Renforshort

Lauren Isenberg was born in Toronto. Her parents' taste of music influenced her at an early age, and she was exposed to musicians such as Billy Joel, The Velvet Underground and Nirvana.[1] As a child, she won a Chinese language competition for performing the folk song "Mo Li Hua".[3] Isenberg wrote her first song at 13 years old called "Hopeless Town", which was produced by Nathan Ferraro of the Canadian band The Midway State, and worked on several songs in Los Angeles with producer Justin Gray, however decided that none of these songs showed off her full personality.[3] She began posting covers of songs to YouTube and Soundcloud in 2015,[3] starting with a cover of Labrinth's "Jealous". At 14, Isenberg decided that singing was her passion after performing at an open mic night.[6]

Isenberg met Canadian producer Jeff Hazin in 2016, who became her long-time collaborator (Isenberg has continued to work with the same co-writers since 2016).[3] In the same year, she collaborated with German drummer and YouTuber Sina Doering on her album Chi Might.[2]

Under the moniker Ren,[7] Isenberg released her debut single "Waves" in February 2019.[8] Music executives from Geffen Records took notice of her due to the song's popularity, and organized a meeting with her only a month after its release.[9] Isenberg's second single "Mind Games" became a viral hit,[6] and by November the two tracks had amassed five million streams across platforms.[3]

Isenberg's first single with Geffen Records was released in November, entitled "IDC".[7] On March 13, 2020, Isenberg released her debut extended play, the Teenage Angst EP,[1] and changed her stage name to Renforshort.[3] The leading single from the release, "I Drive Me Mad", was inspired by Isenberg's experiences with anxiety and panic attacks.[10] Promotion for the EP was difficult, as scheduled showcases in Toronto, New York and Los Angeles were delayed in an effort to flatten the curve against the COVID-19 pandemic.[3]