Kiiara | |
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Birth name | Kiara Saulters |
Born |
Wilmington, Illinois, United States |
May 24, 1995
Genres | |
Occupation(s) |
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Instruments | Vocals |
Years active | 2013–present |
Labels | |
Associated acts | Linkin Park |
Kiara Saulters (born May 24, 1995), known professionally as Kiiara, is an American singer and songwriter from Wilmington, Illinois. She is currently signed to Atlantic Records. Her music is described as downcast electronic pop with bass-heavy, trap-style rap production.
Kiara Saulters first attended Saint Francis Xavier Day School in LaGrange, Illinois. After her parents divorced, Kiiara grew up in Wilmington, Illinois. She attended Wilmington High School where she played for the school's volleyball team. While recording her breakout EP, she also worked as a hardware store clerk. She started a studio internship to help familiarize herself with the music process and get practice recording.
In 2013, under her real name, Kiara Saulters, she independently released an acoustic pop single, called "Bring Me Back".
In June 2015, after signing a deal to Atlantic Records and changing to her stage name from Kiara Saulters to Kiiara, Kiiara released her debut single, called "Gold". In 2015, the song "Gold" was chosen as background music of a 15-second Apple Watch commercial, titled "Style".The music video for "Gold" was published on March 21, 2016. Her debut extended play (EP), low kii savage was released on March 22, 2016. The video for "Gold" quickly garnered popularity, reaching at five million views during mid-May 2016.
On September 15, 2016, Kiiara made her television debut, performing "Gold" on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. Kiiara was featured on Linkin Park's single, called "Heavy"; in which the single was released digitally on February 16, 2017, and on radio on February 21.
Kiiara cites Eminem, Rihanna, Yelawolf and Linkin Park as her influences.