Kiesza
Kiesza
Kiesa Rae Ellestad, known professionally as Kiesza, is a Canadian singer and multi-instrumentalist from Calgary, who has most recently worked in New York City and London...
NationalityCanadian
ProfessionMusician
CountryCanada
ball carpet gown heels
I like to be creative with my red carpet outfits, but equally, sometimes I am just in the mood to go all out with a ball gown and heels - but only If you get me on the right day!
age ballerina classic injury three trained
From the age of three to 15, I wanted to be a ballerina and trained really, really hard. Then I had that classic movie story moment, where I had an injury and had to give up my dream.
years choices ballet
I was a ballerina for a good 12 years. When I was 15 I had to stop. It wasn't a choice, it was an injury that prevented me from going forward in ballet unfortunately. Well, fortunately because I wouldn't be doing what I am doing now if that had not happened.
actual building navy oddball realized stick structure
I loved the bootcamp and the training. It was the actual Navy and the structure after it that I realized wasn't for me because they're building soldiers. It's a system, and you can't really stick out; you can't be the oddball out in the military.
exploring limited music soft
When I started writing music on the guitar, it started off very folky because of my limited ability to play. It was slow, soft melodies. But then, as I got better on the guitar, I started exploring different sounds.
built collapse left taught
You're taught that you can keep going in the military. Your point of collapse is not what you thought it was. Your body is built to survive, and when you think you're going to collapse, you still have so much more left in you.
artist knowing perform supporting
I probably wouldn't be here today if it wasn't for the gay community supporting me. I wouldn't be the artist I was today if it wasn't for that because that was the only community that let me try, let me perform without knowing who I was.
great hear instincts radio sing sounds turn
I feel like, when you turn on the radio and you hear a great song, you know it's a great song, and you sing along. We all know what a great song sounds like, so we all have that instinct, it's just being able to accept your own instincts when you write that song.
faces music
I don't think shoving my butt into people's faces will tell them anything about who I am. How is that connecting to your audience? What is that doing for your music?
believed felt result
I didn't want to be that artist that is successful as a result of someone else. Not that that's wrong, but I felt like I had what it took. I really believed I could do it on my own, so I wanted to try, at least.
came fortunate great nobody people
As an artist, I feel so fortunate to be able to learn from all these great musicians that came before me, when some people have nobody that came before them.
cannot following
You cannot teach a person how to write songs. It's about being your own person and following your instincts.
legs wear
To be honest, I'm more of a sneaker person. My legs hurt if I wear heels for too long.
The moment I wrote my first song, I got addicted.