Bella Kaye (16 years old) is an up-and-coming pop singer-songwriter from Southern California. Drawing on influences from artists such as Taylor Swift, Madison Beer, Bea Miller, and Nina Nesbitt, Bella brings her own style, intensity and emotion to the music she performs.
“Music has always been a huge part of my life starting at a very young age. I always knew this was a path I wanted to take. As a young child I would always put on shows for my family…I loved to perform (and still do!)”
Humble Beginnings
Bella’s story begins at elementary (primary) school where she was involved in a lot of musical theatre, subsequently featuring as a key member of the Chicago Children’s Choir. The young artist explains how it was not until her move to California at the age of 11 that her interest in music took a significant turning point.
“I started recording in a studio each week and posting covers to my YouTube channel and Instagram account. I started learning guitar and shortly after began performing at local coffee shops, festivals and county fairs.”
Bella Kaye’s biggest performance came in the summer of 2018, where she first performed in front of a large audience. This was an “exhilarating experience”, one she could not wait to do again. Through these experiences, Bella built up the courage to start releasing her own original music, with her debut single “Heartache” in 2019, followed by “Fake” and her debut EP Reflections. Her latest release “Missing You” hit the airwaves in May this year.
Missing You
Storytelling in songwriting has always stood out to Bella Kaye, and it’s something she strives to incorporate into her music. The artist opens up about touching on concepts that she feels a lot of teenagers can relate to. She tries to create clear imagery and a world within her lyrics, with a focus on melodies, harmonies, and textures.
“I think my music stands out because with me the story and emotion always comes first. I also think I’m highly relatable to my peers, but have a universality that young adults and beyond can connect to.”
Her latest release “Missing You” was born out of the loss of someone being 
taken away unexpectedly. Bella highlights how being under a stay-at-home order due to the COVID-19 pandemic accentuated her feelings. She subsequently spent a lot of time reflecting and wrote this song as a way to process her feelings and find comfort in being separated. She opens up about how songwriting offers a great coping mechanism from which to express her emotions.
The release itself was her first song following her EP, a song the young artist feels was a great transition song. She felt her style and sound were becoming more clear. Having songs prior to “Missing You”, Bella Kaye feels she had a better sense of what she was looking for in her songs, especially during the production process.
Defining Herself
Bella’s songs each have a special place in her heart. However, the song that stands above the rest is “Heartache” as the first song she ever released. Bella was just playing around with chords and lyrics one day on piano, and everything just flowed out of her. It wasn’t until the whole song except the second verse was done that she realized it could actually be a song.
Bella is keen for her listeners to connect with her music. “I would love my music to help someone cope with whatever they are going through.” Not only does she create music to process her own emotions, but also as a means to help her deal with whatever she’s going through.
Her mum was the main reason behind Bella’s success, and she couldn’t be more grateful for the encouragement to follow her dreams. Her mum is still very involved in her career, and they enjoy a close working relationship.
Dealing with Bullying
Bella was made fun of when she first set up her Instagram account and started posting music videos on her YouTube channel. As she put herself out there more, she became more vulnerable to being teased. This led Bella to become very self-conscious and start to really worry about what others might think.
“For the next 2-3 years I struggled with this and cycled in and out of doing what I loved and holding back because of what others might think.”
However, the artist has since learnt to be true to herself and do what’s in her heart. Pointing out how she cannot let others stop her from achieving her dreams. Looking to turn any negativity into a positive by motivating her to work even harder at fulfilling her dreams.
Bella highlights how it’s important to find someone who is excited about your work and sees potential in what you can do. In addition to being critical to work with someone who you vibe with. Finding someone who is open to your ideas but will also be honest with you.
Looking to the Future
Bella highlights its incredibly important to believe in yourself. To keep practicing and remember there will be challenges and obstacles you will have to overcome but overcoming them will only make you stronger and better in the end.
Bella has just released a cover of “Happy Together” by the Turtles on July 10th. She plans to release her next original single in early August and release new music on a regular basis. She’s keen to share her music with more people and grow her fanbase. Looking to post-Covid-19, the artist hopes to start performing again at bigger venues. With aspirations to collaborate with other artists, whilst retaining true to her songwriting, making and releasing music and performing for the rest of her life.
Follow Bella Kaye on Instagram
