For years, red has been more than just a color to Norwegian singer-songwriter Marie Ulven, better known as “girl in red.” It has become a significant part of her identity, intertwined with the imagery surrounding her music and, famously, the red sweater featured on the cover art for her 2018 hit “we fell in love in october.” So, when that familiar sweater turned an unexpected blue in late September, fans noticed immediately. What initially appeared to be an apparent “glitch” soon became something much more deliberate: the beginning of a new chapter for the artist, one that would eventually introduce listeners to “BLUE,” her latest four-track EP.
The transformation began quietly — or rather, sneakily. On Sept. 30, Ulven addressed the changing artwork in a TikTok video, insisting that the sweater was still red on her end and suggesting that something had gone wrong.
“It’s not blue for me,” she insisted in the video, in an attempt to quell fans’ concerns, suspicions, and excitement alike. “I don’t know what the deal is, but I’m girl in red, so — it’s red.”
However, the cover remained blue, and the hints continued to accumulate. On Oct. 5, Ulven shared an Instagram photograph of herself dressed in a blue sweater and blue jeans against a blue background. The post was captioned “felt blue, might delete later.” Soon afterward, her Instagram username changed from @girlinred to @girlinblue, the shirt in her profile picture was edited to be blue, and her old biography was replaced with a new one: “once red, now blue.”
What could have easily been dismissed as a series of aesthetic adjustments very rapidly transformed into an increasingly convincing suggestion that something new was on the horizon. Both speculation and confusion quickly erupted among fans. Most seemed to understand by then that the alteration of the “we fell in love in october” cover art was intentional and more than just a technical glitch, but there still existed vast discrepancies between guesses about what exactly the shift from red to blue meant for Ulven’s identity and music. Many fans took to TikTok to share their theories and thoughts about the unexpected changes, which ranged from somewhat plausible predictions to downright humorous speculation. Some half-jokingly wondered whether the rebrand signaled a change in her sexuality, with one commenter asking, “maybe she’s straight now,” while others interpreted the color change through a political lens, suggesting that the switch from red to blue could be a reference to the Democratic Party ahead of the U.S. elections. One user speculated, “November is voting time so maybe..?” Meanwhile, some fans associated the color blue with sadness, wondering whether the singer was hinting at a recent breakup or a shift in her personal life, as one commenter put it, “breakup so bad girl in red had to change her whole aesthetic.” And, of course, there were those who were already reasonably convinced that the mysterious rebrand was building anticipation for a new album, with one fan predicting, “imagine if she changes her name on Spotify to girl in blue October 1st and drops a new album.” Fans seemed determined to find meaning in every shade of blue.
As it turned out, those anticipating new music were not far off. On Oct. 6, Ulven confirmed the suspicions by announcing her new single, “blue,” which arrived just three days later on Oct. 9. The reveal did not end there, however: on Oct. 15, she announced that the “BLUE” EP would follow on Oct. 23, giving fans their first glimpse of what the artist’s new era would have to offer.
Released on Oct. 23, “BLUE” marks Ulven’s first collection of new music since her 2024 album “I’M DOING IT AGAIN BABY!” The four-song project consists of “blue,” “missing person,” “worst case” and “clean slate,” and explores the emotional uncertainty that often accompanies change. Its songs linger on loss, reflection and the difficult process of finding one’s footing when something familiar comes to an end.
The title track, released as a single two weeks before the EP, established much of this emotional direction. “blue” centers on the uncertainty and sense of loss that can follow the end of a relationship, approaching heartbreak with the candid, introspective songwriting that has long characterized Ulven’s work. Its accompanying music video, filmed in Oslo, offers an intimate and poignant look at a relationship through the years, tracing the small moments and memories that shape a shared life.
Across its brief runtime, “BLUE” as a whole feels less concerned with presenting an entirely new version of girl in red than with examining what it means to move forward. In retrospect, the red-to-blue transformation was an especially fitting way to introduce the project. By altering the artwork for one of her most recognizable songs just as its annual October streaming surge approached, Ulven brought longtime listeners back to a familiar piece of her catalog while quietly directing their attention toward something new. The campaign was playful, but its symbolism carried a more personal weight. Red had become synonymous with girl in red; blue, meanwhile, offered an opportunity to explore what might come after it.
Ultimately, “BLUE” presents change as something that can be both disorienting and necessary, making room for a different perspective without abandoning the qualities that made Ulven’s music resonate in the first place. The red sweater may have turned blue, but the person behind it remains unmistakably girl in red.
