How Powfu Turned a Bedroom Demo into a Global Viral Hit

If you've been scrolling through TikTok or listening to indie playlists lately, you've probably heard the dreamy, lo-fi sounds of Beabadoobee. Born Beatrice Kristi Ilejay Laus in the Philippines in 2000, she moved to London when she was just three years old. Since then, she has transformed from a bedroom musician into a global indie-pop star .

A name born from a social media mishap

Believe it or not, the name "Beabadoobee" started as a joke. When she was setting up a "finsta" (a fake Instagram account), she needed a username that wasn't already taken, so she made up the quirky name. Later, when her producer, Oscar Lang, suggested she release her music under an artist name, she decided to just stick with the handle she had already created .

From "Coffee" to global recognition

Beabadoobee's journey kicked off in 2017 when she wrote her first song, "Coffee," on a second-hand guitar. A fan uploaded the track to social media, and it went viral. It got an even bigger boost when it was sampled in Powfu's 2019 hit, "Death Bed (Coffee for Your Head)." While she admitted that the sudden fame was overwhelming at first, she eventually embraced the doors it opened for her career .

A consistent climb up the charts

She has been a major force in the indie scene ever since. She released her debut album, Fake It Flowers, in 2020, followed by Beatopia in 2022 . Her momentum kept growing, and in August 2024, she released her third studio album, This Is How Tomorrow Moves, which gave her the first number-one spot on the UK Albums Chart of her career . Most recently, in September 2026, she reached new heights when her fourth studio album, Pylon, topped both the British and Australian charts .