Barlow & Bear

Barlow & Bear is the songwriting and performing duo of Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear, two American musicians who came together during the pandemic to write songs inspired by Julia Quinn's Bridgerton novels and the Netflix series. What began as a series of TikTok clips in 2021 grew into «The Unofficial Bridgerton Musical», a full concept album that went viral for its witty, character-driven lyrics and lush orchestral-pop arrangements, eventually winning a Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album.

Their sound blends contemporary pop songwriting with theatrical storytelling, drawing on Bear's classical and jazz training as a prodigy pianist and composer alongside Barlow's pop vocal sensibility. Songs like «Ocean Away» and «Alone Together» show their range, moving from swelling ballads to playful, hook-laden numbers, while tracks such as «Penelope Featherington» lean directly into character-study narrative songwriting rare in mainstream pop.

Beyond Bridgerton, the duo has continued building original work together, including holiday material such as «Tis the Season», and Barlow has released solo pop music as well. Barlow & Bear are notable for essentially co-writing their project in public, using fan feedback on social media to shape the unofficial musical as it was being created.