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Mitski’s Vocal Style Builds Cultlike Fanbase
By James Moreau | 14 Jul, 2025
Japan-born Mitski enjoys critical and commercial success with forays into indie rock, synth pop and Americana.
Singer-songwriter Mitski captivates audiences with a distinctive vocal delivery and lyrics that embrace existential themes with painful honesty and vulnerability.
She has released 5 studio albums and accumulated 9 billion Spotify streams, including 21 million monthly listeners, since she recorded and self-released her first two albums in 2012 and 2013 while at SUNY Purchase Conservatory of Music.
Nearly 18%, or 1.6 billion, of her streams are of the single, “My Love Mine All Mine” which former president Barack Obama considers one of his top songs of 2023. He also cited the energetic 1980s-style hit, “The Only Heartbreaker” as a 2021 favorite.
“My Love Mine All Mine” the Lana Del Rey-esque song from her 2023 Americana-folk album The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We has been used in 2.4 million TikTok videos and 1.3 million Instagram reels. It was also used by top YouTuber MrBeast on a video of his proposal which has been viewed 150 million times on TikTok.
“The Only Heartbreaker” and “Working for the Knife” were the first two singles on the 2022 album Laurel Hell.
Mitski’s 2018 album Be the Cowboy was certified platinum and featured the art pop song “Nobody” and the synth-pop hit “Washing Machine Heart.” The latter is her most viewed music video on YouTube.
These pop hits were a departure from her earlier indie rock sound showcasing her unique voice in the 2016 album Puberty 2. Its lead single is “Your Best American Girl,” featuring themes of cultural identity and belonging.
Her 2014 debut alt. rock single, “First Love / Late Spring” on Bury Me at Makeout Creek carries a melodic, dreamy pop feel.
Mitski received an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song in 2023 for “This Is a Life,” which she co-wrote for the film Everything Everywhere All at Once. Mitsuki Laycock adopted the name Mitski Miyawaki, her mother’s surname. Born in Japan, Mitski’s childhood involved frequent moves across various countries following her father’s work with the U.S. State Department, before her family ultimately settled in the U.S. The 34-year-old has cited her nomadic upbringing for her introspective and often melancholic songwriting.
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