Newcomer Kissie Lee has been very busy making a name for herself by writing for other artists as well as herself. She's already logged studio time with artists like Luke James, Keke Wyatt, Jacob Latimore, Netta Brielle, D. Woods, just to name a few via her songwriting crew Write Time Music Group. Now, the German-born singer is ready to claim the spotlight with her new single "Shoutout 2 My Ex," and the upcoming EP, Blowing Kisses. Singersroom recently caught up with Kissie and she lets us in on a few juicy details surrounding her budding music career.
Stepping into the Artist Spotlight: The songwriting really help a lot with my artistry as far as working with a lot of major producers, who then intern wants to work with me. But I did do “Making The Band”… Before I started songwriting for other people, I was actually really an artist. I did “Making The Band” and when I came back from Atlanta, that's when I fell into writing for other artists. Those really coincide together.
Using the Experience From Making The Band: I've been singing since like 6 years old; I've opened up for artists like CeCe Peniston and different artists like that, but I was in Denver, Colorado. That's how I started writing because there was really nobody in music in Denver, but when I got to Atlanta, Making The Band was my first professional foray into music. I guess it was like my kick off point; It just inspired me to really grow, and helped me meet a lot of people. It also helped me focus on whatever weaknesses I had while I was on that show.
The Moniker Kissie Lee (A Poem by Margaret Walker): My mom always had us reading a lot of African-American literature, and just studying our history because we don't get to learn all the details in school, and so that was one of the poems I came across when I was younger. For some reason it always stuck with me, so that's when I was like 'I think I'm Kissie Lee'. Obviously I'm not going to be slashing guys with razor blades, it's more so that I've blossomed into a person who can take control of their lives, career, can be sweet and resolved, but understands the demands that comes with it.
Using a Different Vantage Point on Single "Shoutout 2 My Ex": It's obviously an ex for real; We broke up and I was like 'man, he's crazy and I can't believe this,' and I always had the sad face. But when I started getting back into myself and doing my thing, I was really happy, and singing so well, and a lot of doors opened, so it was like that saying, 'when people leave your life, they leave your life for a reason.' Nobody should be mad; you should shout him out like 'thanks.' You can always learn a lesson from any situation that you came out of.
[Listen to Kissie Lee's "Shoutout 2 My Ex"]
Writing Music Through Strength and Positivity: I kind of have this effect on girls where they're like, 'man, that's what I be going through.' When I write the songs, I try to come up with a solution that could help them see it in a better light. Nobody wants to be stuck in that dark place of love; they wanna be able to get out of it. So I just help them see better times; I guess that's the strength that I'm portraying as far as Kissie Lee and music. There's still the fun side though; we're not all caught up with guys, we still go out and kick it with our friends, we still get dressed up; there's still that girls just wanna have fun side.
Upcoming Project 'Blowing Kisses': I will probably only release seven songs on that project and each song will serve as a different type of kiss. "Shoutout 2 My Ex" would be like the goodbye kiss; I have like a flirty kiss type of song, a sad kiss, and so on.
Inspiration: I always say that Mary J. Blige is my auntie, Aaliyah was my sister, and then I love Diana Ross, Whitney Houston, and The Isley Brothers, so all five of them combined.
Modeling: I've done modeling for Kontrol Magazine, based out of Atlanta, and I've done a couple of runways. Out here (NY), I'm probably going to do some hand modeling as well as print and being brand ambassadors for different clothing lines. With acting, I recently finished a web series called The Label, they're still editing it; I definitely get my triple threat on.
Founder and Creator of Singersroom.com and IncredibleWork.com. Follow me on Instagram at @gary.gentles.
