Kelsie Kimberlin is a 24-year old singer-songwriter who has been involved with music her entire life, starting with children’s and church choirs and then recording her first song at age eight for Yoko Ono’s Peace Project, which won first prize and a $5000 award. She spent all of that money on music lessons and started recording her own music in the studio at age 12. Over the past several years, she has recorded more than 100 original songs. Since June 2020, she has released a dozen songs on YouTube and worldwide music platforms, working with top producers on three continents, including a number of multi-Grammy winners and nominees, including Liam Nolan (Adele), Simon Gibson (Beatles, Paul McCartney), Michael Brauer (Coldplay, John Mayer), Greg Calbi Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga), Joe Laporta (Shawn Mendez, Lizzo), Brent Kolatalo (Kendrick Lamar, Eminem), and Stuart Hawkes (Amy Winehouse). Kelsie has spent literally thousands of hours in the music studio over the past ten years, and currently spends at least two days per week recording new original material. Her music has received worldwide radio play and was in the top 20 on the radio charts in Ukraine for three months prior to the war. She is Ukrainian-American and is very outspoken in her support of Ukraine. In August 2023, she traveled to Ukraine where she engaged in humanitarian work and filmed three music videos about the effects of the war on Ukraniians. The filming occurred under martial law with air raid sirens blaring and attack drones and missiles being shot down overhead. She is the first artist to be granted permission to film in the locations of the worst atrocities in Bucha and Irpin. The first video, “Armageddon,” was released in September to rave reviews and has garnered close to a million views, plays, and streams. She received a commendation from the Armed Forces and a gift from an aide to President Zelensky for her support of Ukraine. Her second video, “Another Chance To Live Again” was released on October 16th and is already going viral. Kelsie is also working with Bogota producer Pedro Vengoechea on a number of songs, and in July, she flew to Colombia to film two music videos directed by award-winning film maker, Cristian Flores, which took her to the rainforest and into the village of an indigenous tribe. Kelsie’s recent release, “We Are The Promise” has 905K views.Kelsie is truly an international artist.
“We Are The Promise” a powerful anthem with 1 million views on YouTube.
Kelsie originally wrote “We Are The Promise” as an anthem for Ukrainian resistance but then others around the world who are oppressed discovered that the lyrics also apply to their situations. Because of this, she began working with a famous Ukrainian film director, Serge Krutsenko, to create a music video to showcase the song’s power and message. They chose a story about a dystopian society where music is banned and musicians are executed as a metaphor for the actions of authoritarian regimes worldwide. Kelsie is the protagonist who opposes the law and the dictator in a series of fights and flights. The video was filmed in Hollywood blockbuster mode at a former Soviet prison camp and a 1000-year-old castle.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=0IU6ahjPQE4
Kelsie has big plans for “We Are The Promise.”
Kelsie’s song and video have touched and opened the eyes of people everywhere, and now she is hoping to turn it into a cable series along the lines of Hunger Games meets Handmaid’s Tale. With all the concerns around the globe about the rise and threat from autocrats, such a series would be quite interesting and timely. Something quite disturbing to Kelsie is that the Taliban leaders in Afghanistan have recently not only banned music, burned musical instruments, and executed musicians, but they have now prohibited women from even singing anything. When Kelsie created the video, she used the “law of silence” passed by the dictator as something unimaginable to get people’s attention about the dangers of autocracy. However, it is now really happening which should wake everyone up to just how easily our fundamental rights to freedom and happiness can be taken away.
What would people be surprised to know about Kelsie?
Kelsie has four rescue cats, five dogs, a chinchilla, a rabbit, many fish, and a potbelly pig, named Ozzie after Ozzie Osborne. Her mom is a vet so it is hard for them to say no when an animal needs love and attention. A fun fact: her Vizsla dog, Ruby, has decided that she has to sleep under the covers with Kelsie, but thankfully, the other dogs don’t.
What’s Next?
She is constantly working on new music and videos. Her plan for the next release will be a music video called “Gotta See Right” that will be filmed in Colombia’s Tayrona National Park and the rainforest where she visited the indigenous WIWA tribe and she has some footage with them for the video. She is also working on a documentary about the resistance and resilience of the Ukrainian people which will include footage of her travels there and interviews with many war victims and heroes. Kelsie has also been working with Grammy winners recording dozens of new songs in the studio so next year will be a big one for new releases. Finally, she is still promoting her debut EP, “The Drawer,” which was released a few months ago and has received widespread acclaim and millions of views and plays on global music platforms. https://www.youtube.com/@KelsieKimberlinofficial
