Why I'm Obsessed with Beabadoobee

Sitting at my desk, staring at Canvas as my three papers due next week hang over my head, while election-induced anxiety still hasn’t faded away and I’m perpetually on 6 hours of sleep, all I want to do is jump around my room and scream in unbridled, raging teenage angst. That’s where Bea Kristi comes in — or better known as beabadoobee, her stage name now but, once upon a time, merely her finsta handle — singing about everything I feel, but can never describe. She wrote her first ever song “Coffee” in 2017 which went viral in practically a few days, despite the fact that she only posted it online for her boyfriend to hear, and that she only learned to play the guitar in that same year. Now signed with Dirty Hit since 2018 alongside the likes of Pale Waves, she has been recognised by nearly every major magazine brand and publication, and is on billboards all across London; Matt Healy himself called her “the most exciting thing in rock music” while presenting her an NME Radar Award. Here are some of the reasons why I’m utterly obsessed with her, and why you will be too:

Her music

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There are too many songs to fawn over. Her first EP “Patched Up” feels like falling in love at 17, and the next one “Loveworm” is a hazy, bedroom pop tribute to her boyfriend Soren (with many great songs to feel emo to as you stare out of the window at a windy, bleak Hyde Park). “Space Cadet” shows her transition towards indie rock, breaking out of her bedroom walls and into the studio. To me, “Fake It Flowers”, her debut album, is by far the most alluring of her releases; appealing to every angle of adolescence, it truly is the closest thing I have heard to a soundtrack to growing up. Beabadoobee dances along a really beautiful line between bitter, I-don’t-give-a-flying-f*** energy (in “Care” and “Dye It Red”) and resigned disappointment and hurt (“Sorry” and “Further Away”) before accepting a peaceful forfeit to her feelings, still learning to not be scared of loving and trusting (“Horen Sarrison” and “How Was Your Day”). The album ends in a triumphant celebration of how, despite how being young is horrendously painful, it’s also the best time she will ever have; she looks forward with the rose-coloured glasses of being in love in “Together” and “Yoshimi, Forest, Magdalene”. With Bea, you’ll scream and dance, and you’ll break down and cry, but you have each other every step of the way.

Her fashion

I didn’t know that Bea made music back in 2017, but I was a fan of her social media presence and style. Those of you who are fans of Unif might remember this photo from their Instagram account way back when:

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When she isn’t wearing Unif (or the occasional Brandy Melville hoodie: even she can’t stay away!!!), Bea wears outfits comprised almost entirely of vintage pieces, mostly from Depop, it seems. She collaborates extremely often with Depop user @notjusttrash, who provides her with what she calls “fairy” and “manic pixie” tops that are to be paired with baggy combat trousers or a mini skirt with argyle tights underneath that are more torn up than they are not. Finally, don’t forget the bubblegum pink grommet belt and trainers that I can only describe as either “hiking grandfather” or “10-year-old in a skatepark in the 90s” style: there is no in-between. Her blend of textures is amazing, like pairing a sequinned Aftershock camisole layered over a long-sleeved knit jumper with a silk midi skirt, black socks and black Buffaloes… yeah, just trust me, she makes it look good. She is also very much on board with the beaded necklace trend, sporting her favourite @ugly_accessories pieces, another Depop brand, on the daily.

Let’s not forget that she also starred in the campaign for Marc Jacobs’ Heaven collection, alongside Iris Law, Eileen Kelly and other “misfit creatives”. To top it all off… in her “Sorry” music video (directed by Soren and his team, Bedroom, who direct all of Bea’s music videos and also directed the video for “Me and You Together Song”) she wore a vintage Jean Paul Gaultier dress with gigantic black platform boots (seen below). Iconic, if you ask me.

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Her look

Perhaps the most noticeable feature of Bea’s look (other than her hair, which was once red and blue, but now is a more subtle bleach-blonde) is her signature heavily-winged and heavy-handed, smoked out black eyeliner, which she pairs with extreme fluttery eyelash extensions, or flared-out falsies. She also wears the most bottom-lash mascara I have ever seen someone wear. Additionally, she has multiple tattoos, spread far apart in a doodling-style, the way Pinterest and Tik Tok are currently drawn to. One, an “ugly face” on her forearm, was a stick-and-poke by Mac DeMarco in a karaoke bar in Dublin. Another set of two is above her kneecaps, “ELIJAH ROCKS”, written by her younger brother Elijah. She has many others, but perhaps the most cool of them all is a 4-frame Peanuts comic down the inside of her forearm. Looking at her tattoos, you’re bound to want one as unapologetic and unique.

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Her relatability

What really stands out about Beabadoobee, and explains her appeal well, is that she is really not so different to you and me. Born in the Philippines, her parents moved to London when she was 3 and raised her in North London. She has talked about how she felt like an outsider, not fitting in to the “rich, white” demographic of her all-girls school. Expelled from that institution, she learned to play the guitar, and focussed on her career in her final year of high school, to the point of receiving A Level grades she called “terrible”. The notion of a celebrity is changing, probably due to the popularity and variety of social media, and the appeal of a “perfect” celebrity is dwindling away (in the Western world, at least). She became a sensation from her bedroom! Bea’s story is a comforting one, especially for UChicago overachievers, since it has made me redefine the idea of “success” as someone who, like her, was pressured to excel academically at all times.

She may be friends with Matt Healy now but, only a few years ago, she had his face as her phone background. Dreams do come true!

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Casual Tattoos: The Art of Storytelling

Not too long ago, I sat down in Ex Libris with my good friend Ariana after a bit of a rough day. We started talking a bit about everything, and suddenly our conversation shifted to tattoos. She had gotten a bigger piece on her tricep a couple months prior, and was looking to get a new one soon. I wanted to get another one soon, too; I wanted to get a bunch of them, honestly. When she asked what I wanted in the future, I was stumped a bit. What did I want to get? I know I wanted more, but what exactly did I want?

Turns out we both felt the same way: we had these vague ideas of what we wanted on our bodies forever, but nothing set in stone. Except for the stick and poke she was planning on getting soon, anyways. Suddenly I started to think, shouldn’t you talk about tattoos with some certainty? Shouldn’t you know what you’d want to put on your body forever? The answer, I think, is not always. There’s a beauty in the casualty that’s been emerging for a while in our culture. You should write about this, Ariana said. And so I am, thanks to her. 

There’s been a shift in the culture of tattooing, one that opens up multitudes of non-traditional styles. There’s a space for illustrative artists—expressionism, abstract work, minimalism, and surrealism have been on the rise compared to traditional counterparts (which are equally beautiful, don’t get me wrong). Stick-and-poke tattoos as well have been on the rise for a while, in comparison to the traditional gun. Artists have been creating more flash pieces, which are beautiful and efficient in their own right. There is a freedom, there, in opening up this space for artists of all kinds. 

FLASH TATTOOS RANGE WIDELY

IN STYLE AND INTRICACY

Tattooing is a remarkable art form, and it has a long, ancient history that signifies the human experience: from rituals and rites, to life and death. This history is paramount, and it’s essential to acknowledge it. It’s also important to acknowledge how lucky I am to exist in a culture where tattoos have become mainstream—I won't be seen as rebellious, nor am I very likely to be shamed or denied from a job position because of mine. I’m grateful to be able to have this agency over my body.

PINK RHINO TATTOO IN BOYSTOWN

I got my first tattoo on September 16th of last year. The funny thing is, it was supposed to be 3 days prior, on September 13th. Friday the 13th, to be specific.

My long-time best friend Sofia and I had been wanting to get our first tattoos since forever, and this was a perfect opportunity. We didn’t have much money to splurge on commissions, and even then we didn’t really know what we wanted, anyways. We just wanted something on our bodies, plain and simple.

What better option did we have than spooky, discounted flash tattoos? It felt like we had a master plan, and for weeks we were giddy with excitement.

Friday the 13th came and so, finally, we went.

Our entire train ride was full of skittish nerves and undeniable thrill. It’s laughable to think back on now, how nervous we were. We played a game of rock-paper-scissors to decide who’d get tattooed first—winner goes second. I won, thankfully, and so I felt a little more at ease knowing she’d have to find out how it felt first (as bad as that sounds, but I know she’d feel the same way if it was me who lost). When we arrived and saw the huge line outside of the shop, we knew we’d be there for a while. We parked ourselves in the back of the line, and as time went on we decided to sit. We chatted with the group of kids to our left, a collective antsiness and boredom rising within all of us. I don’t even remember how long we were in that line—it had to be no less than five hours. We felt delirious at that point: our initial excitement was dwindling into exasperation, and at this point we started to give up. By no means were we upset at the artists: their job is ridiculously hard, and I can’t imagine the pressure and exhaustion that comes with a line of people down the block waiting on you for ink. We were just a bit mad at the world.

Eventually 10 o’clock hit, and the shop decided to give out vouchers for those who didn’t want to wait in line anymore. We got them, grabbed some McDonald’s, and wallowed in our misery. At that point, we couldn’t help but laugh at how ridiculous we felt. We went back on Monday, with the addition of her boyfriend Cody, and this time there was no line. We finally got to take a look at all the flash tattoos in the books (even though we had some idea of what we wanted already) and decide for sure. I saw mine, a broken wishbone with the text WISH ME LUCK! and immediately knew I needed it. I was drawn to it instinctively, and I didn’t want to overthink it too much. And so, I got it. Sofia first, me second, Cody last. It didn’t hurt, and when the needle hit my skin I just knew I could get more and more. I loved everything about it.

And I think there’s some magic in that. The three of us simply liked them, so we got them on our skin forever. 

And no, I’m not promoting going and getting inked up on a whim (even though that’s kind of what we’ve been doing for the last couple of months). If it’s something that’s not for you, that’s completely fine. But if you’ve been on the fence or thinking a little too hard about it, I say go with your gut. Get something small in a place just for you, or get something big and bold that everyone can see. It is by no means a shallow form of self-expression for just wanting something that you think is beautiful or interesting on your body.

The ability to form a relationship with an artist you admire, to commission a piece with them because it means something important, is an absolutely beautiful thing. This memory, symbol, or tribute will stay with you forever. It’s an immortalization. I want to do it too, one day, when I’m ready. 

But right now, I’m not. And that’s okay, too. I don’t have many at all, but right now my tattoos are an immortalization of the stories I have when I got them. Do they mean anything? Yeah, to some extent. I was drawn to the style of my artist’s flash, it resonated with me at that moment in a way I couldn’t explain. There’s a story behind them that I won't forget. 

NON-LINKED IMAGES COURTESY OF SOFIA AND I

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