Kian Maxwell Bytyci Brownfield (born 14 July 2002), known professionally as Kian (stylised in

all caps In typography, all caps (short for "all capitals") refers to text or a font in which all letters are capital letters, for example: "THIS TEXT IS IN ALL CAPS". All caps may be used for emphasis (for a word or phrase). They are commonly seen in ...

; pronounced "Key-ahn") is an Australian singer and songwriter from

Castlemaine, Victoria Castlemaine ( , Variation in Australian English, non-locally also ) is a small city in Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, in the Goldfields region of Victoria, Goldfields region about 120 kilometres (75 miles) northwest by road from ...

. He is best known for winning

Triple J Unearthed Triple J (stylised in all lowercase) is a government-funded, national Australian Radio in Australia, radio station intended to appeal to listeners of alternative music, which began broadcasting in January 1975. The station also places a greate ...

in August 2018. His breakthrough single "

Waiting Waiting, Waitin, Waitin', or The Waiting may refer to: Film * ''Waiting'' (1991 film), a film by Jackie McKimmie * ''Waiting...'' (film), a 2005 film starring Ryan Reynolds * ''Waiting'' (2007 film), a film by Zarina Bhimji * ''Waiting'' (20 ...

" was polled at number 20 on

Triple J Triple J (stylised in all lowercase) is a government-funded, national Australian Radio in Australia, radio station intended to appeal to listeners of alternative music, which began broadcasting in January 1975. The station also places a greate ...

's Hottest 100 of 2018.

Early life

Kian was born in July 2002 in the goldfield town of

, Australia. Since the age of three, Kian and his mother traveled on and off with his father making music in remote

indigenous Australian communities Indigenous Australians or Australian First Nations are people with familial heritage from, and membership in, the ethnic groups that lived in Australia before British colonisation. They consist of two distinct groups: the Aboriginal peoples o ...

. Kian's parents separated in 2010, although both parents are singer songwriters and passionate about music. hearing him sing at a very early age, Kian's mother and father saw his potential and he received his first guitar at the age of seven.

Music career

2017–2021: Early years and ''Bliss''

In May 2017 Kian wrote and sang the chorus of Baker Boy's debut single " Cloud 9". The single's popularity kickstarted Kian's success. In February 2018, Kian released "Too Far Gone" with 15-year-old Vince the Kid. In July, Kian released "

" a song he wrote at the age of 14, with him explaining "It's about that feeling of uncertainty when you don't know if they like you back – I know it's childish but I reckon everyone has found themselves in this insecure hole at some point in their lives no matter what age. Hidden within the lyrics are some things that relate to me personally along with metaphorical things to move the story along." In August, Kian was announced the winner of the 2018

. Since winning Triple J Unearthed, "Waiting" was added to high rotation and was being played on the more commercial radio station,

Nova A nova (plural novae or novas) is a transient astronomical event that causes the sudden appearance of a bright, apparently "new" star (hence the name "nova", which is Latin for "new") that slowly fades over weeks or months. Causes of the dramati ...

. In November, Kian signed a new recording deal with

EMI Music EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At the time of its break-up in 201 ...

in Australia and

Republic Records Republic Records is a New York City–based American record label owned by Universal Music Group (UMG). It was founded by Avery Lipman and Monte Lipman as an independent label in 1995, and was acquired by UMG in 2000. Republic was initially an ...

for the rest of the world. In February 2019, he released his third single "Childism" with Triple J getting an exclusive first listen. Kian explained that "It's about young people feeling like they don't have a place n societyand we're stuck in the middle." The single was also written before "Waiting" was even thought of. On 10 May 2019, Kian released his debut extended play ''Bliss''. He also announced a tour for late-July into early-August. Following the release of ''Bliss'', Kian released a series of stand-alone singles.

2022: ''Shine''

In July 2022, Kian released "Shine", the title track and third single from his second extended play, released on 26 August 2022. In March 2023, Kian united with Becca Hatch on the single "All of Me".

Discography

Extended plays

Singles

As lead artist

As featured artist

Awards and nominations

APRA Awards

The APRA Awards are held in Australia and New Zealand by the

Australasian Performing Right Association APRA AMCOS consists of Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) and Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society (AMCOS), both copyright management organisations or copyright collectives which jointly represent over 100,000 songwr ...

to recognise songwriting skills, sales and airplay performance by its members annually. Kian has won two awards from two nominations. , - ! scope="row" rowspan="2",

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

, rowspan="2", "Waiting" (with

Jerome Farah Jerome Farah, is an Australian rapper. Farah co-wrote and co-produced "Waiting" with Kian before releasing his debut single in 2020. Early life Jerome Farah is the son of a Lebanese father and a Zimbabwean mother and grew up in suburban Melbou ...

) , Most Performed Australian Work of the Year , rowspan="2" , - , Most Performed Alternative Work of the Year , -

ARIA Music Awards

The

ARIA Music Awards The Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (commonly known informally as ARIA Music Awards, ARIA Awards, or simply the ARIAs) is an annual series of awards nights celebrating the Australian music industry, put on by the Austr ...

is an annual award ceremony event celebrating the

Australian music The music of Australia has an extensive history made of music societies. Indigenous Australian music forms a significant part of the unique heritage of a 40,000- to 60,000-year history which produced the iconic didgeridoo. Contemporary fusions of ...

industry. Kian has been nominated for two awards. ! , - ! scope="row",

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

, "Waiting" , Song of the Year , , , - ! scope="row",

, "Every Hour" , Best Soul/R&B Release , , , - ! scope="row",

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...

, ''Shine'' , Best Soul/R&B Release , , , -

J Awards

The

J Awards The J Awards are an annual series of Australian music awards that were established by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's youth-focused radio station Triple J and which are judged by the music and on-air teams from radio stations Triple J, ...

are an annual series of Australian music awards that were established by the

Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is the national broadcaster of Australia. It is principally funded by direct grants from the Australian Government and is administered by a government-appointed board. The ABC is a publicly-own ...

's youth-focused radio station

. They commenced in 2005. In 2017, Kian received a nomination for the Unearthed Artist of the Year Award. , - ! scope="row",

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

, Himself , Unearthed Artist of the Year ,

Music Victoria Awards

The

Music Victoria Awards The Music Victoria Awards (previously known as The Age EG Awards and The Age Music Victoria Awards) are an annual awards night celebrating music from the Australian state of Victoria. They commenced in 2006 and are awarded in Melbourne Music W ...

are an annual awards night celebrating Victorian music. They commenced in 2006. ! , - ,

Music Victoria Awards of 2019 The Music Victoria Awards of 2019 are the 14th Annual Music Victoria Awards and consist of a series of awards, presented on 22 November 2019, during Melbourne Music Week. The Award for ''The Best Global Act'' changed its name to ''Best Intercultu ...

, Kian , Best Regional Act/Outer Suburban Act , , , -

References

{{Authority control 2002 births 21st-century Australian musicians APRA Award winners Living people

Singer-songwriters A singer-songwriter is a musician who writes, composes, and performs their own musical material, including lyrics and melodies. In the United States, the category is built on the folk-acoustic tradition, although this role has transmuted th ...

21st-century Australian male musicians