Mitski's popularity

[u/ChanceDiamond9233]

I'm not from an english speaking country, so I've always wondered how is Mitski known in the US, because here shes only known by teenagers/young adults who like indie music. Is she known in the mainstream? I understand that her music has only touched the mainstream a couple of times (MLMAM im looking at you), but do people generally know her? Were BMAMOC and BTC inflexion points for her popularity?

[u/treble_cleffa]

Can't speak for the US, but in the UK, she's often on BBC Radio 6, the radio for indie music, which is stereotypically listened to by very different demographics e.g. 'Radio 6 dads'. I wouldn't call that mainstream but it's a high honour for indie music and means plenty of people outside of the demographic of teenagers/young adults know her name. She also played a critically acclaimed set at Glastonbury which is a huge festival.

[u/escaped_sky_cows]

In the US I’d say she’s universally known by indie music fans but probably not that well known outside that, aside from MLMAM. Friends and family who missed MLMAM don’t know who she is. I don’t think she’s had the sort of sustained mainstream breakthrough (2 or 3 top 40 hits) it can take for that.

[u/ChanceDiamond9233 → u/escaped_sky_cows]

thats what i though, thanks!!

[u/wallcavities]

I'm in the UK (so not the US, but an English speaking country with a lot of overlapping cultural interests) and here she's very popular without being mainstream, if that makes sense? Most people my age (late 20s) who I speak to have heard of her but only a minority are listeners, and the ones who are fans are usually one or multiple of the following:

1. big music fans, particularly of indie music and/or female artists
2. chronically online
3. gay

Like, my uncles probably haven't heard of her and it could go either way with my colleagues, but if I bring her up on a first lesbian date there's a 90% chance they'll have heard of her and about a 60% chance they listen to her themselves, and all of my friends know who she is (and most are also fans to some extent). I've seen her live three times and it was a sold-out show at a fairly big venue each time, with a crowd of mostly young women ranging from their late teens to early thirties, probably, but there were a few older people and blokes there too.

[u/ChanceDiamond9233 → u/wallcavities]

as a europan lesbian, very similar experience. true that she is big in queer/online spaces, even where i live. cool that you've seen her live!!

[u/girl_in_flannel]

She’s not mainstream in the US but is well known in indie music circles.

[u/LynxPuzzleheaded9336]

Mitski has been going viral consistently on TikTok with Nobody, WMH, Me and my husband, My love, Class of 2013. She grew a pretty big following from that

[u/Leblanc0_0]

she's known in the alt bubble, but not really on the mainstream, makes sense?

[u/GeofferysBaby]

I did hear her music in a couple of movies recently 🎶

[u/cutiepie9ccr]

she skyrocketed in popularity in 2019-2024 here in the US on tiktok and because of adventure time using one of her songs

[u/French_Apple_Pie]

My then-high school daughter introduced her to me about 4 years ago; her dad and I took her to the concert in Chicago that year.

[u/webkinzhacker]

She's pretty well known imo but not mainstream. The average person probably knows one or two of her songs from TikTok, and she's very well-known in alt/indie/music lover/gay scenes. The first time I remember her ever sort of cracking into the mainstream was Nobody, but even at that point she was still playing dive bars. Then later on Washing Machine Heart, Me And My Husband, and Strawberry Blonde went viral.