DIY singer-songwriter Eli Lucas, aka eli., broke through in the late 2010s with honest, genre-blurring songs recorded in his bedroom. • Lucas grew up in Huntington, West Virginia, and began making music when he was nine. A fan of the video game Guitar Hero, he taught himself guitar and later piano, drums, ukulele and violin. He later learned recording and production. • He received a scholarship to attend the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. However, he flunked out after one semester and returned home to Huntington to live with his grandparents. • In 2017, he posted the song “i’m sad” online. It garnered more than 20,000 views in less than a month. It’s gone on to surpass 50 million streams. • Amid the success of “i’m sad”, Lucas began posting songs weekly and expanding his fan base. He describes his music as “alternative R&B”, though he also draws from punk, hip-hop and other sounds. • He’s released a series of full-length projects. The bulk of 2020’s undefined—every song except “you changed my mind”—was recorded in his bedroom at his grandparents’ home.