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<p><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Photograph via Jack Balaban</span></i></p>
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<div>If you’ve been online at all in the last month, chances are you’ve come across a video or post mocking Tulane alum Stella Lefty. Her music career has recently been swept up in a sudden wave of criticism and online hate. Before she blew up on TikTok, Lefty, born Stella Lefkofsky, was a member of Tulane’s class of 2024. Lefty studied public health and was a member of the Pi Beta Phi sorority. While abroad in Amsterdam, she started posting videos of herself singing both original songs and covers, catching the attention of agents and songwriters. In 2025, a video of her dancing to her song “Thinking ‘bout You” went viral, followed by a snippet of “Boston,” a catchy track about the early stages of a relationship. “Boston” has since amassed over 200 million streams on Spotify and peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2026.</div>
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<div>Lefty’s career seemed to skyrocket overnight. She admits she didn’t realize she wanted to be an artist until her junior year, when she began songwriting. When a record deal fell through, she discovered her true passion for singing and turned to writing and performing her own music. Since the breakout success of “Boston,” Lefty has announced an international tour, performed at Lollapalooza, been introduced as a special guest by Mumford &; Sons, and even taken the stage at Nashville’s legendary Grand Ole Opry; a venue typically reserved for country music’s elite.</div>
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<div>Lefty’s recent fame has also brought a massive wave of online hate. Recently, listeners began pointing out that “Boston” sounds strikingly similar to Noah Kahan’s 2022 hit “Stick Season,” which Lefty has covered numerous times on her TikTok account before releasing “Boston.” In response to the criticism, Lefty says Kahan’s team reached out to her to tell her the songs were nearly identical before she even released the song. To avoid trouble, she says, she listed Kahan as a co-writer on the song. In defense, Lefty told Vanity Fair, “When I was writing this song, I wasn’t thinking about Noah Kahan. I was literally thinking about nothing at all,” pointing to another critique listeners have: the tune is monotonous. The criticism intensified when people discovered that Lefty’s father is Eric Lefkofsky, co-founder of Groupon and CEO of Tempus AI, with an estimated net worth of $5 billion. For many, her family’s wealth explains her rapid rise and the opportunities she’s received. It’s reasonable to assume that money could have bought her access to better production, equipment, and promotion that others might not have had. Lefty herself has acknowledged her advantage.</div>
<div>Whether Lefty is truly “Stella Thefty,” as many online have branded her, is still up for debate. What’s undeniable, though, is that people genuinely enjoy Lefty’s music. You can buy advertising and fake followers, but you can’t buy a sold-out crowd. Even if Lefty is an “industry plant,” that label alone can’t explain her success. As her manager Adam Alpert told Rolling Stone, “You have to make great songs that people like, and all these artists that people call ‘industry plants’ are having success because they’ve done just that.” Some 12,000 people attended her set at Lollapalooza, and she’s reportedly sold out venues worldwide. A wealthy parent might open doors, but real talent is needed to fill the room and keep fans coming back.</div>
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<div>Lefty’s career was built on social media, and now social media has turned against her. When someone comes from privilege, it’s easy to assume they have nothing to offer. If Lefty wrote about hating her life or about hardships she&#8217;s suffered, she&#8217;d be attacked from all sides as a fraud. But she doesn&#8217;t. Instead, she writes feel-good pop songs and posts videos of herself singing with an infectious, if slightly uncanny, smile.</div>
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<div>In the end, Stella Lefty’s privilege and songwriting controversies don’t fully answer whether she deserves her success. She’s been given a rare opportunity, but only time and her music will reveal if she’s truly earned her place in the spotlight.</div>
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