Written By: Mary Brady
NYC-based alt-r&b group MICHELLE continues to solidify their name as one of this year’s best-emerging artists with their newest indie-pop single “FYO” (Fuck Your Opinions). “FYO” echoes themes from their previous work, such as intentional irony, as it combines a bubbly, upbeat, acoustic, alternative sound with lyrics that discuss more serious topics, like the formation of one’s identity, particularly one’s racial identity. In the self-directed music video, MICHELLE visually represents the boxes others place us in and the struggle that, specifically mixed-race people, face when it comes to the formation and definition of their own identity.
Photo Courtesy of Libby Kober
MICHELLE has gained a lot of recognition this past year with acknowledgments from NME as one of their 2021 essential emerging artists, Pigeons and Planes’ Best New Artists, Spotify’s Best Indie Songs of 2020, Annie Mac’s Hottest Record in the World, Dork’s 2021 Hype List, praise from NYLON, Refinery29, FADER, and more. This song follows their self-release of Heatwave, which led to sold-out shows at Baby’s All Right and Webster Hall, along with two successful singles “Sunrise” and “Unbound.”
Jamee Locklard (one of the members of MICHELLE) on FYO: “Growing up as a mixed-race minority in the US, my self-concept was warped by other people telling me what I am and am not, pushing and pulling me between identities. Although my feelings of cultural dissonance still ebb and flow, now I have the vocabulary, support system, and perspective to unpack that inner conflict on my own terms. We should never give others the authority to define who we are.”