Mitski

Mitski's Japanese mother and American father were living in the Democratic Republic of Congo at the time of her birth. But because her parents wanted her to have Japanese citizenship, her pregnant mother took a plane to Japan, gave birth to Mitski, and flew back to Africa with the newborn baby in tow. Growing up, her family moved around a lot due to her dad's career with the US Department of State.

She originally began her college career as a film student at Hunter College in Manhattan before transferring to SUNY Purchase College's Conservatory of Music to study studio composition. For her junior and senior projects, she recorded her first two albums, Lush and Retired From Sad, New Career In Business.

As a teenager, she was living in Turkey when she drunkenly wrote her first real song, "Bag Of Bones" (featured on Lush). She recalled, "By the time it was done my heart was pounding like I just saw the rest of my life. I was f--king doomed."