Rachel Platten

Rachel Ashley Platten (born May 20, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and author. After releasing two albums independently in 2003 and 2011, she signed with Columbia Records in 2015. Platten is best known for her single "Fight Song", which peaked at number 6 on the US Billboard Hot 100, topped charts in the UK, and peaked within the top ten of multiple charts worldwide. Platten won a Daytime Emmy Award for a live performance of the song on Good Morning America. Her major-label debut studio album, Wildfire (2016), was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and featured the follow-up singles "Stand by You" and "Better Place". Her second major-label album, Waves (2017), came out a year later.

Outside of music, Platten participated in clothing brand Aerie's advertising campaign of photos that have not been retouched and appeared on the cover of The Improper Bostonian magazine's May 2018 issue. She has volunteered for more than 50 Musicians On Call programs since the early 2000s, which earned her a Music Heals Award at a benefit event on December 1, 2015.

Early life

On May 20, 1981, Rachel Platten was born in Queens, New York City, to Paul and Pamela (née Jabush) Platten. She grew up in Newton Centre, Massachusetts, where she attended Mason-Rice Elementary School and Oak Hill Middle School. Her father is a senior manager with a global consulting firm, and her mother is a psychotherapist with her own private practice. She grew up Jewish and has a younger sister, Melanie. Rachel studied classical piano from the age of 5 and took up guitar in high school. She attended Buckingham Browne and Nichols high school and participated in musical theater. At Trinity College, she became a member of the Trinity College Trinitones, the college's first all-female a cappella group, due to her ability to beatbox.

As part of a study abroad program, Platten studied in Rome for a few months and went to Trinidad for a full semester to do an internship at a diplomat's office and at a record label. While she was there, she sang backup for a friend's band in front of over 80,000 people at the International Soca Monarch finals in 2002. According to Platten, from that moment on she knew she had to pursue music full-time.

In 2003, Platten graduated from Trinity College with a degree in political science.

Career

2003-2010: Trust in Me

In 2003, Platten self-released the R&B album Trust in Me. She moved to New York City's Greenwich Village, recorded demos, and performed in a Prince and Sly and the Family Stone cover band called Dayz of Wild. For two years, in exchange for her paying his phone bill, the band's piano player gave Platten piano and songwriting lessons. She worked several jobs, including as a waitress, a jingle writer, and an Estée Lauder salesperson.

In 2009, Platten signed with Freddy Wexler, a 23-year-old songwriter who'd just started a music management company, The Brain Music.

2011–2014: Be Here

In April 2011, Platten's next album, Be Here, was released from Rock Ridge Music. The single "1,000 Ships", which she wrote with a trio of Swedish producers who'd worked with NSYNC and Cyndi Lauper, peaked at number 24 on the US Billboard Adult Top 40 chart and received some radio play. An earlier song, "Seven Weeks", was used for the film The Good Guy. The theme song for ABC Family's Jane by Design, "Work of Art", was performed by Platten on hire. Her song "Begin Again" was used in the Freeform teen drama television series Pretty Little Liars' 100th episode, "Miss Me x 100".

In 2012, Platten opened for Andy Grammer's tour, where she met her current manager, Ben Singer.

"Don't Care What Time It Is" was used in VH1's Basketball Wives, and "You're Safe" was used in MTV's Finding Carter in September 2014. On June 27, 2014, Platten debuted "Fight Song" on the social networking website We Heart It as part of an artist spotlight. The song was featured in the Pretty Little Liars Christmas special six months later, which resulted in thousands of copies being sold per week.

2015–2017: Wildfire

On February 19, 2015, Platten officially released "Fight Song". The song reached number six on the US Billboard Hot 100, number two on the Australian Singles Chart, number six in Ireland, number eight in New Zealand, number nine on the Billboard Canadian Hot 100, and number one on the UK Singles Chart. "Fight Song" also spent nine weeks at the top of the Billboard Adult Top 40 chart and was the ninth biggest-selling pop digital download song in 2015. In June 2015, Platten performed "Fight Song" with Taylor Swift in front of 50,000 people in Philadelphia during Swift's The 1989 World Tour. On September 27, 2019, "Fight Song" achieved 6× platinum certification in the US. Platten's 2015 Fight Song EP reached number 20 on the Billboard 200.

Rachel Platten served as a support act on Alex & Sierra's and Andy Grammer's "The Good Guys & A Girl Tour" in early 2015. She toured with Colbie Caillat and Christina Perri on their "Girls Night Out, Boys Can Come Too Tour" throughout the summer of 2015. On September 11, 2015, Platten released her second single, "Stand by You". It peaked in the top 10 in Canada and the US and in the top 20 in Australia and Poland. The song was certified platinum in the US on May 4, 2016.

Wildfire, Platten's first major label album, was released on January 1, 2016. It debuted at number five on the US Billboard 200 and was certified gold on March 9, 2016. On March 24, 2016, Platten released the third and final single from Wildfire, "Better Place". Throughout 2016, Platten promoted the album with her first major headlining tour, The Wildfire Tour.

After Christina Grimmie’s death and the Orlando nightclub shooting, Platten announced that proceeds from her new acoustic version of "Fight Song" will benefit the National Compassion Fund, working to support the needs of people impacted by the two events. In 2016, she appeared in insurance company Nationwide's commercial, where she sang the company's jingle, "Nationwide is on your side." In October 2016, she sang "The Star-Spangled Banner" prior to Game 1 of the 2016 World Series. On New Year's Eve 2016, Platten co-headlined the Times Square Ball festivities in New York City's Times Square alongside Gavin DeGraw performing "Fight Song", "Stand by You", "Beating Me Up", and John Lennon's "Imagine". In 2017, she served as an opening act for two Los Angeles shows and a Las Vegas show on Faith Hill and Tim McGraw's Soul2Soul: The World Tour.

2017–present: Waves, I Am Rachel Platten and Fight Song (Rachel's Version)

"Broken Glass", the lead single from her second major label album, Waves, was released on August 18, 2017. The album was released on October 27, 2017, and debuted at number 73 on the Billboard 200 chart. She co-wrote every song on the album. ABC News wrote in a favorable review:

Platten's songs often are cemented by a strong message to believe in one’s self. It may seem cheesy to the cynical listeners, but she always sounds like she believes every word she says. You have to give her credit for attempting to turn her art into an inspiring platform. Even when she gets a little too over-the-top on the self-referencing 'Good Life,' you can’t help but root for her.

In 2018, she was the main musical attraction at the Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular. Along with performing her singles "Stand by You", "Better Place", and "Fight Song", she also reminisced about her childhood in Boston. From May to July 2019, she toured with a capella group Pentatonix as the opening act for their shows in North America. On March 31, 2020, she released a children's book titled You Belong, named after her 2018 single. In 2022, Platten performed "Stand by You" at A Capitol Fourth Independence Day concert in Washington, D.C., which aired on PBS on July 4, 2022.

In 2023, Rachel Platten released "Girls", a song about her daughters, and performed it at the Gracie Awards on May 23, 2024. On April 26, 2024, she released "Bad Thoughts", which she wrote to get through a panic attack. Her fifth studio album, I Am Rachel Platten, was released by her own label Violet Records on September 4, 2024.

On August 25, 2025, Platten announced Fight Song (Rachel's Version), a new album including re-recorded versions of "Fight Song", "Stand By You", and other songs from Wildfire. Fight Song (Rachel's Version) was released on September 26, 2025. Platten said the re-recording was inspired by Taylor Swift's re-recording project following Swift's masters dispute.