Graphic by Trinity Kendrick ‘21
By Hiba Nawaid ’23
Staff Writer
Author’s note: Though SOPHIE preferred not to use gendered pronouns, publications quoted below continued to use she/her pronouns when referring to the artist.
Grammy-nominated music producer and trans activist Sophie Xeon passed away last week in Athens, Greece, in an accidental fall. The artist, who went by the mononym SOPHIE, was 34.
Transgressive and Future Classic, SOPHIE’s record labels, said in a joint statement, “True to her spirituality[,] she had climbed up to watch the full moon and accidentally slipped and fell. She will always be here with us. The family thank[s] everyone for their love and support and request[s] privacy at this devastating time.”
SOPHIE, who hailed from Glasgow, became interested in making music at age 10. The artist first made waves with the 2013 single “BIPP.” The next year, SOPHIE followed up with the song “LEMONADE,” which gained popularity after being used in a McDonald’s commercial. This marked the beginning of SOPHIE’s signature sound — a synth-driven, sophisticated take on electronic pop that would come to be known as “hyper-pop.”
Prior to 2017, the artist maintained complete anonymity; however, along with the release of the landmark single “It’s Okay to Cry,” SOPHIE came out as a transgender woman. The music video for the track revealed SOPHIE to the public for the first time. SOPHIE then released a debut album, “Oil of Every Pearl’s Un-Insides,” in 2018, earning a Grammy nomination for the best dance/electronic album of the year.
SOPHIE’s musical influence can be seen in both mainstream and experimental pop. The artist has worked with the likes of Madonna, Vince Staples and Charli XCX, and has pioneered a genre that is now filled with a diversity of artists such as Rina Sawayama and Kim Petras.
SOPHIE’s legacy is not simply confined to musical genres. The artist was also outspoken about gender identity and trans visibility through both music and words. According to Spencer Kornhaber, SOPHIE’s debut album was a means of “queer self-actualization” for the artist. In another interview with Paper magazine, SOPHIE candidly spoke on trans identity, saying, “Transness is taking control to bring your body more in line with your soul and spirit so the two aren’t fighting against each other and struggling to survive.”
Given the artist’s influence, SOPHIE will continue to live on through the artist’s own music and those impacted by its groundbreaking sound.