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For our 11th anniversary, we asked select alumni to nominate the next wave of rising artists. Snail Mail didn’t hesitate in putting us onto Scarlet Rae – the LA born, NY based songwriter who’s about to open for them on tour. Laid-back but shimmery with whispers that punch, Rae’s avant garde writing blends understated acoustic instrumentation with refreshingly raw vocals. 

Rae’s signature shoegaze style can be heard on her latest EP No Heavy Goodbye, but with crunchier textures and perhaps braver writing. Recording the demos for the project in her Brooklyn apartment, Rae pushed the boundaries on her vocal melodies by taking us somewhere unexpected and still, remaining wholly relatable. 

In December of 2025, Rae posted an acoustic take of her song “Best Waitress,” featuring a cameo of her cat, on Instagram. The video went viral, prompting her to release a full version “Best Waitress (v1)” early in 2026 to an exciting response. Responding to a viral video can strain an artist into creating for the future, but instead, Rae is working to root herself even more into the present. She’s giving us her most honest self at all times because, it seems, she has no other choice. 

Some artists live for the craft; some artists live as the craft. During our chat, it was apparent that Rae’s creativity gently spills out of her pores and into her tattoos and lyrics, making her music a seamless extension of her thoughts. 

OnesToWatch: What was your first relationship with creativity like? Like what was your first creative thing?

Scarlet Rae: Probably when I learned how to use GarageBand…because I was just making songs, sort of, with my Apple headphones. That just felt like a creative unlock of a world of making music that I didn't really know before. 

My sister would always be talking to these Philly guys who were musicians and then they would teach me how to use Garage Band. And then I'd post it on SoundCloud! 

Wow, okay. Were you creative before that? Like, as a kid? 

Yeah, actually! I was definitely super into making music videos on my iPod touch. I definitely, when I was a kid-kid, thought that I was gonna be more of a drawer, artist as my career…I don't think I was good enough at drawing…not as good as when I started playing music. And then, yeah went through the weird middle school phase of being confused about art, and then got through that hump. Then that's when the sound cloud stuff started happening.

What do you mean by confused about art?

I didn't have any artist friends and I just felt this depleting. And that's when my older sister really took me into her friend group, who were a little bit older, and artsier, and just showed me the world of all the different creative people that were also young. 

Okay, yeah. I feel like creativity can be kind of isolating if you don't have a community around it. So what is your relationship with creativity and music now?

Um, funny you ask. It's really difficult. I have such a hard relationship with creativity now where I fiend for this sort of feeling of being in high school and unlocking that, “whoa, this could do this, and I could make all of this music.” It's either on or off, and now I'm fighting this battle of, well, you have to do the dishes. Like, you should do laundry. My brain says I can't relax until I do all my dishes and then I deep clean each one. And like, oh, fuck. laughter

We're the same.

But then sometimes I'll have a creative person come over, or one of my friends who also makes music…pick up my guitar, and then start strumming it. And then I feel creative then. I actually realized this recently: it really just comes when you're super not in the spot to be creative. It's always when you're just like…impressing somebody at your house and playing guitar and realize, oh that was kinda good. 

Wait, I'm gonna read you something.

Oh, my God, don't tell me you're…

*Simultaneous freak out as we both pull up the The Creative Act: A Way of Being by Rick Rubin that we both had within arms reach.* 

Do you know this quote? “The object isn’t to make art, it’s to be in that wonderful state which makes art inevitable.” 

Oh my God. That's crazy. I was like, fine, I’ll fucking read The Rick Rubin book. Dude, my brain is expanding and like fire circuiting…everything he's saying is making so much sense.

Totally. Wow. Do you think that the way it is to be an artist these days, with social media, has anything to do with our difficulty connecting to it?

I think so so much. I also read this book this year called How to Break Up With Your Phone. I recommend it. It's so good. Social media…it’s for sure affecting us in ways that we don't realize. 

For example, I had a viral video in December or January, that kind of set my path of being a musician. The domino effect of what happened after that…like expectations, and the way that my brain wants to make music and connect to people. It just feels so hard to get to the spot where I felt before this reached literally millions of people. I don't want to make music just so it goes viral, but this did happen. That’s why sometimes I'm just like, I need to clear my fucking head and get in touch with the way I used to do shit. 

Let's say you're breaking up with your phone and you're getting rid of the goal of going viral etc. What is your environment for creating music? 

Definitely a candle for sure. And my living room is clean and a clear schedule. And being in comfy clothes. Usually at night, I like to just have it be dark. That’s when I feel like I make the best stuff.

What's your favorite song you've ever made or written?

I really like this song I have called ‘Seems Like Forever,’ even though I was 18 when I wrote it and made it...a recent one, probably ‘World Where She Left Me Out.’ 

I haven't listened to it yet, but I saw the title and was very intrigued. What's it about? Who is she?

Oh, my. Who is she? Um, it's actually my sister. So my sister took her own life. I know, it's crazy. It's definitely a...

I am so sorry. 

What I like about this song, too, is “who is she” is so real. Because I recorded it with this guy, Jordan Lawler, and you could tell he thought it was a breakup EP. But, yeah. She took her own life. Literally tomorrow will be the two year anniversary.

So that's where that came from. That song just came super easily. I was in such a trance state that I just recorded it. I wasn't really thinking hard on anything at all. 

Were you guys really close?

Thank you. Yeah but she was suffering. She's 3 years older than me…she's an artist, too, and we shared the same friends and all that. 

I'm curious if your relationship with her informs what you're doing now, and how that relationship is transforming, because obviously they're never gone. Just different.

Totally. She left me in her note or whatever, trying to kind of send me off” “Cheers to a world of world tours,” so….sorry, I'm gonna cry. 

It's just 'cause tomorrow is the 2 year, but...I definitely do this shit for her in a way. I wish she could be here and doing it, obviously, with me or just be part of it. Like, she used to do all my art for things, and yeah, was truly my biggest fan. So definitely want to do as much of it as I can for her and take her along with me, in a way. 

Like she did all of my tattoos. 

Thank you for sharing, first of all…and that is so cool that she did your tats! 

Thank you, you're super awesome and a safe space. And yeah literally! 

I want to talk about your upcoming projects – the single you just released is so cool. Is it part of a bigger world or project that you're putting out?

Yea that was the kind of impromptu viral thing that happened, and ideally it will be part of a future album that I've been working on very slowly. And then I'm touring with Snail Mail, actually, in October, too. So just squeezing in writing time and recording. I've been recording with Aaron, who did the Snail Mail record.

If your music was an animal, what would it be?

I feel like it would be a stingray. Like visually…I'm just seeing like the bottom of the stingray, like the face part. 

That checks. Now take that stingray and put it on a Hallmark card for your music. What does the card say? 

It says don't give up. And be true to yourself, with a colon smiley. *laughter* And it kind of looks similar to the stingray smile. Do you know what I mean?

Now I'm just envisioning you as a stingray flying around the world touring. What are you looking forward to about touring with Snail Mail? 

It's gonna be a trip to be playing bigger venues. It's gonna be a whole different experience, and I'm just excited to see what that whole day to day looks like. And also go to the South. I've never been to Louisiana or Arkansas, I'm super excited. It'll be cool.

Do you think there could be a collaboration on the horizon?

I mean, I wouldn't be surprised if Lindsay would be down to do something like that. That would be so fun…that’s a good idea.

Write a song backstage. Call it stingray. 

You’re tapping into things dude! My whole plan for the rest of the day is to be creative, by the way. So this is a great reset, I’m talking to an amazing person for this. 

I am so glad. This is this was like definitely orchestrated by Rick Rubin. 

He literally knew. He had a plan.

Who are your OnesToWatch? 

Oh my gosh, I forgot about this part. I would say, okay, Harry Teardrop. He just released an album today. He is literally like a walking creative bomb. Like, I don't know how everything he just does himself.

Listen to Scarlet Rae below: