Alexandra Kay

As an DIY-minded artist in a genre still ruled by major labels, country singer Alexandra Kay built an audience independently, establishing herself as a social media influencer before transforming her online momentum into a thriving recording and touring career. She was born as "Alexandra Elizabeth Krekorian" in Waterloo, Illinois, on September 5, 1991. A champion athlete and all-star softball player from a young age, she passed up a college scholarship in order to pursue music instead, having written her own songs since the age of the 15. She introduced herself as an R&B singer with 2013's "No More," then switched stylistic directions during the years that followed. Uploading numerous covers of country songs to her social media platforms, Kay found an audience that appreciated her mix of country twang and urban undertones. By the early 2020s, Kay had amassed millions of covers on TikTok, Facebook, and other platforms, which translated into millions of digital streams on various music platforms. The singles"I Kinda Don't" both "All the Cowboys" both reached Number 1 on the iTunes Country Chart in 2020, and Kay climbed to the same spot with a third single, "That's What Love Is," in 2022. Meanwhile, as "That's What Love Is" racked up more than 1 million streams in a matter of months, Kay hit the road as Tim McGraw's opening act, a milestone that symbolically represented her introduction into the country-pop mainstream.