Bella Poarch is a Filipino-American singer-songwriter and internet chick who has become one of the most exciting and engaging figures in entertainment, with over 2 billion career streams and 125 million social media followers. She’s the United States Navy vet, game geek, and anime-obsessed star who has made companies of home tapes — made-in-bedroom recordings that frankly address her own emotionally n*ked lyrics and iPad-trained ukulele skills.
Her first foray into music came with her EP, Dolls (2022), featuring singles such as her debut effort, “Build a B*tch.” This debut single was the first of its kind to hit the Billboard Hot 100, went RIAA platinum, and broke the record for most first-week video views on YouTube for a new artist with 75 million. The star has previously featured on tracks by Grimes, Kenia Os, and Sub Urban.
Bella Poarch The Internet Chick
Bella grew up on a farm in the Philippines, where she first began to explore her vocal talents; she started singing in public as a child, much to the dismay of her parents. Bella explains, saying, “I was supposed to be purely academic and not do any after-school activities, but I would do all these singing competitions and talent shows when I wasn’t supposed to.
Bella Poarch racked up more than 30 medals from those competitions throughout the years without her parents knowing — and was soon writing her own songs in high school. At sixteen, Bella completed her high school education and, with her family, moved to California. She soon enlisted in the military when she turned seventeen.
Bella Poarch left for four years, where her service took her from one coast of the U.S. to another, as well as Japan, and finally ended up in Hawaii, where she stayed after being discharged. That record is currently held by a video that reached over 50 million likes, the most on TikTok, and was posted in August 2020. Seven months later, she had relocated to L.A. and started to meet with multi-platinum music producers, and soon signed her deal with Warner Records.
One of a number of tracks she has composed with producer/songwriter Daniel Virgil Maisonneuve (aka Sub Urban), “Build a Bitch” sees Bella Poarch envisioning a distended dreamland of her own, while the instantly catchy anthem is dosed with both hypnotic beats and tooth-achingly distorted sing-song vocals.
And in writing the uncompromising lyrics to the song, Bella gave an honest statement of her experiences as far as the way people view her as a social-media superstar. She adds, “‘Build a Bitch’ is about not conforming to what others think you should do or how you should look, and instead, embracing who you are.” I hope it just helps people to feel good about themselves and confident, and then also not to judge anybody else.
Now teamed up with benny blanco (Cardi B, Lana Del Rey) and Ryan Tedder (Lady Gaga, Sam Smith) for new music, Bella Poarch brings that blend of bravado and vulnerability into all of her work. She explains, “Anytime I release a song, I want there to be a powerful message behind it, especially when it comes to mental health.
Most people are afraid that if you talk about what you’re going through, that you’re weak – but that’s actually what being strong means. I would like everyone to know: do not be afraid to tell people how you feel.’
