On the Rise
Glowie

In many ways, Glowie is the perfect moniker for up-and-coming Icelandic pop star Sara Pétursdótti. It’s a name that suggests a sense of fun and an appetite for standing out against the rest of the crowd, glowing with a steady, but unmissable beam of light. Having signed to major label Columbia Records and worked on refining her ambitious, hook-laden pop sound, Glowie is an artist whose light is now ready to burn brighter than ever before, in such a way that will undoubtedly demand that you pay attention.

Having first fallen in love with the idea of being a pop star at the grand old age of nine, possibly after being influenced by watching her dad’s band rehearse from a young age, Glowie has been defining and perfecting her immediate pop sound. Her distinctive brand of pop carries an effortless cool that bounces along catchy motifs that linger with an irresistible 90s-inspired hue that’s bursting with colour.

Growing up, the singer would use her dad’s home studio to record her songs, experimenting and taking every opportunity to practice performing, evidenced in the artwork for early track “One Day” which sees her standing in front of a microphone as a child singing her heart out. This freedom she had at home to create meant that she was able to begin to tap into her infectious pop sound that first got heads turning back in 2015.

Yet, it was not just her family life that meant that the 21-year-old singer was able to freely explore music, as she also thinks that growing up in Reykjavík helped make it easier for her to experiment and delve further into her pop artistry, explaining the freedom that the Icelandic capital can offer a young creative. “It’s a small population, if you wanna do anything artistic you basically have freedom to do whatever you want, you don’t have to fit your art into a box.” This feeling of freedom floats through everything that Glowie stands for and remains as an important factor in her creative process as she explains “Wherever I am, that’s how I always want to feel when I’m creating my art.”

Back in Iceland, the pop singer is a well-known name, having first caused a real commotion with the sugary-sweet pop of “No Lie”, a deceptively simple track that shimmers with an earworm melody that will burrow deeply into your psych as it bops along a bombastic pop beat. Reminiscent of that perfect early millennial sound that is unashamedly fun and not pretending to be anything other than pure pop, it was the track that ultimately propelled her into the spotlight and became a firm favourite on Icelandic radio. It laid the groundwork for Glowie - who was only nineteen at the time - was all about and it wasn’t long before she caught the interest of ears overseas, being hailed as one of the most exciting new artists to emerge from Iceland and major labels quickly swooped in on the potential that this young artist was already showing.

Last year, we got a glimmer of what the artist has been working on since those early beginnings as she featured on the huge, club-ready track for rising production duo iLL BLU. “Tribalist (Get To Know)” saw Glowie emerge with a fiercer look, but more importantly, the accompanying video also ultimately revealed a side that we hadn’t yet seen from the young artist, but a part that forms an integral part of her artistry - we get to see her dance.

“I’ve always had passion for dance. I started when I was seven but stopped at sixteen, I feel free and confident when I dance.” A quick gaze over Glowie’s Instagram, and you’ll quickly realise the importance that Glowie places on dance, as she frequently posts videos of herself losing herself in the music as she contorts and flexes her body with an air of absolute freedom and an enviable ease. “It’s a good way to connect more with your body and feel comfortable with yourself” she explains, also emphasising that if “others feel that too when they dance then I suggest they keep dancing.”

Glowie is also an artist who is acutely aware of the messages that she is sending out into the world, and seems to be thoughtful of, not only how she is perceived, but how she can make people feel better. By sharing her dancing online, it’s just another form of self-expression that she hopes will help other people feel more open to share their creativity online. “I think everyone should be able to post whatever they want. It’s more about how we look at other people’s posts. If we don’t like what we see then we should keep scrolling and not let it affect us, if we like something we see then we should enjoy it, but not compare ourselves to what we see. Everyone’s different, nobody’s is perfect.”

This sentiment is ultimately what underlines her massive new song “Body”, a track that reverberates with a message of body positivity written alongside pop songwriter heavyweight Julia Michaels. “ I want my music, my message, my art to be helpful to others, in any way possible. There are a lot of things I want to talk about, but body positivity is one of the subjects I feel especially passionate about,” explains the 21-year-old.

The accompanying video only boosts this message and is a colourful, inclusive display of self-expression directed by Wendy Morgan. It sees Glowie surrounded by a wide range of body types and sizes where every person loses their inhibitions and dances freely.

Yet, the song isn’t just about body positivity, as it also sees the artist address sexual consent. Despite some steamy undertones and playful suggestions, Glowie also sings “I hope that this behaviour is admissible / ‘Cause I know you know that this is all consensual.” This is woke pop for the new generation.

The '90s heavily influenced Glowie, as she says “I was born in the 90’s and grew up listening to Destiny’s Child, J Lo, Craig David and Outkast”, and it is evident where the artist drew her inspiration from with the big pop beats and melodies that form the foundation of her sound, but at the same time she is seemingly addressing the sometimes problematic nature of the songs of the 90s and early ‘00s by adding this extra layer of awareness. That’s not to say that it takes anything away from the fun of the track, but simply adds to her maturity as an artist.

Nowadays, Glowie spends more time listening to artists such as H.E.R. and Anthony Hamilton, but says “Alicia Keys is definitely my biggest influence” and dreams of working with Frank Ocean. She also is keen to enrich her creative life in as many ways as possible, and alongside her dance she is also a keen painter and spends most her free time watching movies.

In the past year, Glowie has left Iceland and now resides in London, and explains how the difference between London and Reykjavík is like polar opposites saying “I love London and I’m really starting to feel at home,” she says before expressing how the two cities retain different qualities. “London and Reykjavík are very different places, like black and white. London is loud, crowded, it smells weird but there are so many things you can do and so many places you can go to. Reykjavík is very peaceful, almost too peaceful, very cold, has a lot of nature around and you can get really good seafood there.”

In the coming twelve months, it goes without saying that we’re likely to be hearing a lot more from Glowie. There’s another single in the works, which Glowie explains as holding another important message that she’s looking forward to getting out to talk about, and loads of surprises up her sleeve.

However, despite her lofty pop star ambitions, she still has her feet on the ground and when asked what success looks like to her, she says, quite heart-warmingly “To me, the meaning of being successful in life means being happy. I have a lot of passion for what I do and my goal is to be able to enjoy every second of it, and so far I’m doing pretty good.” Pretty damn good, indeed.