“I want people to be able to sing my songs in their cars because God knows that’s all I’ve ever done. It’s where you can be yourself and where you can sing whatever your heart desires.”
That’s how Korri describes one of her many relationships with music, one of the ways that she finds it living through her life. At the age of 6, the Arizona native performed in her first talent show at school, which lead her to join a performing group called the Young Americans who performed around the Phoeni...
“I want people to be able to sing my songs in their cars because God knows that’s all I’ve ever done. It’s where you can be yourself and where you can sing whatever your heart desires.”
That’s how Korri describes one of her many relationships with music, one of the ways that she finds it living through her life. At the age of 6, the Arizona native performed in her first talent show at school, which lead her to join a performing group called the Young Americans who performed around the Phoenix area at senior citizen homes. She would steal every performance with her demanding voice and relentless desire to flirt with the crowd. At the age of 9 she was chosen to sing the National Anthem at an Arizona Diamondbacks game providing her first test in front of a different kind of crowd; she loved every second.
At age 13, in a fateful turn of events, she was led to the Seth Riggs Vocal Summer Camp. There she began polishing her voice and learning the inside secrets of the music industry. One of the many classes she took was a beginner’s songwriting class taught by accomplished songwriter/producer, Rob Seals. “I remember sitting in his class drooling over everything he said, hoping that I was meant to be a songwriter too,” she comments. The industry classes she took over the next two summers kept telling her that the way she would get noticed is by her writing her own songs. Knowing that this is what she was meant to do, she bought her first guitar and brushed up on her piano. Then, feeling that he might be the only one to understand her, she called up Rob Seals and began taking songwriting lessons. Growing up with Shania Twain blasting in her room, she developed a soft spot for pop/country, which would find its way into her own songs. Within the first year she began to branch off from co-writing, and within the second year her writing took an identity solely her own.
During that time, however, she was occupied with something that would put her courage to the test. As a junior in high school she was diagnosed with Cushing’s Disease, a condition that would attempt to tear down her self-esteem and confidence. By the summer of 2009 she was taken into the neurological hospital for surgery. Coming out of recovery she struggled with her new understanding of stage fright. Performing whenever she could, she finally put her fears behind her, remembering the genuine happiness she feels from being on stage. Finally feeling more than ready to take on anything the world had to offer, she took a few of the great songs in her back pocket and made the journey to the Los Angles Sound Boutique Studios to record her first EP. Being a student of Seals, she found it only fit to return to the Los Angeles School of Songwriting where her journey to becoming a songwriter began; and it would be Rob Seals to produce her vision.
Now 19, Korri's songs reveal the fist-bumps and heartaches of growing up. Her lyrics read like letters from a smarter best friend: words to pull out and repeat, again and again. "I've always been freakishly obsessed with lyrics and telling stories," notes the Arizona-born artist. "I’m one of those people that gets a new CD and goes straight for the booklet with lyrics so I can see who wrote it and follow along as I marvel at the writing in each and every song. I wanted this collection of songs to give young girls the confidence to speak their truth and their stories." The six-song EP does just that. I Shouldn't Say moves from the up-tempo “On Your Doorstep”, which was inspired by how she wished her relationship with a friend would have played out, to the ballad, “Fallin’”, which deals with that moment you’re at your worst and you admit to yourself that you can’t stop your heart from breaking. “Mistaken” is her apology to a boy that offered her everything, but left her scared to take the jump in, and “Every Flavor” is the anthem that allows her to relate her perfect guy to her guilty pleasure, chocolate. She was able to write “I Shouldn’t Say” from the eyes of her older sister, learning from her mistakes, and watching how love can lead to crazy decisions for unknown reasons. And finally, “Kelsey” shares a personal story of triumph over the poison of depression, inspired by her high school best friend in realizing that she is never alone. The EP includes players such as Ryan Brown (Hannah Montana, Foreigner, Nick Lachey), Trent Stroh (Eddie Money, Nancy Sinatra), Leah Zeger (Moodafaruka, Barrage), Beth Balmer (Horse Stories, Brittney Elizabeth), Chris Lawrence (Mike Ness, Claire Holley, Travis Howard), Cameron Stone (Sara Bareilles, Jewel, Anna Nalick), Matthew Lurie (Time Out Chicago), and Rob Seals (Lucy Hales, MC Lars, Allie Moss).
Currently attending college in Arkansas, she hopes that her chance has finally come with the release of her EP, I Shouldn’t Say, because she clearly has a few things to say.
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