Kyan Palmer is a 22 year old former record label employee turned pop — R&B singer who is starting to take the music industry by storm. His debut single put him on the Spotify Viral Top 50 Charts in 3 countries and now he is one to watch around the world. We got the chance to talk with Kyan about his rise in the music world from working behind the scenes to the one at the mic, found out his inspirations, and heard about his newest song “Make It Up”, check it out below:
Q. We are so happy to get the chance to talk with you on Unheard Gems! We’ve been loving all the music we’ve heard from you so we are excited to learn more.
A. Thank you! I am really happy to be talking with you guys. Thanks for having me.
Q. When did you first know you wanted to pursue music or when did you start to work on your music?
A. I think I always knew deep down that I wanted to pursue music. Being from a remote area in Arizona, I thought the only way to make it was to win American Idol or something. So I always tried to be the best shower singer I could be just in case my big break was coming. It was always my secret, I didn’t really start making music until my last year of college and that was all because of school project.
Q. From working more behind the scenes in the industry as an employee of Republic Records, to being the artist on stage what do you think was the biggest or most shocking change in your perspective of the music industry?
A. I think that the publics perspective of the music industry and entertainment in general is that it’s this lavish, fun, easy lifestyle. For a while, I even thought that until I started working behind the scenes. The amount of hard work, time and effort into breaking a new artist is actually insane. The worst part, is that you can’t predict who and what song is going to take! I definitely gained insight that it’s a different kind of hard-work to make it in the industry. You have to give up sleep, family, friends and sacrifice a lot to make it happen.
Q. What would you say your main inspiration is when you write music? Have you seen that evolve since you started out?
A. My main inspiration is pretty simple, I just write about what happens in my life. I’m constantly writing in my iPhone notes concepts and stories that I want to remember in detail. I think I have evolved in the way that I appreciate pop music more and I recognize that it takes a lot of skill to write a song about a real story and make it interesting enough that the public wants to listen to it.
Q. Can you tell us about your newest song “Make It Up”? What is that song about and what was the process like writing it?
A. Anyone who has followed my career so far can probably recognize that a majority of my songs are pretty sad and dark. I’ve had relationships fall apart and become very heartbreaking and sour. Make It Up is different for me, because it puts a positive spin on the reason that I stayed in a toxic relationship. It really comes down to the fact that through the fighting, negativity, and anger there was always still love.
Q. What about working with other artist? You have quite a list of big name pop stars that you’ve written with. How do you approach writing with or for another artist and what is that collaborative process like for you?
A. I love writing with other artists. Collaborating is probably my favorite part of the industry. A lot of the time it’s kind of random working with new people. We both just end up in a room together and have to basically speed date and dive into each others personal lives. It’s actually really vulnerable, but really fun and rewarding.
Q. Is there anything else in the works you can tell us about? New music? New music
videos? (Your last music video was released almost a year ago)
A. All of the above! Just you wait.
Q. If you could recommend to us another artist you think deserves more recognition in the music industry who would you recommend?
A. I work with this artist named Nicopop all the time. Seriously an amazing talent and I promise you will hear us collaborate in the future.
Q. Thank you so much for joining us on Unheard Gems. As a final question where can people find you and your music?
A. It’s easy! Everything is under Kyan Palmer or @kyanpalmer. Links Below:
Instagram - www.instagram.com/kyanpalmer
Twitter - www.twitter.com/kyanpalmer
Facebook - www.facebook.com/kyanpalmer
Photo credit is Jennica Abrams