K. Flay
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Kristine Meredith Flaherty (born June 30, 1985), better known as K.Flay, is an American singer, musician, songwriter, and rapper. Her debut album ''
Life as a Dog ''Life as a Dog'' is the debut studio album by American hip hop recording artist K.Flay. The album was announced in April 2014 and was funded by fans through PledgeMusic.Vaziri, Aidin (2014)Album review: K. Flay, 'Life as a Dog', ''San Francisco ...
'' was released in 2014, peaking on ''Billboard''s Heatseekers Albums chart at No. 2 and ''Billboard''s Rap Albums chart at No. 14. In 2016, she signed with Interscope Records as the first artist signed to
Dan Reynolds Daniel Coulter Reynolds (born July 14, 1987) is an American singer and songwriter. He is the lead vocalist of the pop rock band Imagine Dragons. Reynolds also released an EP in 2011, titled ''Egyptian – EP,'' as a duo with his former wife A ...
' Night Street Records imprint. At the
60th Annual Grammy Awards The 60th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony was held on January 28, 2018. The CBS network broadcast the show live from Madison Square Garden in New York City. The show was moved to January to avoid coinciding with the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeong ...
, she was nominated for
Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical The Grammy Award for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical has been awarded since 1959. The award had several minor name changes: * In 1959, the award was known as Best Engineered Record – Non-Classical * In 1960, it was awarded as Best Engineeri ...
(for ''
Every Where Is Some Where ''Every Where Is Some Where'' is the second and major label debut studio album by American alternative hip hop recording artist K.Flay. The album was released on April 7, 2017 by Interscope Records and Dan Reynolds' imprint Night Street Record ...
'') and
Best Rock Song The Grammy Award for Best Rock Song is an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality songs in the rock music genre. Honors in several ...
(for "Blood in the Cut").


Early life

K.Flay was born Kristine Meredith Flaherty in
Wilmette, Illinois Wilmette is a village in New Trier Township, Cook County, Illinois, United States. Bordering Lake Michigan and Evanston, Illinois, it is located north of Chicago's downtown district. Wilmette had a population of 27,087 at the 2010 census. The ...
, on June 30, 1985. She attended nearby New Trier High School. When she was seven, her parents divorced and her mother remarried soon after, bringing in a stepbrother and a stepsister. When she was 14 years old, her biological father—a guitarist who loved all musical genres—died of undisclosed causes related to his
alcoholism Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol that results in significant mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognized diagnostic entity. Predomi ...
; many of her songs include references to him. Flaherty's stepfather helped raise her and later adopted her. She has described herself as a tomboy during childhood, preferring baggier clothing and rejecting "all things girly". In 2003, she enrolled at Stanford University, pursuing a double major in psychology and sociology. According to Flaherty, many people she met during her time at Stanford influenced her musical style.


Career


2003–2013: Self-released material and RCA Records

K.Flay began her music career in 2003, believing that most hip hop hits on the radio were "simplistic, misogynistic and formulaic". After bragging to a friend that she could write similar songs, she wrote "Blingity Blang Blang", which she described as a "low budget rap parody that contained far too many obscenities". After writing and performing the song, Flaherty realized that she enjoyed writing and recording music. She continued to experiment with music by writing songs and performing and recording them on her computer. She released a mixtape called ''Suburban Rap Queen'' in 2005, which she produced on her laptop, and began performing. In 2010, K.Flay released her self-titled EP, and in 2011 self-released the mixtape ''I Stopped Caring in '96'', which she later remarked was a career turning point. K.Flay signed with
RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also A ...
in 2012, releasing two EPs: ''Eyes Shut'' in 2012, with songs produced by
Liam Howlett Liam Paul Paris Howlett (born 21 August 1971) is an English record producer, musician, songwriter, co-founder and leader of the British electronic band The Prodigy, and an occasional DJ. Early years Howlett was born in Braintree, Essex, En ...
from the British band The Prodigy, and ''What If It Is'' in 2013. She parted ways with RCA Records in 2013 because of differences of opinion. Upon leaving RCA Records, she left behind more than 60 songs she had written while signed under RCA Records, but no longer owned the rights to. K.Flay has described her time with RCA Records as similar to "an ill-advised marriage".


2014–2015: ''Life as a Dog''

In late April 2014, K.Flay announced the release of her album ''Life as a Dog'', by offering fans the ability to pre-order via
PledgeMusic PledgeMusic was an online direct-to-fan music platform, launched in August 2009. It was started to facilitate musicians looking to pre-sell, market, and distribute projects; such as recordings and concerts. It bore similarities to other artist p ...
, reaching 196 percent of her initial goal. She wanted the project to be "DIY ndself-motivated". It was recorded and produced in New York City, Los Angeles and San Francisco, with the final mix produced at San Francisco's Different Fur. ''Life as a Dog'' was released independently on June 10, 2014. The album reached No. 14 on the ''Billboard'' Rap Albums chart No. 2 on the ''Billboard'' Heatseekers Albums chart. K.Flay toured extensively once the album was released, including headlining a tour and joining tours with AWOLNATION,
Third Eye Blind Third Eye Blind is an American rock band formed in San Francisco, California, in 1993. After years of lineup changes in the early and mid-1990s, the songwriting duo of Stephan Jenkins and Kevin Cadogan signed the band's first major-label reco ...
and
Dashboard Confessional Dashboard Confessional is an American rock band from Boca Raton, Florida, led by singer Chris Carrabba. The name of the band is derived from the songThe Sharp Hint of New Tears off their debut album, '' The Swiss Army Romance''. History Early ...
in 2014. In 2014 and 2015 she toured Germany, France and other European countries. K.Flay also performed on the
Warped Tour The Warped Tour was a traveling rock tour that toured the United States plus three or four stops in Canada annually each summer from 1995 until 2019. It was the largest traveling music festival in the United States and the longest-running touri ...
in 2014, saying that it "was almost like an exercise in becoming a better performer". In 2015, K.Flay collaborated with
Louis the Child Louis the Child (893 – 20/24 September 911), sometimes called Louis III or Louis IV, was the king of East Francia from 899 until his death and was also recognized as king of Lotharingia after 900. He was the last East Frankish ruler of the Car ...
on their song "It's Strange". The single was praised by
Taylor Swift Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Her discography spans multiple genres, and her vivid songwriting—often inspired by her personal life—has received critical praise and wide media coverage. Bor ...
, who added "It's Strange" as one of her "Songs That Will Make Life Awesome" list and was featured on the ''
FIFA 16 ''FIFA 16'' is a football simulation video game developed by EA Canada and published by Electronic Arts under the EA Sports label. It was released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Android and iOS. The ga ...
'' soundtrack. The song peaked at number 38 on the ''Billboard'' Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart.


2016–2018: ''Crush Me'' and ''Every Where Is Some Where''

On March 25, 2016, K.Flay released her single "FML". Later that year, K.Flay announced she had signed to Interscope Records as the first artist signed to
Dan Reynolds Daniel Coulter Reynolds (born July 14, 1987) is an American singer and songwriter. He is the lead vocalist of the pop rock band Imagine Dragons. Reynolds also released an EP in 2011, titled ''Egyptian – EP,'' as a duo with his former wife A ...
' Night Street Records imprint. Her EP ''Crush Me'' was released 10 days later on August 19. The EP's song "Blood in the Cut" appeared on the soundtrack for '' XXX: Return of Xander Cage'', Netflix's original series '' BoJack Horseman'' (season 4, episode 6), and in a 2017 NFL promo commercial drive. K.Flay's album ''
Every Where Is Some Where ''Every Where Is Some Where'' is the second and major label debut studio album by American alternative hip hop recording artist K.Flay. The album was released on April 7, 2017 by Interscope Records and Dan Reynolds' imprint Night Street Record ...
'' was released on April 7, 2017. The album's first single, "High Enough", was released in March 2017. She was the opening act for the North American and European legs of Imagine Dragons' Evolve Tour. In September 2017, Flay released the book ''Crush Me'', a compilation of notes received from fans. At the
60th Annual Grammy Awards The 60th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony was held on January 28, 2018. The CBS network broadcast the show live from Madison Square Garden in New York City. The show was moved to January to avoid coinciding with the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeong ...
, "Blood in the Cut" received a nomination for
Best Rock Song The Grammy Award for Best Rock Song is an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality songs in the rock music genre. Honors in several ...
and ''Every Where Is Some Where'' was nominated for
Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical The Grammy Award for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical has been awarded since 1959. The award had several minor name changes: * In 1959, the award was known as Best Engineered Record – Non-Classical * In 1960, it was awarded as Best Engineeri ...
.


2019–2020: ''Solutions'' and ''Don't Judge a Song by Its Cover''

On March 1, 2019, K.Flay announced that she was working on her third studio album and released a lyric video for its first single, "Bad Vibes". On March 19, the official music video for "Bad Vibes" was released. On April 29, K.Flay revealed that the new album would be titled ''
Solutions Solution may refer to: * Solution (chemistry), a mixture where one substance is dissolved in another * Solution (equation), in mathematics ** Numerical solution, in numerical analysis, approximate solutions within specified error bounds * Soluti ...
'' and announced the Solutions Tour. The album was released on July 12, 2019. In December 2020, during the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
, K.Flay released a three-track EP called ''Don't Judge a Song by Its Cover'' which saw her covering "Break Stuff" by Limp Bizkit, "Self Esteem" by
The Offspring The Offspring is an American rock band from Garden Grove, California, formed in 1984. Originally formed under the name Manic Subsidal, the band's current lineup consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Bryan "Dexter" Holland, lead guit ...
, and " Brain Stew" by Green Day.


2021–present: ''Inside Voices / Outside Voices''

In April 2021, K.Flay announced that a five-track EP called ''Inside Voices'' would be released on June 11. The first song from the EP, "Four Letter Words", was released with a music video on April 23. The second song, "TGIF" featuring
Tom Morello Thomas Baptist Morello (born May 30, 1964) is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, and political activist. He is best known for his tenure with the rock band Rage Against the Machine and then with Audioslave. Between 2016 and 2019, More ...
of
Rage Against the Machine Rage Against the Machine (often abbreviated as RATM or shortened to simply Rage) is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1991, the group consists of vocalist Zack de la Rocha, bassist and backing vocalist Tim Commer ...
on guitar, was released with an animated visual on May 21. Later in 2021, K.Flay began livestreaming on
Twitch Twitch may refer to: Biology * Muscle contraction ** Convulsion, rapid and repeated muscle contraction and relaxation ** Fasciculation, a small, local, involuntary muscle contraction ** Myoclonic twitch, a jerk usually caused by sudden muscle co ...
; she uses the platform to interact with fans, host live interviews with other musicians, and create and mix original songs in real time. She also performed at the
2021 Grey Cup The 108th Grey Cup decided the Canadian Football League (CFL) championship for the 2021 CFL season, 2021 season. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada, COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 CFL season, 2020 season was cancelled and the start of the 2021 se ...
halftime show with Arkells and
The Lumineers The Lumineers are an American alternative folk band based in Denver, Colorado. The founding members are Wesley Schultz (lead vocals, guitar) and Jeremiah Fraites (drums, percussion, piano). Schultz and Fraites began writing and performing toge ...
.'' On November 19, she released another five-track EP called ''Outside Voices''. The EP's first single, "Nothing Can Kill Us", was released on October 15; its accompanying music video was released on November 4. A second single, "Weirdo", was released on November 17. On February 4, 2022, K.Flay released her fourth studio album '' Inside Voices / Outside Voices''. The album combines the ''Inside Voices'' and ''Outside Voices'' EPs into one album and features two additional tracks called "The Muck" and "Good to Drive". On November 16, she released "It's Been So Long", her first release since a viral infection earlier in the year caused her to experience sudden sensorineural hearing loss and
labyrinthitis Labyrinthitis is inflammation of the labyrinth – a maze of fluid-filled channels in the inner ear. Vestibular neuritis is inflammation of the vestibular nerve – the nerve in the inner ear that sends messages related to motion and position t ...
, ultimately leading to her becoming completely deaf in her right ear. She wrote on her social media pages that she wrote the song while recovering from
COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...
and "isolating in a bedroom above a garage" in
Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...
, and that she "worried hewouldn't be able to sing or make music like heused to" but recording the song felt "like a big step forward".


Musical style and influences

K.Flay has cited a wide range of musicians such as
Royal Blood A royal descent is a genealogy, genealogical Kinship and descent, line of descent from a past or present monarch. Both geneticists and genealogists have attempted to estimate the percentage of living people with royal descent. From a genetic ...
, Missy Elliott, Garbage,
Lauryn Hill Lauryn Noelle Hill (born May 26, 1975) is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, and record producer. She is often regarded as one of the greatest rappers of all time, as well as being one of the most influential musicians of her generation. ...
,
Tame Impala Tame Impala is the psychedelic music project of Australian multi-instrumentalist Kevin Parker. In the recording studio, Parker writes, records, performs, and produces all of the project's music. As a touring act, Tame Impala consists of Parke ...
,
Jeremih Jeremy Phillip Felton (born July 17, 1987), known professionally as Jeremih ( ), is an American singer, songwriter and record producer. In 2009, he signed a record deal with Def Jam Recordings. Jeremih's commercial debut single, "Birthday Sex", ...
,
Metric Metric or metrical may refer to: * Metric system, an internationally adopted decimal system of measurement * An adjective indicating relation to measurement in general, or a noun describing a specific type of measurement Mathematics In mathem ...
, M.I.A., OutKast,
Liz Phair Elizabeth Clark Phair (born April 17, 1967) is an American singer-songwriter. Born in New Haven, Connecticut, Phair was raised primarily in the Chicago area. After graduating from Oberlin College in 1990, she attempted to start a musical career ...
, Cat Power, and
Shlohmo Henry Laufer (born January 3, 1990), known professionally as Shlohmo, is an American musician and producer from Los Angeles. He is best known for his experimental production style and for founding the record label Wedidit Records. Career Shlo ...
as influences. Her work has covered genres including hip hop, alternative hip hop,
indie Indie is a short form of "independence" or "independent"; it may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Gaming *Independent video game development, video games created without financial backing from large companies *Indie game, any game (board ...
, and
pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre with an emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than rock music. Originating in the late 1950s as an alternative to normal rock and roll, earl ...
. She has described her sound as "genre-defying" and draws from lo-fi pop and hip hop with a strong indie component in her sound.


Personal life

Flaherty resides in
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
. She has hinted at being bisexual in her lyrics and interviews, and was in a relationship with fellow musician Miya Folick from 2018 to 2021. In September 2022, Flaherty revealed that she had recently experienced sudden sensorineural hearing loss and
labyrinthitis Labyrinthitis is inflammation of the labyrinth – a maze of fluid-filled channels in the inner ear. Vestibular neuritis is inflammation of the vestibular nerve – the nerve in the inner ear that sends messages related to motion and position t ...
, causing her to undergo multiple forms of hearing therapy. In October, she revealed that the treatment had been unsuccessful and that she had gone completely deaf in her right ear. After she began releasing music again later that year, she admitted that she was initially concerned about her ability to keep making music while being totally deaf in one ear, but was adapting to the condition.


Discography


Studio albums


Compilations and mixtapes


Extended plays


Collaborative releases


Singles


As lead artist


As featured artist


Music videos


Appearances


Awards and nominations

{, class="wikitable sortable" , - !Year !Award !Work !Category !Result , - , 2018 , Grammy Awards , ''
Every Where Is Some Where ''Every Where Is Some Where'' is the second and major label debut studio album by American alternative hip hop recording artist K.Flay. The album was released on April 7, 2017 by Interscope Records and Dan Reynolds' imprint Night Street Record ...
'' ,
Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical The Grammy Award for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical has been awarded since 1959. The award had several minor name changes: * In 1959, the award was known as Best Engineered Record – Non-Classical * In 1960, it was awarded as Best Engineeri ...
, , - , 2018 , Grammy Awards , "Blood in the Cut" ,
Best Rock Song The Grammy Award for Best Rock Song is an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality songs in the rock music genre. Honors in several ...
,


References


External links


Official website
* {{Authority control 1985 births 20th-century LGBT people 21st-century American rappers 21st-century American women musicians 21st-century LGBT people American female hip hop singers American women rappers American women singer-songwriters Bisexual musicians Interscope Records artists LGBT people from Illinois LGBT rappers American LGBT singers LGBT songwriters Living people Midwest hip hop musicians New Trier High School alumni People from Wilmette, Illinois Rappers from Illinois Singer-songwriters from Illinois Stanford University alumni Twitch (service) streamers 21st-century women rappers