Rise to Fame
Disney had her playing the sidekick on Girl Meets World while Hollywood Records released four albums that never traveled far outside the bubble. The exit came in 2021 when she signed to Island Records. Emails I Can't Send found an older audience, 'Nonsense' went multi-platinum on TikTok, and opening for Taylor Swift on the Eras Tour introduced her to stadium crowds who'd never considered her. By the time 'Espresso' dropped in April 2024, she'd done the groundwork.
In the Spotlight
'Espresso' topped Spotify Wrapped 2024 with 1.6 billion plays. 'Please Please Please' hit #1 on the Hot 100 and 'Taste' debuted at #2, making her the first act since the Beatles to chart three debut top-five singles simultaneously. The pop industry was running out of comparisons. Short n' Sweet debuted at #1 with 362,000 album equivalent units and won Grammy for Best Pop Vocal Album. Her 2025 follow-up Man's Best Friend also debuted at #1. The former Disney sidekick is nobody's warmup act anymore.
Side Notes
Her paternal aunt is Nancy Cartwright, the voice of Bart Simpson, which says something about the kind of family that builds a home recording studio for their kid. She placed third out of 7,000 entrants in a Miley Cyrus singing competition at age 10 and signed her first record deal at 14. Her Broadway debut as Cady Heron in Mean Girls lasted two performances before COVID ended the run in 2020. The overnight success story was two decades in the making.