Converting raw, uncut emotional energy into three-minute bricks of kinetic creativity, L.A.-based artist and songwriter Delacey is a hit making multi-hyphenate with a compulsive calling to turn heads and challenge hearts. Both a seasoned collaborator and an emerging alt-pop poet-performer, a decade of work now finds her baring it all – in the hope others might see themselves.

“It’s super vulnerable putting out music – especially the way I’m constantly doing it, which is being way too honest all the time,” she admits. “I’ve been at this for 12 years now, and I can pretend I’m really jaded … but at the end of the day I’m still the little girl who was just fucking obsessed with music.”

With humble beginnings in the suburbs of Orange County, California, that obsession began early for Delacey – and so did the drive to walk her own path. Born to a non-musical (but always-encouraging) family of Michigan transplants, she was nevertheless drawn to expression, acting in local musicals by 3 years old, playing piano and writing early songs by 7, and then taking up script-writing, photography, videography, and more. “I always loved to be the center of attention,” she admits, “and just performing and creating nonstop.”

Meanwhile, she was also devouring father’s collection of classic vinyl, pulling a thread of inspiration from Billie Holiday through Stevie Nicks and into the ‘90s alt-rock revolution. Transfixed by the Smashing Pumpkins and Mazzy Star (especially trailblazing front woman Hope Sandoval), she would one day carry their edgy non-conformity into her own brand of hazy post-pop. But first, she left high school for New York City, getting a job at a photography agency. It was fast, but formative.

“The whole time I was in New York, I was writing music and doing open mic nights – writing and writing and playing guitar to deal with my fucking depression,” she explains. “I was like, ‘Okay, you know what? I’m never picking up my camera. All I’m doing is picking on my guitar.’”

Taking the realization to heart, Delacey moved back west and started grinding in the L.A. songwriting scene, racking up cross-format credits that range from urban contemporary to K-pop and everything between. Nursing a songwriting addiction (even as her own artistic vision developed), her key cuts now include the Billboard Hot 100 #1 “Without Me” for Halsey, plus impact-making tracks like the 2X Platinum “Boyfriend” for Dove Cameron, “Rockstar” for Lisa (the 2024 MTV VMA winner for Best K-Pop), and more by Justin Bieber, Tate McRae, Renee Rapp, Alana Springsteen, Gracie Abrams, Teddy Swims, and others.

“I’m obsessed with writing songs, I’m obsessed with the craft,” Delacey says. “It comes with a weird possession of magic in the air, which sometimes lets me use it and sometimes doesn’t. And it’s the job that keeps me in the studio all the time, which I love.”

The job recently led Delacey into new territory – contributing to the soundtrack of Dreamworks’ animated feature film, The Wild Robot. Co-writing both original songs from the acclaimed project (“Kiss the Sky” and “Even When I’m Not,” sung by Maren Morris), the touching tunes were a demonstration of Delacey’s versatility, and also opened new creative outlets. Co-writing “i hope i never fall in love” with Morris for her Intermission EP, the pair went on to tour together in 2024, showing a whole new audience the intoxicating, full-band display of wounded soul Delacey unleashes on stage.

Meanwhile, the emerging star’s own work paired the deep-feeling drama of dark pop with a lust for life in the Lexapro age. Studding early albums Black Coffee (2020) and The Girl Has a Dream (2023) with cross-pollinated confessions like “The Subway Song” and “Cruel Intentions” (featuring G-Eazy), she’s gone on to keep pushing the envelope – even as life changes. 2024’s spontaneously-conceived-and-created collab album The Honeymooners was written largely while she was on her actual Paris honeymoon with new husband/fellow artist Valley Boy, and while standout tracks like “Drive Baby” marked a shift, she sees her newest work as a creative awakening.

Bringing her signature edge to bear with the added weight of wisdom, energy and emotion cut deeper than ever on CRYING OVER BEAUTY with the potential for romantic “wreckage” all too real. Written and recorded in Nashville with Nate Campany and JT Daly, the deeply-personal set refines her sound and speaks to fears many women face as days go by – but while Delacey admits she’s always lived like an open book, this is different.

“I didn’t hold back at all,” she says. “I’m in my 30s now, I’m not fucking 17. I have lived and lived through a lot of shit. Now I’m married, and to a lot of people that might not be sexy. But I was like ‘You know what, who gives a fuck?’

“My fear of aging out has completely disappeared,” she goes on. “I don’t feel scared anymore, which is beautiful. I feel like it opened up this passage for my soul, like getting older can just be better. Honestly, I feel like I’ve made the best thing I’ve ever made.”

More than a decade on from turning her obsession with expression into a life’s work, Delacey’s winding creative path has led to this very moment. She’s not going to hide any of the journey, or any of herself … and just maybe, that boldness could help.

“I guess I feel like I’ve lived many lives, and I’m not ashamed of any of it,” she says. “If my music can somehow help a person feel seen with whatever they're going through and give them that, that would be really cool.”