Orla Gartland Artistfacts

February 3, 1995
Orla Gartland is a Dublin-born, London-based singer-songwriter and producer known for her distinctive blend of indie pop and folk influences.
Orla Gartland's first instrument was the fiddle, which she learned at age five, playing traditional Irish folk music before teaching herself guitar at 11, inspired by punk-pop acts like Avril Lavigne.
Orla Gartland began uploading music videos to her YouTube channel, "MusicMaaad," aged 13 from her bedroom in Drumcondra, a northern suburb of Dublin. She covered everyone from Natalie Imbruglia and Fleetwood Mac to Lorde and Charli XCX before moving on to her own originals.
While many people flinch at their early internet selves, "I really thought everyone needed to hear my Nelly Furtado cover," she winced to Billboard, Gartland takes pride in her "YouTube girlie" phase. She credits the platform with giving her control over her music and image, something she says reality shows like The Voice or American Idol rarely allow.
As a teenager, she busked on the streets of Dublin and befriended other musicians, including the folk duo Hudson Taylor.
At 18, Gartland moved to London to chase music professionally. She calls her early days there her "garage years," except her rehearsal space was the internet, meaning her awkward growth phase was immortalized online for everyone to see.
Gartland met fellow YouTube alum Lauren Aquilina in London, who went on to write for Rina Sawayama, Little Mix and Becky Hill. The two lived together for five years but didn't write a song together until her second album, Everybody Needs a Hero.
Her song "Why Am I Like This?" went viral in 2022 after featuring in a pivotal episode of Netflix's Heartstopper. The sync propelled the track to #4 on Billboard's Top TV Songs chart in April 2022, marking her first Billboard chart appearance.
Orla Gartland's music has won significant recognition, most notably the Ivor Novello Award for Best Song Musically and Lyrically in 2025 for her track "Mine" from Everybody Needs a Hero. This is one of the most prestigious honors in British and Irish songwriting.
Gartland is openly bisexual, having come out publicly in June 2021. She confirmed this directly on social media as Pride Month ended, stating simply and clearly: "hey. i'm bi!"
Gartland regularly volunteers at soup kitchens in London, feeling personally committed to helping her local community.

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