Elle Cordova

Elle Cordova is an American singer-songwriter, writer, and digital content creator based in Los Angeles, known for her work in independent music, online video, and literary arts. Cordova began her music career by sharing original and cover songs on YouTube while attending the University of Minnesota–Twin Cities, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English literature. She later worked as an editorial assistant for University of Minnesota Press, developing a foundation in language and storytelling that influences her creative projects. Cordova adopted the name Reina del Cid for her YouTube channel, referencing Spanish heroic literature and her guitar, which she nicknamed El Cid, adding Reina to signify "queen of my guitar."

Cordova built her audience under the stage name Reina del Cid, releasing five full-length studio albums with creative partner and lead guitarist Toni Lindgren: "blueprints, plans" (credited to Reina del Cid & the Cidizens), "The Cooling," "Rerun City," "Morse Code," and "Candy Apple Red." Songs from "The Cooling" were featured on NPR and Paste, including the single "Death Cap" and its music video filmed in Iceland. She launched the "Sunday Mornings with Reina del Cid" video series, presenting weekly acoustic renditions of folk originals and covers that have accumulated over 24 million views on YouTube. Cordova and Lindgren managed their own independent record label and toured internationally, building a fanbase through live performances and a consistent digital presence.

Cordova later began releasing material under her own name, Elle Cordova, to reflect a focus on more personal songs and poems. She has produced poems, skits, and songs that explore science, space, science fiction, and literary themes, sometimes incorporating hip-hop influences. Cordova is recognized as a digital content creator and writer of viral comedy sketches, rhyming spoken-word poetry, and other short-form videos, with a following of more than two million people across social media platforms. Her YouTube channel has approximately 670,000 subscribers, with more than 350 videos and over 187 million combined views, and her Instagram account has over 1.2 million followers.

In her TED Talk, Cordova presented "Poetry and music that reaches across the digital void," performing her original song "Carl Sagan" and discussing social media and human connection. She shared a poem about the Big Bang and, with Lindgren, performed "Carl Sagan," a song addressing the experience of social media and the desire to connect. Cordova continues to explore themes of science fiction, artificial intelligence, and extraterrestrial concepts in her music. She and Lindgren also launched the video series "Full Moon Tunes," posting a new cover every full moon. Cordova's work blends literary elements, musical composition, and digital media, establishing her presence at the intersection of art, science, and online culture.