Kiara was born and raised in Stoney Creek, Ontario and has been singing and performing since the age of 4. She began singing with Canadian Rock icon Ray Lyell and Paula Tessaro from Rayne Records who were both big on the Canadian music scene in the 80s and 90s as members of the band Ray Lyell and the Storm. Recently coached by top talent Laura Cavacece, founder of the Hidden Talent Canada Vocal Competition, who taught Kiara how to both write and perform music with confidence, has worked on fine tuning vocal techniques and together they have written 3 original songs. Writing about things that matter, things that teenagers experience and the emotion that is felt through her music displays what it’s like going through different things as a teen. With teens so eager to want to grow up, Kiara and Laura wrote “Take It Back” that reminds Kiara of simpler times she has read about where summer time just meant fun at the beach with no agenda. Music is Kiara’s outlet, a passion, and performing is the way she brings her stories to life.
Laid-back, down-to-earth and easy on the ears is the classic pop track “Take It Back” by Kiara and we can’t get enough! Guitar riffs that are fresh, and a voice that is going to sweep you away like the waves, “Take It Back” is sure to transport you to a relaxing time. Her voice is sweet, lively and has an innocence that is refreshing and extremely refined as she never hesitates when hitting each note–which she does perfectly! Kiara is a fantastic lyricist and write words that are easy to get lost in, and that paint the perfect picture of a beautiful summer day out by the water with that subtle mix of love thrown in there. The subtleness of the synth added in behind the guitar and vocals adds that laid-back vibe that you get from a lot of Reggae music mixed with the gentle Pop tones of the harmonies to give this an overall vibrant and vivacious sound. Just grab a towel, lay on the beach and crank up this refreshing track that is going to be a hit of the summer!
Give a listen to Kiara's "Take It Back" here, and continue scrolling for the artists exclusive interview.
Hey Kiara! Absolutely love your song! Can you give us a bit more background on yourself and how you found your passion for music?
Thank you!! And I guess I found my passion for music from a very young age. I was 3 and at a birthday party for my great great aunt and I just picked up the microphone when I was with my papa and started singing. I fell in love with performing immediately. There’s a bit of a music background in my family; my Nana sang and performed when she was younger as did her sister. I believe her sister (my great aunt) performed with Tony DeFranco and the DeFranco family who were a 1970s pop music group from Port Colborne Ontario where my nana and my great aunt grew up. My mom listened a lot to a band called Ray Lyell and the Storm (late 80s, early 90s) and they were big on the Canadian music scene and even nominated for a Juno Award. So when Ray opened up a studio in Hamilton Ontario, I began taking vocal lessons there at age 3. I sang all different types of music and performed a lot at open mic nights. I was their youngest performer and loved the hype of performing. More recently, I have been experimenting with all different kinds of music and enjoy music from all different genres.
What is the meaning behind “Take It Back” and what inspired you to write it?
I am a beach girl by heart. I have always loved the beach and when I’m down in Florida or anywhere near water, that’s where you’ll find me. I was surfing on the beach in Hawaii when the idea for the song came to me. The salt air, the warm sun, the cool waves and the chill vibes.... I knew there was a song in there somewhere lol. I love the freedom I feel when I’m at the beach and it’s always been a place where I feel the most relaxed. I started writing some of my ideas for the song down then after sitting with my vocal coach (Laura Cavacece, Laura Cavacece Vocal School and founder of Hidden Talent Canada) a new song was born. I think it took us only a few hours to write because the ideas were flowing. The song to me just resonates freedom. As teens today there is just so much pressure in everything we do to succeed and there never seems to be enough time to just chill and relax. This song just reminds me of spending fun times on the beach with friends and many of my friends have told me that the song basically sums up my personality:) carefree and happy!
Have you found any difficulties with being a performer from such a young age and how have you overcome any challenges?
Not really. I mean I never even really felt nervous to perform in front of people. I guess because it was something I did when I was young, you’re just fearless when you’re young. Looking back I guess you wonder how people take you serious as a performer when you’re 3 or 4 but you just keep grinding and as you get older and perfecting your sound, they just do. I don’t let people’s opinions really faze me. I do what I do because I love it but I do take constructive criticism in and use it to help myself to improve. I’ve been working more recently on performing and techniques when performing. I guess a challenge was when I was down in Florida and asked to perform at a community event. The crowd were older and I was afraid that maybe they wouldn’t like the choices of songs in the set but it was a worry quickly put to rest. It was a great night.
Are there any specific genres and artists that inspire your sound?
Growing up, I was exposed to different music. My mom was more into classic rock and my dad listened to mostly country music. My playlist includes music from almost every genre of music and the songs that I have released to date are also from all different genres; pop, reggae and country. I sang a lot of Dixie Chicks songs as well as Miley Cyrus, Hilary Duff and Avril Lavigne growing up. This song, Take it Back, was inspired by Cody Simpson and Jack Johnson and the reggae sound by Bob Marley. When Cody Simpson became an independent performer after leaving Atlantic Records I noticed that much of his music dealt with our oceans and the sea and the preservation of marine life. He is an advocate for these things and a member of UNDP and this is something I feel that we all need to work towards to help preserve our planet for future generations. Some of my other music is inspired by vocal powerhouses like Adele, Carrie Underwood, Bebe Rexha and Billie Eilish. My most recent song “Broken Story” was actually inspired by my vocal coach and mentor Laura Cavacece who is a country music performer and well on her way up in the Nashville and country Music scene. Her song Side Effects is so powerful and even though I never thought of writing or singing country music before, her song is definitely the inspiration behind Broken Story.
What can we expect to see in 2019 from you?
a rap song? Lol. No I’m not sure about that one but it is something I’d like to maybe try in the future. In the immediate future I am working on a music video for my song Take it Back with James Nickle from Cleveland Sound Lab and 188.Productions based in Toronto Ontario. Perfect timing for this video too as summer time is almost here. That’s my main focus at the moment. After that, what else? Writing more songs:) maybe even a rap song!!! You just never know!
Further connect with Kiara via the artists Instagram!