If you’ve ever wished you were an OG, day-one fan of a huge artist before they blew up, allow me to introduce an astoundingly talented singer-songwriter on the rise: Frances Whitney.
Mark my words — Frances will be a household name someday. So now’s your chance:
Step 1: Follow her on TikTok, Instagram, and Spotify.
Step 2: Check out these videos of Frances singing. Seriously, just spend a few minutes watching her sing, and you’ll get it.
Step 3: Save my Frances playlist, which includes her 6 awesome older songs under a different name. (Apple Music version here.)
Frances truly has the whole package: the lyrical genius of Taylor Swift and Phoebe Bridgers; the emotional heft of Noah Kahan and Julien Baker; the heartbreaking clarity and raw vulnerability of Olivia Rodrigo; and the gorgeous & versatile vocals of Chappell Roan, Brandi Carlile, and Adele…combined.
Oh, and Frances also has the rare Kelly Clarkson-esque ability to cover any song and make it hers. For example:
Fans of Brandi Carlile, Chappell Roan, boygenius/Julien Baker, and other sapphic artists may find this edit of Frances’s incredible song “Orion” particularly compelling… 🌈🌈🌈
Seriously. She’s so good. In the words of L.A. Underground:
“Frances Whitney is an absolute fucking star. . . . There is no doubt about it. She is built different. . . . We saw T. Swift play her first L.A. show [in 2004] . . . and that’s the kind of energy she gives off. . . . Just do yourself a favor and get on the Frances Whitney bandwagon sooner than later. So you can brag about it some day like we flex about Taylor.”
By now you may be wondering: who is this MileHighBrendan guy, rambling at me about some artist I’ve never heard of? Is he on her payroll? An industry shill? A longtime personal friend?
Nope, nope & nope. I’m a random middle-aged lawyer in Denver who, in the past few months, has simply become a huge Frances Whitney superfan. I first discovered Frances on April 4 when, scrolling mindlessly on TikTok late at night (as one does), I had the good fortune of wandering into her TikTok Live, and… wow.
I was utterly stunned by how fucking good she is, as both a singer and a songwriter. How on earth, I wondered, is she not already a superstar?!
This wasn’t just another TikTok singer with a nice voice. This was an undiscovered gem, a rare talent with limitless potential. It felt like I had wandered into a Seattle coffee shop in 2002 to find a young Brandi Carlile performing to an audience of dozens — and had immediately clocked her as a future star.
And thus, a new hyperfixation/special interest was born. 🙂 I knew right away that I had to tell everyone about her.
Take, for instance, this video I made of Frances singing and discussing “Past Life” — an unreleased, lyrically gorgeous song that will be on her November EP.
Another example is this acoustic performance (followed, again, by some thoughtful & fascinating behind-the-music thoughts) of her newest single, “You Left Me For Jesus”:
Oh, and did I mention that Frances slays every cover she attempts? And she often does it without any notice, prep or practice! She’ll get a random request on TikTok Live, she’ll Google the guitar chords, she’ll fumble around for a few moments…and then, without warning, she’ll play the best goddamn rendition of the requested song that you’ve ever heard in your life.
Bottom line: like I said earlier, I’m ridiculously confident that Frances is going to be a household name sooner or later; she’s too talented not to be. You know how Chappell Roan has gone from playing small festivals to commanding giant crowds in just 3 years? Or how Noah Kahan burst onto the scene with similar suddenness? That can totally happen for Frances too. She’s that good.
And somehow or other, I’ve stumbled into being an OG, day-one fan. Which is especially surprising because I’m very much not “that guy” who is always raving about some new undiscovered indie artist or band. I’m not a hipster; I’m a Taylor Swift content creator, FFS. 😂
But Frances is something special. Heck, I flew to L.A. (from Denver) to see her first-ever headliner gig in June — and I even got a personal shoutout from Frances that will be my ultimate flex when she’s a star:
Anyway… again, you can find Frances on social media at @unwe11_princess (TikTok) or @frannybanany (Instagram). And you can also find an enormous amount of Frances-related content on my TikTok, @milehighbrendan, which is mostly just a Frances Whitney fan account these days. 🙂 More specifically, look in these playlists:
Speaking of “Frances🤝Brandi🌈” … I wrote briefly above about Frances’s very best (IMHO) original song, Orion. I recommend Orion to everyone — it’s one of my favorite songs by anyone, ever — but I especially recommend it to fellow Bramily and sapphic music fans. If you watch my edit, I think you’ll understand why. 🙂
Thematically, Orion has a lot in common with Brandi Carlile’s Looking Out. (Hence this friendship bracelet, which I hope to give Brandi at GJWW6.) Also, as implied by the captions above, its title has a double meaning; the song’s muse is a woman named Ryan. “Orion… Oh, Ryan… my words are falling short…”
So yeah. Orion is amazing. You can see Frances perform the full song at Winston House, or on Toronto N1 (higher-key, extra-raw version), or on TikTok Live (awesomely rapsy version).
Fellow Brandi fans will also especially like this Frances cover… 🙂
Here’s my edit of another unreleased song, “Biggest Fan,” which I think will also be on the EP:
Here’s still another unreleased, coming-soon original, “20-Something”:
And here’s part of another beautiful unreleased original song, “Old Friends”:
I call myself “Frances Whitney Nation” (a la Taylor Nation), because I’ve made so much content about Frances’s music, and Frances has jokingly called me her “proxy manager.” But again, to be clear, I’m not actually affiliated with Frances or part of her team. I’m just a massive, massive fan.
That said, if you’re connected to the music industry and you’re intrigued by Frances, here’s some relevant info about her team:
- Her manager is Isaac Markinson.
- Her record label is 604 Records.
- Her booking agents are Steve Goodgold & Tom Windish at Wasserman.
And again, here’s my Spotify playlist with all of her songs, including the older ones that are listed under different names on streaming. (Here’s an Apple Music version.)
A few more links:
- Join my Discord with the Franatics role.
- My YouTube playlist of Frances covers, as sung on her TikTok Lives. Includes songs by Taylor Swift, Bob Dylan, Chappell Roan, Tom Petty, Miley Cyrus, Hozier, Kacey Musgraves, The Lumineers & more.
- Video of Frances’s amazing concert on June 11 at Winston House in Venice, California.
- Video of a fan Q&A with Frances on my TikTok Live on July 1.
- My Frances Masterdoc / “TED Talk.”
And here are some reviews & articles about Frances’s music:
- L.A. Underground: “Frances Whitney is an absolute fucking star. . . . There is no doubt about it. She is built different. The minute she stepped on stage it’s as if the equilibrium in the atmosphere shifted. . . . We saw T. Swift play her first L.A. show on the same stage [in 2004] . . . and that’s the kind of energy she gives off. . . . Just do yourself a favor and get on the Frances Whitney bandwagon sooner than later. So you can brag about it some day like we flex about Taylor.”
- Fashionably Early (3/22): “From the seemingly endless selection of aspiring singers and songwriters on Tik Tok, Frances Whitney just immediately stood out from the crowd.”
- Pop Passion Music Blog (7/5): “Frances Whitney is a force to be reckoned with, using 2024 to kickstart her career with an undeniable bang. . . . [She is] one of the industry’s most intriguing ‘artists to watch.’”
- Aipate: “A great talent has to be exalted and, for an enormously gifted artist like Frances Whitney, raving on about her talent is the least we can do.”
- Lefuturewave: “The minute Frances starts to sing, you know you’ve found a good artist.”
- Pop Passion Music Blog (3/29): “Frances Whitney has kicked her career off on a strong note . . . showcasing a lyricism that will resonate with listeners across the globe . . . [and] mellifluous vocals. . . . [She] is an alt-pop singer-songwriter on the rise.”
- Our Era Magazine: “Through her vulnerability and honesty, Whitney fosters a sense of solidarity within her audience, offering comfort to those navigating similar struggles.”
- WRUV 90.1 FM: “‘Easy Street’ . . . is a strong debut for this alt-pop-singer-songwriter . . . [and] a promising glimpse for what is to come for this new artist!”
- Sheesh Media: “Frances Whitney has made a significant impact in the singer/songwriter community this summer. . . . [She] strikes a beautiful balance between folk, country, and singer-songwriter genres, creating a sound that is both energetic and melancholic. Her polished sound, combined with her growing momentum on social media, makes Frances Whitney an artist to watch this year.”
Last but not least, a few more videos…
Here’s a compilation that I made from several of her TikTok Lives:
And here are a couple of compilations of just covers: