Kiesa Rae Ellestad (born 16 January 1989), better known as Kiesza, is a Canadian musician from Calgary who has most recently worked in New York City and London.
Kiesza makes dance-oriented music that touches upon house music, modern EDM, and R&B. Born in Calgary, Kiesza participated in theater, ballet, and tap dancing before joining the Royal Canadian Navy at 17, where she was trained as a code breaker. At 18, Kiesza also competed in the Miss Universe Canada pageant before focusing on a music career. Leaving the Navy, she attended Berklee College of Music in Boston on a scholarship. After graduating, she relocated to New York City and began performing her folky singer/songwriter compositions. Eventually, Kiesza found herself drawn to dance music and began collaborating with producer Rami Samir Afuni. In 2014, she released the Hideaway EP. "Hideaway" itself topped the U.K. and Scottish singles charts upon its April release and received significant airplay in the U.S. when it was released that July. A few months later, Kiesza's full-length debut, Sound of a Woman, arrived, mixing her house-influenced pop with hip-hop-tinged tracks and featuring cameos by Mick Jenkins and Joey Bada$$.
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