Tei Shi

Valerie Teicher Barbosa (born 4 October 1989), best known by her stage name Tei Shi, is an Argentine-Colombian-Canadian, singer, songwriter, and record producer based in New York City. She released her first singles and music videos in 2013, also performing live for the first time at CMJ. Tei Shi released her debut extended play, Saudade, in November 2013,

In January 2014, Tei Shi released her first single from Saudade, Adder(f)all", as a free mp3. She told Rolling Stone that the song resulted from three different song ideas joined. "Instead of making a really structured song I just looped these three sections/melody lines over one another, building them up and layering with harmonies. It was originally a capella and when the instrumentals were added it really came into its own." "We originally wanted to work with Tei Shi because she has an amazing voice and this modern New York R&B thing. We sent her a couple beats... and she sent back the great vocal you hear in the song, about both loving and hating something all at the same time." Verde later received a physical release on May 5, 2015, through Mermaid Avenue and internationally via Double Denim Records and Caroline Australia. The EP's first single, "Bassically", was released on February 11, 2015. "Bassically" was extremely well-received, accumulating over seven million streams on Spotify and spawning remixes from Body Language and Honne. Canadian singer Grimes called "Bassically" "one of the best pop songs of 2050". The music video for "Bassically" was directed by Nicolas Pesce and released on February 11, 2015. The video features Tei Shi and a gang of female rebels engaging in firefights around NYC. Tei Shi explained "I wanted the video to look like what the song sounds like – fun and empowering without taking itself too seriously. So we created a fun fictional comic world with a troop of bad ass girls".

The second single from Verde, "See Me", received a music video on August 20, 2015, directed by Dreamtiger and Jonathan Wing. The video was shot in Bogotá, where Tei Shi spent much of her childhood. Speaking about shooting the video, the artist explained "It was a combination of the familiar and the new for me. More than just being a music video, it was an experience that tied in really fittingly with the song for me personally."

"Get It", the third and final single from Verde, had its own music video released on December 8, 2015. Directed by Dreamtiger, the music video serves up footage of Saturn from NASA's 2004 Cassini mission as a background for Tei Shi herself.

2017: Crawl Space Tei Shi spent much of 2015 and 2016 playing major festivals like Electric Forest and Coachella, as well as opening for fellow musicians Years & Years, Jungle, and Grimes. During this time, she also began work on her first full-fledged album, Crawl Space, and signed a new record deal with Downtown Records.

Tei Shi's debut album, Crawl Space, was officially released on March 31, 2017, through Downtown Records. The title of the album is derived from a "crawl space" she used as a child to confront a fear of the dark.

On January 27, 2017, the first single from Crawl Space, "Keep Running", was released digitally with an accompanying music video directed by Agostina Gálvez. The songs "How Far" and "Justify" were also released before the album as the second and third singles. "Say You Do" was released as the album's fourth single, it was accompanied by remixes and an official music video.

2019: La Linda On June 5, 2019, Tei Shi previewed a new song, "A Kiss Goodbye", on an Instagram live stream. The next day, the full song was released digitally, accompanied by a lyric video, as the lead single from her sophomore album. On July 16, Tei Shi announced the release of the second single from the album, "Red Light", and teased the song in a couple of Instagram posts. The single was released on July 18.

On September 24, Tei Shi announced the release of the third single from the album, "Even If It Hurts", featuring Blood Orange. The single marked the second time the pair had collaborated, following the single "Hope" from Blood Orange's fourth studio album. The single was released on September 27. On the same day, a music video, shot at Untermyer Park in New York and directed by Cara Stricker, premiered via Tei Shi's YouTube channel. On the same day, Tei Shi officially announced the title and tracklist of her sophomore album, "La Linda". She described the album as being inspired by her move from New York to Los Angeles.

Tei Shi's second studio album, La Linda, was released on November 15, 2019, through Downtown Records.

2020: Die 4 Ur Love

In December 2019, Tei Shi was announced as the opening act for Blood Orange's 2020 North American tour. However, the tour was cancelled after two dates due to the worsening COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. The song was her first release after leaving her previous music label, Downtown Records. Paper described the song as synthpop-inspired. A music video for the song, directed by Jonatan Lopez, was released in December 2020. This was the first music video for any of Tei Shi's Spanish-language songs. On December 11, 2020, a deluxe version of the EP was released, featuring this track alongside remixes of other tracks from the EP by Empress Of, Buscabulla, and Still Andy.

2025: Make Believe I Make Believe In the fall of 2024, she recorded her fourth studio album, Make Believe I Make Believe, during a one-week retreat on Vancouver Island with collaborators Noah Beresin and Tommy English. She released the album's lead single, "Best Be Leaving", on March 5, 2025. The album's second single, "Drop Dead", was released on April 30, 2025.

Musical style The Fader stated that she is "known for making whisper-y, slow and sensual bedroom pop." Her vocal range has been described as soprano.

Discography

Studio albums Title Details Crawl Space Release date: March 31, 2017 Label: Downtown Format: Digital download, LP La Linda Release date: November 15, 2019 Label: Downtown Format: Digital download, CD Valerie Release date: April 19, 2024 Label: Self-released Format: Digital download Make Believe I Make Believe Release date: August 29, 2025 Label: Self-released Format: Digital download

EPs Title Details Saudade Released: November 12, 2013 Label: Self-released Format: Digital download Verde Released: April 13, 2015 Label: Self-released Formats: Digital download, CD, Vinyl Die 4 Ur Love Released: July 17, 2020 Label: Diktator Formats: Digital download Bad PremonitionReleased: March 17, 2023 Label: Self-released Formats: Digital download

Singles and Valerie"Bad Premonition""¿Quién Te Manda?"2023"Mona Lisa""QQ (Quédate Queriéndome)"2024 Valerie"No Falta""Best Be Leaving"