K. Flay

Kristine Meredith Flaherty (born June 30, 1985), better known by her stage name K.Flay, is an American musician singer and songwriter from Wilmette, Illinois. Her album Life as a Dog, released in 2014, peaked on the Billboard Heatseekers Albums chart at number two, and on Billboard's Rap Albums chart at number 14. In 2016, she signed with Interscope Records as the first artist signed to Dan Reynolds' Night Street Records imprint.

Flaherty was raised in Wilmette, Illinois, a suburb north of Chicago. She attended New Trier Township High School.

When she was seven, Flaherty's parents divorced. Soon after, her mom remarried, bringing in an extended stepfamily. She has described herself as a tomboy during childhood, preferring baggier clothing and rejecting "all things girly."

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.

In 2003, she entered Stanford University in California, pursuing a double major in psychology and sociology. According to Flaherty, many people she met during her time at Stanford influenced her musical style.

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.

Flaherty continued to experiment with music by writing songs and performing and recording them on her computer. She released a mixtape, Suburban Rap Queen, in 2005, which she produced on her laptop and began performing in the local music scene.

2008–2013: Self-released material and RCA Records

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 in 2012, releasing two EPs: Eyes Shut in 2012, with songs produced by Liam Howlett 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: Life as a Dog

K.Flay announced the release of her 2014 album Life as a Dog, by offering fans the ability to pre-order via PledgeMusic, reaching 196 percent of her initial goal. She wanted the project to be "DIY [and] self-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 number 14 on the Billboard Rap Albums chart and number 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 and Dashboard Confessional in 2014. In 2014 and 2015 she toured Germany, France and other European countries.

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".

2015: It's Strange

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" and was featured on the FIFA 16 soundtrack. The song peaked at number 38 on the Billboard Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart.

2016–present: Interscope Records, "FML" and Every Where Is Some Where

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

Later that year, on August 9, 2016, K.Flay announced she signed to Night Street Records, a division of Interscope Records. 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.

K.Flay's album Every Where Is Some Where was released on April 7, 2017. The album’s first single, "High Enough", was released in March 2017.

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.

She describes her sound as "genre-defying" and draws from lo-fi pop and hip hop with a strong indie component in her sound.

Studio albums

Compilations and mixtapes

EPs

Collaborative releases

Singles

Appearances