Fame Came, but Then So Did the Critics
Just after finishing her freshman year at Syracuse University in New York State, the singer, songwriter and producer Claire Cottrill, who performs as Clairo, was in a chauff eu red S. U.V., eating fast food and facing the realities of her music- i ndust r y dreams. “I’m literally the most inexperienced person,” Ms. Cottrill, 19, said.
As an emerging artist with a viral song (“Pretty Girl”) and a fresh phalanx of devoted personnel (manager, publicist, label), Clairo was bubbling with wide- eyed possibility while on a publicity run in Manhattan.
Ms. Cottrill, who is often mistaken for a precocious middle schooler, grew teary- eyed at the genuine interest being shown in her work. “I feel like a little star right now,” she said.
Both a culmination and a beginning, the recent release of Clairo’s debut six- song EP, “diary 001,” marks a bizarre period of flux for the singer, whose woozy, homemade pop concoctions are blooming into something bigger. Though she had been releasing charming music online since her early teens, everything accelerated for Ms. Cottrill last summer with “Pretty Girl,” which she wrote and recorded herself on GarageBand and uploaded to YouTube with an equally crude video: a girl, alone in her room, singing directly into her laptop.
Nearly 15 million views later, Clairo was another potential breakout from a self- starting generation of songwriters unbeholden to genre or equipment, who innately understand branding and the online zeitgeist. Yet Clairo has also come in for criticism regarding her careerism and connections.
Ms. Cottrill inspired a digital countermovement that questioned whether some shadowy Svengali had engineered her success. Focusing largely on her father, Geoff Cottrill, a marketing executive, message boards, student newspapers and YouTube had takes that questioned the legitimacy of her seamless arrival.
“Industry plant” — the catchall criticism among music fans for someone undeserving of their buzz and opportunities — has become a constant refrain.
At first, that criticism stung. But she said: “When people say, ‘Oh, she’s an industry plant,’ I’m like, ‘No, I just have representation.’ ”
Ms. Cottrill, who grew up in a small Massachusetts town, sowed her interests both online and in local scenes, frequenting house shows in Boston and Philadelphia. Her early songs were guitar-based, inspired by singer-songwriters like Frankie Cosmos. But as do-it-yourself musicians like PC Music began flirting with pop sounds and signifiers — and streaming further eroded musical borders — Ms. Cottrill turned to beat-making on her laptop.
The “diary 001” EP bridges both worlds. With soft synths, playful electronic drums and vaguely R& B melodies, Clairo songs are the modern type, calibrated for repeated streaming from computer speakers.
Clairo is a playlist genius, changing moods like a D. J. might. “I’m a producer at heart,” Ms. Cottrill said.