“Jensen McRae has a perceptive ear and a way with words” - NPR

“She’s shown an ability to translate personal experiences into universally resonant records..” - NYLON

“Her voice, deep and elastic, conveys emotion and gravitas—goosebumps guaranteed.”
- PIGEONS & PLANES

“She has a tremendous sense of self.” - KCRW

Los Angeles singer-songwriter Jensen McRae announces today her debut album Are You Happy Now?, due out March 22nd via Human Re-Sources. The album joins and expands on her debut EP, Who Hurt You?, a project that catapulted McRae into the spotlight and garnered millions of streams worldwide.

Arriving alongside the announcement is the first single of 2022, “Happy Girl.” A true songwriter at heart, the writing on “Happy Girl” is vulnerable, as McRae pens the struggle of feigning the outward appearance of happiness. Describing the single, McRae shares, “Happy Girl” began, quite fittingly, as a mistake—I was trying to play one chord progression but wound up playing the opening notes of what it eventually became. I was in Rahki’s studio, halfway through my last year of college, reflecting on all the girls I’d been to get me to that point. I thought about how I’d done everything I was supposed to do, had sanded off the edges of myself that had always pushed people away from me, and I still wasn’t happy. And I thought about how articulating the pain and loneliness of being chronically apart from others is often more trouble than it’s worth. So I wrote this song about the language gap between feeling pain and explaining it, and, as on “Dead Girl Walking,” how it is both easier and harder to manufacture a happy exterior than to invite people into your darkness.”

McRae has been steadily building momentum, highlighted with the release of her homage to Phoebe Bridgers, “Immune”. After a clip of herself spoofing a Phoebe Bridges cover garnered her over 2.3 million views on Twitter, Mcrae went into the studio with Rahki (Eminem, Kendrick Lamar, EarthGang, Sampa The Great, etc) to write and record a full version of the song. “Immune” earned her media praise from The New York Times, Rolling Stone, Vulture, UPROXX, NY Post, Billboard, Stereogum and more, positioning her as one of the most exciting new voices in pop music. McRae was named NPR’s Slingshot's 2021 Artists To Watch and has also been included in #YOUTUBEBLACK Voices Artist Class of 2021, alongside Brent Faiyaz, Mariah The Scientist, Tkay Maizda, and more.

Born in Santa Monica and raised in the Woodland Hills suburbs of Los Angeles in a bi-racial Black and Jewish family, McRae was immersed in music at a young age. While in high school, she attended GRAMMY Camp in Los Angeles and received a full ride to attend the University of Southern California's Thornton School of Music. 2022 is already shaping up to be a commanding year for McRae as the 24 year old is gearing up to hit the road on Amos Lee’s 2022 Spring Tour this April. With a sound inspired by Joni Mitchell and Tracey Chapman paired with a natural feel for songwriting that personifies the human experience, McRae is en route to cementing herself as an artist who is here to stay.

LISTEN TO “HAPPY GIRL”
https://amzn.to/3BIjRLF

PRE-SAVE ARE YOU HAPPY NOW?
https://orcd.co/areyouhappynow

LISTEN TO DEBUT EP WHO HURT YOU?
https://orcd.co/whohurtyou