Those qualities mentioned making for instantly addictive songs are just part of what makes Yorkshire-born performer KiD RAiN musically tick. With a penchant for bright, charismatic vocals and hooks luring you in after the first listen, it is said he’s the next big thing in pop. New single ‘Something To Hate’ is about how much easier it is to move on from someone if they’ve given a good reason to rather than doing nothing wrong so making it difficult to truly forget them.
Influenced by the likes of The 1975, Coldplay, and One Republic, KiD RAiN has perfectly captured the essence of pop and what it takes to write a catchy tune with his tracks finding popularity on TikTok. His artist identity arrived fully formed just three years ago with the video-sharing app playing a major part in growing his following with fans falling for his humour and charisma as it shines through all of his videos. His take on Shrek 2’s ‘Accidentally In Love’, and his own tracks ‘I Hope You Never Fall In Love Again’ and ‘Say Yes’, have racked up millions of streams and views between them.
In a live setting, KiD RAiN has no problem translating his charm with online fans showing up in their hoards, meaning his debut headline tour was sold out. His obvious love for performing means you can’t help but be entranced by his stage presence, making this an exciting time for him with much more of the same to come.
Growing up, KiD RAiN played various instruments and began writing songs aged twelve before setting up a home studio in his teens. Having an extremely hands-on approach to his creations is paramount to the natural-born performer, showcased in the new track ‘Something To Hate’ which was written, performed, and produced entirely by himself.
Despite already having support from many industry professionals and other artists, including consistent backing from BBC Introducing, he comments how he feels he is still a long way from ‘making it’. With a brand new EP coming later this year featuring collaborations with Will Reeves (Stormzy, G-Eazy, Joy Crookes and Charlie Holmes (Ed Sheeran, Niall Horan, Anne Marie), KiD RAiN is on an upward trajectory where the sky really is the limit.
House Of Solo caught up with the singer-songwriter to speak about the new track, his exciting upcoming EP, and collaboration.
KiD RAiN! Thanks for taking the time to speak with House Of Solo Magazine, your new single ‘Something To Hate’ is out now. You mentioned having written at least four songs with the same title, knowing there was something you wanted to say but couldn’t find the perfect vessel right away. What is it about the format of this song that made you think “That’s it, that’s the one”?
Hi! Thanks for having me on! I think it was more “This is getting ridiculous now, this is the fourth song with this title, I need to get it out” [laughs]. I liked all four songs I did called ‘Something To Hate’, but this was the first one that was like, ‘Yeah this needs to be released’, not shelved for a later date and inevitably forgotten about.
Tell us about the meaning behind it?
I think it’s so much easier to move on from someone when they’ve given you a reason to not like them or even hate them. You can delete the messages and just get on with your life. But when they’ve done nothing wrong, there’s still a part of you that holds on to or messages them when you shouldn’t because you still like them as a person. This is almost a last-ditch attempt to move on, just give me something to hate about you.
The track was entirely written, produced, and performed by you. What are some of the differences you experience working with other producers from doing it all yourself – What are the Pros and cons?
Everyone has different taste, which can create positive solutions or negative problems. I love working with writers/producers that get what I’m trying to do with my music, and they might find solutions that I would have never thought of which makes the work so much more fun/easy. However, on the flip side when you find that solution yourself, it makes the song that much sweeter. You can sometimes never find that solution though, and that is extremely draining, I should probably open myself up to more collaboration, but it’s hard to let someone else drive your favourite car or sit in your favourite seat.
The track is taken from your upcoming EP being released later this year. Tell us about what we can expect from it?
It may sound silly but these are the most ‘KiD RAiN’ songs I’ve ever made [laughs], if you know you know. They are nothing more/less than the best I can do right now, the production, the writing, everything. It’s a collection of the best possible songs I can make at this point in my career. So hopefully everyone loves them as much as I do.
You have an association with an impressive list of people, from the likes of Mitchell Jones, touring with The Vamps, support from BBC Introducing and even Khloe Kardashian – Do you feel you have maybe already ‘made it’ and If not, what would be your ‘I’ve made it’ moment?
I honestly feel like I’m way off making it, there’s still a very long way to go, which I’m excited about! Everyone always says this, but the goalposts do move at every point in your life/career, you always want the next big thing. I think playing a headline show to a couple of thousand people would be like “Yeah, this is it”, so I’m going to work my socks off to try to get there!
I like your eye for detail when you discuss your writing method, placing great emphasis on the melody and the hook. Is it true you are constantly listening to new music, consciously trying to adapt your own compositions to fit in with what’s contemporary?
Thank you! Yeah, it’s all about melody for me, obviously keeping the productions modern and fun is important, but if you take it all away, can you sing it on an acoustic guitar and it still be a great song? Can he do it on a cold rainy Tuesday night in Stoke?
I’m always listening to new music! I don’t adapt my songs to fit with what’s new though, I just follow my ears, I like to think these new songs especially don’t really sound like anyone else right now, which is cool!
Do you feel TikTok has led you to do that? A catchy hook can blow up overnight on the video-sharing app propelling careers to great heights – something similar to what happened to you. Do you think you would be where you are now had it not been possible for you to connect to potential fans through TikTok?
Absolutely not, I would still be making music, but I wouldn’t be where I am now without TikTok. It’s difficult to blow up, but if you do, the results are amazing. It’s important not to forget the true fans though, the TikTok numbers are great if you go viral, but it’s the people that stick around no matter what, and buy tickets to your shows, they’re the real reason I’m still here.
Writing music you say is your passion, previously stating you won’t be taking as long to make and release music in the future. How does your writing method usually go and in what way do you think your songs will benefit from a speedier process?
The actual writing of the song doesn’t take too long, maybe a single day. It’s the production and mix that takes the most time, I am too much of a perfectionist, and it’s meant that hundreds of songs haven’t been released because I didn’t think they were good enough. It’s a balancing game really, making sure I’m happy with everything, but not chasing my tail on small details that most people won’t even notice. I just want to get more music out, I don’t want to grow old with hundreds of songs on my computer but only a handful released!
Since signing a publishing deal, have you had to relinquish most of the creative and production control or are you still mainly hands-on?
None at all! My publishers are amazing and they just try to help accelerate/grow what I’ve already been doing. Whether it be connecting me to new writers/producers, or putting me forward for opportunities I never would have been considered for without them, I’m really happy to have this team behind me.
Many established artists comment on how the ‘platform of TikTok is thrusting new artists into the public eye to have their 5 minutes of fame before disappearing into obscurity. Is talent alone the main ingredient to prevent such fate or do you think there are other factors you can consider to avoid that?
I think it really depends on what kind of artist you want to be, if you want to be a ‘TikTok celebrity’ then you just need to keep chasing those numbers, be consistent, and try to be the first for every new trend/moment. That was never the goal for me, I’ve always been a musician/writer/producer first, and TikTok is just a tool to get your music out there to millions of people. TikTok or no TikTok, a good song is a good song, so I don’t really think about how to stay viral, I just make the best music I can and hope everyone likes it!
What kind of artist would you hope we would think you are?
I’d like to think you can hear how much I love pop music, I’m unashamedly pop, I’m aware, but that’s always been the music I love.
Pop is a dirty word to some people, you think of a room of suits discussing how to exploit the most amount of money from the youth, gathering fifteen hit songwriters and five producers to make a 2-minute dollar sign, but there’s none of that with what I’m doing, I’m just sat by myself in my little studio in Yorkshire making the music I love, and if everyone loves it too then great! If not, that’s ok too.
I know you have already collaborated as a songwriter. Is that something you will always pursue?
That was always the plan growing up, I love writing songs and being able to write for other people means I can try new things and get more music in the world, I hope to have as much success as a songwriter as I do for myself as an artist.
Finally, with the new single out and EP on the horizon, what’s next for Kid Rain?
It’s all about the music now for me, I’m writing every single day. I just want to get as much of the best music I can out, and hopefully, everyone loves it as much as I do. Then we can think about going on another tour and playing these new songs live!
