A topic of discussion all over my TikTok is the new country music artist, Stella Lefty. Her song Boston is currently #2 on the Billboard Hot 100. Immediately upon release, it was massively pushed, and she supposedly was an overnight sensation. The song though, was accused of ripping off Stick Season by Noah Kahan. It also came to light that she was the daughter of Groupon co-founder and billionaire, Eric Lefkofsky. This information led to a lot of the audience feeling as though she is an untalented nepo baby that steals from others and bought her career. Authenticity is important in the music industry; it can make or break a career.
These accusations hold weight because the music industry is hard to break into. Millions of people have talent and dreams of success, but nowadays it seems only those with prior connections and cash are making it big. The audience wants to know their artist is authentic, and Lefty cosplaying as a country girl, despite being raised in Illinois by a billionaire father, is a contradiction.
I did not have any red flags with this information, because I have been presented with it repeatedly. According to Cognition Today, humans believe information after being told it repeatedly. This information also didn’t completely shock me, since other popular artists, such as Gracie Abrams, have used connections and nepo baby status to climb the music charts. There also is not a clear right or wrong on the subject. Many people probably do not care that she is a nepo baby, while others want a relatable artist that came from humble beginnings.
According to Crash Course, Wikipedia actually is a great place to get information and references. To fact check the information she is the daughter of a billionaire, I went to her Wikipedia. Wikipedia clearly states that her father is the billionaire and references an article by the BroBible.
I then googled her father to fact check his net worth. Forbes verified he is worth 6.1 billion dollars. It is interesting that she shortened her name to Lefty. I’m sure for branding purposes it is easier to pronounce, but it makes me wonder if she was trying to separate herself from the billionaire clout.
I then fact checked the plagiarism allegations. According to News Nation, Lefty has been accused of not only copying Noah Kahan, but also Miley Cyrus, Blake Shelton and The Chicks. People Magazine verified that Noah Kahan did receive a songwriting credit for the song. I also noticed his name in the credits at the end of the song on apple music. Lefty has also posted her covering Stick Season multiple times online, showing that even if she didn’t outright plagiarize, the melody was already in her head. After personally listening to both songs, they do sound similar in melody.
Lefty also received flack, when her song Summer You Were Mine was accused of copying The Chicks iconic country hit, There’s Your Trouble. Rolling Stone published that the song was cleared to be used as an interpolation, and that both songwriters of There’s Your Trouble were credited on the publishing. There is still a question of why she never tries to create her own sound from scratch.
In conclusion, Stella Lefty is the daughter of a billionaire businessman and was going to be successful in any career she wanted. She has not proven any original artistry, and the songs she has received recognition from have been at least somewhat inspired by other artists. Boston may still be burning up the charts, but time will tell if Lefty will be a lasting talent, or just an Ella Langley runner up. It is up to the listener and audience to decide how they personally feel about Lefty. Based on my research, Lefty’s artistic abilities are about as authentic as a Gucci bag bought on Canal Street.
Leave a Reply