Ren Alvero has wanted to dye her hair for two years.   

She initially felt the urge during quarantine in early 2020, when everyone was looking for a distraction from the mundane repetitiveness of life during lockdown. Unfortunately, her impulse was thwarted by her parents. 

Frustrated, Alvero channeled all her energy into writing “Chameleon,” a witty tune about resolving an identity crisis with a makeover. Since its July 2, 2021, release, “Chameleon” has garnered over 1,500 streams.   

Alvero, a first-year music major at Northeastern, self-releases music under the moniker “girlsona” and performs around campus as a member of the NU Songwriting Club. 

“Chameleon,” Alvero’s debut single, was originally produced her senior year of high school as part of a final project for her Advanced Placement music theory class. Alvero decided to release the song publicly when she realized that it had a much more personal meaning than just a school project.  

At 18 years old, Alvero has been playing music for more than half of her life. She started piano lessons at 5 years old, played clarinet in her middle school band, taught herself guitar after one summer’s worth of classes and wrote her first song at 12.  

Even with an extremely musical background, Alvero never expected “Chameleon” to gain the traction that it did.  

“I remember this one night, I think Spotify put it on people’s algorithmic playlists, Discover Weekly and stuff. It was a couple of months after I released it, so it was really random. I was like, ‘Wait, why did 100 people listen to it last night?’ It was insane,” she said.  

Alvero belongs to a genre called “bedroom pop,” a style of lo-fi music that is recorded at home, produced on a laptop and self-released.   

“I like the whole bedroom pop thing because anyone can do it and anyone can get big off it,” Alvero said. “I feel like that’s helped a lot of [people], especially teenagers, to get recognized and do what they’re passionate about.”   

Melissa Ferrick, a professor of the practice in the music industry department, is skeptical that wider opportunities for self-releasing music are making it easier to get famous.   

“[The internet is] changing the way people get famous,” Ferrick said. “[But] I think it’s the same number of people that are getting famous.”  

Ferrick explained that artists and repertoire talent scouts use trends on self-release platforms and social media to determine who’s signable, but success in the music industry is still largely based on personal connections and luck.  

Corinna Parrish, a second-year music and psychology combined major, discovers small, unsigned artists by scrolling through TikTok and attending their local shows. Parrish is president of the NU Songwriting Club and a co-host of the weekly WRBB radio show “breakfast blend,” which seeks to expose listeners to new music from unknown artists.

However, she’s concerned that there is bias within the type of artists the TikTok algorithm decides to boost. 

“There’s plenty of artists that [the algorithm] is going to actively choose not to not show me for their race, their gender [or] whatever sort of thing TikTok doesn’t like about them,” Parrish said.

Parrish and Ferrick agreed that TikTok and other self-release platforms like Spotify or SoundCloud might not necessarily level the playing field for unknown or marginalized artists.

“The gates are a bit easier to open, but let us not be blinded,” Ferrick said. “They are still shut, and they are still being held by white guys.”

Alvero, who is of Filipina descent, also noted that the music industry has a long way to go in terms of inclusivity. 

“It’s definitely harder to get recognition if you’re an artist of color, especially if you’re specifically writing about your experiences as a person of color,” Alvero said. 

But Ferrick pointed out that the music industry is famously unpredictable. They started their own career playing at open mics in Boston while attending Berklee College of Music, and went on to tour with artists such as Morrissey, Bob Dylan and Ani DiFranco. Ferrick entered the music scene at a time when queer artists like them were in short supply other than the occasional outlier like Elton John, Freddie Mercury and k.d. lang. 

Ferrick believes that although fame remains a lofty goal, there is more room for diversity in the music industry today than ever before.

“I’m really excited about the shift in power in this industry right now. Every day, I see another person of color, or another woman, another queer person, being put in a position of power. Every single day. It’s unbelievable,” they said.  

Alvero has similar hopes for the future of music.

“[I want to see] more recognition for marginalized people who make music, like people of color, women, non-binary and trans people. Also, fewer economic barriers to putting songs out and getting people to hear them,” she said. 

What began as an outlet for angst over a forbidden makeover and has since evolved into a passion project representing Alvero’s lifelong love of music. 

Alvero’s unexpected success with “Chameleon” encouraged her to continue self-releasing on Spotify. Her second single, “Astronaut,” was soft released Feb. 19 on SoundCloud and is now available to stream on Spotify.

“I love a good space-themed song,” Parrish said. “I remember when we first heard [“Astronaut”], we were all like, ‘Whoa, man, that’s going to be a hit.’” 

“Chameleon” and “Astronaut” will both be featured on girlsona’s upcoming EP, “Character Creator.” 

Ferrick and Alvero acknowledged that the music industry still has a lot of changing to do, but at least one of Alvero’s wishes has come true: early this February, she finally got the chance to color her hair a deep, cherry red. 

“Cause the world is gonna keep on changing/ And some control is all I’m craving,” Alvero sings in “Chameleon.”