Here’s a hot take from 18-year-old singer-songwriter Frances Anderson: She wouldn’t mind living on a tour bus 24/7. As in, bunking sardine-style with a lively crew of 12, surviving on gas station snacks and getting (not-so-gently) rocked to sleep every night by the motion of the wheels. “You wake up, you’re still moving and you’re like, hmm, what state am I in now?” she laughs.

Recalling her first tour last fall—where she opened for alt-pop sensation Hannah Bahng, ran her own merch booth and wowed crowds chanting her name—Frances admits that life on the road isn’t for everyone. “But I personally love being around a lot of people appreciating music. That’s why I do what I do.”

Soon, fans will have plenty more to appreciate: After countless late nights furiously tapping lyric ideas into her iPhone (“If you ever want to see what’s going on with a girl, check her Notes app”), Frances just dropped a deluxe version of her debut indie-folk EP Drown.

Even if you haven’t streamed it yet, chances are Frances and her dreamy music have already crossed your FYP…once, twice or 100 times. She’s racked up serious TikTok fame with videos of her lip-syncing to Reneé Rapp and Hayley Williams, reviewing food with her mom and dancing to her own songs in her bedroom like nobody’s watching (aside from her nearly 3 million followers, of course).

Before rising to social media stardom, Frances played America’s unofficial baby sis—the precocious and universally adored Lily—on the Emmy-winning sitcom Modern Family.

From ages 4 to 12, little Frances (then known by her full name, Aubrey Anderson-Emmons) balanced home-schooling with an acting career, essentially growing up in front of the show’s weekly viewers. “I was so known for being Lily. When I’d go out in public, that’s what I’d get recognized for,” she shares. “So it’s been crazy to see those same people, who knew me for that one thing, start enjoying my music.”

What everyone tuning into Modern Family couldn’t see at the time was Frances cultivating a behind-the-scenes passion for singing. “My first love was musicals,” she recalls. “It started when I learned to sing ‘Tomorrow.’ I dreamed of being Annie on Broadway.” (Present-day Frances still struggles to pick even a “Mount Rushmore” of her four favorite shows.)

During breaks from belting show tunes, Frances also picked up songwriting. She wrote her first original during a hangout with her childhood bestie, Kati. “I was in seventh grade, and she helped me write a song about this guy I had a crush on,” Frances says. “Kati literally had a section where she was rapping.”

Although Drown and its deluxe version don’t feature any rap breaks, that same hopeless romantic streak remains. For the gals who love love, the record is packed with stories from Frances’ real life, including some serious truth bombs about her high school relationship.

“Everything on this EP is pulled from my personal experiences,” she reveals. “It’s always been therapeutic for me to express how I feel through writing, and I think it’s easier to say harsh things with nice melodies under them.”

That’s not to say it’s easy to pour “the worst breakup you’ve ever had” (as Frances puts it) onto the page. “At first, I had no intention of releasing anything,” she confesses. “It was just me, in my room, working through complicated feelings of anxiety and frustration.”

According to Frances, though, baring your soul is 100% worth it. Not just for her, but for anyone wanting to create something truly authentic. “I had to let my vulnerability be my strength,” she admits. “And as an artist, that’s the best thing you can do. I never want to shy away from that.”

The straight-from-the-heart sadness on the EP is complemented by plenty of genuine joy, too. Her cover of “Maps”—originally by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and a forever fave for Frances—includes an interlude where attentive listeners can hear two girls chatting, giggling and, well, just being girls together.

“Oh my gosh, you want to know what that was?” she says. “It’s that same friend, Kati, who I wrote my first song with. She was with me when I was recording and we couldn’t stop cracking up, so I kept it in and dedicated the song to her.”

Hoping to make more musical memories this year, Frances says both an album and a bigger tour are on her 2026 bucket list—which she’ll start checking off now that one last (highly pressing) debate is settled.

“There was a vote, and we decided my fans are called The French Fries,” she says, grinning and flashing the results of a poll on her phone.

We assume it’s a silly nod to her name (French Fries…Frances…get it?), but to her, the moniker itself isn’t what matters. “This was always what I wanted: to have a strong community around my music. Anyone and everyone is welcome to be a French Fry.”

And yep, we’re more than ready to dig in.

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All images courtesy of Frances Anderson.