Events

[POP] Kiesza is a little confusing, so let’s try and straighten it all out. Her full name is Kiesa Rae Ellestad, but she was born Kiesza Szösi. She’s 26, of Norwegian origin, but she’s actually from Canada—maybe less exotic than you thought. She served in the Canadian Navy at the age of 17. She wanted to be a ballerina, but an injury made that impossible. She ran in the Miss Universe Canada pageant. She’s just that type of electronica/house vocalist that makes it nearly impossible to discern whether she can really sing or if we’re being served a big earful of carefully engineered digital smoke and mirrors. But to her credit, Kiesza was also awarded a scholarship to Berklee College of Music in Boston, and it turns out her music has acoustic origins: She started off doing a singer/songwriter thing before switching gears for the hook-laden pop that informs most of last year’s The Sound of a Woman.

Knowing that makes it easier for music snobs to appreciate the disc for the fun contained therein, which oozes post-disco references that recall early Madonna. Her cover of Haddaway’s much-maligned “What Is Love?” reveals a startling emotive ability that puts the original to shame, and a forthcoming collaboration with Duran Duran ought to prove interesting. Meanwhile, we’ll see if she can make it happen live at Town Ballroom on Saturday, May 9 with special guest, Betty Who.