who is fka twigs and why are the divas obsessed with her?

it's simple, really. she's just that girl.

I am not immune to the magnetism of strangeness – things that exist on the edge or hang off the border like an inch of wounded skin peeling itself from the body. Strangeness tickles my spirit and gouges my love for weird expressions of creativity. FKA twigs is an intense embodiment of that.

Her artistry is enticing and nuanced, often requiring a deep sensitivity from its viewer to understand it at all. From her vulnerably forlorn ballads on Cellophane – an album containing meditations of heartbreaks from former lovers and the anguish of letting go (or being let go) – to the upbeat and reflective tunes of CAPRISONGS, FKA twigs is an incredible artist who champions triumph over pain, the mystery of the human form, and the catharsis in emotional vulnerability.

In a dimly lit room, a single spotlight follows a figure wrapped in shimmering fabric. Her voice, ethereal and fragile, slices through the silence, pulling the audience into a world where vulnerability and power intertwine seamlessly. This is FKA twigs: a performer, a visionary, a perfect stranger who invites you into her universe yet remains just out of reach. She is not simply an artist but an enigma, her artistry defying convention while speaking to the deepest parts of the human experience.

Born Tahliah Debrett Barnett in Gloucestershire, England, FKA twigs embodies a kaleidoscope of global influences. With Jamaican, Spanish, and English heritage, her cultural roots subtly weave through her work, from the rhythmic pulsations of her music to the surreal imagery of her videos, which draw the viewer into a dreamlike universe that is a ballet of the senses. Her moniker, "FKA twigs," is as layered as her persona: “FKA” (formerly known as) nods to the fluidity of identity, while “twigs” stems from the crackling sounds her joints make.

Before stepping into the limelight, Twigs trained as a dancer, working with artists like Kylie Minogue and Ed Sheeran. But even in the background, she stood out. Her transition to music felt inevitable, as she channeled her movement, voice, and vision into a cohesive artistic identity.

Twigs’ early EPs, EP1 (2012) and EP2 (2013), introduced her as a force to be reckoned with. They shimmered with eerie minimalism, her haunting falsetto drifting over experimental beats. By the time she released her debut album, LP1, in 2014, she had firmly established herself as a genre-defying artist, blending trip-hop, R&B, and electronic elements into a mesmerising sound entirely her own.

What sets Twigs apart isn’t just her music but her ability to tell stories across multiple mediums. Her music videos are a feast for the senses, dripping with surrealism and symbolism. Take Cellophane (2019), for instance: a visually arresting narrative of vulnerability and resilience, featuring Twigs ascending and falling from a pole—a metaphor for the emotional weight she carries. Every frame feels alive, saturated with emotion and meaning.

Her live performances, too, are transformative experiences. Twigs incorporates her dance background into her shows, seamlessly transitioning from pole dancing to contemporary movement, from martial arts to hypnotic stillness. Her body becomes a canvas, her movements a language, her performance a story. Few artists command a stage with such precision and grace, yet Twigs makes it look effortless.

Lyrically, her work often delves into deeply personal territory. On MAGDALENE (2019), she examines heartbreak, womanhood, and resilience, blending the sacred and the profane. Tracks like "Mary Magdalene" juxtapose biblical allusions with modern vulnerability, while "Sad Day" captures the raw ache of love lost. Her voice carries the weight of these themes, oscillating between fragile whispers and soaring crescendos.

Twigs’ artistry isn’t just about beauty; it’s about survival. She has been candid about her struggles, sharing how enduring fibroid tumors left her physically debilitated and deeply vulnerable. Reflecting on that experience, she once said, “It was the worst pain of my life. To even pick up a glass of water to drink was difficult.” Similarly, her openness about surviving an abusive relationship has brought raw emotional weight to her work. These lived experiences profoundly shape her art, infusing it with authenticity that resonates deeply with her audience. Discussing her 2022 mixtape CAPRISONGS, she described it as a departure from the introspection of MAGDALENE: “I needed to make something that was light-hearted and healing for myself... I wanted to find joy again.” The mixtape is a testament to her resilience, a powerful reminder that even in the face of pain, there is always space for celebration and renewal.

In an industry that often demands conformity, FKA twigs thrives on defying expectations. Her work dismantles traditional narratives about Black women in music, carving out experimental, ethereal, and profoundly powerful spaces that reimagine representation. Reflecting on her approach, she once said, “I realized that there’s nothing wrong with being different. I embrace that now.” This ethos permeates her artistry, where she expands the boundaries of pop music by masterfully blending the avant-garde with the accessible.

Twigs herself has described her ability to connect the universal and the intimate: “Everything I do comes from an emotional place. I want people to see themselves in my work.” Through this lens, her music transcends traditional genre boundaries, creating a space uniquely her own, where vulnerability and innovation coexist.

Twigs’ influence transcends music. In fashion, she has become a muse and collaborator for iconic designers like Alexander McQueen and Burberry, using her distinct aesthetic to push the limits of high fashion. In film, she has demonstrated her acting prowess, most notably in the critically acclaimed Honey Boy (2019), where her performance added emotional depth and nuance to the story. In every sense, Twigs is a multidisciplinary artist and a true visionary, seamlessly blurring the lines between music, fashion, performance, and film to create a singular, boundary-breaking legacy.

For me, FKA twigs represents the perfect stranger: someone who feels intimately familiar yet remains tantalizingly out of reach. Her art is a mirror, reflecting my own vulnerabilities and aspirations, while her mystique keeps me coming back, searching for more. Listening to her music or watching her perform feels like stepping into a dream—a place where emotion reigns, and anything is possible.

Twigs invites us to embrace our complexities, to find strength in fragility, and to dance with our shadows. She waters her own garden bed, where she plants and harvests herself over and over, each bloom more exquisite and intricate than the last. With every reinvention, she shows us the beauty in growth—the courage it takes to shed old skins and nurture the raw, tender roots of new beginnings. She continuously transforms, unafraid to unearth her truths and reassemble them into something entirely her own.

She is not just an artist; she is a universe, vast and ever-expanding, brimming with stars that flicker between light and shadow. In her world, contradictions coexist—vulnerability becomes power, delicacy becomes strength, and pain becomes the seed of beauty. And in that universe, I find pieces of myself, even as I marvel at the mystery she embodies. Her art is not a destination but a journey, one that compels me to embrace the multiplicity within myself, to tend to my own garden, and to harvest the infinite possibilities of being.

FKA Twigs is the perfect stranger, an enigma who opens a window into her world yet leaves it shrouded in mystery. And perhaps that’s what makes her so captivating: the promise of discovery, the thrill of the unknown, and the beauty of never quite understanding it all.

In the end, it is the magnetism of this strangeness that keeps me tethered to her artistry. It reminds me that beauty can exist in the liminal spaces, where boundaries blur and the extraordinary is born. FKA twigs invites us to explore these spaces within ourselves, daring us to redefine who we are and who we can become.