Connie K. Lim, professionally known as Milck (stylized as MILCK), is a Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter. A child of immigrants from Hong Kong, she initially performed as an independent artist for several years, and rose to widespread attention after a video of a performance of her song "
Quiet
Quiet may refer to:
* Silence, a relative or total lack of sound
In music
* The Quiett (born 1985), South Korean rapper
* ''Quiet'' (album), a 1996 John Scofield album
* "Quiet", a song by Lights, from her album '' The Listening'' (2009)
* "Qui ...
" at the
2017 Women's March
The Women's March was a worldwide protest on January 21, 2017, the day after Inauguration of Donald Trump, the inauguration of Donald Trump as US president. It was prompted by Trump's policy positions and rhetoric, which protesters called Misog ...
became popular, and became embraced as a
feminist anthem
This is a list of songs described as feminist anthems, celebrating women's empowerment, or used as protest songs against gender inequality. These songs range from airy pop affirmations such as "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" by Cyndi Lauper, to s ...
for the movement. She was eventually signed to
Atlantic Records
Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most i ...
, and released her debut EP ''This Is Not The End'' in 2018.
Milck's second EP, ''Into Gold'', was released in early 2020, preceded by the lead single "If I Ruled the World". She released another protest song later that year, "Somebody's Beloved", in collaboration with British songwriter
Bipolar Sunshine
Adio Marchant (born 24 September 1987), known professionally as Bipolar Sunshine, is an English singer and songwriter from Manchester, England. Previously the co-vocalist with the band Kid British, he embarked on a solo career in 2013.
Career
M ...
.
Early life
Lim was raised in
Palos Verdes
The Palos Verdes Peninsula (''Palos Verdes'', Spanish for "Green Sticks") is a landform and a geographic sub-region of the Los Angeles metropolitan area, within southwestern Los Angeles County in the U.S. state of California. Located in the Sou ...
near
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' ...
. She enrolled as a child in classical piano and opera class, and composed her first work "Healthy People" at age seven.
She was the child of immigrants from Hong Kong, with one sister. Her father paid his way through medical school by "flipping burgers". She was successful at school and was
homecoming queen
Homecoming is the tradition of welcoming back alumni or other former members of an organization to celebrate the organization's existence. It is a tradition in many high schools, colleges, and churches in the United States, Canada and Liberia.
...
, but struggled with
anorexia
Anorexia nervosa, often referred to simply as anorexia, is an eating disorder characterized by low weight, food restriction, body image disturbance, fear of gaining weight, and an overpowering desire to be thin. ''Anorexia'' is a term of Gre ...
.
She attended
UC Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of Californi ...
studying
pre-medicine
Pre-medical (often referred to as pre-med) is an educational track that undergraduate students in the United States pursue prior to becoming medical students. It involves activities that prepare a student for medical school, such as pre-med course ...
, where she joined the
a cappella
''A cappella'' (, also , ; ) music is a performance by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Ren ...
group
Golden Overtones, and started a band.
She eventually dropped out of college and continued to perform as an independent artist for eight years.
She signed to a record label and appeared on the first season of the television show ''
The Voice
The Voice may refer to:
Fictional entities
* The Voice or Presence, a fictional representation of God in DC Comics
* The Voice (''Dune''), a fictional ability in the ''Dune'' universe
* The Voice, a character in the American TV series ''Cleo ...
''.
She was however eventually dropped by her management.
Lim assumed the stage name Milck, based on her first two initials and her last name backwards.
Career
Milck's career largely got its start at the 2017 Women's March in Washington D.C. She had written the song "Quiet" in 2015 along with
Adrienne Gonzalez, as a way of coping with
sexual assault
Sexual assault is an act in which one intentionally sexually touches another person without that person's consent, or coerces or physically forces a person to engage in a sexual act against their will. It is a form of sexual violence, which ...
and
abuse
Abuse is the improper usage or treatment of a thing, often to unfairly or improperly gain benefit. Abuse can come in many forms, such as: physical or verbal maltreatment, injury, assault, violation, rape, unjust practices, crimes, or other t ...
as a teenager.
Prior to the march she put out requests for female a cappella groups to help perform the song at the event, a call that was answered by groups
Capital Blend and
GW Sirens from
George Washington University
, mottoeng = "God is Our Trust"
, established =
, type = Private federally chartered research university
, academic_affiliations =
, endowment = $2.8 billion (2022)
, preside ...
. Milck separately recorded each vocal part, and sent them individually to the participants, due to the logistical difficulties involved in rehearsing in-person.
Along with 26 other singers, she performed seven times throughout the march among the crowd, where it was recorded by film maker
Alma Ha'rel, who uploaded the video to social media where it had 8 million views in two days, and shared by a number of well-known celebrities.
The group was then invited to perform on the television show
Full Frontal with Samantha Bee
''Full Frontal with Samantha Bee'' is an American late-night talk and news satire television program that aired on TBS from 2016 to 2022. The show was hosted by comedian Samantha Bee, a former correspondent on ''The Daily Show''.
In July 202 ...
.
The song was named the number one
protest song
A protest song is a song that is associated with a movement for social change and hence part of the broader category of ''topical'' songs (or songs connected to current events). It may be folk, classical, or commercial in genre.
Among social mov ...
of 2017 by ''
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 ...
'', and was widely embraced as an anthem for the movement. The same year she performed the song with
at the
Phoenix Concert Theatre
The Phoenix Concert Theatre is a nightclub and concert venue located at 410 Sherbourne Street in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
It is large and encompasses three distinct environments. The "Main Room" features one of the city's largest dance floors ...
in
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
, with proceed from the event donated to the
American Civil Liberties Union
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1920 "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States". T ...
.
In 2018, Milck returned to the
Women's March Women's March may refer to:
* Women's March on Versailles, a 1789 march in Paris
* Women's Sunday, a 1908 suffragette march in London
* Woman Suffrage Procession, a 1913 march and rally in Washington, D.C.
* Women's March (South Africa), a 1956 mar ...
to perform "Quiet". She also released her debut EP ''This Is Not The End EP'', which she promoted with a performance on ''
The Today Show
''Today'' (also called ''The Today Show'' or informally, ''NBC News Today'') is an American news and talk morning television show that airs weekdays from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. on NBC. The program debuted on January 14, 1952. It was ...
''. The same year she was invited to perform at the
Save the Children's Illumination Gala, at the
American Museum of Natural History
The American Museum of Natural History (abbreviated as AMNH) is a natural history museum on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. In Theodore Roosevelt Park, across the street from Central Park, the museum complex comprises 26 inter ...
. She recorded a cover of the
Five Stairsteps
The Five Stairsteps, known as "The First Family of Soul" and later "The Invisible Man's Band", was an American Chicago soul group made up of five of Betty and Clarence Burke Sr.'s six children: Alohe Jean, Clarence Jr., James, Dennis, and Kenn ...
song "
O-o-h Child
"O-o-h Child" is a 1970 single, written by Stan Vincent, recorded by Chicago soul family group the Five Stairsteps and released on the Buddah label.
The Five Stairsteps had previous peripheral success recording in Chicago with Curtis Mayfield ...
", which was used in an ad campaign by
Procter & Gamble
The Procter & Gamble Company (P&G) is an American multinational consumer goods corporation headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, founded in 1837 by William Procter and James Gamble. It specializes in a wide range of personal health/consumer hea ...
related to the
2018 Winter Olympics
, nations = 93
, athletes = 2,922 (1,680 men and 1,242 women)
, events = 102 in 7 sports (15 disciplines)
, opening =
, closing =
, opened_by = President Moon Jae-in
, cauldron = Kim Yun-a
, stadium = Pyeongchang Olympic Stadium
, winte ...
.
In 2019, Milck released the song "If I Ruled the World", positioned as the lead single of her upcoming EP ''Into Gold''. The song is about fixing global problems; Milck said, "it’s far more empowering and energizing when we encourage people to imagine the world they want, rather than when we focus on cursing the parts of the world we don’t want to see." ''Into Gold'' was released on February 21, 2020. Milck said that the album shows the process of grief and rebirth after the end of a five-year relationship—"the man I thought I was going to marry"—to turn "pain into power".
Milck responded to the 2020
killing of Breonna Taylor
Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old African-American woman, was fatally shot in her Louisville, Kentucky apartment on March 13, 2020, when at least seven police officers forced entry into the apartment as part of an investigation into drug dealing op ...
, the
murder of George Floyd
On , George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, was murdered in the U.S. city of Minneapolis by Derek Chauvin, a 44-year-old white police officer. Floyd had been arrested on suspicion of using a counterfeit $20 bill. Chauvin knelt on Floyd's n ...
, and other indications of rising police brutality by writing another protest song: "Somebody's Beloved". She collaborated with UK musician
Bipolar Sunshine
Adio Marchant (born 24 September 1987), known professionally as Bipolar Sunshine, is an English singer and songwriter from Manchester, England. Previously the co-vocalist with the band Kid British, he embarked on a solo career in 2013.
Career
M ...
who added the lyric, "Blood on leaves falling like autumn, her story's been told a thousand times. Why doesn't everybody scream?" Sunshine aimed to have "Somebody's Beloved" recall the 1937 song "
Strange Fruit
"Strange Fruit" is a song written and composed by Abel Meeropol (under his pseudonym Lewis Allan) and recorded by Billie Holiday in 1939. The lyrics were drawn from a poem by Meeropol published in 1937. The song protests the lynching of Black ...
", made famous by
Billie Holiday
Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan; April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an American jazz and swing music singer. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and music partner, Lester Young, Holiday had an innovative influence on jazz music and pop si ...
.
Tom Shadyac
Thomas Peter Shadyac (born December 11, 1958) is an American director, screenwriter, producer, and author. The youngest joke-writer ever for comedian Bob Hope, Shadyac is widely known for writing and directing the comedy films ''Ace Ventura: Pe ...
directed a video for the song.
Discography
* ''This Is Not The End'' (2018)
See also
*
List of people from Los Angeles
The following is a list of notable people who were either born in, lived in, are current residents of, or are otherwise closely associated with the city or county of Los Angeles, California. Those not born in Los Angeles have their places of bi ...
*
Me Too movement
#MeToo is a social movement against sexual abuse, sexual harassment, and rape culture, in which people publicize their experiences of sexual abuse or sexual harassment. The phrase "Me Too" was initially used in this context on social media in ...
Notes
References
External links
*
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Milck
Singers from Los Angeles
American women musicians of Chinese descent
American people of Southeast Asian descent
American women singer-songwriters
Atlantic Records artists
Living people
Year of birth missing (living people)
Singer-songwriters from California
21st-century American women