Kelsey Lu

Kelsey Lu
Background information
Born
Kelsey Elizabeth McJunkins

(1991-05-12) May 12, 1991
Charlotte, North Carolina, U.S.
OriginBrooklyn, New York, U.S.
GenresAvant pop,[1] baroque pop[2]
Occupations
  • Singer
  • cellist
Instruments
  • Vocals
  • cello
Years active2016–present
Labels
Websitewww.kelsey.lu

Kelsey Elizabeth McJunkins (born May 12, 1991), known professionally as Kelsey Lu, is an American singer and cellist based in Los Angeles, California.[3]

Early life and education

Kelsey Lu was born in Charlotte, North Carolina, and had a strict Jehovah's Witness upbringing.[4] Both of Lu's parents are musicians: their father is a percussionist, their mother a pianist.[5] Their father's family hails from Nigeria.[6] Lu began studying classical composition at age 6, learning piano, violin, and cello.[4] At age 18, Lu left their family home to attend the University of North Carolina School of the Arts on a scholarship.[5] A year later, they dropped out of the school.[7]

Career

Kelsey Lu recorded their debut EP, Church, in a church in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.[8] During this time, they toured with the band Wet as their opening act.[4] They released Church in 2016.[9] They released their debut album, Blood, in 2019.[10] In that year, they also released Blood Transfusion, a collection of remixes of tracks from Blood.[11] Lu uses they/them pronouns.[12]

On March 18, 2026, Lu announced their second studio album So Help Me God with the release of the single "Running to Pain". Produced by Jack Antonoff and Yves Rothman, the album is scheduled for release on June 12 via the label Dirty Hit. Featured artists will include Sampha, Kamasi Washington, and Kim Gordon.[13]

Discography

Studio albums

Title Details
Blood
  • Released: April 19, 2019
  • Label: Columbia Records
  • Format: Digital download, streaming
So Help Me God

Soundtrack albums

Title Details
Daughters
  • Released: November 13, 2024
  • Label: Netflix Music
  • Format: Digital download, streaming
Earth Mama
  • Released: December 16, 2024
  • Label: A24 Music
  • Format: Digital download, streaming

Extended plays

Title Details
Church
  • Released: July 8, 2016
  • Label: True Panther
  • Format: LP, digital download, streaming

Remix albums

Title Details
Blood Transfusion
  • Released: November 15, 2019
  • Label: Columbia Records
  • Format: Digital download, streaming

Singles

Title Year Album
"Morning After Coffee"[14] 2016 Church
"Empathy"[15]
"Shades of Blue"[16] 2018 Non-album single
"Due West"[17] Blood
"I'm Not Love"[18] 2019
"Blood"[19]
"Foreign Car"[20]
"Morning Dew"[21] 2020 Non-album single
"Let All the Poisons That Lurk in the Mud Seep Out"
(with Yves Tumor featuring Kelly Moran and Moses Boyd)[22]
"Ride or Die"
(with Boys Noize featuring Chilly Gonzales)[23] 		2021
"Love & Validation"
(with Boys Noize)[24]
"French Lessons"
(with Mykki Blanco)[25] 		2022 Stay Close to Music
"Running to Pain"[13] 2026 So Help Me God

Guest appearances

Title Year Artist Album
"Picture This" 2011 The Away Team Scars & Stripes
"Lost Souls" 2011 L'Orange Old Soul
"Where or When"[26] 2020 Onyx Collective Manhattan Special
"Manchild" 2022 Neneh Cherry The Versions

References

  1. ^ "Cover Story: Avant-Pop Star Kelsey Lu on Reclaiming Her Freedom".
  2. ^ "Kelsey Lu review: A beautiful, bewildering piece of performance art".
  3. ^ Easter, Makeda (August 20, 2019). "Solange. Blood Orange. Kelsey Lu. There's a new wave of genre-bending black artists". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 29, 2019.
  4. ^ a b c Gore, Sydney (February 15, 2016). "Cellist Kelsey Lu Will Have You Under Her Spell". Nylon. Retrieved April 29, 2019.
  5. ^ a b Hager, Emma (July 15, 2016). "Kelsey Lu Doesn't Sound Like Anyone Else". Elle. Retrieved April 29, 2019.
  6. ^ Maitland, Hayley (March 24, 2019). "Front Row Regular Kelsey Lu On Her Jehovah's Witness Upbringing And Stunning Debut Album". Vogue. Retrieved April 7, 2022.
  7. ^ Frank, Alex (August 12, 2016). "Kelsey Lu's Dreams Are Better Than Yours". Pitchfork. Retrieved April 2, 2020.
  8. ^ Nikas, Joanna (August 25, 2016). "Kelsey Lu McJunkins, Hitting the Stages of Afropunk and Barclays Center". The New York Times. Retrieved April 2, 2020.
  9. ^ Lobenfeld, Claire (November 10, 2016). "Kelsey Lu is the maverick cellist whose loop experiments have wooed Blood Orange and Solange". Fact. Retrieved April 29, 2019.
  10. ^ Mokoena, Tshepo (April 24, 2019). "Kelsey Lu Had to Manifest Hopeful Pop from Pain". Vice. Retrieved April 29, 2019.
  11. ^ Bruce-Jones, Henry (November 15, 2019). "Kelsey Lu enlists Lafawndah, Omar S and Skrillex for Blood Transfusion remix EP". Fact. Retrieved April 29, 2019.
  12. ^ Joshi, Tara (5 September 2020). "Kelsey Lu: 'The white, cis, male hetero-patriarchy, it's all being deconstructed'". The Guardian.
  13. ^ a b c Breihan, Tom (March 18, 2026). "Kelsey Lu Announces New Album So Help Me God: Hear 'Running To Pain'". Stereogum. Retrieved March 20, 2026.
  14. ^ "Morning After Coffee – Single by Kelsey Lu on YouTube" – via YouTube.
  15. ^ "Empathy – Single by Kelsey Lu on YouTube" – via YouTube.
  16. ^ "Shades of Blue – Single by Kelsey Lu on Apple Music". Apple Music. Retrieved June 16, 2021.
  17. ^ "Due West – Single by Kelsey Lu on Apple Music". Apple Music. Retrieved June 16, 2021.
  18. ^ "I'm Not Love – Single by Kelsey Lu on YouTube". Retrieved June 16, 2021 – via YouTube.
  19. ^ "Blood – Single by Kelsey Lu on YouTube". Retrieved June 16, 2021 – via YouTube.
  20. ^ "Foreign Car – Single by Kelsey Lu on YouTube". Retrieved June 16, 2021 – via YouTube.
  21. ^ "Morning Dew – Single by Kelsey Lu on Apple Music". Apple Music. Retrieved June 16, 2021.
  22. ^ "let all the poisons that lurk in the mud seep out – Single by Kelsey Lu, Yves Tumor, Kelly Moran and Moses Boyd on Apple Music". Apple Music. Retrieved June 16, 2021.
  23. ^ "Ride or Die – Single by Kelsey Lu, Boys Noize and Chilly Gonzales on Apple Music". Apple Music. Retrieved June 16, 2021.
  24. ^ "Love & Validation – Single by Kelsey Lu, Boys Noize, Mike Marsh and Soulwax, on Apple Music". Apple Music. Retrieved March 20, 2026.
  25. ^ "French Lessons – Single by Kelsey Lu, Mykki Blanco, James Rand, Joe Crow and FaltyDL, on Apple Music". Apple Music. Retrieved March 20, 2026.
  26. ^ "When or When - Single by Kelsey Lu and Onyx Collective on Apple Music". Apple Music. Retrieved June 16, 2021.
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