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Ethel Cain
American singer-songwriter (born 1998) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Hayden Silas Anhedönia (born March 24, 1998), known professionally as Ethel Cain,[a] is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and model. She became known for her ambient and southern gothic-style music and lyrics. She began releasing recordings under various aliases,[b] before releasing multiple extended plays including Inbred (2021) which garnered various singles including "Crush".
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Anhedönia released her debut studio album, Preacher's Daughter (2022) to acclaim from critics and garnered a cult following. After a vinyl release in 2025, the album debuted at number ten on the US Billboard 200 chart, making Anhedönia the first transgender artist to reach the top ten. She released the standalone recording Perverts (2025), which saw her experimenting with drone music. Later that year, she released her second studio album, Willoughby Tucker, I'll Always Love You (2025) which served as a lyrical prequel to her debut album.
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Early life
Hayden Silas Anhedönia[1] was born on March 24, 1998, in Tallahassee, Florida, and raised in Perry.[2][3] She is the eldest of four children in a Southern Baptist family.[2] Her father was a deacon, and she was involved in the church choir from a young age, like her mother.[2][4] At age 8, Anhedönia began studying classical piano, with musical influences from a variety of Christian music. The church was Anhedönia's first exposure to music: "My whole life was always singing, always, always music all the time", she said.[4] She left the church at the age of 16.[2] Anhedönia was homeschooled.[5]
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Career
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2017–2021: Career beginnings and EPs
Anhedönia officially started making music in 2017, experimenting with "dreamy bedroom pop demos" under different monikers.[6] As White Silas, she first published Gregorian chant-inspired singles and mixtapes to SoundCloud and Tumblr, the latter now having been deactivated and no longer associated with the artist.[5][7] In 2019, Anhedönia started recording music as Ethel Cain, which became her current main project. For the new moniker, she thought of a "womanly, matronly, old American name" while also taking inspiration from the biblical figure of Cain.[8] Her first extended play as Ethel Cain, Carpet Bed, consisted of four songs and was released on September 13, 2019.[9] Months later, she released her second EP, Golden Age, on December 1.[5] After the latter's release, she was backed by the artist Wicca Phase Springs Eternal, who praised her for her "mature songwriting and understanding of melody".[10] In January 2020, after recommendation from Wicca Phase Springs Eternal, Anhedönia was discovered by the rapper Lil Aaron while headlining a show with Edith Underground, Girlfiend, and Lil Bo Weep in Los Angeles. She was then invited by him to meet with the publishing company Prescription Songs and signed with them soon after.[11]
In February 2021, Anhedönia released her debut single as Ethel Cain while under the new publishing contract, "Michelle Pfeiffer", which featured Lil Aaron.[12] The song was described by Billboard as alternative rock, folk, and "even country".[13] Her second single, "Crush", followed on March 18 and received a music video on August 3.[14] The two singles were part of her third EP, Inbred, which was released on April 23. The ambient-folk and slowcore EP[15] was named by Pitchfork as one of The 49 Most Anticipated Albums of Spring 2021[16] and received a score of 7.6 out of 10 by the website.[17] Later on August 24, a stripped version of "Crush" was also published.[18] On March 8, 2022, she released a cover of the song "Everytime" by Britney Spears as part of Spotify Singles, in observance of International Women's Day.[19]
2022–2024: Breakthrough with Preacher's Daughter
On March 17, 2022, Anhedönia released the single "Gibson Girl" and subsequently announced her debut album, titled Preacher's Daughter and released on May 12, 2022, through her own record label, Daughters of Cain.[20] A concept album that creates a narrative "centered around the character Ethel Cain", it received a positive reception from music critics and was named one of the best albums of the year.[c] It was also preceded by the release of the singles "Strangers" on April 7 and "American Teenager" on April 21, the latter receiving a music video on July 21.[29] In support of the album, Anhedönia embarked on the Freezer Bride Tour in 2022 and the Blood Stained Blonde Tour in 2023.[30] She was also an opening act at one concert of Florence and the Machine's Dance Fever Tour and Caroline Polachek's Spiraling Tour.[31][32]
Anhedönia performed at the 22nd Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in April 2023.[33] On June 3, 2023, Anhedönia fainted on stage while performing at the Sydney Opera House in Sydney, Australia, as part of Vivid Live, resulting in the show's cancellation.[34] She returned to performing the next day.[35] She also performed at Reading Festival and Gunnersbury Park with Boygenius and Muna in August 2023.[36] On December 5, 2023, Anhedönia announced the Childish Behaviour Tour, an eight-show tour that began on June 3, 2024, and was slated to end on June 27, 2024.[37] After sharing the song on SoundCloud a year before, on July 21, 2023 she released "Famous Last Words (An Ode to Eaters)", inspired by Luca Guadagnino's film Bones and All, along with 1017 ALYX 9SM.[38] With a "darkly poignant" music video, it was included in the project's first compilation album.[39] In that year, Anhedönia appeared as a guest vocalist on the songs "Dying Star" by Ashnikko and "222" by Angel Diaz (also known as Vyva Melinkolya) from the albums Weedkiller and Unbecoming, respectively.[40][41]
Anhedönia placed on the Forbes 30 Under 30 2024 for Music.[42] She opened for Mitski's 2024 concert tour in support of her album The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We (2023).[43] On February 14, 2024, she released a song titled "من النهر” (meaning "From the River"), which she described as a "prayer" for Palestinians.[44][45] On September 5, 2024, Anhedönia released a cover of the track "For Sure", which appeared on American Football: Covers, a cover album by the American emo band American Football in tribute to their 1999 record of the same name.[46][47] Days later, they performed the track together at the El Rey Theatre in Los Angeles.[48]
2025–present: Willoughby Tucker, I'll Always Love You
On January 8, 2025, Anhedönia released the studio recording Perverts.[49][50] An experimental drone project,[51] it was preceded by the release of the lead single, "Punish".[52] In April 2025, Preacher's Daughter received a vinyl release, which caused it to debut on various charts worldwide, including the US Billboard 200 at number ten, marking her first entry on the chart.[53] The album also debuted atop Billboard's Top Album Sales chart.[54]
Anhedönia's second studio album, Willoughby Tucker, I'll Always Love You, was released on August 8, 2025.[55] The album was preceded by the singles "Nettles",[56] and "Fuck Me Eyes".[57] The album serves as a prequel to Preacher's Daughter and will be accompanied by the Willoughby Tucker Forever Tour.[58]
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Artistry
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Anhedönia's musical style has been classified as indie rock,[16] gothic,[59] contemporary folk,[60] alternative pop,[61] slowcore, Americana, and ambient.[62] She also finds inspiration from gospel music, country music, classic rock, and alternative music.[63] After Anhedönia gained popularity with her single "Crush" from her EP Inbred (2021), this song being more pop-oriented than her usual alternative style, she talked about her "fear" of making pop music, saying that "once you make pop music, your other genres won't be taken as seriously", but "she has worked to make the music she wants."[64] Anhedönia plans to release a book surrounding the story of her album Preacher's Daughter[65] alongside a film once her trilogy albums are released.[66]
Music critics have praised the "cinematography" in her songs, due to Anhedönia's interest in movies and building songs with scenes and characters.[8] According to BroadwayWorld, Anhedönia musically combines "elements of rock, country and cinematic nostalgia" paired with "ethereal vocals and raw lyrics to create her unique sound".[67] Her early musical influences included Karen Carpenter, the Steve Miller Band, and a variety of Christian music.[4] Discovering pop music as a teenager, Anhedönia named Florence Welch, lead vocalist of the band Florence and the Machine, as her "teen idol".[2][68]
Personal life
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Sexuality and identity
Anhedönia came out as gay to her family at the age of 12, and on her 20th birthday, she publicly came out as a trans woman: "As I got older, I found out there were other options", she said.[2] Reflecting on this, she recalled: "It was made clear to everyone that I was not like other people. Whenever I started to develop, I started to come into my own as a trans woman. We were a house divided—it was me versus my whole town."[4] The singer later identified herself as a bisexual woman.[69]
She is autistic,[70] which she learned upon seeking a diagnosis in her adulthood.[71] Reflecting on how being autistic has impacted her artistry, she has stated:
I'm autistic, and so that definitely heightens sensory everything. [...] I think that's why I have so much crossover between media, because it's like, there's never just one sense. Music is not just something you listen to. Film is not just something you watch. You get all these senses from all these things. When I'm producing music, I literally feel sometimes I can see it. I have to close my eyes, and I imagine the bass is the earth. I imagine the synths are rising up next to you, and I imagine the vocals are high in the sky, right in the center. I close my eyes and picture the sound around me – that's how I mix.[70]
Religious beliefs
Reflecting on her religious upbringing in a 2021 interview, Anhedönia said that she still considered herself a Southern Baptist: "Whether I like it or not, God always has and always will be a huge part of my life. Whether he's being used as a comforting figure or a threat, I've always been surrounded by it. It's not really something you can walk away from. And I'd rather just sit with it than be like 'Fuck the church!'"[72]
In an interview for Rolling Stone in August 2023, she revealed that all of her family have since left the church, though she clarified they are still religious in some ways.[73] She elaborated in a Tumblr post in 2022 that she does not consider herself a Christian, nor as someone who cares about religion. However, she "still abides by the values [she] was raised on", such as kindness, graciousness, and loving her neighbor.[74]
Political views
The lyrics of Anhedönia's song "American Teenager" express anti-war sentiment, political and religious disillusionment, and criticisms of US gun culture. It was included by former President of the United States Barack Obama in his list of favorite songs of 2022, which prompted surprise from Anhedönia that a former president had included her "anti-war, anti-patriotism fake pop song" in his end-of-year list.[75]
On February 14, 2024, she released a song on SoundCloud titled "من النهر" ("Min al-Nahr"; Arabic for 'From the River'), a reference to the pro-Palestinian phrase "from the river to the sea".[76] She has expressed disapproval of United States presidents Joe Biden[77][78] and Donald Trump.[79] Additionally, she expressed support for Luigi Mangione, suspected of killing the UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.[80][81][82]
Criticism of past social media posts
On July 6, 2025, social media posts by Anhedönia from 2017 and 2018 resurfaced online after being shared by an account on X, in which she admitted to using racial slurs and had responded "build that wall!" to a post mocking Hispanic people.[83] Other posts that resurfaced displayed Anhedönia making a joke about rape, using fatphobic and xenophobic language, and described people using certain pronouns as "attention seeking".[83][84] The X account also shared a picture of Anhedönia wearing a t-shirt that read "legalize incest" and alleged that she drew child pornography.[83][85]
On July 9, Anhedönia issued a 2,000-word response to the backlash over her resurfaced posts.[85] She stated, "That was my account and those were my words. I was 19 and I was entirely aware of what I was saying and that was why I said it."[86] She also stated that "any way you feel about me moving forward is valid".[86] Anhedönia did not apologize for everything in the controversies, making clear that her drawings were of characters that were over 18 years old; she revealed that she had been raped at the time of the drawing. She did not apologize for "sexual abuse toward animals", a claim birthed from a picture of her topless with a dog, and for "fetishiz[ing] … the female experience", stating that "cis women are not the only people capable of being victims of sexual assault".[85] She as well described the claims of her "fetishizing the kidnapping and murder of a child" as "beyond egregious", which were brought on by Cain modeling a fictional missing poster used in the story of Preacher's Daughter after the real missing poster for Amber Hagerman, a nine-year-old girl who was kidnapped and murdered.[83][85] She concluded her response by stating that she is "not the creator of child pornography", is not a pedophile, a zoophile, or a "porn-addicted incest fetishist" and described the allegations as a "transphobic/otherwise targeted smear campaign".[85]
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Other ventures
Anhedönia began modeling in campaigns for Givenchy, Miu Miu, and Marc Jacobs,[68] and debuted on the New York Fashion Week runway for Eckhaus Latta.[87] On February 6, 2025, IMG Models signed Anhedönia as part of their roster.[88][89]
Discography
Studio albums
Extended plays
Other studio recordings
Singles
Promotional singles
Other charted songs
Music videos
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Tours
Headlining
- The Freezer Bride Tour (2022)
- Blood Stained Blonde Tour (2023)
- The Childish Behaviour Tour (2024)
- The Willoughby Tucker Forever Tour (2025)
Opening act
- Florence & The Machine – Dance Fever Tour (2022)
- Caroline Polachek – Spiraling Tour (2023)
- Boygenius – The Tour (2023)
- Mitski – The Land Is Inhospitable And So Are We Tour (2024)
Accolades
Awards and nominations
Listicles
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Notes
References
External links
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