultimately exited in ninth place.
After leaving The X Factor, Miller signed a recording deal with Hollywood Records/Syco Music and began work on an album. Following an initial five-song EP, she delivered her 2015 full-length debut, Not an Apology, which featured production from the Suspex, Mike Del Rio, Matt Squire, and others. The album peaked at number seven on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart and featured the singles “Young Blood” and “Fire N Gold.” Spring 2016 brought a new single titled “Yes Girl,” which featured heavily in her live sets that summer.
The following winter, Miller teased the release of her sophomore full-length album, Aurora, by issuing the first of an intended trilogy of EPs beginning with Chapter One: Blue in February 2017. Chapter Two: Red and Chapter Three: Yellow followed in the summer. In 2018, she delivered Aurora, which compiled all three of the EPs plus additional tracks, including the song “Motherlove.” “It’s Not U It’s Me,” featuring 6lack, arrived the following year. More songs appeared in 2019, including “Feel Something” (later included on both the Quarantine and Sad Boy Hours EPs) as well as “Feels Like Home” with Jesse Reyez and “Never Gonna Like You” with Snakehips (both off September 2020′s Lust EP).
In October 2020, Miller unveiled her eighth EP, elated!, which featured the buoyantly synthy track “Wisdom Teeth.” The following year, she contributed her song “Playground” to the soundtrack to the animated series Arcane: League of Legends. A non-album single, the Colin Brittain-produced “Lonely Bitch,” arrived in early 2023 with an edgier, ’90s-style alt-rock sound. ~ Matt Collar