K. Flay

Kristine Meredith Flaherty (born June 30, 1985), better known as K.Flay, is an American singer, musician, songwriter, and rapper. She has released five studio albums: ''Life as a Dog'' (2014), ''Every Where Is Some Where'' (2017), ''Solutions'' (2019), ''Inside Voices / Outside Voices'' (2022), and ''Mono'' (2023).

''Life as a Dog'' peaked at No. 2 on ''Billboard''s Heatseekers Albums chart and No. 14 on ''Billboard''s Rap Albums chart. ''Every Where Is Some Where'' was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical, while its lead single "Blood in the Cut" was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Rock Song. K.Flay is also known for collaborating with artists such as Dune Rats, Grandson, Mike Shinoda, Party Favor, Tom Morello, Travis Barker, Vic Fuentes,PVRIS and X Ambassadors.

Early life

K.Flay was born Kristine Meredith Flaherty in Wilmette, Illinois, on June 30, 1985. She attended New Trier High School.

Flaherty's parents divorced when she was seven years old and her mother soon remarried, bringing in a stepbrother and a stepsister, with her stepfather later adopting her. When she was 14 years old, her biological father died of undisclosed causes related to his alcoholism; many of her songs include references to him. She has described herself as a tomboy during childhood, preferring baggier clothing and rejecting "all things girly". In 2003, she enrolled at Stanford University, pursuing a double major in psychology and sociology. She has said that many people she met at Stanford influenced her musical style.

Career

2003–2013: Self-released material and RCA Records signing

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. She continued to experiment with music by writing songs and performing and recording them on her computer. She released a mixtape called ''Suburban Rap Queen'' in 2005, which she produced on her laptop, and began performing. She then independently released the now-unavailable mixtapes ''[appetite whetting 2.0]'' and ''MASHed Potatoes'', as well as the EP ''Single and Famous'' with MC Lars''.''

In 2010, K.Flay released her self-titled extended play. A year later, she self-released the mixtape ''I Stopped Caring in '96'', which she later remarked was a turning point for her career. K.Flay signed with RCA Records in 2012, releasing two more 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 but no longer owned the rights to. K.Flay has described her time with RCA Records as similar to "an ill-advised marriage". Her mixtape ''West Ghost'' was released in the same year; this release, along with much of her previous independent material, was available for free download on her official website.

2014–2015: ''Life as a Dog''

In late April 2014, K.Flay announced the release of her 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 No. 14 on the ''Billboard'' Rap Albums chart and No. 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, 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 that it "was almost like an exercise in becoming a better performer".

In 2015, K.Flay collaborated with Louis the Child (duo), 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" list and was featured on the ''FIFA 16'' soundtrack. The song peaked at number 38 on the ''Billboard'' Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart.

2016–2018: ''Crush Me'' and ''Every Where Is Some Where''

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

Later that year, K.Flay announced she had signed to Interscope Records as the first artist signed to Dan Reynolds (singer), Dan Reynolds' Night Street Records imprint. Her first release was the EP ''Crush Me'', with the song "Blood in the Cut" appearing on the soundtrack for ''XXX: Return of Xander Cage'', Netflix's original series "Peaky Blinders", as well as ''BoJack Horseman'' (season 4, episode 6), and in a 2017 NFL promo commercial drive.

K.Flay's album ''Every Where Is Some Where'' was released on April 7, 2017. The album's third single, "High Enough (K.Flay song), High Enough", was released in March 2017. She was the opening act for the North American and European legs of Imagine Dragons' Evolve Tour. In September 2017, Flay released the book ''Crush Me'', a compilation of notes received from fans.

At the 60th Annual Grammy Awards, "Blood in the Cut" received a nomination for Grammy Award for Best Rock Song, Best Rock Song and ''Every Where Is Some Where'' was nominated for Grammy Award for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical, Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical.

2019–2020: ''Solutions'' and ''Don't Judge a Song by Its Cover''

On March 1, 2019, K.Flay announced that she was working on her third studio album and released a lyric video for its first single, "Bad Vibes". On March 19, the official music video for "Bad Vibes" was released. On April 29, K.Flay revealed that the new album would be titled ''Solutions'' and announced the Solutions Tour. The album was released on July 12, 2019.

On May 15, 2020 K.Flay released the song "Zen (X Ambassadors, K.Flay, and Grandson song), Zen" with X Ambassadors and Grandson. In December, K.Flay released a three-track EP called ''Don't Judge a Song by Its Cover'' which saw her covering "Break Stuff" by Limp Bizkit, Self Esteem (song), "Self Esteem" by The Offspring, and "Brain Stew / Jaded, Brain Stew" by Green Day.

2021–2022: ''Inside Voices / Outside Voices''

In April 2021, K.Flay announced that a five-track EP called ''Inside Voices'' would be released on June 11. The first song from the EP, "Four Letter Words", was released with a music video on April 23. A second single, "TGIF" featuring Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine on guitar, was released with an animated visual on May 21.

Later in 2021, K.Flay began livestreaming on Twitch (service), Twitch; she uses the platform to interact with fans, host live interviews with other musicians, and create and mix original songs in real time. She also performed at the 2021 Grey Cup halftime show with Arkells and The Lumineers.'' On November 19, she released another five-track EP called ''Outside Voices''. The EP's first single, "Nothing Can Kill Us", was released on October 15; its accompanying music video was released on November 4. A second single, "Weirdo", was released on November 17.

On February 4, 2022, K.Flay released her fourth studio album ''Inside Voices / Outside Voices''. The album combines the ''Inside Voices'' and ''Outside Voices'' EPs into one album and features two additional tracks called "The Muck" and "Good to Drive". On November 16, she released "It's Been So Long". This was her first release since suffering from a viral infection earlier in the year, which caused her to experience sudden sensorineural hearing loss and labyrinthitis and ultimately led to complete deafness in her right ear. She explained on her social media pages that she wrote the song while recovering from COVID-19 and "isolating in a bedroom above a garage" in Tennessee, and that she "worried [she] wouldn't be able to sing or make music like [she] used to" but that recording the song felt "like a big step forward".

2023–present: Hearing loss diagnosis and ''Mono''

On April 26, 2023, K.Flay released her first track of the year, "Raw Raw", along with its accompanying music video. The track had been teased on her social media pages in the weeks prior to its release. The song heavily features the theme of vulnerability, which she said was inspired by her hearing loss experience: "I wanted to capture what vulnerability really feels like. Outwardly it might seem tender, but on the inside it's messy and bloody and somewhat terrifying. It's a chainsaw buzzing at your throat." In May, she teased her upcoming single "Shy" by playing it while on tour with Grandson and on Instagram Live.

On June 6, K.Flay announced that her upcoming album would be called ''Mono'' and revealed its cover, track list, and release date. The following day, she released "Shy" with a music video. The third single from the album, "Irish Goodbye", was released on August 17. The album was released on September 15 and received positive reviews, with its overall theme of vulnerability being singled out for praise.

On January 11, 2024, K.Flay released the single "Carsick", which had previously been available only on physical copies of ''Mono''.

On November 12, K.Flay released the EP ''I'm Making Friends With The Silence'', containing softer versions of six songs from ''Mono'' inspired by her hearing loss. She released a song with Evanescence's Amy Lee for the Ballerina (2025 film) movie called "Fight Like A Girl" in 2025 .

Musical style and influences

K.Flay has cited a wide range of musicians such as Royal Blood (band), Royal Blood, Missy Elliott, Garbage (band), Garbage, Lauryn Hill, Tame Impala, Jeremih, Metric (band), Metric, M.I.A. (rapper), M.I.A., Outkast, OutKast, Liz Phair, Cat Power, and Shlohmo as influences. Her work has covered genres including Hip hop music, hip hop, alternative hip hop, Independent music, indie, and pop rock. She has described her sound as "genre-defying" and draws from lo-fi pop and hip hop with a strong indie component in her sound.

Personal life

Flaherty resides in Los Angeles. She has hinted at being bisexual in her lyrics and interviews, and was in a relationship with fellow musician Miya Folick from 2018 to 2021.

In September 2022, Flaherty revealed that she had recently experienced sudden sensorineural hearing loss and labyrinthitis, causing her to undergo multiple forms of hearing therapy. In October, she revealed that the treatment had been unsuccessful and that she had gone completely deaf in her right ear. After she began releasing music again later that year, she admitted that she was initially concerned about her ability to keep making music while being totally deaf in one ear, but was adapting to the condition. In April 2025, she revealed that she recently had surgery to place a cochlear implant.

Discography

* ''Life as a Dog'' (2014)
* ''Every Where Is Some Where'' (2017)
* Solutions (album), ''Solutions'' (2019)
* ''Inside Voices / Outside Voices'' (2022)
* Mono (K.Flay album), ''Mono'' (2023)

Awards and nominations

{, class="wikitable sortable"
, -
!Year
!Award
!Work
!Category
!Result
, -
, 2018
, Grammy Awards
, ''Every Where Is Some Where''
, Grammy Award for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical, Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical
,
, -
, 2018
, Grammy Awards
, "Blood in the Cut"
, Grammy Award for Best Rock Song, Best Rock Song
,

Notes

References

External links

Official website
*

{{Authority control

1985 births
American people of Russian-Jewish descent
American people of Czech-Jewish descent
American people of German-Jewish descent
American people of Irish descent
20th-century American LGBTQ people
21st-century American LGBTQ people
21st-century American rappers
21st-century American women rappers
American LGBTQ rappers
American LGBTQ songwriters
American women hip-hop singers
American women singer-songwriters
Bisexual women singers
Bisexual rappers
Bisexual singer-songwriters
Interscope Records artists
LGBTQ people from Illinois
Living people
Midwest hip-hop musicians
New Trier High School alumni
People from Wilmette, Illinois
Rappers from Illinois
RCA Records artists
Singer-songwriters from Illinois
Stanford University alumni
American Twitch (service) streamers