Lofi Girl

The YouTube channel "ChilledCow" was created by Dimitri[lower-alpha 1] on 18 March 2015.[2] ChilledCow began streaming lo-fi hip hop music, branding it as relaxation music for those who are working or studying on 25 February 2017.[1][3] The live stream was taken down by YouTube between July and August 2017 for using footage of a girl studying from the animated film Whisper of the Heart (1995).[4] The livestream was later reinstated with a custom animation of a girl studying.[5][6]

The music used in ChilledCow's live streams were either released through the ChilledCow label or were given permission to use by another artist.[4] YouTube briefly removed the channel without explanation but reinstated it after a public backlash.[4][7][8][9] The original live stream that was stopped by the take down was 13,000 hours long, making it one of the longest videos on YouTube.[4]

On 18 March 2021, six years after the creation of the channel, it was announced that the channel would rebrand from ChilledCow to Lofi Girl. The YouTube community posts explained how Lofi Girl had become the icon of the channel, and that it would fit as the new channel name.[10][11]

On 2 February 2022, the channel reached the milestone of ten million subscribers. The stream that was on at the time had been running since 22 February 2020, and had over seven million likes. The channel celebrated this by having a party event in the chat.[12]

The Lofi Girl, studying in winter.

Lofi Girl streams are accompanied by an animation of a girl studying or relaxing who has come to be known as the Lofi Girl, the Lofi Study Girl,[13] or the "24/7 lofi hip hop beats" girl[14] (officially named Jade[15]). The channel began using the Lofi Girl for its streams in March 2018.[16]

Dimitri originally used the character Shizuku Tsukishima from the Studio Ghibli film Whisper of the Heart (1995) as the face of the channel, with footage of her studying or writing used in the streams. When the popularity of the streams ultimately led to channel being taken down for copyright violations, Dimitri decided to maintain the Ghibli-esque aesthetic but with an original character and put out a call for artists.[17]

One of the artists who responded was Juan Pablo Machado. Originally from Colombia, Machado moved to Lyon in 2013 to study at the Émile-Cohl Design School, after a stint at the art school of Bogota. In September 2018, during his last year of his Master's degree, he decided to respond to a call for tenders received by his school.[16] The tender from ChilledCow called for a "student busy revising for her classes, with Miyazaki-esque visuals." Machado, who was not previously familiar with lo-fi aesthetic, decided to send in his sketches.[16] Several positions were tested for the Lofi Girl, including a lying position, at the end of which she would return to her initial position; this did not carry over into the final product because it took too long to animate.[16] The background was originally plain black in order to save animation time, but Machado eventually decided to place La Croix-Rousse in the window instead.[18]

Lofi Girl's viewership has grown ever since the start of the live stream.[1] Fareid El Gafy from Washington Square News praised the live stream about studying, saying "Thanks to this playlist, I’ve cranked out a multitude of essays, study sessions, scripts and rough cuts to the tune of pop culture samples, muted snares and artificial record scratches."[3] Xavier Piedra of Mashable praised it for its relaxing songs that keep the listener focused. He also noted that the playlist is updated frequently and often contains a mixture of old and newly added songs.[19] The live stream was the first live stream listed on Cassidy Quinn of KGW's "Top 10 non-news live channels to watch on YouTube while social distancing". Quinn described the songs in the live stream as "a constant stream of low-key music you play in the background while you get work done, do chores, whatever you're doing at home right now".[20] ChilledCow's lofi hip-hop playlist was also named the best lo-fi beats playlist by Red Bull.[21] In 2021, The A.V. Club claimed that lo-fi beats to relax and study "turns the average person into a superhuman academic whose powers of concentration are rivaled only by headphone-wearing cartoon girls sitting at their desks during rainy days,"[22] while Rolling Stone said that "Lo-fi's slow, smooth beats aren't just for studying and working. They represent the revenge of producers who have found a way to put their talent to good use in difficult times."[23] Youtooz released a one-foot-tall replica of the lo-fi-anime girl, complete with a desk and school supplies.[24]

• Official website