Sophie Leigh McBurnie, born on March 14, 1999, is professionally known as Piri. She is an English musician who was born in Rochdale, a town in Greater Manchester. Piri was part of the musical duo Piri & Tommy, who were listed on several "ones to watch" lists from November 2022 to January 2023. These lists included the BBC's Sound of 2023. She was also an original member of the female and genderqueer collective Loud LDN. Additionally, Piri co-wrote the song "Magnetic" for the group Illit. She has been recognized as an influence by the musician Caity Baser.

Life and career

Piri was born Sophie Leigh McBurnie on 14 March 1999 and grew up in Rochdale, a town in Greater Manchester. Her parents worked as an Asda manager and a human resources manager. While growing up, Piri wrote songs on her guitar to express her feelings and listened to music by artists such as Arctic Monkeys, Mary J. Blige, the Ting Tings, and Owl City. Later, she became interested in K-pop music, including boy bands like Exo and girl groups such as Blackpink, Red Velvet, and Twice. Her stage name, which she shortened from "Pirickili" and wrote in lowercase letters, was created for a Tumblr account and suggested by a random word generator.

Piri studied chemistry at Lancaster University and also learned Mandarin Chinese as an extra subject. During her studies, she admired the style of musicians like Doja Cat and Red Velvet and joined the university's pole fitness club. After finishing her degree, Piri planned to take a break from school before pursuing a master's degree. In May 2020, she faced financial difficulties, including owing £2,000 from her bank account and £800 to a friend. Part-time work at Asda was not enough to pay her debts, so she began sharing content on OnlyFans, a website where people pay to view material. By August 2020, she uploaded videos of herself. In November 2022, she told The Times that her account had about 1,000 to 2,000 subscribers who paid around $12 each month. After the website took its share, she earned between $10,000 and $20,000 each month. She used this money to support her music career and move to north London.

In 2020, just before the second UK lockdown, Piri started dating Tommy Villiers after meeting him on Tinder. She saw a photo of him in his band on Twitter and asked him out on Instagram. They bonded over their love for disco music and later moved into Tommy's band Porij's student house in Manchester. Tommy began writing songs with Piri as Piri & Tommy and later left Porij to focus on their music together. Their first song, "It's a Match," was released in March 2021 and was initially credited to Piri alone.

Their second song, "Soft Spot," became popular on TikTok and Spotify after Piri paid TikTok creators to use it in their videos and asked for help from the online group Manchester Student Group. They later released the song again with EMI and followed it with other singles, including "Beachin," "Words," and "On & On." The band released a mixtape called Froge.mp3 in October 2021. The name came from a nickname they used for each other, as Piri was drawing frogs and toads during their time together. The mixtape was promoted with a tour called Froge.tour.

Between November 2022 and January 2023, the band appeared on multiple "ones to watch" lists, including the BBC's Sound of 2023. Around this time, they released a cover of the song "Unlock It" by Charli XCX and Kim Petras. In January 2023, Piri and Tommy announced their breakup but later collaborated on a song called "Feel It" with MJ Cole and released their own song, "Updown." They then released the single "Nice 2 Me," which appeared in the video game EA Sports FC 24, followed by songs like "Lovergirl," "Bluetooth," and "Christmas Time." In November 2024, they released an EP called About Dancing with singles "99%" and "Dog." In November 2025, they released another EP, Magic!, with singles "Someone" and "Miss Provocative." By late January 2023, they had broken up again.

In May 2022, Piri joined a group called Loud LDN, which includes female and non-binary artists. In September 2022, she signed a publishing deal with Warner Chappell Music. In April 2022, she was one of three cover stars for Polyester magazine and was invited to an all-female writing event called SheWrites. She later appeared on songs by Sudley, Maisi, Tomcbumpz, Charlieeeee, Salute, Young Franco, and Omar+, and co-wrote a song called "Magnetic" for the K-pop group Illit. The song was included on Illit's March 2024 EP Super Real Me. In April 2026, Piri released a solo song called "Cosuluvme," which was about her band's breakup.

Artistry and personal life

Piri said that PinkPantheress's use of drum and bass breaks greatly influenced her own music. "On & On" was compared by Alison Craig of The Forty Five to PinkPantheress's work, and AllMusic's Paul Simpson said Froge.mp3 was similar to PinkPantheress's 2021 mixtape To Hell with It. Piri also mentioned that Nia Archives, Charli XCX, and Sophie inspired her music. She credited Archives and Yunè Pinku for encouraging her to become a music producer. Additionally, she named Beyoncé, Megan Thee Stallion, and Doja Cat as role models for how they express femininity. She also said that Charli XCX, Doja Cat, and burlesque routines with pole dancing inspired her performances after Piri & Tommy. When "It's a Match" was released, Anna Runa Umbrasko of Safe and Sound said Piri's sound was inspired by artists like Doja Cat and Dua Lipa. In August 2023, Caity Baser of Ticketmaster mentioned Piri when asked about her inspirations.

Petridis said Piri sings in an "unaffected, untutored" voice, while Matthew Perpetua of Fluxblog wrote that she "sings with very modern English R&B inflections – a lot of restraint and no showy runs, but with an elegant soulfulness in smaller moments." Margaret Farrell of Pitchfork described Piri's voice as having a "cherubic tone" when reviewing "Luv Stuck." When "Soft Spot" was released, Cat Zhang of Pitchfork compared Piri's voice to Ariana Grande's. When Kenya Grace's song "Strangers" entered the UK Singles Chart, the Official Charts Company said her voice combined elements of Piri, PinkPantheress, and Charli XCX.

Runa Umbrasko compared Piri's "soft songwriting and innocent, kawaii aesthetic elements" to those of "a Manchester version of Clairo." In March 2022, Piri told Notion that she usually wrote about whatever was on her mind, and that many of Piri & Tommy's tracks captured moments from their relationship. In July 2022, Nieve McCarthy of Dork wrote that Piri's songwriting focused on "relevant, universal experiences" and had "a no-messing-about attitude." In October 2023, Cyclone Wehner of Purple Sneakers wrote that Piri "blends airy female vocals, syncopated breakbeats and the sonic aesthetics of Timbaland's '90s avant'n'B, UKG, liquid funk and hyperpop."

According to The Times in November 2022, Piri had over 419,000 followers on TikTok. She uses her account to post videos of herself dancing to her songs and performing pole dancing. Vice reported in May 2022 that she posted an average of two videos per day. In January 2024, Safi Bugel of The Guardian noted that Piri's crew for her solo live show included only "women, non-binary and LGBTQ+ people," and that she encouraged other artists to do the same. After Chappell Roan's speech at the 2025 Grammy Awards, Piri pledged $2,500 to help struggling artists.

Awards and accolades

Piri has been chosen for many honors and awards. The song "Soft Spot" was ranked number 59 on Rolling Stone's "200 Greatest Dance Songs of All Time" in July 2022. Additionally, Piri & Tommy's songs "Words," "On & On," "Froge.mp3," and "Unlock It" have all appeared on lists of the best songs at the end of the year.

Tours

• Piri & Tommy Tour (2022)
• Froge.tour Event (2022)
• Piri Pop-Up Event (2023)
• Extra Hot Event (2023)

• Charli XCX – Revive Tour (2022; one performance)
• Bbno$ – Bbnoeuro Tour (2023; two performances)