Remi Francis Wolf[1] (born February 2, 1996) is an American singer and songwriter fromPalo Alto,California.[2][3][4] As a senior in high school, she appeared as a contestant onAmerican Idol in 2014.[5][6] After completing her undergraduate music studies in 2018,[7][8] she made her solo debut with the self-releasedextended playYou're a Dog! in October 2019.[9][10] Wolf subsequently released her second EP and major-label debut,I'm Allergic to Dogs!, onIsland Records andVirgin EMI Records in June 2020,[11][12][13][14] followed by her debut studio album,Juno, in October 2021.[15] She released her second album,Big Ideas, on July 12, 2024.[16]
Wolf was born inPalo Alto, California,[14] on February 2, 1996,[17][18] to a Sicilian mother and a Russian-Persian father.[19] At around the age of eight she became interested incompetitive skiing, and competed during her youth.[20]
When she was 14, Wolf formed her first band with a friend. They called it Remi and Chloe (later, Remi, Chloe, & The Extracts).[21] As a senior atPalo Alto High School, Wolf appeared as a contestant during the audition rounds onthe thirteenth season ofAmerican Idol in 2014,[5] being cut in Hollywood week without being aired there.[6] At age 17, she moved to Los Angeles, where she attended theUSC Thornton School of Music, graduating in 2018 at the age of 22.[22][23]
Wolf met producerJared Solomon, known asSolomonophonic, while in high school and began collaborating with him thereafter. Her first single, "Guy", was produced by Solomon and was released in 2019. Off the success of that song, Wolf opened forStill Woozy on his tour in April of that year.[9][24] She also toured withCautious Clay[25] and performed at both theLos Angeles Times Festival of Books and Viva Pomona! later in 2019.[26] She released her first EP,You're a Dog!, in September 2019.[9] She was later signed toIsland Records, a division of theUniversal Music Group.[26]
Her first single as an Island signee, "Woo!", was released in April 2020.[27] That was followed by the singles "Photo ID"[28] and "Disco Man".[29] Those tracks would go on to appear on Wolf's second EP,I'm Allergic to Dogs!, released in June 2020 via Island.[26] "Photo ID" accrued numerous streams and shares onTikTok throughout 2020.[21] In November 2020, her single "Hello Hello Hello" was featured in an ad for theiPhone 12.[30] The track 'Photo ID' placed 75 on Australian radio stationTriple J'sHottest 100 for 2020. In May 2021, she releasedWe Love Dogs!, a remix EP with guest appearances from acts likeSylvan Esso,Beck,Dominic Fike,Hot Chip, and others.[31]
Later in 2021, Wolf began releasing new singles, including "Liquor Store", "Grumpy Old Man", and "Quiet on Set". These would appear on her major label debut studio album,Juno, released via Island in October 2021.[21][32] In March 2022, she released the single "Pool" with Still Woozy.[33] Later that year, Wolf opened forLorde on the North American leg of her "Solar Power" tour.[34] In June 2022, Wolf released a "deluxe" version ofJuno with four additional tracks.[35] That month, she toured throughout Europe,[36] including a stop at the Firenze Rocks festival inFlorence, Italy where she performed with theRed Hot Chili Peppers andNas.[37] Those dates constituted the first leg of Wolf's "Gwingle Gwongle" tour, which had stops across North America later in the fall of 2022.[33] In August 2022 in collaboration withSpotify, Wolf released theLive at Electric Lady EP, a collection of six live songs, including a cover ofFrank Ocean's "Pink + White".[38] In November 2022, Wolf announced her first tour ofAustralia andNew Zealand during which she was scheduled to play multiple festivals and a handful of headlining shows in December 2022 and January 2023.[39] Wolf performed at the22nd Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in April 2023.[40] Her hit song "Monte Carlo" was featured in theNetflix movieYou Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah in August 2023.[41] Before the release of her second album, she appeared as the supporting act on some of the European concerts ofOlivia Rodrigo'sGuts World Tour.
Throughout March and July, singles "Cinderella", "Toro", "Alone in Miami", "Motorcycle", "Soup" and "Pitiful" were put out to promote Wolf's second album,Big Ideas, which was announced to release in July 2024.[16] "Soup" was dubbed a "funk-fleckedsynth-pop cut" byNME's Hannah Mylrea.[42]Pitchfork's Boutayna Chokrane regarded "Cinderella" as a "Soul Train-inspired disco-funk number about [Wolf]'s everyday mood swings".[43]Big Ideas charted at 15 and 27 on theUK Sales Chart andScottish Album Charts, respectively, and received critical acclaim, massing an 80/100 score from music aggravatorMetacritic.[44] In December 2023, Wolf coveredAmy Winehouse's cover ofThe Zutons' song'Valerie' for radio stationTriple J's weekly program, Like A Version.[45]
Wolf isbisexual.[9] She has been based inLos Angeles, California, since circa 2014.[26] In June 2020, she was checked intorehab foralcohol use disorder.[50] She has stated she has been sober ever since,[51] and that in past instances she frequently drank to the point of blacking out; although she could easily function in daily life, she had started fighting with family, friends and collaborators.[48] She hasADHD.[21]
