One to watch: Peach PRC

With more than 2 million TikTok followers and 120m combined artist streams on Spotify, pink-drenched Aussie artist Peach PRC, real name Sharlee Jade Curnow, became a social media sensation in 2020. Demonstrating whip-smart humour and mind-boggling honesty, her TikTok shenanigans were a godsend for lockdown-crazed minds. In between the confessionals, skits and self-care tips, Peach would pivot to music, sharing sweet videos of her singing to her dog, but often just to herself.

In early 2021, she released her hilariously scathing debut single, Josh (“Fuck off, stop calling me, Josh”), showcasing her shimmering, acrobatic vocals. She has since sold-out shows in Australia and the US – not that it’s gone to her head: “I know it sounds cliched, but it really is a dream come true,” she recently said in NME. In April she released her debut EP, Manic Dream Pixie, which glides seamlessly from the anthemic cosmic pop of Kinda Famous and Robyn-esque dancefloor ballad F U Goodbye to the unbridled emotion found in Favourite Person.

Even amid her escapist, digitised sound, authenticity is at the heart of Peach’s songwriting. While, as she puts it, “the closet was made of glass”, since coming out as lesbian in January last year, openly identifying as queer has meant everything. “It’s a privilege to be out and proud,” she said. “I always want to be true to myself and to others – I don’t want anyone to see a facade.”