Beatrice Kristi Laus, or better known as beabadoobee, is a Filipino-British singer-songwriter who took TikTok by storm with her latest single, “Glue Song,” officially released on Valentine’s Day. Growing up in England, she pays homage to her Filipina roots with the accompanying music video shot in Iloilo City in the Philippines where she recently vacationed last January alongside her current boyfriend, Jacob Erland, who helped direct the music video.
Her music is influenced by 90s alternative rock and indie pop. She kicked off her music career with her debut song, “Coffee,” released in 2017 which helped her land a record deal with her current company, Dirty Hit. Her song “death bed (coffee for your head),” created with artist Powfu, went viral on TikTok in 2020 as well.
This past July, she released her second studio album Beatopia, titled after the imaginary world she invented when she was just seven years old. She told Apple Music that this record helped her embrace her past issues with herself and espouse her struggles with self-acceptance.
As we watch beabadoobee walk around picturesque settings and converse with people, the images evoke a surreal mood of treasured memories, conveying the impression of returning to a familiar childhood home. Beabadoobee’s recollections of her upbringing in Iloilo are perfectly captured in the scenery, adding a sense of warmth and coziness to the familiar color schemes, patterns, and narrative style of the music video. She opens with the melodious ballad, “I’ve never known someone like you,” the perfect one-liner for fans of hers to use to create special montages of their Valentine’s Day or to simply express one’s appreciation for their significant other on TikTok. Since posting an unreleased snippet of the “Glue Song” back in January 2023, fans have amassed over 68,000 videos featuring her song. On beabadoobee’s platform, she gives her 2 million TikTok fans sneak peeks into her artistic and musical processes by sharing snippets of her music, alongside creating other lighthearted videos of her participating in viral TikTok trends with her friends.
Shot on 16 mm film, she captures her hometown where she had grown up until the age of 3, seamlessly combining the bittersweet nostalgia of her childhood home with moments of the accompanying, lush landscape of the Philippines in the background and Iloilo provincial life. The abundant use of monochromatic colors featured in this perfectly captured vibrant daydream of a serene escape is one of the aspects that make this music so captivating. She successfully combines the brilliant hues and patterns of Filipino culture with a sentimental sense of small-town life, bringing out the true essence of what this quintessential love song is an ode to.
The music video gives an intimate look into beabadoobee’s private life and upbringing, as illustrated by the loved ones she includes in several sequences in the music video, sealing her love letter to home. She blows at a hot piece of food as she steals a piece of her grandmother’s cooking and smiles, while in another shot, she erupts in laughter as she shares a meal alongside her beloved family.
In a recent tweet she expresses:
“i’ve never smiled so big in a music video before i wanted to capture how beautiful ilo ilo is as i haven’t seen much of it on the internet and i needed that when i was growing up a lot of people i love are in this music video, so you guys are seeing a little exclusive snapshot of my life, my lolo planted all those trees in that bit where i walking around in, my lola’s house is where i grew up in and visited every year once i moved to london”
Since first performing the “Glue Song” at her New York show back in October during her ‘Beatopia’ headline tour, she has taken to TikTok teasing this fan-favorite track in a 40-second clip of the “Glue Song” and captioning it: “Glue Song will be yours soon! I wrote this song about a boy called Jacob Erland. I hope this song makes you happy as much as he makes me happy.” She would then go on to perform the song on NPR’s Tiny Desk series while accompanied by a live band.
I first heard of beabadoobee from the viral TikTok trend she started a while back in the fall of 2021 in which she creates the original sound “Hmm I really want some miso soup” accompanied by a magical sound effect to “cast a spell” as she waves her drumstick as a wand. A smoke effect appears that magically transforms a cup of miso soup on the table, to which she exclaims, “Oh my god, miso soup.” I followed her and learned that she created music, and soon enough, her music caught on to me. I feel a bit of nostalgia listening to her songs because I had really gotten into her music at the height of my senior year of high school. Many of her songs voice her typical teenage girl struggles, such as expressing her frustrations and candid struggles of womanhood, fleeting youthfulness, and teenage love, speaking to my own personal experiences as well. Some of my personal favorites are “Art Class,” “Soren,” “Apple Cider,” “Sunny day,” and “Lovesong.”
Just last year, she completed her Beatopia North American tour this past December 2022 and recently was named the next #AltMusic featured artist on TikTok, an aim by TikTok starting last year for users to discover alternative artists and music. TikTok frequently highlights up-and-coming musicians on its #AltMusic hashtag, for which it has created a micro-community within the app with music playlists, artist LIVES, and other content.
Currently, beabadoobee is about to start her first European headline tour and will later be opening for multiple shows of Taylor Swift’s “The Eras Tour.”
Sources:
Generasian 
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