Kevin Atwater

Kevin Atwater is an American singer-songwriter. He is known for his indie and dream pop music revolving around LGBTQ themes. Born in Downers Grove, Illinois, and later moving to New York City, Atwater first achieved popularity posting comedy and fan edits on TikTok, gaining around a million followers. Posting music on a second account, he first received attention after his single star tripping" went viral on the platform in 2022. Atwater's lyrics frequently recount events from his own life in a confessional style, with frequently melancholy stories that "[turn] niche life experiences into relatable hardship".

Career Atwater was born in Downers Grove, Illinois, and as a child learnt classical piano and clarinet; he also taught himself the guitar. Running a TikTok account that achieved popularity in the gay sub-community on the platform, he posted fan edits including "Nicki Minaj and Ariana Grande ordering McDonald's from Doja Cat and Lana Del Ray".

In 2023, Atwater released a second EP, Downers Grove and a year later, he collaborated with other artists to create a "reimagined" version of the record; August Ponthier is featured on the rerelease of "star tripping", and Ella Jane on "KEEP IT COOL!". On 7 March 2025, Atwater released his debut album, Achilles, featuring songs written over a period of several years. The album's first single, "the cage" was published a month before the entire release. With Achilles, Atwater performed a month-long headlining tour across the US, with subsequences in Canada and the United Kingdom.

In a 2022 interview with IntoMore, Atwater described his music as "folk with a queer twist", and mentioned Sufjan Stevens, Phoebe Bridgers, and Nick Drake's album Pink Moon as musical inspirations. Elsewhere, he has named Joni Mitchell, Adrianne Lenker, and Lomelda as influences. Atwater has been praised for his consistent clear diction and "flexible range", In particular, Atwater's lyrics writing has been commended: Noah Wade described it as "impressively concise, abbreviated, and illustrative." Atwater has been noted to use alternative guitar tunings, and writing songs in quintuple meter.

Discography Studio albums TitleDetailsAchilles Released: March 7, 2025 Label: Mutual FriendsBlush Red Released: July 10, 2026 Label: Mutual Friends

Extended plays TitleDetailsRetriever Released: January 21, 2022 Label: IndependentDowners Grove Released: April 26, 2023 Label: Mutual FriendsDowners Grove (Reimagined) Released: June 12, 2024 Label: Mutual Friends

Singles "Dispose"2022Retriever"My Blood Is Your Blood""Star Tripping"Downers Grove"Christopher Street""Jacob Killed a Cat"2023"Keep It Cool!""Why Did You Invite Me to Your Wedding" "Swallow"2024"Rotted Out with Flies""Ribcage""Ferry Beer"Achilles"Huntley""Family Party""The Cage"2025"My My My!" "Know You" Blush Red"But They Were Kissing""Til August" 2026"I'm not where you're at""Up in flames"