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Vana (not the 2000s emocore band Vanna) is taking that Poppy "I Disagree" sound and running with it. They're part of the (what many have called) "baddie core" wave of metal that's emerging right now. Vana's music bears such strong similarities to Poppy's signature style that it feels directly descended from that groundbreaking work

Looking at Chartmetric data, Vana's growth trajectory is striking. Starting from zero monthly listeners three years ago, they climbed to 20,000 monthly listeners by year two, reached 50,000 listeners a year ago, and now stand at 670,000 listeners—marking explosive growth in the last year alone. This recent acceleration reflects their evolving sound and production quality.

Unique Imagery

Their visual presentation is striking, particularly their Spotify cover art. This strength in imagery makes sense given their background in "hot girl TikTok"—a well-known pipeline where creators build large followings through lifestyle content before branching into other ventures. While many of these transitions don't pan out, it's worth noting the rare successes. Take Addison Rae's EP—which, hot take, actually has some legitimate bangers on it, even if my wife threatens my life whenever I play it.

Discography/Releases

An interesting discrepancy appears in Vana's release history. While their first official track "Black Sheep" dropped on January 21st, 2022, Chartmetric shows earlier activity. This suggests they have previous releases that aren't on their current profile—a pattern that's fairly common for emerging artists.

There's Nothing Wrong With Deleting Your Old Music

Looking at the discrepancy in Vana's catalog and their TikTok history, it's clear they chose to remove some earlier music. And honestly, that's totally fine. While fans often appreciate seeing an artist's history, there's real value in curating your catalog. You can always rerelease music later if you want, but if certain tracks don't represent who you are anymore or don't match your current direction, there's nothing wrong with taking them down. This is especially true if you've shifted genres and your old material isn't relevant to your current audience. From what I heard of Vana's older tracks on TikTok, their decision makes sense.

Release Timeline

Let's break down Vana's release strategy. Starting in 2022 with two collaborative tracks, eventually reaching a million plays. While not as fully realized as their current sound, these early tracks hold up well for fans discovering their back catalog.

2023 sees them stepping up the pace: six songs plus two alternate versions, averaging one release every eight weeks. Building toward "Die For Me," this era marks when momentum starts building, though not yet matching their current numbers.

Early 2024 shows Vana hitting their stride—delivering five songs rapidly, including two collaborations. Their growing impact was clear with new tracks reaching 250,000 plays within two weeks. One notable collaboration was with Sophie Powers, an artist who shares some interesting social media strategies we'll explore in just a few weeks.

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