Kiana Ledé Is No Longer Holding Onto ‘Grudges’: INTERVIEW
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3t2TIfjhtkk
Kiana Ledé is letting the past be the past. In her latest full-length album, Grudges, released on June 16, the Arizona native learned that the “art of letting go” is not a linear path. The LP is her first in three years following her 2020 debut album Kiki which produced songs such as “Forfeit,” “Second Chances,” “Chocolate,” and more. While the musician’s “core is the same” she notes that with this new album an emergence in her artistry has been made.
“I've evolved so much. I always say the same core person but the way that I react to things, the way that I move through life, my mentality, the freedom that I've given myself permission to have, it's all just so different,” she reflects. “I've worked a lot on my mental health. That's been a huge game changer, which allowed me to make different different decisions that have led me into a way better space.”
The 17-track album dives into the aftermath of a relationship where she no longer possesses the desire to hold onto anymore “grudges.”
“I'm over all the trauma that turns into drama / I got grudges, I think you should know,” Kiana sings on the title track.
The theme of animosity is intertwined throughout the project, yet Kiana revealed that the album was not called Grudges until later on.
“We were going to call the album Closure, and that was the original title for a really long time,” she noted. “Then listening back to everything, because I had started this whole process when I had, I think hearing me work through everything sounded like I was just I was really going through a lot and I was talking more about the grudges I had towards people, towards myself, towards men specifically, and towards my own emotions. So it just felt after we wrote ‘Grudges,’ the song, it felt like that was a big release for me.”
She added, “You have to name your grudges to be able to work through them and absolutely. So we decided to call the album ‘grudges’ instead because it was just more about me talking about shit that I went through.”
If you’ve been a longtime fan of Kiana or have newly caught wind of her music, while she’s battling internal and external conflict, she still reminds you that “a bad bitch cant do baggage let it go,” which she sings on “Gemini Slander.” She continues to practice that throughout her everyday life with “recognizing that no matter what you're always going to get through it and you're always going to be a better bitch than you started.”
“I think, like Rihanna said, fake it until you make it,” she added.
Kiana will be accompanying the album with a tour of the same name. The Grudges Tour will kick off on Sept. 5 in Denver at the Cervantes Masterpiece Ballroom and conclude Oct. 12 in Chicago at Park West. You can purchase tickets here and take a look at the full list of tour dates below. Be sure to watch our full interview with Kiana above and stream Grudges on Spotify, Apple Music, and Tidal. Keep up with Kiana on Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook for more music and tour related information.
Grudges Tour
Sep 5 – Denver, CO @ Cervantes Masterpiece Ballroom
Sep 8 – Vancouver, Canada @ Vogue Theatre
Sep 9 – Portland, OR @ Wonder Ballroom
Sep 10 – Seattle, WA @ Showbox
Sep 12 – Sacramento, CA @ Ace of Spades
Sep 15 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Novo
Sep 19 – Tempe, AZ @ Marquee Theatre
Sep 21 – Austin, TX @ Scoot Inn
Sep 23 – Dallas, TX @ The Studio at The Factory
Sep 25 – Houston, TX @ Warehouse Live
Sep 27 – Atlanta, GA @ Center Stage
Sep 29 – Detroit, MI @ Saint Andrew’s Hall
Oct 1 – Toronto, Canada @ Danforth Music Hall
Oct 2 – Philadelphia, PA @ Theatre of Living Arts
Oct 3 – New York, NY @ Irving Plaza
Oct 6 – Richmond, VA @ The National
Oct 7 – Baltimore, MD @ Baltimore Soundstage
Oct 8 – Boston, MA @ Paradise Rock Club
Oct 10 – Charlotte, NC @ The Underground
Oct 11 – Nashville, TN @ Eastside Bowl
Oct 12 – Chicago, IL @ Park West