Girli

Amelia Toomey (born 6 December 1997), known professionally as Girli, is an English singer and songwriter.

Based in London, she has released a number of singles and three EPs.

The Guardian has described her sound as veering "between PC Music, Bubblegum pop, pop punk and rap, each one treading a line between catchy and deliberately discomforting."

Much of her music is about feminism, sexuality, queer culture, and mental health.

She was born on 6 December 1997 to acting parents, and is half-Australian.

She has a younger sister.

As a child she wanted to be an actor, but abandoned her ambition after 2 unsuccessful auditions.

She wrote her first song aged 8, about a boy in her class at school who she liked.

She attended Hampstead School, a comprehensive secondary school in Cricklewood.

Girli describes her experience of secondary school as "the worst five years of my life, it was so bad", experiencing bullying that "made me quite an anxious person".

She was nonetheless active in extracurricular activities, getting elected as a Deputy Young MP for Camden in 2012 and spending lunchtimes in the music room playing instruments.

Girli realised that she wanted to be a musician aged 14 after feeling inspired at a Tegan and Sara concert.

She started her career doing open mics under her legal name, Milly Toomey.

She later formed indie rock band Ask Martin with older girls she met online, performing vocals and guitar.

After her bandmates went away to university, Girli started performing solo.

Girli attended the East London Arts & Music college in Bromley-by-Bow from 2014 to 2016.

During that period she developed interests in beatmaking, rap, and drum and bass, and made her musical debut as Girli.

She released her first single, "So You Think You Can Fuck With Me Do Ya?"

in 2015, aged 17.

She was signed by PMR Records in October 2015.

In 2016, Girli toured the UK throughout September and October supporting musician Oscar.

In 2017, Girli released the Feel OK EP, supported Declan McKenna around the UK and performed at Latitude Festival.

She also had a headline UK tour, titled "Hot Mess", in support of an EP of the same name which was released in October 2017 and showed elements of pop punk.

In 2018, Girli performed at the MTV Presents Gibraltar Calling festival.

In April 2019, Girli released her debut studio album, Odd One Out, on PMR Records.

In 2019, she released the single "Deal With It" and released her debut studio album, Odd One Out, 4 years after her debut single.

In July 2019, Girli released the single "Up & Down".

Later in 2019, Girli was dropped by her record label.

She wrote her subsequent single "Has Been" in response, stating on Instagram, "This song is for my ex record label who didn't think I was perfect or pop star enough to sell records."

After being dropped by her record label and later being forced to cancel her 2020 Sofa Tour due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Girli released the EP Ex Talk in 2021.

She is currently with independent label AllPoints.

Girli is from northwest London.

Girli was due to take her Sofa Tour around the UK in March 2020, but cancelled the dates due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Her first EP on the independent record label AllPoints, Ex Talk, was released in February 2021.

Girli previously performed on stage with DJ Kitty (Rosalie Sylvia Fountain), who provided backing vocals.

DJ Kitty was later replaced by DJ GG, after DJ Kitty resigned due to other commitments.

Girli has cited a diverse range of influences including Tove Lo, the Arctic Monkeys, Lily Allen, the Slits, M.I.A, Spice Girls, PC music, and Kyary Pamyu Pamyu.

Discussing the inspiration behind her stage name, she cited the rock band Blondie, saying she wanted "a name that embodied a female pop star".

She has also mentioned her home city of London, particularly its nightlife, as a major influence on her sound and lyrics.

Girli's music makes use of samples from various sources including video games and news broadcasts.