We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Khya. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Khya below.

Khya, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

Creativity has always sort of followed me around. When I was really little, I would always be making up fantasy worlds, writing songs, making my sister and cousins put on plays, making pop bands with my neighbors…the list could go on forever. I’ve always loved the escape that creativity brings. As I grew up, I fell in love with musical theatre, choir, and dance. (I was also in a rock band in high school, which I’ve always thought was pretty cool.) I was always very serious about making art my whole world, even at a young age. I remember my sophomore year of high school listening to Lorde’s sophomore album Melodrama for the very first time. I remember it feeling absolutely electric. Something clicked in my brain that day. I was so captivated by the way she captured feeling in her songs; I knew I wanted to do the same thing. So I started writing songs every time I felt something I thought was powerful enough. It quickly became a coping mechanism, and I quickly began to feel safer by my piano. That’s when I wrote my debut single “City Lights.” After that recording experience, I just felt it everywhere, in every part of me, that this was what I was supposed to do. I owe so much to that record, and I am so grateful that it sparked something inside of me to write and live and create music.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

Music has always been my favorite way to escape. Escapism is something I’ve found myself chasing over and over again in life. Music has been the safest thing I’ve known. I’ve written songs for as long as I can remember, at first not really taking myself seriously. Sophomore year of high school I started to write songs as a coping mechanism. I fell in love with it. I released my first single in 2021, my senior year. I’ve grown up watching these creative and powerful artists in absolute awe of their vulnerability and strength. I always say that I learned to sing by listening to Taylor Swift’s debut album. I started writing music because of Lorde’s sophomore album “Melodrama”. Phoebe Bridgers record “Punisher” personally struck me and changed my life…literally. I remember sobbing in the backseat of my parents car listening to “Halloween” for the first time. David Bowie’s “Starman” gave me full body chills the first time I heard it, now it’s my favorite song to turn on when I need to feel something. Music is constantly inspiring me and pushing me both as an artist and as a human. My goal with this music thing is just to create the magic that has kept me moving and dancing and growing for my whole life. I want to create things that help other people just as these artists have helped me. We’re only human. We’re meant to experience complexity and we’re meant to share that experience. Music is the best way I can think to do that. It’s so meaningful to see yourself in other people’s stories. My biggest hope is to be honest, to create something bigger than myself, and to bring comfort and safety to anyone who connects with my music. I’m grateful that anyone listens to what I have to say. I hope that I have something meaningful to share with the world. Or at least to a few little girls out there who were just like me.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

It feels a little bit like healing my inner child sometimes. I’ve always needed music-i feel like I couldn’t live without it. Being able to create music from my own stories and my own feelings and seeing other people connect to it is a really healing experience. Songwriting feels like a selfless way to be selfish. I know that sounds absolutely insane, but I feel that it’s true. Writing about my own life, complaining about the hurt, celebrating the joys- sometimes that feels selfish. There are other times, though, when I have someone messaging me to tell me how much my music means to them. I hear stories of what they’re going through and how my songs have helped them heal. That’s when it feels the best. That’s when I’m like “oh, yeah, that’s why I do this, that’s why I love music so much”. Sometimes it’s hard and it hurts to be so intimate and so vulnerable as publicly as music requires. Then I look out at a show and see someone with their hand on their heart singing along, and I’m like “oh shit yeah that’s it”. That’s how I’ve felt and that’s what music is supposed to do. I try to take myself out of it as much as possible. I hope to keep my music pure in that way.

Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?

I’ve always been really thankful that I was a fan first. Specifically when it comes to the music industry. I think because I was always watching and consuming my favorite artists, it felt like an easier transition when I became one. I felt like I kind of knew what to do. I absolutely love watching documentaries of artists making albums and going to tour. I get really dorky about their daily routines, writing techniques, all of it. I’ve spent countless hours reading and watching interviews and taking it all in. When you love something enough, there are endless resources for you to learn. I fully engrossed myself in this industry as a fan before I ever knew I wanted to do this. I think it’s made it way more fun and honestly, less stressful. I am constantly watching and learning. The best way to learn is to love, in my opinion. (I am by no means an expert I am just a 20 year old girl). I try not to worry too much about algorithms and stuff like that. I’m trying to put all of my energy into making music that is right and authentic to who I am. It’s so easy to get caught up in trying to blow up. If that ever happens for me, I want to be 100% confident in what I’m making. So that’s where my focus is right now, finding myself as an artist and creating something special. Promoting on social media can start to feel really inauthentic and take some of the magic out of music. Right now I’m focused on creating the magic.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @justkhya
• Facebook: Khya
• Twitter: @justkhyaaa
• Youtube: @justkhya

Image Credits
First image – Jackson Ditty