About Ellise Gitas

Ellise Mariana Gitas, known mononymously as Ellise, is a first-generation American dark-pop singer and songwriter from Foster City, California, whose work often carries echoes of her Assyrian roots through her mother's Iraqi-Assyrian background. Emerging on YouTube and social media as a teenager, she built an audience with emotive vocal performances and original songs that blend glossy pop production, cinematic atmospheres, and lyrics about heartbreak, self-doubt, and haunted femininity. Since beginning to release music in 2016, she has developed a signature “pretty but twisted” aesthetic, culminating in projects like her debut album Chaotic and later releases such as Pretty Evil, alongside standout singles like "Love Made Me Do It" and the independently released "911", which has been certified gold and streamed hundreds of millions of times. Ellise frequently collaborates with her younger brother, a producer and musician, and has grown a global fanbase that connects with both her theatrical visuals and her willingness to share personal struggles. While her catalog is primarily English-language pop, she has spoken publicly about her mother's journey from Iraq to the United States and the complex, multiethnic Middle Eastern identity she carries. By succeeding in mainstream alternative pop while openly acknowledging her Assyrian heritage, Ellise offers quiet but meaningful representation for Assyrian and Middle Eastern girls who rarely see themselves reflected in Western music, showing that they can be both deeply themselves and sonically adventurous.

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