1. THE BUZZ
000000 www.femalemag.com.my www.femalemag.com.my
What inspired you to make a career
out of music? “I think more than any-
thing it was my love for singing. The more
I went through in life, the more I want-
ed to sing until it got to a point where I
knew if I didn’t try to do it, I’d always be
left wondering.”
You’re doing very well as an indepen-
dent artiste. Would you say that mu-
sicians today no longer need record
labels to reach the top,
thanks to social media?
“Labels are good at what
they do but they’re not
necessary anymore. With
the Internet, you have
this direct line to anyone
who might want to listen
and support you. It’s no
longer about labels deter-
mining what’s good music
but about artistes making
music that’s true to them-
selves and people liking it
for what it is.”
Speaking of which, pira-
cy has also become an is-
sue. Your thoughts? “Pi-
racy will happen no matter
what. I don’t think they do
it maliciously, but at the end of the day,
I just want to share my music. Between
getting it for free and not getting it at all,
I’d rather they get it for free.”
The release of In Your Arms creat-
ed a major buzz in the mainstream
media. What has been the most
exciting response so far? “Get-
ting on the Ellen [DeGeneres] show
was super surreal for me. I love Ellen
and I watch her show a lot, so to
be sitting next to her was so bizarre.
But it was also exciting because it
was kind of the
first time that main-
stream media had
embraced my music.
It was really nice to
feel recognised.”
What would you be doing now if you
weren’t a musician? “When I was
young I wanted to study bugs or reptiles,
but realistically it would be something
where I’m directly helping people, wheth-
er it’s with therapy, health related or so-
cial work.
But you’re doing just that with Run
Team Kina, yes? How’s that going?
“It’s been amazing so far. Asking people
to get healthy with me, bringing atten-
tion and money to the Leukaemia and
Lymphoma Society, has always been
something I really wanted to do. I was
just in Europe and now I’m in Asia and
people have their [Run Team Kina] wrist-
bands, saying, ‘I’ve been running’ and
they’re raising money for the LLS.”
What’s your advice to aspiring mu-
sicians who dream of making it in
this industry? “One, to do it as much
as possible; write, sing and play at shows
as much as you can just because there’s
always room to grow. The second thing
would be to put yourself all over the In-
ternet, because it’s so powerful and if you
don’t, you’re missing out on a lot of great
opportunities. Do [music] because you
love it and do what moves you, not what
other people want you to do. Music that’s
genuine will come across to others.”
What will you do for your next
music video? “I’m not sure yet. But I’d
like to use making music videos an ex-
cuse to do something creative and fun;
probably not another Jelly Belly video,
unfortunately.”
So what would a Kina-flavoured jel-
lybean taste like? “I’m gonna go ahead
and steal an actual flavour; I love the piña
colada ones. Or maybe a kaya-flavoured
jellybean!”
PHOTOGRAPHYNICKGORDON/COURTESYOFSOULMANNALIVE
THE BUZZ
he music she makes is so lovely, it
came as no surprise that California-
born and bred Kina Grannis managed
to melt the hearts of guys and girls
alike when she swung by Kuala Lumpur. In town
for her In Your Arms World Tour, the 27-year-
old performed to a sold-out crowd at the Bentley
Music Auditorium. This Japanese-European
beauty is not your average pop radio star; Kina
recorded and self-released three EPs within the
four years she was pursuing her degree in social
science at the University of Southern California.
However, she did not receive airwaves until she
signed up for a YouTube account after graduating,
entered and subsequently won a video contest
in 2007. Her first music video, Message From
Your Heart, was broadcast to 97 million people
at the 2008 Super Bowl and won her a record
deal, but Kina turned it down in favour of
independence. Then late last year, she released
In Your Arms, a mind-blowing,
stop-motion clip featuring Kina
herself and 288,000 jellybeans,
which further propelled her
in the mainstream media, and
eventually to stardom. This shy,
down-to-earth songstress, who used
to strum the guitar in the privacy of
her collegiate stairwells (hence her debut album
Stairwells), is now a world-touring musician who
brings a ray of sunshine wherever she goes. It’s
hard to not fall in love with Kina!
T
The world
in front
of herSinger-songwriter of YouTube fame
Kina Grannis struck a chord with her
fans in KL recently. RachelLaw tries
hard to keep her fluttering heart still.
TAKE10WITHKINA!
Kina talks about invisible
bunnies, fellow YouTube
stars and friend-zone
songs on
femalemag.com.my
Log on to catch her
saying hello to you!
I’d love to be great at the piano
because I think you can do so
much with it.
InYourArms
MVfunfacts!
• Made using 288,000 Jelly
Belly jellybeans
• Compilation of 2,460
camera frames
• Created by a 30-member team.
• Took 22 months to produce
• Garnered 3.5 million views on
YouTube over three weeks.