On
Her Way To
Building The
Army of Love!
http://LIFEChangesWithFilippo.com
http://LIFEChangesNetwork
About
Kerli ...
Born in
Elva, Estonia, a tiny, then-Soviet occupied town of 5,
000 people in the forest, Kerli grew up with a dream to get out and experience the world. "
Little creepy girl/Oh she loves to sing/She has a little gift-an amazing thing," she declares on the autobiographical, world music beat of "
Walking on Air. "She will go and set the world on fire/
Nobody ever thought she could do that."
"I'm a passionate person," declares the blonde-haired beauty, who once drew a picture in a diary when she was 13 that depicted her going to
America. "I love my country, but I always had a desire to spread my wings, take on the world, live every moment. I looked around me, and it was beautiful, but I wanted something more.
And I decided music would be my way of expressing myself and building my dreams."
Ignoring material comforts and new clothes for lessons in singing, ballet, acting and classical piano, Kerli entered and won a
Baltic, American Idol-style talent competition when she was 14, at which
point she decided to concentrate on singing. Her talents brought her to
Sweden, where she first began working with internationally notable producers within the
Murlyn group.
Demos she cut there caught the attention of
A&R; staff at
Island Def Jam, which led to a trip to NY and a meeting with Chairman
Antonio "
L.A." Reid. Reid signed her on the spot after she auditioned for him, recognizing her unique talent and the fact that she stood strong on her own two feet.
Over the next couple years, Kerli had the opportunity to work with a myriad of top writing and producing talent from around the world in crafting her sound, including
Lester Mendes,
Guy Sigsworth,
Guy Chambers, and the
Good Charlotte brothers. However, she contributed all the personal lyrics to all the songs, which reflect her amazing odyssey from a small town in
Estonia across the sea from Scandanavia to major label recording artist.
Much of this time Kerli spent in the
U.S., first living in
New York and finally settling in
Los Angeles. Speaking of her experience in America, Kerli states: "Being here has enabled me to grow as a person," she says. "
People here really do believe they can become whatever they want to become. I'm definitely a dreamer myself, so I relate to that. In my hometown, the things I'm doing now didn't seem possible, but I kept believing. I still have so far to go, but my experience has shown me that we can go after our dreams."
Kerli's iron resolve comes across in songs like the rocking "
I Want Nothing" and the vulnerability mixed with bravado of "
Bulletproof," while the hope of a better future comes across in the soulful
R&B; of "
Beautiful Day" and the emotional moving "
Butterfly Cry," in which she reveals, "I used to believe there was no lights/But I found out/
Life is far too short to fight/
Lose yourself/Let go your pain/
Taste the air you breathe/And kiss the sky."
Having suffered from depression during the writing of some of these songs, a cycle of death and resurrection runs throughout Kerli's songs, from the title track, to the techno-rocking "
Hurt Me," a reflection on childhood suffering, and the defiant harmonies of "
Fragile," marking the distance between where she came from and where she is now.
She claims a variety of musical influences, from
Massive Attack to
Bjork to pop giants like
Fergie and
Christina Augilera. But Kerli insists: "I'm just such a sponge that whenever I hear something beautiful, it touches me. When I was little, we didn't have much access to western culture.
I remember my cousin getting cable when she was five and it was the first time we'd ever seen
MTV."
To Learn More About Our
Show or Our
Host, Filippo
Voltaggio,
Visit http://LIFEChangesWithFilippo.com and
Our
Network Site http://LIFEChangesNetwork.com
- published: 02 Feb 2012
- views: 962