Up onto a few years ago, I was an avid user of ReverbNation. It had always amazed me how many unknown artists had some pretty decent songs and how many artists would constantly adopt whatever was hot at that time as their own style.
Even though I don’t know if Kiara Nelson is even on ReverbNation, she does remind me of the people I used to discover in those days. She’s missing her own identity at this time and copies the masses, but you realize there’s something there nevertheless.
Kiara really is just starting out, so this all makes sense. At age 18, she’s already come a long way. Her debut single, “Cool My Rush”, was released last year and immediately got radio airplay at one of the biggest radio stations in Finland, which is where this Finnish-Swedish-American singer resides. It was also covered by various music bloggers worldwide.
“Cool My Rush” has a strong resemblance to “Lush Life” by Zara Larsson, even stretching as far as the promotion picture, in which she’s looking a lot like Zara. So, the comparison was easily made and is now even being emphasized in the promotion initiated by her management team, but vocally, I think she’s sounds a bit lighter and you could say it lacks a little of that power, if you were very critical, but I don’t really miss it at all.
The debut song emanates from the collaboration with producer Milos Rosas, who also was responsible for Finland’s entry to the Eurovision Song Contest 2016. At the end of last year, Kiara released a new track, “Bulletproof”, which deepens her connection with electro-pop even further.
You can tell, she’s already experimenting with her style. Her blonde hair has now been dyed brown, she’s looking at the camera slightly arrogant and cheeky on the promo picture and there’s a new sound.
The youngster is sounding slightly more mature on the new track, which carries the sound introduced by Zayn with “Pillow Talk”. I still think it’s the sound of a power pop ballad, but others call it r&b or electro pop. The vocal melodies are a little more exciting on this track. She's got a little more attiture and I think it’s bound to get picked up by radio stations again.
It may be profound of me to point out that I said the same thing about Zara lacking her own identity when I first blogged about her. I thought she was copying Rihanna. Now I think Zara is being copied, but I think it will just take a few more months before Kiara has also found her own way and she’s definitely someone to watch.
