It was met with positive critical reception and peaked at number 12 on the Billboard 200, while its single, "Beggin for Thread" received platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

[1][2] Her second and third studio albums, The Altar (2016) and III (2019) were met with similar success, peaking at numbers 17 and 21 respectively on the chart; the latter saw her furthest critical acclaim.

Exploring a more experimental sound than her previous work, it achieved modest commercial success but received favorable reviews from music critics.

[6][7] Banks moved to Los Angeles when she was one or two years old and lived in Tarzana, an affluent neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley.

[7] She started writing songs at the age of 15 and taught herself piano when she received a keyboard from a friend to help her through her parents' divorce.

[10] During Banks' time at USC she was put in contact with DJ Yung Skeeter, who offered to manage her and brought her to British label Good Years Recordings.

[12] After posting a track called "Before I Ever Met You" on a private SoundCloud page in February 2013, the song ended up being played by DJ Zane Lowe on BBC Radio 1.

[10][13] Banks released her debut extended play (EP), Fall Over, internationally in March 2013 by Good Years Recordings.

[15][16] In an interview after the debut of her first album she posted her phone number on her social media accounts to be closer to her fans and have a more intimate connection to all of them.

[21] Banks was artist of the week for Vogue in August 2013 where they wrote that her songs "perfectly capture a feeling of being lost and powerless in the world.

In January 2015, Banks was part of the lineup for the 2015 St. Jerome's Laneway Festival, which toured Adelaide, Auckland, Brisbane, Detroit, Fremantle, Melbourne, Singapore and Sydney.

On August 7, 2014, Banks made her television debut on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, performing "Beggin for Thread" and "Waiting Game".

[28] Her debut album, Goddess, was released on September 5, 2014, and charted within the top 20 of several countries, including the UK, Australia, Germany, New Zealand and Sweden.

[55] Around this time, a collection of unreleased virtual reality experiences called "Three Points to the Recollection of My Future" was produced with Director Jenn Duong.

[70] Co-directed by Banks and Michael Stine, the music video features the singer in jewellery from Bulgari's "Serpenti" collection, echoing the snake motif "represent[ative] of rebirth and shedding one's skin" used in her imagery.

[72] In 2022, Banks shared drawings and poems from her book, Generations of Women from the Moon (2019) at UTA Artist Space in Los Angeles.

[75] On October 18, 2024, Banks released "I Hate Your Ex-Girlfriend" featuring American rapper Doechii as the lead single from her fifth studio album Off with Her Head.

[86] Her sound has received comparisons to Ellie Goulding, the Weeknd,[87] and Aaliyah,[88] although she cites Lauryn Hill and Fiona Apple as her biggest influences.

[10] Her vocals have frequently been described as "Aaliyah-like",[91] in addition to Billboard noting that "her rhapsodic voice possesses a frail vulnerability and recalls singers like Feist and Erykah Badu.