# Stage Girl (album)
**Stage Girl** is the debut studio album by the American singer Eli, released on October 31, 2025 through Zelig Music and [RCA Records](https://www.edgepedia.org/rca-records). It is a ten-track, roughly thirty-minute pop and R&B record built around the persona of a hopeful singer competing on a fictional reality-television talent show, and it deals openly with gender identity, love, and self-acceptance from the perspective of a trans woman.[1](https://www.qobuz.com/us-en/album/stage-girl-eli/d6h62ivobjw1a) • [2](https://www.albumoftheyear.org/album/1396423-eli-stage-girl.php) • [3](https://pitchfork.com/news/12-new-albums-you-should-listen-to-now-bladee-fakemink-and-eli/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Artist | Eli, an American singer-songwriter born in New Jersey and raised in Norfolk, Massachusetts; a trans woman[4](https://www.discogg.com/eli) |
| Released | October 31, 2025, chosen because Halloween was the one day growing up when Eli felt free to be herself[1](https://www.qobuz.com/us-en/album/stage-girl-eli/d6h62ivobjw1a) • [5](https://music.apple.com/us/album/stage-girl/1840980645) |
| Length and format | 10 tracks, about 29 minutes 54 seconds on the original LP[1](https://www.qobuz.com/us-en/album/stage-girl-eli/d6h62ivobjw1a) |
| Label | Zelig Music / RCA Records (Zelig is Mark Ronson's imprint)[1](https://www.qobuz.com/us-en/album/stage-girl-eli/d6h62ivobjw1a) • [6](https://www.vogue.com/article/eli-musician-stage-girl-deluxe-interview) |
| Genre | Pop, bubblegum pop, contemporary R&B, sophisti-pop, pop soul, dance-pop[2](https://www.albumoftheyear.org/album/1396423-eli-stage-girl.php) |
| Producers | Mike Wise, Eli, Jason Vance Harris, Aver Ray, and Jasper Harris, among others[2](https://www.albumoftheyear.org/album/1396423-eli-stage-girl.php) |
| Deluxe edition | *Stage Girl (Not a Dream Anymore)*, May 22, 2026, featuring the Zara Larsson collaboration "Crush (Girls Trip)"[7](https://www.qobuz.com/us-en/album/stage-girl-not-a-dream-anymore-eli/w10dymvhvtz5g) |
| Reception | Pitchfork scored the deluxe edition 7.2; Vogue and Cosmopolitan placed *Stage Girl* on year-end lists[8](https://www.lamorbidamacchina.com/pitchforkscores/) • [2](https://www.albumoftheyear.org/album/1396423-eli-stage-girl.php) |
## Concept
The album is framed as a fictional [American Idol](https://www.edgepedia.org/american-idol)-style reality TV competition, a concept Eli paired with an invented show and deliberately low-budget visuals paying homage to the singing-competition programs she grew up watching.[3](https://pitchfork.com/news/12-new-albums-you-should-listen-to-now-bladee-fakemink-and-eli/) • [9](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/eli-stage-girl-not-a-dream-anymore/) In interviews she described the "stage girl" as the belief that a girl singing alone in her bedroom could make a living from her art, and said the record was inspired by her childhood spent watching and voting on shows like *American Idol*, citing contestants such as Amanda Overmyer, Kree Harrison, Adam Lambert, Jessica Sanchez, and [Kelly Clarkson](https://www.edgepedia.org/kelly-clarkson) as early inspirations.[10](https://onestowatch.com/en/blog/eli-is-pops-next-stage-girl-of-our-dreams) • [11](https://www.whowhatwear.com/fashion/celebrity/ones-to-watch-music-2026)
Under the competition framing, the record follows Eli's pre-transition life, a narrative Pitchfork characterized as "The Rise and Fall of a Northeast Doll." The glittery production carries material about living closeted: on "Marianne," the pre-transition narrator pines after a woman in love with "another" man, and on "I Wish I Was a Girl" dysphoria is reframed as rediscovery.[9](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/eli-stage-girl-not-a-dream-anymore/) • [5](https://music.apple.com/us/album/stage-girl/1840980645) The closing track, "Somebody I'm Not," states the album's central fear directly with the chorus line "I don't wanna die in the body of somebody I'm not."[5](https://music.apple.com/us/album/stage-girl/1840980645)
## Sound
Eli and her co-producers work deliberately within 1990s and 2000s R&B-pop, using new jack swing clap-snares, DX7 keyboards, and virtuosic vocal runs, and building each song as a recognizable reference to a specific earlier hit.[9](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/eli-stage-girl-not-a-dream-anymore/) Eli herself has said the album's glue is her vocals: "Stage Girl is a singing album and is about the pure artistry behind singing."[12](https://www.nme.com/features/music-interviews/eli-stage-girl-interview-3896377) She told NME she believes strongly in cohesion and curation on a debut, which is why the record runs only ten songs in an era of forty-track deluxe editions.[12](https://www.nme.com/features/music-interviews/eli-stage-girl-interview-3896377)
The breakout singles "Marianne" and "Girl of Your Dreams" drew early attention and helped her find fans among current pop artists including [Troye Sivan](https://www.edgepedia.org/troye-sivan), Doechii, and [Zara Larsson](https://www.edgepedia.org/zara-larsson).[12](https://www.nme.com/features/music-interviews/eli-stage-girl-interview-3896377)
## Promotion and deluxe edition
Before the album's release, Eli performed "Stage Girl: A One Woman Show," a musical she wrote, directed, and produced, at the [Bob Baker Marionette Theater](https://www.edgepedia.org/bob-baker-marionette-theater) in Los Angeles and the Slipper Room in New York in September 2025.[13](https://news.pollstar.com/2026/06/15/eli-is-living-her-stage-girl-dreams-with-global-tour-dates-on-the-way/) Lead single "Marianne" arrived on May 30, 2025, "Girl of Your Dreams" followed on June 20, and "Like a Girl" was released on August 27, 2025.[14](https://www.qobuz.com/us-en/interpreter/eli-32/28563036)
In a Vogue interview published April 10, 2026, Eli confirmed a deluxe edition, *Stage Girl (Not a Dream Anymore)*, released May 22, 2026, which she framed as the fulfillment of the debut's title promise: the stage girl's dream is no longer only a dream. The deluxe contains four new songs alongside previously issued tracks, including "Glitter" (released December 5, 2025), "Feel Your Rain" (released March 27, 2026), the opener "F**k the DJ," and "Crush (Girls Trip)," a remix from Zara Larsson's *[Midnight Sun: Girls Trip](https://www.edgepedia.org/midnight-sun-girls-trip)* reworked by Eli into an unrequited trans love song.[7](https://www.qobuz.com/us-en/album/stage-girl-not-a-dream-anymore-eli/w10dymvhvtz5g) • [6](https://www.vogue.com/article/eli-musician-stage-girl-deluxe-interview) • [9](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/eli-stage-girl-not-a-dream-anymore/) Eli called "Nobody's Girl" "the fucking thesis of Stage Girl," a ballad aspiring to [Whitney Houston](https://www.edgepedia.org/whitney-houston) but sung by "a trans girl with a low-ass voice who's trying to force her voice up higher than it should go."[6](https://www.vogue.com/article/eli-musician-stage-girl-deluxe-interview)
After the original album's release she ran her first headline tour, Eli Is The Next Stage Girl Tour, and announced a follow-up tour for the deluxe edition.[13](https://news.pollstar.com/2026/06/15/eli-is-living-her-stage-girl-dreams-with-global-tour-dates-on-the-way/)
## Reception
Pitchfork reviewed the deluxe edition in May 2026, praising it as referential, silly, and filled with trans angst, and giving it a 7.2.[9](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/eli-stage-girl-not-a-dream-anymore/) • [8](https://www.lamorbidamacchina.com/pitchforkscores/) On Album of the Year, *Stage Girl* holds a user score of about 74 based on more than 430 ratings, and the album appeared on Vogue's and Cosmopolitan's year-end lists for 2025.[2](https://www.albumoftheyear.org/album/1396423-eli-stage-girl.php) The record also earned public support from established artists; Eli has cited the band Muna and [Olivia Rodrigo](https://www.edgepedia.org/olivia-rodrigo) as the fan endorsements that excited her most, and SZA, Doechii, Troye Sivan, and [Addison Rae](https://www.edgepedia.org/addison-rae) have been reported among her supporters.[11](https://www.whowhatwear.com/fashion/celebrity/ones-to-watch-music-2026)
## References
1. [Stage Girl by Eli, Qobuz](https://www.qobuz.com/us-en/album/stage-girl-eli/d6h62ivobjw1a)
2. [Stage Girl, Eli, Album of The Year](https://www.albumoftheyear.org/album/1396423-eli-stage-girl.php)
3. [13 New Albums You Should Listen to Now: Bladee, Fakemink, and Eli, Pitchfork](https://pitchfork.com/news/12-new-albums-you-should-listen-to-now-bladee-fakemink-and-eli/)
4. [Eli, Discogg](https://www.discogg.com/eli)
5. [Stage Girl, Album by Eli, Apple Music](https://music.apple.com/us/album/stage-girl/1840980645)
6. [Eli Wants You, Too, to Believe in the Power of Pop, Vogue](https://www.vogue.com/article/eli-musician-stage-girl-deluxe-interview)
7. [Stage Girl (Not A Dream Anymore), Eli, Qobuz](https://www.qobuz.com/us-en/album/stage-girl-not-a-dream-anymore-eli/w10dymvhvtz5g)
8. [Pitchfork Review Scores archive](https://www.lamorbidamacchina.com/pitchforkscores/)
9. [Eli: Stage Girl (Not A Dream Anymore) Album Review, Pitchfork](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/eli-stage-girl-not-a-dream-anymore/)
10. [Eli Is Pop's Next Stage Girl (of Our Dreams), Ones to Watch](https://onestowatch.com/en/blog/eli-is-pops-next-stage-girl-of-our-dreams)
11. [6 Artist Discoveries We Won't Stop Talking About in 2026, Who What Wear](https://www.whowhatwear.com/fashion/celebrity/ones-to-watch-music-2026)
12. [Pop connoisseur Eli is ready for the big leagues, NME](https://www.nme.com/features/music-interviews/eli-stage-girl-interview-3896377)
13. [Eli Is Living Her 'Stage Girl' Dreams With Global Tour Dates On Way, Pollstar](https://news.pollstar.com/2026/06/15/eli-is-living-her-stage-girl-dreams-with-global-tour-dates-on-the-way/)
14. [Eli Discography, Qobuz](https://www.qobuz.com/us-en/interpreter/eli-32/28563036)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Musical works and recordings › Albums and recorded releases › Studio albums › Pop albums › 2020s albums › Albums by American artists*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license