Lorely Rodriguez (born October 19, 1989), known professionally as Empress Of, is a Honduran-American singer, songwriter, musician and record producer based in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. To date, she has released three studio albums via

XL Recordings XL Recordings is a British independent record label founded in 1989 by Tim Palmer and Nick Halkes. It has been ran and co-owned by Richard Russell since 1996. It forms part of the Beggars Group. Although only releasing an average of six album ...

and

Terrible Records Terrible (formerly Terrible Records) is a Los Angeles-based record label and artist management company founded by Chris Taylor and Ethan Silverman in 2009. Originally based in Brooklyn, New York, the label operated as a joint venture imprint ...

, her critically acclaimed debut, '' Me'' (2015), '' Us'' (2018) and '' I'm Your Empress Of'' (2020).

Career

2011–2016: Early releases, ''Systems'' and ''Me''

After completing a sound engineering degree at Boston's

Berklee College of Music Berklee College of Music is a private music college in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern American music, it also offers college-level cours ...

in 2011, Rodriguez moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

and quickly broke into the local music scene performing in a Brooklyn-based band with Sam Owens called "Celestial Shore" but soon left the group to focus on her own music. In 2012, Rodriguez initially gained attention for anonymously releasing a series of one minute-long demos (via

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

) prefaced only by a solid color entitled "Colorminutes". Her first 7" single, "Champagne" was released soon after on November 5, 2012, through a limited run via No Recordings. Lorely's stage name was inspired by a

tarot card reading Tarot card reading is a form of cartomancy whereby practitioners use tarot cards to purportedly gain insight into the past, present or future. They formulate a question, then draw cards to interpret them for this end. A traditional tarot deck co ...

she did with a friend: "The first card he pulled out was an Empress card and I was like, 'It's me, I am Empress.' ..the Empress card is connected to fertility and mothering and strength. It's kind of nice to have those feelings." On April 2, 2013, her bilingual four-track EP "''Systems''" was released via Double Denim and

in the UK and North America respectively. Since the release of her EP, she's showcased at

SXSW South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Te ...

Iceland Airwaves Iceland Airwaves is a music festival annually held in early November in Reykjavík, Iceland. The festival spans four days (Wednesday - Saturday) and its main focus is showcasing new music, both Icelandic and international. The festival's main sp ...

and Pitchfork's Summer Music Festival and toured as a support act with the likes of

Jamie Lidell Jamie Alexander Lidderdale (born 18 September 1973, Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, England), known professionally as Jamie Lidell, is an English musician, soul singer and podcast host living in Nashville, Tennessee. Lidell was formerly a part of ...

Jungle A jungle is land covered with dense forest and tangled vegetation, usually in tropical climates. Application of the term has varied greatly during the past recent century. Etymology The word ''jungle'' originates from the Sanskrit word ''ja� ...

Kimbra Kimbra Lee Johnson (born 27 March 1990), known mononymously as Kimbra, is a New Zealand singer and songwriter. Known for mixing pop with R&B, jazz and rock musical elements, her accolades include four ARIA Music Awards, two Grammy Awards and s ...

and

Florence and the Machine Florence and the Machine (stylised as Florence + the Machine) are an English indie rock band that formed in London in 2007, consisting of lead vocalist Florence Welch, keyboardist Isabella Summers, guitarist Rob Ackroyd, harpist Tom Monger, and ...

. During 2013, Rodriguez signed to British independent label,

via a joint deal through Terrible and began to work on material for her debut album, while living in Brooklyn. A few weeks into writing, Rodriguez decided to embark on a retreat to Mexico, following a friend's offer to stay at their parent's vacant vacation home in

Valle de Bravo Valle de Bravo () is one of 125 municipalities in State of Mexico, Mexico. The largest town and municipal seat is the town of Valle de Bravo. It is located on the shore of Lake Avándaro, approximately 156 km (97 miles) southwest of Mexico ...

. After finding New York's surrounding environment was negatively effecting what she had produced thus far, the isolation of the trip allowed Rodriguez to be fully introspective and truly begin the writing and pre-production for her debut at the end of 2013. The rest of additional writing and production would continue back in New York over the course of 2014. On April 14, 2015, "Water Water", the first single off her unannounced debut full-length was released via XL/Terrible. A Spanish version of the track, "Agua Agua" was released soon after on June 8, 2015, exclusively via

SoundCloud SoundCloud is an online audio distribution platform and music sharing website that enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio. Founded in 2007 by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss, SoundCloud is one of the largest music streaming se ...

. The reasoning behind this alternative version being, a way for Rodriguez's mother to connect and listen to her daughter's music. On June 20, 2015, the album's second single, "Kitty Kat" was released alongside the announcement of her debut, '' Me'' which was released on September 11, 2015, via XL Recordings and Terrible. The remaining singles that preceded the album's announcement were "How Do You Do It" and "Standard" released respectively in September 2015. On Aug 31, 2015, Rodriguez also released a cover of

Katy Perry Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson (born October 25, 1984), known professionally as Katy Perry, is an American singer, songwriter, and television personality. Known for her influence on modern pop music and her Camp (style), campy style, she has been ...

's song, "

Hot n Cold "Hot n Cold" is a song by American singer Katy Perry. The song was written by Perry, Dr. Luke, and Max Martin and produced by Luke and Benny Blanco for her second studio album, '' One of the Boys'' (2008). It was released as the album's second ...

" via SoundCloud for Rookie Magazine's "Theme Song" series. The album was met with critical acclaim from mainstream critics and peaked at number five on

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

Top Dance/Electronic Albums Top Dance/Electronic Albums, Dance/Electronic Albums (formerly Top Electronic Albums) is a music chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine which ranks the top-selling electronic music albums in the United States based on sales compiled by ...

chart upon its release. A majority of publications, praised Rodriguez's emotional vulnerability to create such an intensely personal album while, also highlighting the direct approach of her unique songwriting and experimental production compared to the layered opaqueness of her earlier work. Following its release, Rodriguez toured the UK and North America throughout Fall 2015 in promotion of the album with

Awful Records Centel Orlando Mangum (born 20 August 1990), known professionally as Father, is an American rapper, songwriter, record executive, and record producer. He is the head of independent record label Awful Records. Career 2011–2017: Career begi ...

artist, ABRA and Canadian electronic duo,

Purity Ring Purity rings (also known as promise rings, abstinence rings, or chastity rings) are rings worn as a sign of chastity. Since the 1990s, in the United States, Christian organizations, especially Catholic and evangelical Christian groups, promoting ...

respectively. The video for the album's fifth single, "Icon" was released November 16, 2015 via

Urban Outfitters Urban Outfitters, Inc. (URBN) is a multinational lifestyle retail corporation headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Operating in the U.S., the United Kingdom, Canada, select Western European countries, Poland the United Arab Emirates, Kuw ...

''UO Video Series''. "Woman is a Word", a

b-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

from the album was released on Mar 14, 2016 and would be later added to a deluxe version of ''Me'' released as a limited edition cassette during her 2016 UK & European Tour via XL/Terrible.

2017–2019: ''Us''

Following the release of "Me", Rodriguez relocated back to Los Angeles from New York, with the goal of collaborating with musical contemporaries, while also maintaining a closer proximity to family and reconnecting with her hometown roots. During 2017, Rodriguez released a standalone single, " Go to Hell" on July 12. 2017 via Terrible that was co-written with former

Chairlift An elevated passenger ropeway, or chairlift, is a type of aerial lift, which consists of a continuously circulating steel wire rope loop strung between two end terminals and usually over intermediate towers, carrying a series of chairs. Th ...

vocalist,

Caroline Polachek Caroline Elizabeth Polachek (born June 20, 1985) is an American singer, producer and songwriter. Raised in Connecticut, Polachek co-founded the indie pop band Chairlift while studying at the University of Colorado. The duo emerged from the late- ...

. She also featured on two singles for Los Angeles producers,

DJDS DJDS (formerly DJ Dodger Stadium) is an American production and DJ duo consisting of Jerome LOL (Jerome Potter) and Samo Sound Boy (Sam Griesemer), based in Los Angeles. Members Griesemer was born in Manhattan, New York and grew up in New H ...

with the ''

''-charting "Why Don't You Come On" additionally featuring

El Paso El Paso (; "the pass") is a city in and the seat of El Paso County in the western corner of the U.S. state of Texas. The 2020 population of the city from the U.S. Census Bureau was 678,815, making it the 23rd-largest city in the U.S., the s ...

R&B singer,

Khalid Khalid (variants include Khaled and Kalid; Arabic: خالد) is a popular Arabic male given name meaning "eternal, everlasting, immortal", and it also appears as a surname.

and a cover of

Lana Del Rey Elizabeth Woolridge Grant (born June 21, 1985), known professionally as Lana Del Rey, is an American singer-songwriter. Her music is noted for its cinematic quality and exploration of tragic romance, glamour, and melancholia, with frequent ...

's '' Lust for Life'' single, "

Love Love encompasses a range of strong and positive emotional and mental states, from the most sublime virtue or good habit, the deepest Interpersonal relationship, interpersonal affection, to the simplest pleasure. An example of this range of ...

" released on August 29, 2017, and December 1, 2017, respectively through

Loma Vista Recordings Loma Vista Recordings is a record label founded by Tom Whalley, former chairman and CEO of Warner Bros. Records and Executive of A&R at Interscope Records. The label was initially a joint venture with Republic Records and is based in Beverly Hi ...

for their third studio album, ''Big Wave More Fire''. On April 11, 2018, double single " Trust Me Baby / In Dreams" premiered on

Zane Lowe Alexander Zane Reid Lowe (born 7 August 1973) is a New Zealand radio DJ, live DJ, record producer, and television presenter. After an early career in music creation, production and DJing, he moved to the UK in 1997. He came to prominence thro ...

's Apple Music " Beats 1" radio show and released via Terrible. The former was co-produced by Cole M.G.N.. On August 20, 2018, Rodriguez's announced her second studio album, '' Us'', which was released on October 19, 2018, via XL/Terrible. The album's second single, "When I’m With Him" was released a few days after the announcement on August 22, 2018. The song would later be featured on the soundtrack of the video game eFootball Pro Evolution Soccer 2020. The album's third and fourth singles, "Love For Me" and "I Don't Even Smoke Weed" were released September 26 and October 18, 2018, respectively prior to the album. She would feature on the title track of

Khalid Khalid (variants include Khaled and Kalid; Arabic: خالد) is a popular Arabic male given name meaning "eternal, everlasting, immortal", and it also appears as a surname.

's first EP, "

Suncity ''Suncity'' is the first extended play by American singer Khalid. It was released on October 19, 2018 by RCA Records. It was supported by the single " Better". The EP debuted at number eight on the ''Billboard'' 200. Singles The EP was supporte ...

", which was also released on October 19, 2018, via

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also A ...

. With the release of "Us", Rodriguez embarked on an international headlining tour with opening support from Colombian electronic duo, Salt Cathedral on the North American leg of the tour and a string of summer music festivals including Sideways,

Primavera Sound Primavera Sound (commonly referred to as simply Primavera) is an annual music festival held in Parc del Fòrum in Barcelona, Spain that takes place between the end of May and beginning of June. The first edition took place in 2001 in Poble Espany ...

and Meow Wolf Vortex Music Festival throughout 2019. She concluded the rest of that year featuring on Australian producer, Kito's single, "Wild Girl" released September 27, 2019 via

UMG Recordings Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as just Universal Music) is a Dutch– American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum, Netherlands and its ...

and touring as support acts for

Maggie Rogers Margaret Debay Rogers (born April 25, 1994) is an American singer-songwriter and record producer from Easton, Maryland. Her big break came when her song "Alaska" was played to Pharrell Williams during a master class at New York University's ...

' Heard It in a Past Life and

Lizzo Melissa Viviane Jefferson (born April 27, 1988), known professionally as Lizzo, is an American singer, rapper, and flutist. Born in Detroit, Michigan, she moved to Houston, Texas with her family when she was 10 years old. After college she ...

's Cuz I Love You Too U.S. Fall tours respectively.

2020–2021: ''I'm Your Empress Of'' and becoming independent with ''Major Arcana''

On April 12, 2020, Rodriguez's released her third studio album, I'm Your Empress Of via XL Recordings and Terrible. The album was preceded by the single, "Give Me Another Chance" released and premiered March 3. 2020 via Zane Lowe's Apple Music "Beats 1" radio. Due to the 2020 COVID-19 crisis, no touring or live performances could be done to promote the album. During 2020, Rodriguez founded and announced the start her own record label, Major Arcana via partnering with US-based artist management company, mtheory. The announcement marked the fulfilment of her contracts with XL Recordings and Terrible Records respectively, thus allowing all future releases to be fully independent under her own brand. On October 27, 2020, Rodriguez released her first single via Major Arcana, "You've Got To Feel" featuring Grammy nominated singer/songwriter,

Amber Mark Amber Mark (born December 29, 1993) is an American singer, songwriter, and producer. She released her first mini-album, ''3:33am'', in May 2017. Her multifaceted style implements sounds from hip hop, R&B, soul, and bossa nova. She was nominat ...

while subsequently releasing another single, "Broken" for the soundtrack of the

Amazon Prime Video Amazon Prime Video, also known simply as Prime Video, is an American Video on demand#Subscription models, subscription video on-demand Over-the-top media service, over-the-top Streaming media, streaming and Renting, rental service of Amazon (c ...

series, The Wilds on Nov 20, 2020. During 2021, Rodriguez was featured on American singer/producer,

MNDR Amanda Lucille Warner (born September 12, 1982), known professionally as MNDR, is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. She rose to prominence after being featured on Mark Ronson, Mark Ronson & The Business Intl's 2010 single "Bang ...

's single "Love in Reverse" released March 31, 2021, off her second studio album, "Hell To Be You Baby" via Watersound Records. On April 30, 2021, Rodriguez announced partnering with an

Ad Council The Advertising Council, commonly known as the Ad Council, is an American nonprofit organization that produces, distributes, and promotes public service announcements on behalf of various sponsors, including nonprofit organizations, non-governme ...

-backed national campaign called "Sound It Out Together". The purpose of the campaign being, to highlight youth

mental health Mental health encompasses emotional, psychological, and social well-being, influencing cognition, perception, and behavior. It likewise determines how an individual handles stress, interpersonal relationships, and decision-making. Mental health ...

and create an outlet for adolescent school children of color, to express their emotions and experiences through music. With assistance from professional songwriters (Rodriguez, KAMAUU,

Lauren Jauregui Lauren Michelle Jauregui Morgado (; born June 27, 1996) is an American singer and songwriter. She rose to prominence as a member of the girl group Fifth Harmony, which became one of the best-selling girl groups of all time. Jauregui began exp ...

and

Tobe Nwigwe Tobechukwu Dubem "Tobe" Nwigwe (born March 8, 1987) is an American rapper, singer and actor. As of 2022, Nwigwe co-stars in the Netflix television series '' Mo'' and received a nomination for Best New Artist at the 65th Grammy Awards. Persona ...

respectively), the subjects of discussion between the artists and the children featured were turned into fully produced songs and released as compilation EP for the campaign via Mass Appeal. Rodriguez's involvement included the single, "One Breath", a collaboration w/ a 14-year-old girl named Marianne on their shared experience of both being first-generation

Latin Americans Latin Americans ( es, Latinoamericanos; pt, Latino-americanos; ) are the citizens of Latin American countries (or people with cultural, ancestral or national origins in Latin America). Latin American countries and their diasporas are multi-et ...

and balancing that duality or

double consciousness Double consciousness is the internal conflict experienced by subordinated or colonized groups in an oppressive society. The term and the idea were first published in W. E. B. Du Bois's autoethnographic work, '' The Souls of Black Folk'' in 190 ...

through daily life.

2022–present: ''Save Me''

On Apr 8, 2022, Rodriguez premiered "Save Me", the first single from her forthcoming EP of the same name, which was released on June 24, 2022, via her independent imprint, Major Arcana. The announcement of the EP, produced by Rodriguez with additional production from frequent collaborator,

BJ Burton BJ Burton is an American record producer, songwriter, engineer, and mixer. He is known for his work with Bon Iver, Francis and the Lights, Low, Charli XCX, and The Japanese House, and has also worked with the likes of Taylor Swift, Miley Cyrus, ...

and Johan Lennox was made through the release of the second single, "Dance For You" on May 25, 2022. On Jun 7, 2022, Rodriguez was announced as the main support for Carly Rae Jepsen's " So Nice" North American tour which proceeded during

Fall Autumn, also known as fall in American English and Canadian English, is one of the four temperate seasons on Earth. Outside the tropics, autumn marks the transition from summer to winter, in September (Northern Hemisphere) or March ( Southe ...

2022. A remix EP of "Dance For You" was released November 18, 2022, featuring remixes/edits of the single by Blue Hawaii, DJ Kirby, DJ Python, Nick León and Sassy 009 respectively. In 2023, Rodriguez provided tour support as the opening act for Japanese–British singer,

Rina Sawayama is a Japanese–British singer-songwriter, actress and model. Born in Niigata, Japan, she emigrated to London with her parents at age five. She is known for her musical versatility and has been labelled a "musical chameleon". In 2017, she ...

throughout the European leg of her "

Hold the Girl ''Hold the Girl'' is the second studio album by Japanese and British singer Rina Sawayama. It was released on 16 September 2022 by Dirty Hit. The lead single from the album, entitled " This Hell", was released on 18 May 2022. The album, recorde ...

" World Tour during February 2023.

Personal life

Rodriguez is a first-generation

Honduran American Honduran Americans ( es, link=no, honduro-americano, or ) are Americans who trace their roots to Honduras, Honduran Americans belong to one or more of the follow ethnic groups such as mestizo, white, Lenca, Ladino people, Miskito people, Gar ...

. She was raised by her mother, Reyna in the

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

metropolitan area, and her father Adán, one of the original pianists and founding members of the Honduran

Latin music Latin music (Portuguese language, Portuguese and es, música latina) is a term used by the music industry as a catch-all category for various styles of music from Ibero-America (including Music of Spain, Spain and Portuguese music, Portugal) ...

ensemble,

Banda Blanca Banda Blanca is a Honduran musical group formed in 1971. They began as a rock band but eventually integrated elements of merengue and punta rock into their music. The group rose to fame in 1990, when their song " Sopa de Caracol" became an int ...

. Lorely's first experiences with music were listening to her father's cassette tapes of

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

and

Pet Shop Boys The Pet Shop Boys are an English synth-pop duo formed in London in 1981. Consisting of primary vocalist Neil Tennant and keyboardist Chris Lowe, they have sold more than 50 million records worldwide, and were listed as the most successful duo i ...

. Rodriguez has a degree from

in Boston. She cites

Julee Cruise Julee Ann Cruise (December 1, 1956 – June 9, 2022) was an American singer, songwriter and actress, known for her collaborations with composer Angelo Badalamenti and film director David Lynch in the late 1980s and early 1990s. She released fo ...

, Elizabeth Fraser of the Cocteau Twins,

the Zombies The Zombies are an English rock band formed in the early 1960s in St Albans and led by keyboardist and vocalist Rod Argent and vocalist Colin Blunstone. The group had a British and American hit in 1964 with "She's Not There". In the US, two fu ...

, and

the Beach Boys The Beach Boys are an American Rock music, rock band that formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian Wilson, Brian, Dennis Wilson, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and frie ...

as some of her musical inspirations.

Discography

Studio albums

*'' Me'' (2015) *'' Us'' (2018) *'' I'm Your Empress Of'' (2020)

Extended plays

*''Systems'' (2013) *''Tristeza'' (2014) *'' Save Me'' (2022) *''Dance For You (Remixes)'' (2022)

Mixtapes

*''Colorminutes'' (2013)

Singles

As lead artist

As featured artist

Remixes

References

External links

Official websiteSoundCloud
{{DEFAULTSORT:Of, Empress 1989 births Living people American people of Honduran descent American women pop singers American women singer-songwriters Spanish-language singers of the United States 21st-century American women singers 21st-century American singers American singer-songwriters