Grimes, a singer, songwriter, artist, sound engineer, and possibly a different species than human, is a person and a genre of her own. Listen to any of her songs, and you’ll soon understand what I’m talking about. Her music style can be described as electro-pop, with her vocals ethereally shining through. Even Grimes’ style, a combination of streetwear and modern goth, is uniquely and boldly her own, and it’s highly doubtful that you’ll find another person remotely like her on Earth.

And that’s exactly her charm. Starting her life in Canada as Claire Boucher, she took on a normal existence but soon undertook Grimes, her alter ego. She even studied neuroscience in college while taking on the responsibility of touring, even though it eventually got her unenrolled. Ever since then, she’s been creating, touring, and following who she wants to be. Judging by her 779,000 Instagram followers, nominations for multiple prestigious awards, and shooting for campaigns like Alexander Wang, she’s done exactly that.

If her accomplishments in the recent years aren’t enough to make you look twice, you’re missing out on her true, and most impressive strength. Her success and following only prove how she turned what her weaknesses, such as lack of support and equipment due to being signed to an independent label, into a strong fan base with collaborations with artists such as Janelle Monae. Grimes’ visual style is somewhat of a mosh pit between comic-style sketches and gothic dystopian influences. She created her own look, her own sound, and she ran with it.

Every layer of her is filled with more insight to who she is as a person, and how all of that correlates to her own style in music and art. Claire recently attended WWDC, which she enjoyed and looks forward to getting a computer that can one day handle the stress she puts on them, “I spend so much time editing videos and music, so I’m always crashing and destroying computers”. Which is easily understandable, as she produces, engineers, and records most of her earlier tracks herself, and directs a large portion of her own videos, which even go up for awards against veteran professionals. Her dedication to her work is something anyone can see, and it shines through within each record, each with a different variation on her synth “electro-pop” sound.

Amanda Southworth and Grimes Courtesy of Amanda Southworth

Underneath her cool exterior is something more surprising, though. She is so easily relatable, and far away from the sort of barrier that many artists create between them and their fans. If you saw her at WWDC, you would see the flaming dog tag around her neck, which was given to her by a fan. She also runs an art page in which she features fan art and occasionally peeks of her own sketches. Instead of posting photos posed and edited, she prefers candid shots and freeze-frame moments in her life — as well as photos of her dog. Even as an accomplished musician, she still finds time to voice her thoughts on her platform, often sharing websites or pieces of information relevant the current political climate on Instagram and Twitter. She is a strong advocate for the environment, as well as a supporter for those affected by the refugee crisis in Syria and surrounding countries.