From the confessional lyricism of “Yeah, No.” and “Standing in Front of You” to the catchy melodies of “Yes Please” and “Right Now,” Elle Winter’s (C ‘26) discography displays the perfect balance of vulnerability and pure pop optimism. Six years after speaking to her last, Street catches up with the singer–songwriter and actress as she celebrates the release of her newest single “Never Even Met Her.”
Winter, a Cinema and Media Studies student at Penn, has built a resume that extends far beyond the narrow path of Locust Walk. A competitor on Radio Disney’s Next Big Thing who was spotlighted by People Magazine in 2021 as an emerging artist, Winter has also been featured in MTV News, Billboard, and Seventeen. Her musical performances have reached national audiences on Good Day NY, PIX 11, and the Today Show, while her acting credits include the dramedy 3 Generations and the Netflix comedy The After Party. During her freshman year at Penn, Winter signed with her current label, Sony’s The Orchard.
But of all her achievements, perhaps the most impressive (and most Penn–coded) is her ability to balance a demanding course load with a career in entertainment. She credits her roots as a child star for teaching her how to manage both: “Since I got my start while I was in middle school, I didn’t leave school for that … I’d run to the studio after school, or sometimes I’d have a TV appearance in the morning and come to school. So I learned to manage everything from a very young age,” she explains. “There were certain sacrifices I had to make because I had to work on my music or other commitments I had, so I feel like I carried that with me in so many different aspects of my life.”
And that discipline is matched by her passion for the arts. Throughout the conversation, Winter’s love for her craft was evident—from her words, her demeanor, and her smile. “That’s why I love music and acting,” she explains. “Obviously it’s a means of storytelling, but it’s such a means of connection. Whether in acting, where I am connecting to a character, or my music, where I’m connecting to my song and in turn connecting to so many other people because they’ve had a similar experience. In the end, we’re not as different from each other as we think we are.”
Elle Winter’s 2020 debut EP, Yeah, No EP, took off during the COVID–19 pandemic, an isolating moment which, paradoxically, deepened her sense of connection with her listeners. She describes how fulfilling it was to hear from fans across the world who found solace in her music during lockdown. For Winter personally, the title track holds special weight. “‘Yeah, No.’ [has] been a guiding light for me,” she says. “I think it’s taught me that being open and being honest, staying true to who I am, will lead to me being the happiest version of myself, me feeling the most fulfilled. I feel like that song is very symbolic for me as an artist.”
Winter’s creative process looks different for each song she writes: sometimes it begins with an idea jotted down on her phone; other times, songs grow from deep conversations and back–and–forth exchanges with producers, or from a session that starts off entirely instrumental–driven. What never changes, she emphasizes, is that her music always comes from a truthful and honest place. It’s one reason why she believes that “Yeah, No.” resonated with so many listeners. It seems like a fair hypothesis: the track’s music video has more than 1.4 million views on YouTube, and the EP has been streamed more than 30 million times.
Winter’s most recent release, “Never Even Met Her,” is the first single off of her upcoming EP of the same name: “I was really excited to put out this project,” Winter says. “It’s something I’m really proud of.” Winter describes her debut album as “an empowering breakup album, a very female centric project.” With “Never Even Met Her”—developed with the same team from her debut, including production duo The Orphanage—she wanted to channel a similar energy, creating an “older sister version” of her previous work.
The EP centers on Elle’s experience with an ex who spoke negatively about her after their relationship, a situation that forced Winter to realize that it wasn’t her responsibility to dispel rumors about her. In a way, she had to surrender control in order to resolve the conflict. “I wanted to write this uplifting song for anyone who’s ever dealt with something similar,” Winter explains. “This song's a real reclaiming of my narrative.”
Inspiration for the track came not only from her own lived experiences, but also from Mel Robbin’s book The Let Them Theory: A Life–Changing Tool That Millions of People Can't Stop Talking About. Winter explained that her song expresses a similar ethos to the "Let Them" theory, which states that people should let others do and say what they want because they can only have control of themselves. After a studio session with her collaborators, Elle was listening to a rough demo of the song on her flight back home. When she got off the plane, Mel Robbins herself was waiting at baggage claim: “She was so kind and so lovely. It just felt like fate—you know, when the stars align,” Winter enthused. “There’s a synchronicity that makes me very excited about this song, too, because it felt like everything just clicked.”
Reflecting on her growth since her last Street interview in 2018, Winter talks about becoming a more confident person over the years. “I don’t let fear dictate my life anymore,” she explains. “I think as I’ve gotten older, I just really know who I am and exactly what I want to say, and I won’t let anyone steer me down a path that doesn’t feel right … Every experience is one you can learn from, and that’s how I look at things; everything happens for a reason.” With this renewed sense of clarity, Winter also expresses gratitude for the University’s continued support throughout her career, as well as for the creative community of peers and educators that has shaped her on her journey. Penn students and Penn alumni worked on the team for the “Never Even Met Her” music video, and professor Scott Burkhardt helped collaborate on production. “We just have such a great team of Penn students, alumni,” Winter says. “It’s just been so much fun.”
Winter's creative process is shaped by her academic interests as well. She points to her CIMS coursework as directly influencing the way she approaches storytelling. “[CIMS] works hand in hand with what I do,” she claims. “I found it very informative, and it enriches my artistic path too … I think it’s very important to be multifaceted and to have different life experiences because that only adds to the art that is created.”
The last time Street interviewed Winter, she said she’d never had a Philly cheesesteak before. When asked if she'd had the chance to try one since, she said, “I think I did try one. It was so good. How can you not like that? It’s like the best thing in the world!”
The artist plans to continue releasing a new song from her new EP every couple of months. “Follow along for lots of new music and hopefully exciting announcements regarding touring,” she shares. “I’m excited to be consistently releasing music that I am super, super proud of!”
