Kay (singer)

Kay Boutilier

Portrait of a young, pale-skinned female with blond hair.

Kay sings "Strangers"
Background information
Birth name Kristin Boutilier [1]
Also known as Kay, My Name Is Kay
Born (1985-07-31) July 31, 1985
Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada
Genres Pop, hip-hop, dance
Occupation(s) Singer-songwriter, performance artist
Instruments Vocals, piano, keyboards, violin
Labels Last Gang, Universal, JVC,
Associated acts Ryan Tedder, Cobra Starship, Pusha T, Steve Aoki, Diplo, Tiësto
Website MyNameIsKay.com

Kay Boutilier (born July 31, 1985)[2][3][4] better known by her stage name, My Name Is Kay, or just simply as Kay, is a Canadian singer and songwriter. Born and raised in Reserve Mines, Nova Scotia, she left Cape Breton Island after graduating from Holy Angels High School in 2005.[1][3] A struggling artist, Kay eventually moved to Vancouver, B.C., and turned to the Internet to widen her audience and increase her chances of being discovered.[3][4] Her first music video, released for her debut single “My Name Is Kay”, turned into a YouTube sensation, with hits topping 480,000. The song also charted on the Canadian Hot 100, debuting at No. 80, and peaking at No. 63.[5][6][7] She now tours Paris as a DJ, under the name yung goldilox.

She has opened for such artists as Hedley[8] and LMFAO.[9]

Career

2011–present: Canadian fame and first EP releases

Kay received Canadian fame when her song "My Name Is Kay" was released with a viral music video in 2011. In December that year, when the song was released onto iTunes on an EP, it peaked at No. 63 on the Canadian Hot 100. The song was never intended to be released as a single, but as the video drew popularity radio stations picked it up and started playing the track. The song was also featured on MuchMusic's 2012 MuchDance compilation CD.

My Name Is Kay (EP)

Kay released her first EP digitally on December 20, 2011. However, after her label suggested a name change, the EP was pulled from iTunes. On February 28, 2012, Kay re-released the EP, this time featuring different cover art, and a different track-listing than the first. This version was released physically in Canada. The EP featured guest vocals from rappers Kurtis Blow and Pusha T, as well as song writing credits from the likes of Ryan Tedder (of OneRepublic), Grammy award-winning song-writer Evan Bogart, Cherry Cherry Boom Boom, and producer Doctor Rosen Rosen. The first pressing of the EP featured a remix or the song "M.A.J.O.R." from Tiësto, but for unknown reasons this remix was not featured on the second pressing.

"M.A.J.O.R." was set to be released to serve as a promotional single for the EP, and a music video for the song was filmed in May 2010. However, the release was replaced with "Diddy Dum", and the music video has yet to be released. A music video for "Diddiy Dum" was released on February 29, 2012, and the song was sent to selected radio stations in Canada as a promotional single. The song failed to chart; however, it received popularity after celebrity blogger Perez Hilton praised the song on his website, along with a link to the video. The second single from the EP was the track "Strangers", which featured guest vocals from American rapper Pusha T. Following its release on July 4, 2012, the song peaked at number 47 on the Canadian Hot 100. A music video for the song was filmed in Etobicoke, and was released on August 10, 2012.[10] Kay does not consider "My Name Is Kay" or "Strangers" as singles, and always refers to them as "songs".[11]

Say What You Want (EP)

On August 21, 2012, Kay released YouTube video, showing herself on a beach while the instrumental for a new song played. The video showed footage of Kay writing the words "Rewind The Track" in the sand, however it was shown in reverse. The video concluded with the messages "KAY VS DOCTOR ROSEN ROSEN" and "September 2012". The concluding message suggested that Kay would be releasing new material in September 2012, but no further detail was given. However, on October 3, 2012, Kay Tweeted more information about the release, saying it would be an EP entitled "Say What You Want", and that it would be released on November 13, 2012.[12] To promote the album, Kay posted videos of a friend and herself interviewing the people that she was collaborating with on the EP. These videos were titled "The Laina And Kay Show".

On November 6, 2012, Kay released a short film along with a new song called "Rewind The Track". The film received positive reviews, praising Kay's new direction, and the haunting sound of the song. The version of the song used in the video is slightly different, using less production than the album version.[13][14]

The EP was released on November 13, 2012, as promised, and has a notably darker sound than Kay's previous works, possible due to the fact that she dedicated it to "anyone who's ever been betrayed."[15]

On the release date of "Say What You Want", Kay announced the EP was the first of five volumes she would be releasing in the next few months.[16] On October 31, 2012, she also shot a music video for what she called her "next single", a song that was not featured on the EP called "Whatever".[16]

The four remaining EPs scheduled to be released were pieced apart in early 2013 for various releases throughout the year under Dim Mak, Mad Decent, Ultra Records and Last Gang Records, culminating on October 22, 2013 with the release of her debut full-length album 'My Name Is Kay'.

My Name Is Kay (LP)

Was released October 22, 2013

Discography

LP

Title Details Peak chart positions
JPN
My Name Is Kay 266

EPs

Title Details Peak chart positions
CAN
My Name Is Kay —
Say What You Want —

Singles

Year Title Peak chart positions Album
CAN
[17]		 JPN
[18]		 JPN
Air
[19]
2011 "My Name Is Kay" 63 — — My Name Is Kay
2012 "Strangers"
(featuring Pusha T)		 47 — —
2013 "Whatever"[16] — — — My Name Is Kay LP
"Next To You"[20] — 6 2
"Alive"[21] — — —

Promotional singles

Guest appearances

List of songs with guest appearances by Kay
Date Title Album Artist(s)
Aug 2, 2011 "Pick Your Poison" Pick Your Poison (Single) Diplo, Datsik
Aug 15, 2011 "Work Hard, Play Hard" Work Hard, Play Hard (Single) Tiesto
Jan 10, 2012 "Control Freak" Wonderland Steve Aoki, Blaqstarr
May 15, 2012 "#1Nite (One Night)" Night Shades Cobra Starship
May 22, 2012 "Flossy" Dirty Bass Far East Movement
June 12, 2012 "No Problem" Express Yourself - EP Diplo, Flinch
Sept 25, 2012 "Right Round" Pitch Perfect The Treblemakers
Dec 11, 2012 "Singularity" It's The End of The World as We Know It Steve Aoki & Angger Dimas
June 25, 2013 "Summer Night In July" Summer Night In July (Single) Robbie Rivera
July 23, 2013 "Back Off, Bitch!" Back Off, Bitch! (Single) Static Revenger
July 23, 2013 "More Than One" Brass Knuckles (EP) Brass Knuckles

Additional Tracks

Music videos

Year Title Director
2011 "M.A.J.O.R." Hill Kourkoutis
"My Name Is Kay" David Turvey
2012 "Diddy Dum" Mista Hindz
"Strangers" Randall Thorne
2012 "Rewind The Track" Luis Ramos
2013 "Whatever" Aaron A
"Next To You" Ramos Valencia
"Alive" Aaron A

Tours

Opening act

Special guest

  • The Cherrytree Pop Alternative Tour (2011)
  • Shipwrecked Tour (2011–12)

References

  1. 1 2 "Kay". Last Gang Management. Retrieved 24 July 2014.
  2. ↑ "Kaymusik - Kay Fan Page". Facebook. Retrieved 24 July 2014.
  3. 1 2 3 Laura Jean Grant (May 12, 2011). Doing A-O-Kay – Entertainment. Cape Breton Post. Retrieved on 2013-01-22.
  4. 1 2 "N.S. YouTube sensation records first album in L.A.", CBC News (May 7, 2011). Retrieved May 12, 2012.
  5. ↑ My Name Is Kay – Kay. Song Information. Billboard.com
  6. ↑ It’s only the second week and *MY NAME IS KAY* is. My Name Is Kay (2011-07-15). Retrieved on 2013-01-22.
  7. ↑ My Name is Kay EP. Allmusic.com
  8. ↑ Mallam, Teresa (February 9, 2012). "Kay Opening for Hedley", Prince George Free Press. Retrieved May 12, 2012.
  9. ↑ Sperounes, Sandra (February 7, 2012). "Sky Blu-less LMFAO gets Rexall crowd out of their seats", Edmonton Journal, p. B4.
  10. ↑ New.Music.Live. – On Set: My Name Is Kay 'Strangers' | Video | New.Music.Live. Newmusiclive.ca (2013-01-07). Retrieved on 2013-01-22.
  11. ↑ KAY – The Making of "Strangers" Video (Behind The Scenes). YouTube (2012-08-27). Retrieved on 2013-01-22.
  12. ↑ Twitter / mynameiskay: #SAYWHATYOUWANT #EP DROPS NOV. Twitter.com. Retrieved on 2013-01-22.
  13. ↑ Kay – Rewind The Track. YouTube (2012-11-06). Retrieved on 2013-01-22.
  14. ↑ Kay’s “Rewind The Track”: Idolator Premiere | Music News, Reviews, and Gossip on. Idolator.com (2012-11-05). Retrieved on 2013-01-22.
  15. ↑ Twitter / mynameiskay: THANK U so much 4 the support. Twitter.com. Retrieved on 2013-01-22.
  16. 1 2 3 Twitter / mynameiskay: Shooting a new music video. Es.twitter.com. Retrieved on 2013-01-22.
  17. ↑ (Arabic) Canadian Hot 100. Billboard. Retrieved on 2013-01-22.
  18. ↑ Billboard Japan Hot 100 (in Japanese; retrieved on November 27, 2013)
  19. ↑ Billboard Japan Radio Songs (in Japanese; retrieved on February 2, 2016)
  20. ↑ https://itunes.apple.com/album/next-to-you-single/id656256283
  21. ↑ https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/alive-single/id670035822

External links

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