Wisp’s rise to fame has been a phenomenon lighting up the Internet. The 21-year-old Asian American shoegaze artist recently wrapped up a whirlwind Asian tour a couple of days ago, performing in five different countries over a week or so. It’s a remarkable feat for someone who, just a year ago, was a Computer Science student with no inkling of where her music might take her.
I caught her final tour stop in Singapore at The Alex Blake Charlie Sessions, an event known for showcasing female-fronted bands across genres. This particular edition leaned heavily into Gen Z energy, with acts like Liana Flores, Sobs, Juliet Ivy, and Shye. Wisp closed the show, drawing a crowd of alt kids dressed in black and grunge-inspired outfits, all unmistakably there to experience her hazy shoegaze sound live—finally transcending the headphones that had introduced them to her.
Admittedly, I’d only heard “Your Face,” the track that launched her into TikTok stardom. While I respect her hard work and rapid ascent, I’ve had my reservations. Wisp’s ethereal, breathy vocals layered over Grayskies’ production struck a universal chord, crafting the perfect soundtrack for nostalgic, VHS-style clips. But her rise—accelerated by signing with Interscope Records (the same label that has Billie Eilish, Lana Del Rey, and the big stars that will likely come to your mind)—also feels emblematic of how the industry commodifies trends, and is one that is out of the artist's control.
I was curious about how people felt about Wisp and scurried to Reddit. Many were quick to point out that Wisp didn’t produce the track, which she merely sang over, or questioned if she was an industry plant. While most has since been clarified, it underscores a growing divide in how people perceive music creation and authenticity. Wisp, to her credit, has taken the skepticism in stride, channeling it into growth. At her young age and more so someone who did not expect her life to take such a turn, she is highly self-aware of the implications of the media spinning narratives through her yet she is continuously taking it in stride, by honing her craft in the studios and touring with legends like Slowdive and Panchiko.
More significantly, it led me to an article in the r/shoegaze thread that details the same sentiments toward the music industry. While it was written to perfection, I won’t rehash it. It more importantly left me wondering: Who else shares this skepticism and why do they feel that way? And what does this imply for the future comeback of shoegaze and other music genres?
Musically, Wisp hasn’t fully captivated me yet, even live. Her sound is more refined and undeniably nostalgic to the 2010s of shoegaze (especially Whirr), appealing to older shoegaze fans and newer ones alike. She’s cracked the code to quintessential shoegaze, no doubt helped by her status as a certified whirrwhoreforlyfe. But can her sound evolve beyond this finely-tuned formula and push past its current boundaries, or will it stay a polished mirror of a resurgent genre?
Image Credits: UpToHear (Left) & Pitchfork (Right)
During her performance, comparisons to acts like Bubble Tea and Cigarettes and yeule’s softscars naturally came to mind with their similarities in vocals. The shoegaze genre is undeniably diversifying, branching into various sounds and styles. My concern, however, is that framing Wisp as if she is the definitive face of this revival risks oversimplifying the genre’s richness and overshadowing its variety.
Then again, the artist has little control over how the media chooses to brand them—leaving them to either push back or ignore the narrative entirely. To her credit, Wisp has actively stood her ground, focusing on growing as a musician. Her popularity highlights a collective yearning for shoegaze’s revival, while revealing that even as generations pass on, there will always be a desire to explore beyond mainstream pop music. Shoegaze, once highly slammed by the media, has taken decades to find its listeners again and again. Wisp embodies that longing, even if her music hasn’t yet struck me as groundbreaking. She undeniably underscores the ongoing relevance of shoegaze, and for that alone, she deserves recognition.
An unanswered question of mine remains: what other genres of the past might find a similar resurgence? Is Tiktok or the internet, the sole blueprint for reviving the sounds of bygone eras?