Book My Name Is Kay

Emotional. Crazy. Soulful. Throwback. Electric.

Ask emerging superstar KAY to list five adjectives that best sum up her sound, and she immediately ticks off those disparate yet captivating words. Which is coincidental because while “emotional, crazy, soulful, throwback” and “electric” do indeed conjure KAY’s giddy, hiphop-goosed pop, they also serve as handy sub-headlines for a career trajectory that’s zoomed from pastoral Nova Scotia to Los Angeles via London and Vancouver in just a few years, making believers out of tastemakers like DJ Tiësto and OneRepublic songwriter/producer Ryan Tedder along the way. And so the story of KAY unfolds…

Emotional. “Because the music I make is like that. If it’s sad, it’s ‘I want to throw myself out a window’ sad. And if it’s happy, it’s like rainbows and butterflies.” Part of the reason KAY’s music is so damn Technicolor is that it comes from a completely organic place. Born Kristin Boutilier in Cape Breton 23 years ago, KAY’s folks were clear on one thing – lessons were always worth the dough, so they nurtured a sweeping artistic bent that would serve their daughter mightily in future.

“From piano to violin to guitar, voice lessons to drama, my parents never said no to any kind of lesson,” KAY offers, “And I am so grateful because it was my savior. When everyone else was up to no good in high school, I had music.” Though her roots are in electronica, KAY composes on piano still. And those drama lessons? Wait until you see her live…
Crazy. Because who the heck gets ‘discovered’ at an L.A. house party while wearing pajamas (just for kicks) only to suddenly find themselves on the road composing with the hottest songwriter on the planet? Er, that would be KAY.

As she explains it, in early 2010 her management dispatched her to L.A. to write and suss out the scene. A party invite showed up, and who should be among the guests watching other guests jamming together but Ryan Tedder’s A&R guy. You’ve heard of Ryan Tedder, right, whom Wikiepedia duly notes has written the two most played Top 40 songs in North American radio history (Apologize for his band OneRepublic and Bleeding Love for Leona Lewis)? Busy guy, that Ryan, so naturally he invites KAY on a 10-day OneRepublic tour so the pair can collaborate. Thankfully, in addition to being wildly spontaneous, Tedder is also highly trusting of his A&R guy’s ears or our story might’ve ended here.
“We recorded in studios across the U.S. and on the tour bus. He thought there was something there. Musically, I am different. I’m not sure there are too many girls from Nova Scotia with a loud personality and blonde hair that came up as an emcee. Plus I really know who I am as an artist. So after those 10 days Ryan said, ‘OK let’s get you signed.’” More on Ryan Tedder and the record deal when we reach the ‘Throwback’ portion of our program.

Soulful. Whereby the student learns at the knee of the master, references to Grasshopper optional. While living in Vancouver prior to L.A., KAY falls hard for the drum ‘n’ bass scene and it’s there the occasional wedding singer feels her heart go boom. Along with fledgling chick DJ B. Traits, fledgling emcee KAY starts performing and wouldn’t you know it but global gigs materialize for the fetching pair. In London, KAY’s heart goes boom again.

“I loved the city and ended up moving there for seven months in 2007 and I found an emcee coach. The best way to grow is to put yourself in situations where you feel super-uncomfortable. So me and my coach would go to this record store at night and he would play records and teach me how to rap from square one. It gave me a really unique style, different than American rappers.” And so KAY returned Stateside with a pop sensibility intact and mad rap skills in tow. You don’t see that every day.
Throwback. Fast-forward to 2010. Ryan Tedder, convinced that KAY has a little something-something that hit records are made of, takes his would-be protégé to Interscope Records, where she is swiftly signed, her debut pegged for a 2011 release, just like in the old days of the music biz, except better because no one is operating under any sort of illusion that the path ahead will be easy or paved with gold. But a star is decidedly born.

“Ryan is very involved in the album and he’s a Grammy-winning songwriter,” KAY says. “Not too many artists have that at their disposal. So it makes the success of my album seem… a little brighter.” Recording takes place at The Village in L.A. and Tedder’s Denver studio.

“I thought it was a church but it’s actually a massive studio. I was like ‘Wow is the studio behind this massive church’ and he’s like, ‘That is the studio.’ I guess people are doing well in the music industry.”