Miki Ratsula Returns With Special Single “Elephant” + NYC Debut Headline Show At Baby’s All Right on 5/15

Acclaimed artist Miki Ratsula returns with a special single dedicated to anyone who has felt like the elephant in a room. While “Elephant” acknowledges the fatigue that comes from hiding your true self, it builds into an upbeat celebration of proudly owning your identity. The track is available across digital retailers HERE tomorrow, May 10. Additionally, Miki will play their debut headline show in New York at Brooklyn’s Baby’s All Right on May 15 (tickets here).

Miki says, “‘elephant’ is a song about resilience. The chorus ends with the line: ‘fuck being the elephant, this room needs something different.’ I wrote it to be an anthem for anyone who has been othered and forced to hide themselves away. Advocating for trans folk is an important part of my career. I wanted to make a song that connects that directly into my music.”

They add, “For me, one of the most difficult parts about being an openly trans person is constantly feeling like the elephant in the room. I feel it most often when I’m with people who are uneducated on trans people or haven’t met a trans person before. There’s this uneasiness I can sense, and it feels awkward. Sometimes I feel like I’m not able to take up space and talk about being a trans person. That I can’t talk about my scars or surgery or be shirtless. For most of my life I’ve had to hide this massive part of myself just to make other people comfortable. Even now after coming out, I’m still being told to tone down my transness for the comfort of others. This translates on social media too. I get countless messages from people degrading me for being shirtless and celebrating my transness online. It’s exhausting living this same cycle. I’m tired of being told to dim myself down.”

Watch The Video For “elephant” Here:

2023 was a huge year for Miki. In addition to releasing their acclaimed, gorgeous sophomore album i’ll be fine if i want to, they supported their friend G-Flip on a major tour across the States, and performed at both Los Angeles Pride and Nashville Pride, where they were met with a sea of fans singing along to their moving and powerful lyrics. They also released numerous powerful yet intimate singles, including  “if i blame myself,” which INTO called “just as introspective and confessional as fans can rely on Ratsula to be”;  blue balloons (ft. Semler),” which is about being unapologetically queer and emotionally unwavering after being misgendered at their birthday party; “jealous of my brother,” which explores gender envy towards their cisgender brother but, peeling back the layers, reveals deeper pain and truths and even love and gratitude; and “lied to your therapist” featuring rising pop artist, OSTON, which was inspired by Miki and OSTON’s individual relationships with toxic former team members.

With i’ll be fine if i want to, Miki has not only grown as a producer, musician and songwriter, but also as a person. They don’t ask, but demand that the world take them as they are, whether they’re expressing joy, pain, or something in between. Vulnerable both in the lows and the highs, ultimately Miki’s impressive second album is about taking back a sense of self-worth, whatever that may look like day to day. Throughout the self-produced i’ll be fine if i want to, the artist transcends the singer-songwriter genre and effortlessly blends indie rock and bedroom pop with an electro undercurrent for a bigger, more evolved sound. They paint a gorgeous gradient that touches on everything from love and sorrow to envy and apathy, and all the way to outright anger with the unifying message being one of self-agency.

Miki Ratsula has been releasing music independently since they were 16, having racked up over 50 million streams in the process. Even before the release of their first 2022 full-length debut album i owe it to myself, the Finnish-American artist built a sizable audience by openly and honestly welcoming people into their world, from coming out to getting top surgery to struggles with mental health. Miki went on the road, completing their first national tour supporting Lauren Sanderson and Jordy, followed by dates with Ambar Lucid & Sammy Rae & The Friends. Not only has Miki connected more deeply with their audience over the past year, but they’ve also received praise and playlisting by the likes of Billboard Pride, them., Under the Radar, PopMatters, The Advocate, and more. They followed the album with their made for them EP, featuring gender-neutral covers of songs originally sung by Phoebe Bridgers, Harry Styles, and more.