Arizona Edwards

Arizona Gwendolyn Edwards (August 30, 1999 - July 1, 2023) was an American singer-songwriter and model known for her alternative sound, sassy lyrics, elegant fashion, and tragic young death.

Her music career began when she was 18, Edwards and three of her friends from high school (Harriet Sears, Willow Kinley, and Mercedes Rodrigo) formed the girl band The Scarlet Letters. Arizona played the guitar and provided backing vocals for most of the songs, but sang a few of the songs she wrote for the band herself. The band released one album through a indie small local record label, *Promiscuous.*

The band never achieved high fame, but was beloved in indie circles in the Phoenix area. Their aesthetic of their elegant fashion clashing with their high-energy, alternative sound was quite appealing.

The band disbanded in 2020 after a fallout, and the members went on to do their separate careers. Edwards was the only member to continue to pursue music, signing to Tomorrow Records in August 2020.

Her debut EP, *Ladylike,* was released on November 6, 2020, preceded by the single "Makeup Remover." It received warm reviews from critics, but did not meet expectations in terms of financial success. Despite this, the release of her debut album went as planned, *One in the Crowd* was released on October 13, 2021. The album received good reviews, but once again, it didn't sell or chart well.

She released a second EP on her 23rd birthday, *Obsession.* The songs on this EP were infamously dark, even for her.

Arizona passed on July 1, 2023 from what was believed to be an accidental drug overdose. It was revealed years later that it was actually a planned murder by Andrew Archer.

## Early Life

Arizona Edwards was born on August 30, 1999 in Phoenix, Arizona. Her mother, Kim Edwards was a preschool teacher, her father, Christopher Edwards, died when she was very young.

Edwards showed signs of gender dysphoria from a young age. She publicly came out as transgender when she was 12 and was put on testosterone blockers and estrogen when she was 14. Because she was open about being transgender, she faced a lot of bullying while in school.

Edwards' family often struggled with finances, and a few times in her life she and her mother had to live with her grandmother, Winona Descheene, to prevent homelessness. She recalled that when she was a teenager, she would often steal from stores in order to have the same nice clothes that the other girls at school wore, and her love of elegant dresses may stem from this.

Edwards loved music from a young age, she learned how to play guitar from her uncle and always sang in choirs. When she was in middle school, she won the talent show for singing and playing a Taylor Swift song.

## Music Career

### 2017-2020: The Scarlet Letters

The Scarlet Letters were formed in 2017, when Arizona Edwards, Harriet Sears, Willow Kinley, and Mercedes Rodrigo were in high school. Edwards was 18 when she joined the band. She played lead guitar, wrote songs for the band, and sang a few songs that she wrote.

Their first songs were included on a self-titled EP, only one was written by Edwards, "Spring Fling Queen."

The four joined *Murdock's Trinity Records & Promotions,* a local record label, and began to work on their debut album, *Promiscuous.* Edwards wrote most of the songs on the album, the rest being written by Rodrigo. The most notable ones written by Edwards include "Don't Call Me Mommy," "Lady Bird," and "Lovestruck." The album was released on July 20, 2018.

The band achieved moderate success within the Phoenix area and Arizona as a whole, and minor success in the surrounding states. They performed at small festivals and events in the area, they were especially popular at LGBT and feminist events due to the themes within their music.

Their last project was the mini-album *Gentlemen,* a satire album from the point of view of a misogynistic man. Rodrigo wrote more songs on the album than Edwards, but she did sing two songs on it: "Good Guy" and "Plastic Bitch." It was released on June 7, 2019. The band began to fall apart shortly after this album was released. Edwards admitted that she played a part in it, as she was encouraging the others to accept major record deals. The infighting grew so much that by the time the COVID-19 lock downs began in March of 2020, they used it as an excuse to break up.

### 2020: Deal with Tomorrow Records and *Ladylike*

After The Scarlet Letters disbanded, Edwards went looking for work like the rest of the members. Unlike the rest, however, she continued to pursue music. Tomorrow Records had reached out to her in the past to ask if she'd like a solo career, so she followed up with their offer. However, Edwards became Andrew Archer's second sex trafficking victim.

The label put together some of the songs Edwards had already written into an EP titled *Ladylike.* They released it on November 6, 2020. While the EP was received positively by critics and considered a strong debut, it did not garner as much sales and attention as the label had predicted. They sunk a great deal of money into promotion and it got them nowhere.

Edwards, however, was happy with the small but extremely loyal fanbase she had created. She opened at a few venues for Twenty One Pilots, and enjoyed interacting with fans and teasing her debut album. The label was not pleased, and feared that their investment was a waste of money.

### 2021-2023: *One in the Crowd*

Edwards' debut album was released on October 13, 2021 and was met with critical acclaim and lackluster sales. The album peaked at only 78 on the *Billboard 200*, when her label hoped it would've made it to the top 40. The singles didn't fair any better, the highest peaking single being "Sass!" at number 51.

While Edwards was satisfied with her success, her label once again was not. They spent a great deal of money promoting her album and deemed it was a waste.

Edwards departed on her *Be in the Crowd Tour,* a small tour with 10 shows in North America and 5 in Europe, in January 2021. Her show in Los Angeles sold out, but her label dismissed it since it was a small venue.

Her label also lost a lot of money in physical media sales, they had originally planned to have 4 vinyl variants for the album, but lowered it to only 2. They also cancelled production of CDs and cassettes.

Overall, Tomorrow Records lost faith in Edwards, and this angered her.

### 2022-2023: *Obsession* and *Gwendolyn*

A frustrated and abused Edwards released the EP *Obsession* featuring her darkest lyrics:

> *You cut me open and leave me to die / You stand there and laugh as I cry*
>
>

> *You've ripped me apart and drank my blood / Fucked me, broke me, and threw me in the mud*
>
>

> *I feel as if this obsession will kill me / Your hands are wrapped around my throat, your gentle devotee*
>
>

The EP was written out of helplessness and frustration, Edwards was being abused by her boss and now he was threatening to destroy the very thing she was promised when she was coerced into this deal. Her fans were concerned after hearing the EP, and the lyrics were so harsh that people either related to them perfectly or found them shocking.

Shortly after the release of *Obsession,* Edwards began to promote her second album titled *Gwendolyn.* Her label decided it wasn't worth the money to promote it, so the blunt of the promotion was placed on her shoulders.

*Gwendolyn* was supposed to be a tell-all, deeply personal album about Edwards's life as a transgender woman.