Republic Records

**Republic Records** is a New York City–based American record label owned by Universal Music Group (UMG). Kira Kosarin signed with them and released her single, "Mood Ring". She told *Billboard*, "After these last several years navigating the industry as a completely independent artist, having this group of heavy-hitters on board trusting my creative vision and helping bring it to life is just magical. I'm so excited to share what we've been able to do together."

## Bio

After years as an independent artist and actor relying on gut checks and advice from those in Kira Kosarin"s orbit – how to look, who to please, what to sing about, which props to use and costumes to wear in her music videos – the pandemic hit.

With nowhere to turn, she picked up her pen again, alone, and wrote as therapy like she had as a kid. She listened – really listened – to herself; taking stock of what was most important to her as a singer, songwriter, and entertainer. "I was such a people pleaser at that time in my life. Being an actor, where your job is to play somebody else, I had no identity of my own… I had really lost myself."

That first year of pandemic writing generated a "ghost-project," as Kira puts it, a collection of songs that dealt with "identity, depression, and anxiety." These songs helped Kira restore her lost identity and cleared the way for open eyes and the renewed self-worth that she was able to build from the quiet. On the project"s back, new songs began spilling out: ones that prioritized authenticity and honesty about her present rather than mining her past for outdated inspiration. These songs felt fresh, warm, grown, and impactful. They made a point, clustered around common ground, and propelled the 24-year-old artist into a new, powerful confidence she"d never felt before.

What changed? "I found love, and he held space for me to heal myself in ways I didn"t even know I wanted to." With love came new friends, true friends, a group of like-minded creatives who encouraged Kira"s happiness and artistry. Newly hunkered down in her Studio City home, her circle tightened to a group who fostered trust, positivity, and creativity, "I spent several months just repairing my relationship with myself, with music, with work, and my relationship with food and exercise and the way that I interact with people and my friends and my job. Whether I knew it or not, I think that was the birthplace of this project." Balanced and self-possessed (and vocally so, too), Kira Kosarin was building the foundation for her next steps.

What emerged was her forthcoming project: a body of work rippling with confidence and clarity. Songs like its lead single "mood ring" tell her stories in different shades, exploring subject material like "the world coming back; finding my first serious, hopefully lifelong relationship; prioritizing my health and goodness and not having to romanticize the struggle anymore; being okay being soft; and finding the strength to be soft in a world that might want me to toughen up."

With a grin, she says "mood ring" is "the most fun I"ve had storytelling in a while." The song introduces the project and the Kira she"s always wanted the world to see. "I'm just telling you the story of my love," she says. "It felt like a really beautiful meshing of the acoustic side of my sensibility and the more rhythmic side of my sensibility that I hadn't really had before."

Once the "sonic world" of the forthcoming project took structure, the rest came naturally. "A few years ago, somebody said, ‘What do you have to say?" and I thought, ‘Oh God, what an impossible thing to figure out,"" she remembers. "In the last couple of years, very quickly I realized, ‘Oh, I have a lot to say.""

What followed was a project both emotionally mature and fulfilled, comprised of songs that speak to her now and songs that she"s ready to play on the road for the next year; a catharsis both for Kira and, she hopes, for people tuning in. "Being a human feels like an extreme sport sometimes," she says with a laugh. "But at the heart of music is connection: to your own emotions, being able to feel them without guilt and being able to process them. It's connection to my body, feeling comfortable in my skin, feeling like I look in the mirror and I see myself. It's feeling connected to my confidence, my power, my ability to rest, my peers, my job – but also feeling connected to my personal life in a way that I don't feel reliant on my job for all of my validation."

She continues: "What is important is that I enjoy my life and that I"m building a career that I want to last for many, many, many years." I"m excited to have something out there that when people come and look, is actually a reflection of me, for maybe the first time in my life."

"I hope that these songs find their way into important phases of people's lives," she adds. "I imagine a lot of people are going through rebirths and growth right now. I hope that these songs are ones they can always come back to."

## References

1. ↑ Jason Lipshutz (March 11, 2022). "Kira Kosarin Signs With Republic Records, Releases ‘Mood Ring" Single: Exclusive". *Billboard*.