From SoundCloud hits to performing in stadiums across the world with Taylor Swift, Marie Ulven aka Girl in Red has captured the attention with her alt-pop musings on sexuality and mental health. So viral was her cultural impact - her most-streamed track on Spotify, We Fell In Love in October has been played 987,283,863 times at the time of writing - her moniker became a discreet code for queer identity on social media before she had even released her debut album, if I could make it go quiet. Three years on, she’s doing it again, baby, with her second album and a new outlook on life.
Like on her debut, I’m Doing It Again Baby! is heavily influenced by Ulven’s mental health struggles. Soft opener I’m Back is a delicate mental health update for her listeners as she shares, “I’m back, I feel like myself. I was gone for a minute ‘cause I went to get help.” The 'it gets better' message often comes across as clichéd and patronising, but somehow it feels more believable coming from Girl In Red. Her message of hope comes directly from her own experiences of healing and taking the time and space to recover.
