Kelsey Elizabeth McJunkins (born May 12, 1991), known professionally as Kelsey Lu, is an American singer and cellist based in Los Angeles, California.
Early life and education Kelsey Lu was born in Charlotte, North Carolina, and had a strict Jehovah's Witness upbringing. Both of Lu's parents are musicians: their father is a percussionist, their mother a pianist. Their father's family hails from Nigeria. Lu began studying classical composition at age 6, learning piano, violin, and cello. At age 18, Lu left their family home to attend the University of North Carolina School of the Arts on a scholarship. A year later, they dropped out of the school.
Career Kelsey Lu recorded their debut EP, Church, in a church in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. During this time, they toured with the band Wet as their opening act. They released Church in 2016. They released their debut album, Blood, in 2019. In that year, they also released Blood Transfusion, a collection of remixes of tracks from Blood. Lu uses they/them pronouns.
On March 18, 2026, Lu announced their second studio album So Help Me God with the release of the single "Running to Pain". Produced by Jack Antonoff and Yves Rothman, the album is scheduled for release on June 12 via the label Dirty Hit. Featured artists will include Sampha, Kamasi Washington, and Kim Gordon.
Discography Studio albums Title Details Blood Released: April 19, 2019 Label: Columbia Records Format: LP, Digital download, streaming So Help Me God Released: June 12, 2026 Label: Dirty Hit Format: LP, Digital download, streaming
Soundtrack albums Title Details Daughters Released: November 13, 2024 Label: Netflix Music Format: Digital download, streaming Earth Mama Released: December 16, 2024 Label: A24 Music Format: Digital download, streaming
Extended plays Title Details Church Released: July 8, 2016 Label: True Panther Format: LP, digital download, streaming
Remix albums Title Details Blood Transfusion Released: November 15, 2019 Label: Columbia Records Format: Digital download, streaming
Singles Title Year Album "Morning After Coffee" 2016 Church "Empathy" "Shades of Blue" 2018 "Due West" Blood "I'm Not in Love" 2019 "Blood" "Foreign Car" "Morning Dew" 2020 rowspan="4" "Let All the Poisons That Lurk in the Mud Seep Out" "Ride or Die" 2021 "Love & Validation" "French Lessons" 2022 Stay Close to Music "Running To Pain" 2026 So Help Me God "Portrait Of A Lady On Fire" "Better Than That" "Comfort" "Cutting Off The Head Of A Ghost"
Guest appearances Title Year Artist Album "Picture This" 2011 The Away Team Scars & Stripes "Lost Souls" 2011 L'Orange Old Soul "Where or When" 2020 Onyx Collective Manhattan Special "Manchild" 2022 Neneh Cherry The Versions Tours 2019 – "Blood Tour" 2026 – "So Help Me God Tour"
Filmography Short Film House Comes with a Bird, Directed by Janicza Bravo (2022) So Help Me God The Film, Directed by Savanah Leaf (2026) Web Show Hydroharmonia, format 2 episodies (2020)
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