The story of Maggie Rogers’ “Alaska” — and how it propelled her rise to fame — is as strange and improbable as the blend of dance music and folk that make up the viral hit. Here’s the Cliffs Notes version: folkie travels Europe, falls in love with dance music, incorporates it into her banjo-loving tunes, gets the chance to play a snippet of it for Pharrell at a MasterClass at NYU and blows him away, gets a major boost and a record deal.
After spending the back half of last year riding the buzz of “Alaska” Rogers is finaly ready to release her debut. Now That The Light Is Fading is out tomorrow (February 17) and she promoted that record by performing her star-making hit on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. Rogers’ first-ever televised performance carried with it all the things that made “Alaska” stand out in the first place, simple pieces arranged in a new and interesting way. In front of a sparse collection of instruments and a few stage lights, Rodgers managed to bring her delicate vocals to the stage without so much as a crack.
Check out her performance up top. You can stream Fading below and grab the debut EP here.
