My New Year’s resolution for 2026 wasn’t to eat healthier, or to go to the gym more. It wasn’t even to go to bed earlier. My New Year’s resolution for 2026 is to be as cool as Audrey Hobert.
Hobert released her debut album, Who’s the Clown?, this past summer. With songs like “I like to touch people” and “Sex and the city,” the pop album teeters on avant-garde, mirroring the avant-garde, against the grain, vibe she presents.
Before her debut single, “Sue me,” was released, Hobert was most known for her relationship with singer Gracie Abrams. The two singers met at their 5th grade graduation, and Hobert later co-wrote songs like “Risk,” and “I Love You, I’m Sorry” on Abrams’ latest album, The Secret of Us. Before that, she was a TV writer for The Really Loud House on Nickelodeon.
Now, she is travelling abroad for her tour, The Staircase to Stardom. She’ll be in Europe from late February into March this year, and then make her way through Australia and New Zealand, before ending in North America.
The first time I saw Hobert was in a TikTok before “Sue me” was even announced: a video of her and Abram singing “That’s So True,” a song they wrote together, on stage. After watching that first video, my For You Page became flooded with clips of the two performing together in Abram’s The Secret of Us Tour.
As I got more and more TikToks of the singer, I noticed something different about Hobert. When she sang with Abrams, she would flail her arms and jump around in circles; she danced like no one was watching, when in reality a bunch of people were watching. She danced like I dance when I’m alone in my room. That takes a lot of guts and even more confidence.
When “Sue Me” came out in early May 2025, TikTok was obsessed, my friends were obsessed, and I was obsessed. I was listening to “Sue me” on repeat, and when “Bowling alley” came out in June, I was equally, if not more, obsessed.
While listening to Hobert’s music, I’ve found that her lyrics reflect her movement on stage. They give off the “I’m dancing alone in my bedroom” vibe that she brought to her performances with Abrams. Her lyrics are messy, raw, and sometimes a little insane. Her music feels like a conversation with one of your girlfriends.
How many times have you said the title of one of Hobert’s songs, “Don’t go back to his ass,” to your friends? Hobert uses the ‘you’ throughout the song, making it feel like she’s telling her listeners not to go back to his ass. So, if you ever have a friend who mentions someone they were meant to have blocked, play them track 10 on Who’s the Clown?. If they won’t listen to you, maybe they’ll listen to Hobert.
Hobert’s music videos are a direct reflection of her messy, raw, and sometimes a little insane lyrics (emphasis on insane). The video for “Sue me” goes between two different rooms: a bedroom and an office breakroom. The camera angle stays the same as a bunch of different shots of Hobert dancing in her infamous wild way occupy the screen.
The “Wet Hair” music video contains shorter clips of Hobert singing the lyrics throughout her daily life. There are clips of her standing in the shower, cooking in her kitchen, and even laying in her bed.
Hobert’s lyrics and music videos really only scratch the surface of her “against the grain,” chaotic vibe. On her tour, she’s always pulling out some sort of trick including, but not limited to: nose glasses, trampolines, a trench coat and even a banjo. I’ve seen many videos of her in the trench coat.
I think we should all strive to be like Hobert. You don’t literally need to have an Audrey Hobert pinterest board (though it’s okay if you do, because I definitely do), but I think there are certain things we can learn from the whimsical and wild singer. She’s taught me, at least, that it’s important not to care about what others think.
It’s important to have someone like Hobert, who embraces herself, especially in a world of celebrities who do the opposite.
I used to think twice before wearing my hot pink striped long sleeve to class, thinking it would be too much, that I would stand out. But to quote Hobert’s song “Phoebe,” I “had to dig deep inside me / ‘Til I found what I was looking for / It was right there inside me / It was beautiful, beautiful.”