Arlo Parks

Parks chose her stage name in the manner of King Krule and Frank Ocean.[11][4] In 2018, she began uploading demos to BBC Music Introducing which caught the attention of BBC Radio 1 DJ Jess Iszatt who distributed these demos to Ali Raymond of Beatnik Creative, who soon began managing Parks.[12] She made her solo debut when she released the song "Cola" through Beatnik Records in November 2018,[13] and announced the release of her debut EP, Super Sad Generation.[14] She told Line of Best Fit that the song is "a reminder that betrayal is inevitable when it comes to pretty people that think flowers fix everything." Olivia Swash wrote that the vocals on the song "flourish thanks to [Parks'] creative writing background, with her delicate tone taking centre stage against the gently plodding guitars and soft crackle of vinyl."[13] By November 2019, the song had amassed over three million streams on Spotify.[9]

Following the release of "Cola", Parks signed to Transgressive Records.[15] She released the title track of her upcoming EP, Super Sad Generation, in January 2019.[16][17] Robin Murray told Clash that the song portrays an "astute, nuanced creative control that also utilises word-play that speaks of youthful emotions spinning out of control."[18] Her third single, "Romantic Garbage", was released in March 2019,[14] before the release of the full four-track EP, Super Sad Generation in early April 2019.[19] The EP was recorded in her home in South West London and an Airbnb in the Angel district of London.[20]

Parks performed her first-ever gig at The Great Escape in Brighton in May 2019,[5] and has gone on to perform on the BBC Music Introducing stage at Glastonbury Festival in late June 2019,[21] as well as at Latitude Festival in July 2019.[22] She embarked on her first tour supporting Jordan Rakei on the UK leg of his tour in September 2019.[23] Throughout the last half of 2019 Parks released the songs "George",[24] "Second Guessing",[25] "Sophie",[26] and "Angel's Song"[27][28] ahead of her second EP, Sophie.[29] Sean Kerwick told DIY that the five-track EP "oozes with the hang-ups of heartbreak and mortality; a topic that seems to overshadow many gen-Z musicians."[30]

Parks embarked on her first headlining tour of Europe in February/March 2020,[31] but could not complete it due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In May 2020, Parks released the singles "Eugene" and "Black Dog", which were well received during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns,[32] the latter of which became BBC Radio 1's Tune of the Week.[33] Parks made the front cover of NME in late July 2020.[4] She won the AIM Independent Music Award for One to Watch in 2020 in August 2020, after losing the same award to Georgia a year before.[34] Parks and Moses Boyd made the front cover of Music Week for the publication's indie takeover special following the AIM Awards ceremony.[35] Parks released her debut album, Collapsed in Sunbeams, on 29 January 2021.[11]