Bella Kay put out her first single, “The Sick,” in the summer of 2025. By early 2026 her next one, “iloveitiloveitiloveit,” had climbed to No. 2 on the UK Official Singles Chart, where it stayed for 35 weeks, and Rolling Stone reported it sitting inside the Top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100.
Background
Kay is 20. She grew up between Houston and Orlando and started writing songs seriously around 2021, according to Rolling Stone. She spent a year in college weighing a law career before going back to music, and she signed with Atlantic Records in the summer of 2025. Her main collaborator is producer Alexis Kesselman, who works as Idarose and executive produced her album.
The sound
FEMMUSIC describes her music as hazy alternative pop built on personal, bedroom-born songwriting. She has told Rolling Stone that Olivia Rodrigo’s “Drivers License” is what pulled her into writing, and she lists SZA, Lorde and Billie Eilish among the artists she listens to.
The records
Her debut album, My Reckless Abandon, came out July 12, 2026, on Atlantic. It has 13 tracks and reached No. 50 on the UK Albums Chart. Before it, “Steady” and “Promise?” also made the UK singles chart.
Why now
The single was the introduction. The album and the touring that follows are the test of whether the audience stays for the rest of the songs. She was one of the Best New Artist nominees at the 2026 MTV VMAs on Sept. 27. Her fall headline run, the Reckless Tour, stops at the El Rey Theatre in Los Angeles on Oct. 6, followed by Austin City Limits on Oct. 9. In November she opens for Noah Kahan across the UK and Ireland, and in March 2027 she supports Gracie Abrams on select North American dates.
Official links
- Website
- Instagram (music)
- TikTok
- YouTube
- Spotify
- Apple Music
- SoundCloud
- Amazon Music
- Deezer
- Tidal
Sources
- Rolling Stone: Bella Kay, Artist You Need to Know
- Substream: Bella Kay announces 2026 U.S. fall headlining tour
- Official Charts: Bella Kay
- Apple Music: My Reckless Abandon
- FEMMUSIC: Bella Kay, My Reckless Abandon
- NME: Gracie Abrams announces 2026-2027 tour
- Official Charts: MTV VMAs 2026 winners
