Kristine Meredith Flaherty, better known as K.Flay, is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, and musician. Her debut album Life as a Dog was released in 2014, peaking on the BillboardHeatseekers Albums chart at No. 2 and Billboards Rap Albums chart at No. 14. In 2016, she signed with Interscope Records as the first artist signed to Dan Reynolds' Night Street Records imprint. K.Flay was nominated for two awards at the 60th Annual Grammy Awards: Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical, and Best Rock Song.
Early life
Kristine Meredith Flaherty was born in Wilmette, Illinois, on June 30, 1985. She attended nearby New Trier High School. When she was seven, her parents divorced. Her mother remarried soon after, bringing in an extended step-family. She has described herself as a tomboy during childhood, preferring baggier clothing and rejecting "all things girly". When she was 14 years old, Flaherty's father—a guitarist who loved all musical genres—died. Many of her songs are a tribute to him. In 2003, she enrolled at Stanford University, pursuing a double major in psychology and sociology. According to Flaherty, many people she met during her time at Stanford influenced her musical style.
K.Flay began her music career in 2003, believing that most hip hop hits on the radio were "simplistic, misogynistic and formulaic". After bragging to a friend that she could write similar songs, she wrote "Blingity Blang Blang", which she described as a "low budget rap parody that contained far too many obscenities". After writing and performing the song, Flaherty realized that she enjoyed writing and recording music. She continued to experiment with music by writing songs and performing and recording them on her computer. She released a mixtape called Suburban Rap Queen in 2005, which she produced on her laptop, and began performing. In 2010, K.Flay released her self-titled EP, and in 2011 self-released the mixtape I Stopped Caring in '96, which she later remarked was a career turning point. K.Flay signed with RCA Records in 2012, releasing two EPs: Eyes Shut in 2012, with songs produced by Liam Howlett from the British band The Prodigy, and What If It Is in 2013. She parted ways with RCA Records in 2013 because of differences of opinion. Upon leaving RCA Records, she left behind more than 60 songs she had written while signed under RCA Records, but no longer owned the rights to. K.Flay has described her time with RCA Records as similar to "an ill-advised marriage".
2014–2015: ''Life as a Dog''
In late April 2014, K.Flay announced the release of her album Life as a Dog, by offering fans the ability to pre-order via PledgeMusic, reaching 196 percent of her initial goal. She wanted the project to be "DIY self-motivated". It was recorded and produced in New York City, Los Angeles and San Francisco, with the final mix produced at San Francisco's Different Fur. Life as a Dog was released independently on June 10, 2014. The album reached number 14 on the Billboard Rap Albums chart and number 2 on the Billboard Heatseekers Albums chart. K.Flay toured extensively once the album was released, including headlining a tour and joining tours with AWOLNATION, Third Eye Blind and Dashboard Confessional in 2014. In 2014 and 2015 she toured Germany, France and other European countries. K.Flay also performed on the Warped Tour in 2014, saying of the experience, "it was almost like an exercise in becoming a better performer". In 2015, K.Flay collaborated with Louis the Child on their song "It's Strange". The single was praised by Taylor Swift, who added "It's Strange" as one of her "Songs That Will Make Life Awesome" list and was featured on the FIFA 16 soundtrack. The song peaked at number 38 on the BillboardHot Dance/Electronic Songs chart.
2016–2018: ''Crush Me'' and ''Every Where Is Some Where''
On March 25, 2016, K.Flay released her single "FML". Later that year, on August 9, 2016, K.Flay announced she signed to Night Street Records, a division of Interscope Records. Her EP Crush Me was released 10 days later on August 19. The EP's song "Blood in the Cut" appeared on the soundtrack for , Netflix's original seriesBoJack Horseman, and in a 2017 NFL promo commercial drive. K.Flay's album Every Where Is Some Where was released on April 7, 2017. The album's first single, "High Enough", was released in March 2017. She was the opening act for the North American and European legs of Imagine Dragons' Evolve Tour. In September 2017, Flay released the book Crush Me, a compilation of notes received from fans. At the 60th Annual Grammy Awards, "Blood in the Cut" received a nomination for Best Rock Song and Every Where Is Some Where was nominated for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical.
2019–present: ''Solutions''
On March 1, 2019, K.Flay announced that she was working on her third studio album and released a lyric video for its first single, "Bad Vibes". On March 19, the official music video for "Bad Vibes" was released. On April 29, K.Flay revealed that the new album would be titled Solutions and announced the Solutions Tour. The album was released on July 12, 2019.
Flaherty publicly came out in June 2019 and has been in a relationship with musician Miya Folick since June 2018. Flaherty's song “Nervous” was written in the early stages of their relationship.
