{"id":69627,"date":"2016-09-16T08:40:26","date_gmt":"2016-09-16T13:40:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/headlineplanet.com\/home\/?p=69627"},"modified":"2016-09-16T08:40:26","modified_gmt":"2016-09-16T13:40:26","slug":"kaya-stewart-interview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/headlineplanet.com\/home\/2016\/09\/16\/kaya-stewart-interview\/","title":{"rendered":"Kaya Stewart Discusses Her Debut Album & Being A Young Artist, Praises Kehlani’s “Gangsta”"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last summer, Kaya Stewart released her debut radio single “In Love With A Boy.”\u00a0 The song set the record for most opening week pop radio adds achieved by a debut single; leading pop stations like Z100 and 102.7 KIIS were among the early supporters.\u00a0 It ultimately peaked inside the Top 30 on Mediabase’s airplay chart.<\/p>\n

This summer, the teen artist released her debut, self-titled album.\u00a0 The set reveals a tremendously gifted, versatile young artist who is not simply competent but compelling on all twelve tracks.<\/p>\n

More importantly, she is honest.\u00a0 Her vocal talent may belie her age, but her energy and spirit are refreshingly youthful.\u00a0 “Kaya Stewart” is not a cutesy, bubblegum album, but it is very much reflective of a teenage artist comfortable being a teenage artist.\u00a0 She may be a better singer than the average sixteen-year-old artist, but she is not trying to seem older.<\/p>\n

That honest, sincere acceptance of being young — and of the opportunities for growth and change that come with it — is a core part of Stewart’s artistry and personality.\u00a0 It is palpable when watching her perform, and it is palpable when conversing with her.<\/p>\n

Headline Planet recently took part in such a conversation.\u00a0 Highlights from our interview with Kaya Stewart follow.<\/p>\n

\"Kaya<\/a>
Kaya Stewart [Marcus Cooper | WB Records Press Photo]<\/figcaption><\/figure>On what it means to be a young artist: <\/strong>I always say to people when you\u2019re listening to my music or becoming a fan, it’s kind of like you’re growing up with me because I’m still so young and experiencing so many things.\u00a0 [Many of my fans are] around the same age, and we’re all kind of growing up together.\u00a0 Whenever I experience [something in life], I\u2019m always writing.\u00a0 I don’t know where it’ll take me, but I’m sure I’ll have fun with it.<\/p>\n

On whether she, as a young artist, faces pressure to fit a specific mold or pander to specific audiences:\u00a0 \u00a0<\/strong>I never write music to see who’s going to react to it.\u00a0 I’m never writing my songs [thinking] \u201cthis will work for this fanbase, this will work for that fanbase\u201d – I\u2019m just writing it for myself, more than anything. I know there are so many people out there who can relate to what I’m saying.\u00a0 My fans are usually around my age or younger, but I’m always writing just for myself and what I’m feeling [without obsessing over] who gravitates toward it.<\/p>\n

On radio\u2019s instant reaction to In Love With A Boy: <\/strong>I wasn’t expecting it at all.\u00a0 I wrote that song and ended up just putting it on SoundCloud.\u00a0 It was so shocking, I was so young at the time\u2026and I had a song on Z100 and KIIS FM.\u00a0 It was a pretty crazy experience.<\/p>\n

On what that instant reaction meant for her career: <\/strong>It was a great place for me to start off and make my mark, but now I say I’m kind of building my career behind In Love With A Boy.\u00a0 I’m kind of establishing myself now that I’ve had something out that did so well.<\/p>\n

On how she\u2019s evolved since the debut of In Love With A Boy: <\/strong>I\u2019m getting older\u2026I’ve experienced more things.\u00a0 With my [current] single Sleepover, I kind of say it’s like the more grown up version of In Love With A Boy because I’ve [gained more life experience].\u00a0 I’ve been in this world and I already know it so well, but I’m kind of coming back with something I think is a lot stronger and more grown up and has a better grasp.\u00a0 I’ve finished high school, and I focus full-time.<\/p>\n

On the biggest challenge she\u2019s faced: <\/strong>I was so young [when I signed with WB Records], and there were so many big conversations going on about my career…and I didn’t even know what I was going to do at school the next day.\u00a0 Being signed to a major label can be really complicated.\u00a0 There are so many legal things and things I didn’t understand.\u00a0 But I’ve noticed the more I dive into my music and my art, nobody can take that away from me, because I’m the artist.\u00a0 It was always difficult trying to get on the level of all these adults and what they were saying.\u00a0 But in the end, I was just like, \u201cI just know how to write music.\u00a0 That’s what I’m good at.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

On how she\u2019s working to get even better at performing live, which she calls her favorite part of being an artist: <\/strong>I always want to grow more as an artist. When it comes to performing live on stage, I love watching videos of icons.\u00a0 Yesterday, I was watching \u201cTruth Or Dare\u201d by Madonna, and I was just taking notes on how she performs on stage.\u00a0 More than anything, I want to learn how I can grow as a performer and how my live show can be more exciting and different.<\/p>\n

On her new album: <\/strong>More than anything, it’s a big deal for myself.\u00a0 I wrote [the songs on] this album not thinking I was going to be a singer or songwriter or anything\u2026[the songwriting] took three years, and it ended up becoming the reason I started playing music and wanting to do this career full time.\u00a0 It\u2019s an album just representing young culture.\u00a0 I really hope teenagers [but also] anybody at any age can relate to it.<\/p>\n

On working with her father \u2013 Dave Stewart of Eurythmics: <\/strong>It happened more naturally than anything.\u00a0 We just kind of started working together\u2026[there] was never a moment where he was like \u201cI’m your producer\u201d [or I was like] \u201cI’m your artist.\u201d\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0We get along so well.\u00a0 He’s always helping me and he always has the best intentions for me because I’m his daughter.\u00a0 I can really trust him.<\/p>\n

On the song she would recommend to potential fans: <\/strong>Sixteen Dollars (featuring Brooke Candy).\u00a0 It\u2019s one of my favorite songs on the album because it’s so much about young culture and it’s such a unique sound, and it’s all about being young and experiencing life.<\/p>\n

On her vision of success: <\/strong>I kind of want to get to a point where I’m satisfied and happy.\u00a0 If that means I’m playing to hundreds of thousands of people or I’m happy just playing in a club in New York\u2026as long as I\u2019m happy.<\/p>\n

On her biggest inspirations: <\/strong>With my dad in the Eurythmics, Annie Lennox was always such a huge influence to me as a strong female presence.\u00a0 I’m always looking up to that kind of power – some of my other [inspirations] are Gwen Stefani and Madonna.\u00a0 They\u2019re so powerful within themselves, and they [were successful as young women].<\/p>\n

On her favorite artist at the moment: <\/strong>If you ask anyone, my favorite artist is Kehlani.\u00a0 She’s like my new favorite, and she has that song from Suicide Squad called Gangsta.\u00a0 I’ve been listening to that non-stop.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[1047],"tags":[4385],"adace-sponsor":[],"yoast_head":"\nKaya Stewart Discusses Her Debut Album & Being A Young Artist, Praises Kehlani's "Gangsta"<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Last summer, Kaya Stewart released her debut radio single "In Love With A Boy."\u00a0 The song set the record for most opening week pop radio adds achieved by\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/headlineplanet.com\/home\/2016\/09\/16\/kaya-stewart-interview\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Kaya Stewart Discusses Her Debut Album & Being A Young Artist, Praises Kehlani's "Gangsta"\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Last summer, Kaya Stewart released her debut radio single "In Love With A Boy."\u00a0 The song set the record for most opening week pop radio adds achieved by\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/headlineplanet.com\/home\/2016\/09\/16\/kaya-stewart-interview\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Headline Planet\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-09-16T13:40:26+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/headlineplanet.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Kaya-Stewart-WBR-e1474009706378.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1014\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Brian Cantor\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@cantorpedia\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@headlineplanet\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/headlineplanet.com\/home\/2016\/09\/16\/kaya-stewart-interview\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/headlineplanet.com\/home\/2016\/09\/16\/kaya-stewart-interview\/\",\"name\":\"Kaya Stewart Discusses Her Debut Album & Being A Young Artist, Praises Kehlani's \\\"Gangsta\\\"\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/headlineplanet.com\/home\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2016-09-16T13:40:26+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2016-09-16T13:40:26+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/headlineplanet.com\/home\/#\/schema\/person\/b530255b81ceb7463ea060a9b8a302c8\"},\"description\":\"Last summer, Kaya Stewart released her debut radio single \\\"In Love With A Boy.\\\"\u00a0 The song set the record for most opening week pop radio adds achieved by\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/headlineplanet.com\/home\/2016\/09\/16\/kaya-stewart-interview\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/headlineplanet.com\/home\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/headlineplanet.com\/home\/\",\"name\":\"Headline Planet\",\"description\":\"Music News & Charts, TV News & Spoilers\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/headlineplanet.com\/home\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/headlineplanet.com\/home\/#\/schema\/person\/b530255b81ceb7463ea060a9b8a302c8\",\"name\":\"Brian Cantor\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/headlineplanet.com\/home\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5726265e0532f231e46bbddd41009383?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5726265e0532f231e46bbddd41009383?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Brian Cantor\"},\"description\":\"Brian Cantor is the editor-in-chief for Headline Planet. He has been a leading reporter in the music, movie, television and sporting spaces since 2002. Brian's reporting has been cited by major websites like BuzzFeed, Billboard, the New Yorker and The Fader -- and shared by celebrities like Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber and Nicki Minaj. Contact Brian at brian.cantor[at]headlineplanet.com.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/cantorpedia\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/headlineplanet.com\/home\/author\/cantortainment\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Kaya Stewart Discusses Her Debut Album & Being A Young Artist, Praises Kehlani's \"Gangsta\"","description":"Last summer, Kaya Stewart released her debut radio single \"In Love With A Boy.\"\u00a0 The song set the record for most opening week pop radio adds achieved by","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/headlineplanet.com\/home\/2016\/09\/16\/kaya-stewart-interview\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Kaya Stewart Discusses Her Debut Album & Being A Young Artist, Praises Kehlani's \"Gangsta\"","og_description":"Last summer, Kaya Stewart released her debut radio single \"In Love With A Boy.\"\u00a0 The song set the record for most opening week pop radio adds achieved by","og_url":"https:\/\/headlineplanet.com\/home\/2016\/09\/16\/kaya-stewart-interview\/","og_site_name":"Headline Planet","article_published_time":"2016-09-16T13:40:26+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2000,"height":1014,"url":"https:\/\/headlineplanet.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Kaya-Stewart-WBR-e1474009706378.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Brian Cantor","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@cantorpedia","twitter_site":"@headlineplanet","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/headlineplanet.com\/home\/2016\/09\/16\/kaya-stewart-interview\/","url":"https:\/\/headlineplanet.com\/home\/2016\/09\/16\/kaya-stewart-interview\/","name":"Kaya Stewart Discusses Her Debut Album & Being A Young Artist, Praises Kehlani's \"Gangsta\"","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/headlineplanet.com\/home\/#website"},"datePublished":"2016-09-16T13:40:26+00:00","dateModified":"2016-09-16T13:40:26+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/headlineplanet.com\/home\/#\/schema\/person\/b530255b81ceb7463ea060a9b8a302c8"},"description":"Last summer, Kaya Stewart released her debut radio single \"In Love With A Boy.\"\u00a0 The song set the record for most opening week pop radio adds achieved by","inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/headlineplanet.com\/home\/2016\/09\/16\/kaya-stewart-interview\/"]}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/headlineplanet.com\/home\/#website","url":"https:\/\/headlineplanet.com\/home\/","name":"Headline Planet","description":"Music News & Charts, TV News & Spoilers","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/headlineplanet.com\/home\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/headlineplanet.com\/home\/#\/schema\/person\/b530255b81ceb7463ea060a9b8a302c8","name":"Brian Cantor","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/headlineplanet.com\/home\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5726265e0532f231e46bbddd41009383?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5726265e0532f231e46bbddd41009383?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Brian Cantor"},"description":"Brian Cantor is the editor-in-chief for Headline Planet. He has been a leading reporter in the music, movie, television and sporting spaces since 2002. Brian's reporting has been cited by major websites like BuzzFeed, Billboard, the New Yorker and The Fader -- and shared by celebrities like Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber and Nicki Minaj. Contact Brian at brian.cantor[at]headlineplanet.com.","sameAs":["https:\/\/twitter.com\/cantorpedia"],"url":"https:\/\/headlineplanet.com\/home\/author\/cantortainment\/"}]}},"wps_subtitle":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/headlineplanet.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69627"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/headlineplanet.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/headlineplanet.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/headlineplanet.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/headlineplanet.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=69627"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/headlineplanet.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69627\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/headlineplanet.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=69627"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/headlineplanet.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=69627"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/headlineplanet.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=69627"},{"taxonomy":"adace-sponsor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/headlineplanet.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/adace-sponsor?post=69627"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}