Elliott Smith Would Have Turned 57: beabadoobee Traces a Songwriting Debt Back to "Good Will Hunting"

August 6, 2026 marks what would have been the 57th birthday of the late singer-songwriter Elliott Smith. British-Filipino artist beabadoobee marked the date with a social media post paying tribute to Smith's long-running influence on her songwriting.

From a film soundtrack to a songwriting foundation

According to her post, beabadoobee's first exposure to Smith came through "Miss Misery," the song featured in the film Good Will Hunting. She named Smith alongside Kimya Dawson as the two songwriters who most shaped her early writing, pointing to how the plainspoken, unadorned quality of their melodies and lyrics influenced her own approach.

A tattoo that spells it out

The tribute wasn't just words: beabadoobee has "XO" tattooed on her right arm, a direct reference to Smith's 1998 album XO. It's a small but permanent sign of how deeply that early influence has stuck with her.

What we don't know yet

The source post is a personal tribute rather than an announcement — there's no mention of new music, upcoming shows, or further collaborations tied to this occasion. It stands simply as an artist publicly naming an influence on a symbolic date.