Pop singer/songwriter Kiesza recently visited The Recording Academy's headquarters in Santa Monica, Calif., to participate in an exclusive GRAMMY.com interview. Kiesza discussed how music has allowed her to connect with people, her debut EP Hideaway and the hit title track, among other topics.
"Right now people know me as the 'Hideaway' girl, [which is] this big sort of phenomenon dance track," said Kiesza. "But the album has so much more. It explores that whole '90s era but we kind of brought it to a current place with modern sounds."
Born in Calgary, Alberta, Kiesza joined the Royal Canadian Navy, competed in the Miss Universe Canada pageant and attended Berklee College of Music in Boston on scholarship before moving to New York to focus on music. In 2012 she released her debut single "Oops" and began penning songs for artists such as Rihanna, Icona Pop and Kylie Minogue.
"Hideaway" peaked at No. 1 on the UK Singles chart and the video for the track has been viewed nearly 100 million times on YouTube. The track was later included on Kiesza's debut EP, Hideaway, which was released in May and landed at No. 9 on Billboard's Dance/Electronic Albums chart. Hideaway features four tracks, including a cover of Haddaway's "What Is Love." Her most recent single, "Giant In My Heart" peaked at No. 4 on the UK Singles chart.