Kaiit ( ) is the performance name of Kaiit Bellamia Waup (born 29 October 1997,

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an island country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean n ...

), who is a

neo soul Neo soul (sometimes called progressive soul) is a genre of popular music. As a term, it was coined by music industry entrepreneur Kedar Massenburg during the late 1990s to market and describe a style of music that emerged from Soul music, soul ...

singer-songwriter based in Australia. At the

ARIA Music Awards of 2019 The ARIA Music Awards of 2019 are the 33rd Annual Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (generally known as ARIA Music Awards or simply The ARIAs) and consist of a series of awards, including the 2019 ARIA Artisan Awards, ARI ...

, they won the inaugural Best Soul/R&B Release category for the single, " Miss Shiney" (2019).

Biography

Kaiit was born as Kaiit Bellamia Waup, in 1997 in

(PNG) ''n.b.'' Associated audio file is no longer available to a Papua New Guinean father and

Indigenous Australian Indigenous Australians are people with familial heritage from, or recognised membership of, the various ethnic groups living within the territory of contemporary Australia prior to History of Australia (1788–1850), British colonisation. The ...

mother of

Gunditjmara The Gunditjmara or Gunditjamara, also known as Dhauwurd Wurrung, are an Aboriginal people of southwestern Victoria in Australia. They are the Traditional Owners of the areas now encompassing Warrnambool, Port Fairy, Woolsthorpe and Portland. ...

and

Torres Strait Islander Torres Strait Islanders ( ) are the Indigenous Melanesians, Melanesian people of the Torres Strait Islands, which are part of the state of Queensland, Australia. Ethnically distinct from the Aboriginal Australians, Aboriginal peoples of the res ...

heritage. The artist grew up in both PNG and Australia. Initially pursuing a career as a

make-up artist A make-up artist, also called a makeup artist, and often shortened to MUA, is an artist whose medium is the human body, applying makeup and Prosthetic makeup, prosthetics on others for theatre, television, film, fashion, magazines and other simil ...

, Kaiit turned to performing as a singer based in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

. Kaiit's first single, "Natural Woman", was issued in mid-2017. It is co-written by Kaiit with Michael Chan, Jack Hewitt, Michael Cooper and Mohamed Komba. Sonny Thomas of ''Purple Sneakers'' praised the song, "Jam-packed with soul and seemingly effortless cool, she shines on her new single and film clip." It is included on their five-track debut extended play, ''Live from Her Room'', which was issued in September 2018. Gloria Brancatisano of ''Beat'' rated it at 8.5 out-of 10, "Kaiit paints a picture of a woman who understands her worth, appreciating those who come into her life to improve it while carefully removing those who are toxic." Another single, "OG Luv Kush Pt 2", from the EP had been issued in 2018, which is "an essay of reasons to leave a relationship and in spite of the listed problems, Kaiit shows her strength in character." The track was shared on social media by American singer, Jill Scott. At the

APRA Music Awards of 2019 The APRA Music Awards of 2019 are the 37th annual awards given in the series of awards together known as APRA Awards, given in 2019. The awards are given in a series of categories in three divisions and in separate ceremonies throughout the yea ...

"OG Luv Kush Pt 2" was short-listed for Song of the Year. In that year the singer-songwriter undertook a European tour including a performance at England's

The Great Escape Festival The Great Escape Festival is a four-day music festival held in Brighton and Hove, England every year in May. It is operated by MAMA Festivals and showcases new music from a variety of genres. The festival was founded in 2006 and hosts roughly ...

. In May 2019 the single, " Miss Shiney", was released. It won the inaugural Best Soul/R&B Release category at the

. Due to the

COVID-19 pandemic in Australia The COVID-19 pandemic in Australia was a part of the COVID-19 pandemic, worldwide pandemic of the coronavirus disease 2019 () caused by SARS-CoV-2, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first confirmed case in Aust ...

, the artist turned to

crowdfunding Crowdfunding is the practice of funding a project or venture by raising money from a large number of people, typically via the internet. Crowdfunding is a form of crowdsourcing and Alternative Finance, alternative finance, to fund projects "withou ...

to maintain their independence from major record labels. In August 2021 they launched a

GoFundMe GoFundMe is an American for-profit crowdfunding platform that allows people to raise money for events ranging from life events such as celebrations and graduations to challenging circumstances like accidents and illnesses. From 2010 to the ...

page to "recover erindependence as an artist" and continue releasing new music. They performed new material in February 2023 at Nocturnal x Midsumma held at

Melbourne Museum The Melbourne Museum is a natural and cultural history museum located in the Carlton Gardens in Melbourne, Australia. Located adjacent to the Royal Exhibition Building, the museum was opened in 2000 as a project of the Government of Victoria, ...

. In March 2024 the singer supported Zambian-born

Sampa the Great Sampa Tembo (born August 9, 1993), known professionally as Sampa the Great, is a Zambian singer, rapper, and songwriter. Between 2014 and 2020, she was based in Australia. Note: this source was an agency for the artist. Her debut solo album, ' ...

at Supreme Court Gardens, Melbourne. Kaiit performed new songs, "2000 n Somethin'" and "Dumb Sis Juice", by "Combining fluid jazz sounds with wavy, celestial vocals, Kaiit delivered a quirky, intimate performance that left listeners feeling giddy and euphoric." Kaiit's debut studio album ''And Off She Goes'' is scheduled for released in May 2025.

Personal life

Kaiit is

non-binary Non-binary or genderqueer Gender identity, gender identities are those that are outside the male/female gender binary. Non-binary identities often fall under the transgender umbrella since non-binary people typically identify with a gende ...

, and uses she/her, he/him, and they/them pronouns. Her partner in life is fellow singer

Adrian Eagle Adrian Eagle, born Adrian Naidu, is an Australian singer-songwriter. He is an ARIA Award winner and also a winner of two categories in the SA Music Awards in 2019. Early life He was born in Adelaide to a Maltese mother and a Fiji-Indian father, ...

, who was also nominated for Best Soul/R&B Release in 2019 for his single "AOK".

Discography

Albums

Extended plays

Singles

As featured artist

Awards and nominations

APRA Awards

The APRA Awards are presented annually from 1982 by the

Australasian Performing Right Association APRA AMCOS consists of Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) and Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society (AMCOS), both copyright management organisations or copyright collectives which jointly represent over 100,000 songwri ...

(APRA), "honouring composers and songwriters". ! , - ,

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

, "OG Luv Kush Pt 2" by Kaiit
(Kaiit Waup, Michael Chan, Anthony Douglas, Mohamed Komba, Jaydean Miranda, Damian Smith) , Song of the Year , , , - ,

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

, "Miss Shiney" by Kaiit
(Kaiit Waup, Vincent Goodyer, Nicholas Martin) , Song of the Year , , , - ,

2025 So far, the year has seen the continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudanese civil war, and the Gaza war. Internal crises in Bangladesh post-resignation v ...

, rowspan="1", "Space" by Kaiit
(Kaiit Waup, Jake Amy, Anthony Liddell, Jaydean Miranda, Justin Smith) , Most Performed R&B / Soul Work , , rowspan="1", , -

ARIA Music Awards

The

ARIA Music Awards The Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (commonly known informally as ARIA Music Awards, ARIA Awards, or simply the ARIAs) is an annual series of awards nights celebrating the Australian music industry, put on by the Austr ...

is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of

Australian music The music of Australia has an extensive history made of music societies. Indigenous Australian music forms a significant part of the unique heritage of a 40,000- to 60,000-year history which produced the iconic didgeridoo. Contemporary fusions o ...

. , - ,

, "Miss Shiney" , Best Soul/R&B Release , , -

Music Victoria Awards

The

Music Victoria Awards The Music Victoria Awards (previously known as The Age EG Awards and The Age Music Victoria Awards) are an annual awards night celebrating music from the Australian state of Victoria. They commenced in 2006 and are awarded in Melbourne Music W ...

, are an annual awards night celebrating Victorian music. They commenced in 2005. ! , - , rowspan="3",

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

, herself , Best Hip Hop Act , , rowspan="4", , - , herself , Breakthrough Act , , - , herself , Archie Roach Award for Emerging Talent , , - ,

, herself , Best Hip Hop Act , , - , rowspan="1",

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

, "Space" , Best Song or Track , , rowspan="1", , -

Vanda & Young Global Songwriting Competition

The

Vanda & Young Global Songwriting Competition The Vanda & Young Global Songwriting Competition is an annual competition that "acknowledges great songwriting whilst supporting and raising money for Nordoff-Robbins" and is coordinated by Albert Music and APRA AMCOS. The competition awards a ...

is an annual competition that "acknowledges great songwriting whilst supporting and raising money for Nordoff-Robbins" and is coordinated by

Albert Music Albert Group Services Pty Ltd, known as Alberts, formerly Albert Music and J Albert and Son, is an Australian music company. The company has major interests in music publishing and production and it earns significant royalties through its subsi ...

and

APRA AMCOS APRA AMCOS consists of Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) and Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society (AMCOS), both copyright management organisations or copyright collectives which jointly represent over 100,000 songwri ...

. It commenced in 2009. , - , 2019 , "Miss Shiney" , Unpublished prize , , -

References

{{reflist 1997 births Papua New Guinean singers Living people 21st-century Australian singers APRA Award winners ARIA Award winners Musicians from Melbourne Australian non-binary musicians Non-binary singers Australian LGBTQ singers