K.Flay

Kristine Meredith Flaherty (born June 30, 1985), better known as K.Flay, is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, and musician. Her debut album Life as a Dog was released in 2014, peaking on the Billboard Heatseekers Albums chart at No. 2[3] and Billboard's Rap Albums chart at No. 14.[4] In 2016, she signed with Interscope Records[5] as the first artist signed to Dan Reynolds' Night Street Records imprint.[6] K.Flay was nominated for two awards at the 60th Annual Grammy Awards: Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical (for Every Where Is Some Where), and Best Rock Song (for "Blood in the Cut").

K.Flay
K.Flay performing in December 2015
Background information
Birth nameKristine Meredith Flaherty
Born (1985-06-30) June 30, 1985
Wilmette, Illinois, U.S.
Genres
Instruments
  • Vocals
  • drums
  • guitar
  • bass guitar
  • synthesizer
  • keyboard
Years active2003–present
Labels
WebsiteOfficial website

Early life

Kristine Meredith Flaherty was born in Wilmette, Illinois, on June 30, 1985.[7] She attended nearby New Trier High School. When she was seven, her parents divorced. Her mother remarried soon after, bringing in an extended step-family. She has described herself as a tomboy during childhood, preferring baggier clothing and rejecting "all things girly".[8] When she was 14 years old, Flaherty's father—a guitarist who loved all musical genres—died. Many of her songs are a tribute to him.[7] 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.[9]

Career

2003–2013: Self-released material and RCA Records
K.Flay rapping at Stanford University in April 2007

K.Flay began her music career in 2003, believing that most hip hop hits on the radio were "simplistic, misogynistic and formulaic".[10] 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".[11] After writing and performing the song, Flaherty realized that she enjoyed writing and recording music.[10] 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.[12]

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.[5] K.Flay signed with RCA Records in 2012, releasing two EPs: Eyes Shut in 2012,[13] with songs produced by Liam Howlett from the British band The Prodigy,[14] and What If It Is in 2013.[15] 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".[16]

2014–2015: Life as a Dog
K.Flay in July 2014

In late April 2014, K.Flay announced[17] the release of her album Life as a Dog, by offering fans the ability to pre-order via PledgeMusic, reaching 196 percent of her initial goal.[18] She wanted the project to be "DIY [and] self-motivated".[11] 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.[19]

Life as a Dog was released independently on June 10, 2014.[20] The album reached number 14 on the Billboard Rap Albums chart[4] and number 2 on the Billboard Heatseekers Albums chart.[3] K.Flay toured extensively once the album was released, including headlining a tour and joining tours with AWOLNATION, Third Eye Blind and Dashboard Confessional in 2014. In 2014 and 2015 she toured Germany, France and other European countries.[18]

K.Flay also performed on the Warped Tour in 2014, saying of the experience, "it was almost like an exercise in becoming a better performer".[21]

In 2015, K.Flay collaborated with Louis the Child on their song "It's Strange". The single was praised by Taylor Swift, who added "It's Strange" as one of her "Songs That Will Make Life Awesome" list[22] and was featured on the FIFA 16 soundtrack.[23] The song peaked at number 38 on the Billboard Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart.[24]

2016–2018: Crush Me and Every Where Is Some Where
K.Flay in November 2016

On March 25, 2016, K.Flay released her single "FML".[25]

Later that year, on August 9, 2016, K.Flay announced she signed to Night Street Records, a division of Interscope Records.[6] Her EP Crush Me was released 10 days later on August 19.[26] The EP's song "Blood in the Cut" appeared on the soundtrack for XXX: Return of Xander Cage,[27] Netflix's original series BoJack Horseman (season 4, episode 6),[28] and in a 2017 NFL promo commercial drive.[29]

K.Flay's album Every Where Is Some Where was released on April 7, 2017.[30] The album's first single, "High Enough", was released in March 2017.[31] She was the opening act for the North American and European legs of Imagine Dragons' Evolve Tour.[32] In September 2017, Flay released the book Crush Me, a compilation of notes received from fans.[33]

At the 60th Annual Grammy Awards, "Blood in the Cut" received a nomination for Best Rock Song and Every Where Is Some Where was nominated for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical.[34]

2019–present: Solutions

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".[35] On March 19, the official music video for "Bad Vibes" was released.[36] On April 29, K.Flay revealed that the new album would be titled Solutions and announced the Solutions Tour. The album was released on July 12, 2019.[37]

Musical style and influences

K.Flay has cited Lauryn Hill, M.I.A., Missy Elliott, Metric, Cat Power, Liz Phair, Garbage, Royal Blood, Tame Impala, Shlohmo, OutKast, and Jeremih as influences.[38][39][40] 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.[2]

Personal life

Flaherty publicly came out in June 2019 and has been in a relationship with musician Miya Folick since June 2018.[41] Flaherty's song “Nervous” was written in the early stages of their relationship.

Awards and nominations
Year Award Nominee Category Result
2018 Grammy Awards Every Where Is Some Where Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical Nominated
"Blood in the Cut" Best Rock Song Nominated

Discography

Studio albums
Year Album Chart positions
US
[42]		 US Rap
[43]		 US Heat
[44]		 CAN
[45]
2014 Life as a Dog 133 14 2 —
2017 Every Where Is Some Where
  • Released: April 7, 2017
  • Label:
  • Format:
    • CD
    • digital download
    • LP
 118 — 1 50
2019 Solutions
  • Released: July 12, 2019
  • Label:
    • Interscope
    • Night Street
  • Format:
    • CD
    • digital download
    • LP
 — — — —

Compilations and mixtapes
Year Title Label
2005 Suburban Rap Queen Flayzer Beam
2009 Mashed Potatoes
2011 I Stopped Caring in '96
2013 West Ghost

EPs
Year Title Label
2010 K.Flay Self-released
2012 Eyes Shut RCA
2013 What If It Is
2016 Crush Me Interscope

Collaborative releases
Year Title Other artist Label
2009 Single and Famous EP MC Lars Horris/Flayzer Beam
2018 Lucky One Tom Morello BMG Rights Management (UK) Limited

Singles

As lead artist
Title Year Peak chart positions Album Certifications
US Alt.
[46]		 US Main.
[47]
"2 Weak" 2011 — — Non-album singles
"Fuck & Run" — —
"Rest Your Mind"
(featuring Felix Cartal)		 2012 — —
"LA Again" — —
"Hail Mary"
(featuring Danny Brown)		 2013 — — What If It Is
"Rawks" — —
"Make Me Fade" 2014 — — Life as a Dog
"FML" 2016 — — Non-album single
"Blood in the Cut" 4 18 Crush Me
"Black Wave"[49] 2017 — — Every Where Is Some Where
"High Enough"[50] 20 —
"Giver" 25 —
"Dreamers" — —
"Bad Vibes" 2019 27 — Solutions
"Sister" 32 —
"Not In California" — —
"Zen "
(with X Ambassadors and Grandson)		 2020 24 — TBA
"So Slow" [51]
(with Vanic)		 — — Non-album single
"—" denotes a single that did not chart or was not released in that territory.
Title Lead artist Year Peak chart positions
US Alt.
[46]		 US Rock
[52]
"It's Strange" Louis the Child 2015 — —
"Favorite Color Is Blue" Robert DeLong 2018 16 36
"Make It Up as I Go" Mike Shinoda 22 —
"Called You Twice" FIDLAR 2019 — —
"Forgot How To Dream" Ekali — —

Music videos
Title Year Director(s)
"Less Than Zero" 2011 Frank Door[53][54][55]
"Doctor Don't Know"
"Party"
"We Hate Everyone" 2012 Erik Beck[56]
"Rest Your Mind" (Feat. Felix Cartal) Mariana Blanco[57]
"Sunburn" (LIVE) Emily Dyan Ibarra, Mark Spencer[58]
"The Cops" 2013 Mariana Blanco[59]
"Rawks" Ben Fee[60]
"Thicker Than Dust" 2014 Frank Door[61]
"Everyone I Know" OMG! Everywhere[62]
"Make Me Fade" Ben Fee[63]
"Can't Sleep" 2015 Emily Ibarra[64]
"FML" 2016 Ken Edge[65]
"Blood in the Cut" TJ Andrade[66]
"Black Wave" 2017 Jeremy Cole[67]
"High Enough" Lorraine Nicholson[68]
"Slow March" 2018 Tom Cole[69]
"Bad Vibes" 2019 Lorraine Nicholson[70]
"Sister" Clara Aranovich[71][72]
"Not In California"

Appearances
Year Track featured Album
2008 We Have Arrived (featuring K.Flay & the Former Fat Boys) The Digital Gangster LP
Guinevere (featuring K.Flay)
Other People's Property (featuring Beefy, K.Flay, MC Router)
2013 "Hail Mary" (featuring Danny Brown) Need for Speed: Rivals
"Ribcage" (featuring K. Flay) Heart on My Sleeve
"Easy Fix" This Is the End: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
2015 Golden Features – "Telescope" (featuring K.Flay) XXIV
"Say It" (featuring K. Flay) Dopamine
"Promise" (featuring K. Flay) Automatic
"It's Strange" (featuring K. Flay) Non-album single
2016 Louis the Child – "It's Strange" (featuring K.Flay) FIFA 16
"Blood in the Cut" NBA 2K17
2017 "Blood in the Cut" XXX: Return of Xander Cage (Music from the Motion Picture)
"Heartbreak Summer" (featuring K. Flay) Ego
"Black Wave" Need for Speed: Payback, Asphalt 9: Legends
2018 "Make It Up as I Go" (Mike Shinoda featuring K.Flay) Post Traumatic
"Run For Your Life" Tomb Raider: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
"Lucky One" (Tom Morello featuring K.Flay) The Atlas Underground
2019 "Called You Twice" (FIDLAR featuring K.Flay) Almost Free
"Confidence" (X Ambassadors featuring K.Flay) Orion
2020 "Bad Memory" Birds of Prey: The Album
gollark: It is? I've always found darkness to be, you know, dark.
gollark: Yes, probably.
gollark: Lines are a *terrible* metric for actual customisation.
gollark: There are probably better ways.
gollark: *kind

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