Kalie Shorr

Born July 11, 1994, in Portland, Maine, as the youngest of seven children to a single mother, Kalie Shorr cultivated a sweet vocal style alongside a rigorous work ethic while carving a demanding path toward country stardom that first took shape in Nashville during her teenage years. Absorbing diverse musical influences from her siblings, she started composing original material at age six. She picked up guitar at thirteen and soon began uploading videos of cover performances to online platforms. Her version of Rebecca Black’s “Friday” attracted the attention of blogger Perez Hilton, who exchanged numerous messages with her before inviting her to perform at his thirty-fourth birthday celebration, where she served as an opener for the Backstreet Boys.

Prior to that milestone, Shorr had already performed with a rock band in Portland and claimed victory in the 2010 edition of Maine’s Got Talent. Although she enjoyed rock, R&B, and hip-hop, she remained convinced that country music represented her true direction. To accelerate her plans, she completed additional coursework to finish high school ahead of schedule, then maintained two simultaneous jobs in order to finance a relocation to Nashville. By nineteen she had established herself in Music City, securing employment at a local bar while seeking listeners for her original songs.

Her profile rose after she joined the Song Suffragettes, a weekly showcase dedicated to emerging female singer-songwriters in Nashville, which helped the group build a dedicated local audience. Alongside fellow participants Hailey Steele and Lena Stone, Shorr co-wrote the resilience-themed track “Fight Like a Girl.” She issued the song as an independent digital single in January 2016, earning favorable coverage and rotation on digital radio and social media outlets. In March 2016 she followed with The Y2K Mixtape, an eight-song set of demos, and released the follow-up single “He’s Just Not That into You” that September. The growing traction of these independent releases drew wider attention beyond Nashville, prompting the March 2017 arrival of her EP Slingshot, which collected “Fight Like a Girl,” “He’s Just Not That into You,” and three additional new recordings.