Alisa Xayalith (born 24 August 1986) is a New Zealand musician, and is best known as the lead vocalist,

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected string ...

ist and keyboard player for New Zealand

indie electronic Indie rock is a subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the music they produce ...

band

The Naked and Famous The Naked and Famous are a New Zealand indie electronic band from Auckland, formed in 2007. The band currently consists of Alisa Xayalith (vocals, keyboards) and Thom Powers (vocals, guitars). The band has released four studio albums: '' Pas ...

Early life

Xayalith was born in New Zealand, and is the daughter of Laotian refugees. She has one older sister, one older brother, and two other brothers. Shortly after Alisa's seventh birthday, her mother passed away from

breast cancer Breast cancer is cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipple, a newly inverted nipple, or ...

. Having grown up in

South Auckland South Auckland is an imprecisely defined urban area of Auckland, New Zealand, with a young population, a relatively large Polynesian and Māori demographic, and lower incomes than other parts of Auckland. The name ''South Auckland'', though not ...

, New Zealand, her father was a vocalist in a local Laotian ensemble.

The Naked and Famous

In 2006, Xayalith met Thom Powers and Aaron Short at the

Music and Audio Institute of New Zealand Music and Audio Institute of New Zealand (MAINZ) is a faculty of the Southern Institute of Technology, focused on contemporary music and music-industry related education. MAINZ offers music and audio courses from Certificates to Graduate Diploma ...

. Shortly thereafter, Powers and Xayalith began dating. It was from this encounter, that in 2007, pop band

was formed. In 2012, the quintet moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...

, California, United States. In 2014, Powers and Xayalith ended their romantic relationship, but both continued to remain as members in the band. The Naked and Famous parted ways with Aaron Short and Jesse Wood in 2018, followed by their split with Luna Shadows and David Beadle some time prior to March 2020. As of December 2021, the ensemble continues to perform as a duo with both Powers and Xayalith.

Solo career

In December 2021, Xayalith published a song entitled "High Fidelity", the first tune from the musician's upcoming EP. The track was produced by Tyler Spry and Simon Oscroft, with a

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing devi ...

directed by Jason Lester.

COVID-19 illness

On 20 December 2021, the singer announced that she was diagnosed with COVID-19, and that she was in a romantic relationship.

Critical reception

Alex Gallagher of

NME Networks BandLab Technologies is a Singaporean company that operates a social music platform, called BandLab, and also owns a variety of music-related brands. Founded in 2015, these include Harmony and Heritage Guitars; ''Guitar.com'', '' NME'', ''Uncut' ...

describes Xayalith's debut single "High Fidelity" as "a lush, spacious pop cut that foregrounds the singer’s syrupy vocals with shimmering synths and a soaring, effervescent chorus." With regard to the debut hit, Dan Shaw of We Are Happy Media stated that "With shimmering retro synths and powerhouse vocals front and centre, it blooms with romantic colours" going on to say that the "accompanying video mirrors the lyrical reveries of Xayalith, making a star of the Californian landscape".

Discography

EPs

*'' Superpowers ''(2022)

Singles

* "High Fidelity" (2021) * "I'll Be There" (2022)

As featured artist

* "Psychadelic Girl" by Kidz in Space from '' Episode 001: Chasing Hayley'' (2009) * "Tucan" by

Kids of 88 Kids of 88 were a New Zealand new wave duo based in Auckland, New Zealand, consisting of Jordan Arts and Sam McCarthy. They are best known for their 2009 single, " My House". They have since signed through Dryden Street to Sony Music and re ...

from ''

Modern Love Modern Love may refer to: Film * ''Modern Love'' (1918 film), a silent film starring Mae Murray * ''Modern Love'' (1929 film), a part-talking film distributed by Universal Pictures * ''Modern Love'' (1990 film), a film by Robby Benson * ''Mod ...

'' (2012) * "Forget" by The Chain Gang of 1974 from ''

Felt Felt is a textile material that is produced by matting, condensing and pressing fibers together. Felt can be made of natural fibers such as wool or animal fur, or from synthetic fibers such as petroleum-based acrylic or acrylonitrile or w ...

'' (2017) * "Move" by

Peking Duk Peking Duk are an electronic music group made up of disc jockeys and music producers Adam Hyde and Reuben Styles. The pair first garnered attention in 2012 with the release of a Passion Pit bootleg remix. Their biggest hit "High" reached 5 on ...

(2020) * "Half Light" by

Attlas Jeff Hartford, better known by his stage name Attlas (stylized as ATTLAS), is a Canadian DJ, electronic music producer and musician. Hartford is known for his progressive house and electronica releases on the electronic label mau5trap and has oft ...

from ''Lavender God'' (2020)

As writer

* "Half Naked & Almost Famous" by

Machine Gun Kelly George Kelly Barnes (July 18, 1895 – July 18, 1954), better known by his pseudonym "Machine Gun Kelly", was an American gangster from Memphis, Tennessee, active during the Prohibition era. His nickname came from his favorite weapon, a Thomp ...

from ''Rage Pack'' (2011) as well as ''

Lace Up ''Lace Up'' is the debut studio album by American rapper Machine Gun Kelly. It was released on October 9, 2012, by Bad Boy Records and Interscope Records. Puff Daddy, who served as the executive producer on the album, enlisted the guest appearanc ...

''/'' Half Naked & Almost Famous'' (2012) * "Little Deaths" by

Sir Sly Sir Sly is an American indie rock band formed and based in Orange County, California, United States. The band is fronted by vocalist Landon Jacobs with instrumentalists Jason Suwito and Hayden Coplen accompanying him. The trio gradually built a ...

from ''The Rise & Fall of Loverboy ''(2021)

Other credits

* Various background vocals, ''

Human Humans (''Homo sapiens'') are the most abundant and widespread species of primate, characterized by bipedalism and exceptional cognitive skills due to a large and complex brain. This has enabled the development of advanced tools, culture, ...

'' by

OneRepublic OneRepublic is an American pop rock band formed in Colorado Springs, Colorado, in 2002. It consists of lead vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Ryan Tedder, lead guitarist and violist Zach Filkins, rhythm guitarist Drew Brown, bassist and cel ...

(2021)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Xayalith, Alisa 1986 births 21st-century multi-instrumentalists 21st-century New Zealand women singers 21st-century pianists 21st-century women guitarists Living people New Zealand keyboardists New Zealand people of Laotian descent New Zealand rock guitarists New Zealand women in electronic music New Zealand women pop singers Pop guitarists Pop keyboardists Rock keyboardists Women keyboardists 21st-century women pianists