Rising artists like Jessie Murph are making everyone reevaluate what it means to be a pop star by trading polished shine for honesty and intimacy.
Pop once crowned untouchable icons with Britney Spears hitting the stage like a force of nature, Beyoncé dropping albums that defined eras, and Taylor Swift’s carefully orchestrated rebrands. Fast forward to today’s rising stars, like Jessie Murph, and it’s a completely different atmosphere. These artists are swapping out glam and perfection with “let’s drop this gut wrenching song I wrote at 2 am on TikTok” and go viral.
A new kind of pop star
Murph keeps it real, singing about topics that artists in the past were too afraid to talk about. She doesn’t sing about fairy tales; she sings about the pain of heartbreak, relentless depression, family drama, and her resiliency.
Additionally, with song titles like “If I Died Last Night” and “Drunk in the Bathtub” in her unfiltered debut album, Drowning, she has turned her into a voice for young listeners who crave rawness over display. There is no hiding behind smoke and mirrors with Murph. Instead, she puts her own messiness at the center, inviting fans to sit with her in it. It is rare to see this ability to be open with such a large audience. This willingness to be raw makes Murph stand out in a pop world obsessed with being flawless.
“It’s like, I said I’m always writing based off my life. So it’s like, I’m summing up my year of 19 and 20, you know, into one era. But I don’t know. I’m just writing real stuff and stuff that I’m going through, and it’s definitely a roller coaster, and it takes you through even stuff that I dealt with as a kid, and like how it all leads into one thing and to another.” — Jessie Murph in an interview with Billboard
As a result, this shift raises a big question: is the era of glossy, untouchable pop icons really over? We have replaced these icons with stars who make their music feel like more of an escape than a performance. It’s relatable! It is what Gen-Z looks for in a trend and a person.
The new path to stardom
To emphasize this idea, Murph didn’t rise to fame because she caught a break on the radio or had a million-dollar label promo. Instead, she grew her following by posting covers and originals online, letting fans watch her journey in real time. This transparency provided her audience a sense of ownership, as if they were growing alongside her and gaining a friend.
Social media became Murph’s stage. Murph would post on TikTok only small clips of her songs, and they would blow up before they were even released. Murph is showing how artists today are bypassing tradition.
With social media on the rise, it is the people who decide what is going to be a trend or who has the personality to go viral. This dynamic has shifted; it is no longer the industry that chooses the pop stars, and they are chasing to keep up with audiences, not leading like they once did.
A wider movement
Murph is not the only one who is a part of this new era. With Gracie Abrams’ whispering vulnerability and Chappell Roan’s wild “take me or leave me” energy, fans are proving time and again that transparency leads to fame.
Another example is Taylor Swift’s reinvention to keep on trend with the newer generations. Swift’s newfound freedom has left her imagination to run wild. She is keeping fans on their toes with creative song lyrics and sly hints throughout social media.
Taylor has stayed trending with the way she released her new album name The Life of a Showgirl. She was on her fiancé’s, Travis Kelce, podcast New Heights, and made the announcement by holding up the album cover. Fans went crazy, not sure what to expect with her being a special guest on the podcast. But it is safe to say she is riding this new wave of close fan interaction.
Abrams, Roan, Swift, and Murph have mastered the art of relatability and are using their social media presence to continue reaching an even larger audience. People don’t want untouchable icons anymore.
In other words, everyone wants to catch a glimpse of their own life in somebody else’s songs. It is simply about knowing you have a shared experience with someone and feel recognized because that is how the music is speaking to you.
The risks of rawness
As we all know, there are always risks when you post so openly on social media. Fans can be your biggest supporter, but they can also be your biggest downfall if not careful.
One scroll through Murph’s comment section, and it is clear that being viral has its cons.
Alongside messages of support are also comments of harsh critique, with one user commenting bluntly, “Stop making music.” Seeing comments like these is only a reminder that being vulnerable online invites as much hate as it does love.
These online spaces, while vital in connecting with fans, can also thin the line between audience and artist, and between being real or exposed. Fans get too comfortable on the internet and expect full access all day, every day. For Murph and rising stars like her, the challenge is to find out how much can be shared without allowing yourself to burn out.
The rise through it all
Despite the pressures and criticism social media comes with, Murph has proven that being open and relatable is worth it. For every moment of doubt or hateful comment, there are thousands of fans who deeply support her journey and connect with her on levels only they can understand.
This rise to power is not unforgettable— it is setting up a next generation of artists to reshape pop music for the better. Murph has broken this “cookie-cutter perfect” standard. The new standard is to write and release music by being your true, messy, and real self. The goal is to connect with your audience on a relatable basis.
Jessie Murph’s story is not about surviving the intensity of the internet. It is about her willingness to be so open about her own life to connect with her fans. If the risks of being vulnerable on the internet are high, then the reward is even higher: loyalty, real connections, and the chance to make pop music that much better.
