Image credit: Studio Santiago
Indie Pop artist Kenzie Cates who is set to release her new single ‘Just Ain’t You’ on May 7 via all streaming platforms. Co-written by JUNO Award Winning Ryan Stewart (Carly Rae Jepsen, Tyler Shaw), ‘Just Ain’t You’ is all about trying to get back into the dating field when you aren’t over your ex yet.
Written after a bad relationship and series of even worse dates, “the song is about that whole date feeling like a waste of time when I knew I could have just been spending more time with that other person instead. Covertly, the song is a celebration of that unwillingness to settle for anything less than something great.” said Kenzie.
Originally from Kamloops, Kenzie started showing an aptitude for music at a young age, she received a full-ride scholarship to KISSM, where wrote and recorded her first song when she was at 11. At 15, she teamed up with local producer and musician Kris Ruston and recorded “Either Way,” releasing it on SoundCloud for friends and family. Through word of mouth, the track spread, racking up thousands of plays and leading to it being picked up by a local radio station 97.5 The River.
In 2015, she recorded “Black Magic” to positive reviews, receiving considerable airplay on CBC across the country and Stingray Digital Canadian Indie channel. It was also submitted to 91X in Belleville and added into medium rotation where it charted at #3 on the station’s “The Indie 5” chart. The single was also submitted to the DMDS/Yangaroo competition, held during Canadian Music Week 2019 where it was selected as a finalist.
As a young artist, Kenzie was influenced by bold, adventurous and strong-minded female pop artists such as Katy Perry, Pink and Kelly Clarkson, but also by the hard-rocking stylings of Led Zeppelin and AC/DC. This made her an artist who feels free to express and embrace her rougher edges, who doesn’t blush at the first hints of contentiousness, or who won’t relent from making the music she wants to make.
Follow Kenzie Cates:
Website / Facebook / Instagram / Soundcloud / Spotify
