Professional Fangirl- Katelyn Benschoter

Creating a perfect album is a demanding task, even as an established musician. Creating an album that is the perfect blend of upbeat and reflective while telling a cohesive story takes a lot of work. And even more so when it is a debut album and a musician is stepping out on the scene for the first time. That being said, it can be done, and some of the best albums happen to be debut albums, such as Sour by Olivia Rodrigo. But this is very rare for an artist to get it right on their first try. There just so happens to be a new album being inducted into my personal best debut albums hall of fame. That album is Who’s the Clown? by Audrey Hobert.

Who’s the Clown? was released at the very end of summer on Aug. 15th, 2025, and has been on repeat ever since. Hobert’s lyricism and tone are just so addicting to listen to. Prior to the full album’s release, she had two singles that gave a wonderful taste of how great the full album was. First, “Sue Me,” an upbeat, repetitive, fun dance song, came out. It is followed by “Bowling Alley,” which has fast-paced and relatable lyrics. These two singles are one of the key reasons Hobert’s debut album already has so much momentum. Picking a lead single for an album is a difficult and big choice. It has to be representative of the whole album while also convincing the listener to want more. And I think Hobert’s two lead singles perfectly do this. “Sue Me” represents the ultra upbeat side of the album, such as songs like “Shooting Star” and “Silver Jubilee.” Whilst “Bowling Alley” is more reflective and similar to songs such as “Thirst Trap” and “Sex and the City.” Hobert did an outstanding job at picking her lead singles, so fans were already waiting for her to drop an album before they even knew one was in the works. But, just because the debut singles are good doesn’t mean the album was going to be perfect; but when the time came for the other ten songs to be released, it was indeed perfection.

Before discussing her album more deeply, who even is Audrey Hobert? It seems like she came out of nowhere and is now all over my social media feeds. Well, Hobert is a 26-year-old singer-songwriter and is notably known for being a co-writer and childhood best friend of Gracie Abrams. She met Abrams in fifth grade and now has helped co-write some of her biggest hits, including “That’s So True.” I think that when knowing this, there are many noticeable similarities in Abrams’ and Hobert’s music, in particular, the way their songs build and tell a story. All that aside, Hobert has created a name for herself and a branding that is completely her own. She is not purely riding off the Abrams fame, but genuinely putting in work and creating her own sound. Hobert wrote every single song herself on her debut album and has said in multiple interviews that a lot of the songs’ lyrics started from entries from her journal, which I think results in the key to her success: her songs are very relatable and are filled with pop culture references. At the end of the day, humans enjoy knowing someone else is experiencing life similarly to the way they are; humans feel comforted that everyone feels pain or embarrassment sometimes. And Hobert explores those awkward feelings humans experience in their 20s that you may not want to openly share. Feelings such as jealousy over not being invited, feeling unconventionally attractive, feeling like an outsider in your own life, etc.

Now, to take a closer look at the album itself. The key to a successful album is a story, even if not a literal story, such as a concept album. A story is crucial nonetheless. When I say this I do not mean the tracklist has to tell a literal story like ‘first I did this, and then I did this’. But there has to be an intention behind what feeling you want the listener to leave with. What do you want the listener to connect with? Who is this album for? These are all questions that should be considered when wanting to make a perfect album. Sure, an album can be just a bunch of songs and be an okay album. But to create an album that is going to leave a mark and resonate with listeners long-term, there must be a story. My favorite example of an album doing this is Taylor Swift’s Reputation. The album tells the story of the media canceling Swift and what her life was like behind the scenes during that time. It is the perfect amount of intentional storytelling while still not being too direct. Now back to Hobert, what story does her album tell?

Hobert is telling the story of the socially awkward girl, the girl who is not considered weird, but definitely not considered cool. She is somewhere in between. She is never invited when she wants to be, and is always invited when she does not want to leave the house. She’s generally doing fine, but she feels like her life is ending at times. Many songs on the album touch on not feeling pretty or not understanding what it would be like to be desired by others. And it is not necessarily that Hobert has not had these feelings at all, but never in the way she wants. One of the best ways I can describe this album is by making reference to another fantastic debut album: Sour by Olivia Rodrigo. That album has themes of being around 18 or 19 years old. Just gaining independence and all the awkward feelings of being somewhere between a kid and an adult. I would describe Who’s the Clown? as Sour’s big sister. I see it as the soundtrack of your 20’s. You have had some real-life experiences now with dating, growing up, etc. One of my favorite tracks on the album is “Sex and the City,” a slower track reflecting on realizing your life isn’t what it is on television. She compares herself to Carrie Bradshaw, but unlike Bradshaw, there is no one cheering Hobert on and applauding her for her work. It really is a song of loneliness. As mentioned previously, Hobert likes to explore emotions that humans feel uncomfortable talking about. This album thrives in discomfort. All in all this album tells the story of the awkward girl and her feelings that we all don’t like talking about.

All that being said, creating a perfect album is a hefty task, especially for a debut album. Although Audrey Hobert has seemingly found a way to do it. This album has been on repeat for the last month, and will continue to stay that way. I would highly recommend giving it a listen, and maybe a few more after that.