Meet Kiana Corley | Singer / Songwriter / Musician

We had the good fortune of connecting with Kiana Corley and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Kiana, what role has risk played in your life or career?
Risk has been everything in my career, honestly. It’s been a risk to move across the country to Los Angeles, to invest thousands of dollars in music creation and development programs, and it’s also been a risk to pursue what I’m pursuing amongst friends and family that don’t fully understand the choices I make for my career. It’s almost a blessing to be naturally impulsive, in this way, because I can just lean into it & not have to spend too much time convincing myself to take these risks. The more I choose to do this, the more I take risks in other parts of my life, like with exploring different places, trying to learn skateboarding, and other things that make my whole life more fulfilled overall!

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
Thank you for saying that you’re big fans! One of the main elements of my music that listeners tend to comment on is the vulnerability of my lyrics, which is what allows people to really connect with what I write about. This is probably the thing that I’ve consistently been the most proud of too.

I’m also proud of how I’ve found a way to implement a lot of my musical influences in my sound. In the past, I’ve tried to focus my sound into a singular genre, but the moment that I stopped fighting against my desire to write with a large amount of influences in mind, I felt so much more free in my creative process.

The largest road-blocks that happened with my professional growth were usually due to self-doubt and over-comparison. I honestly overcame this mindset by putting myself in more spaces that made me uncomfortable, until I got used to them. The studio used to be such a terrifying place, and now it’s a place of genuine comfort.

One of the most important lessons I’ve learned with my artist journey so far is – basic as this is – staying true to yourself. Even though this is a very repeated phrase that can be overlooked, it is so important to make sure you don’t lose your mind. The more elements you change around you (new people, new cities, new expectations, etc.,), the more risk you have of sacrificing yourself & what you want in your artistry. It is so so crucial to never lose that.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I have a soft spot in my heart for the Silverlake area, even though I don’t even live there. More often than not, I’m always recommending a day that starts with window-shopping through all of Silverlake, grabbing a burrito from a taco truck & ending with Pazzo Gelato. If it were a week-long trip, it would also include lots of beach volleyball, catching a showcase in Hollywood, and maybe going on a hiking trail!

I also genuinely love going on walks in random areas of LA & just taking in all of the energy from the people walking past me. My favorite places to do this are in the Arts District of DTLA & Culver City.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
This is definitely gonna be cliché, but I 1000% have to shoutout my mom. She’s been my biggest support – emotionally, financially, mentally – when it comes to navigating the music industry. A musician herself, she’s given me countless advice about literally everything I do before i do it.

Website: https://open.spotify.com/artist/6c613EFBtkzPX5Vj6C1OgG?si=4dI6wl6CSaaKc8buw74SDw

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kianacorleymusic/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@kianacorleymusic/

Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@kianacorleymusic

Image Credits
Austin Macasieb, Ergel Cadilenia