Kiiara

Kiiara stands out as a pop performer with a mildly unconventional bent, relying on an airy vocal style that places her material in territory comparable to Jhene Aiko and Lorde. Born in Wilmington, Illinois, she first appeared under the name Kiara Saulters and self-released the warm acoustic pop number "Bring Me Back" in 2013. After inking a deal with Atlantic, she teamed with Niles Hollowell-Dhar of the Cataracs, David Singer-Vine, Brenton Duvall, and Felix Snow to complete the project Low Kii Savage. That EP shifted between somber electronic pop and hard-hitting trap-rap beats, representing a sharp departure from her earlier work, and arrived in March 2016 after the breakout single "Gold" had already surfaced. The next year brought a featured turn on Linkin Park’s “Heavy,” a song that reached the upper half of the Billboard Hot 100 while climbing to number two on the Hot Rock Songs chart. She closed out the same year by issuing “Whippin” alongside Felix Snow and the standalone cut “Wishlist.” Following her appearance on Cheat Codes’ 2018 release “Put Me Back Together,” Kiiara put out her own single “Messy,” then delivered the track “Open My Mouth” in June 2019. Her first full-length album, Lil Kiiwi, followed in October 2020.