Kailee Morgue is the closest thing the real world has to mysterious rainbow-haired dream girl Ramona Flowers from Edgar Wright’s Scott Pilgrim vs the World. Turns out her popstar name isn’t quite the one she was born with, but close enough — her passport says Kailee Moore but she likes how the word morgue contrasts with the sound of her sweet, sweet voice. Inspired by strong female front women like Stevie Nicks, Gwen Stefani and Hayley Williams, Kailee shared an emotional demo of self-penned Medusa on Twitter back at the start of 2017 and watched it go viral overnight, catapulting her onto the radar of music fans (and industry heads) across the world.
Last summer, the 19-year-old introvert packed up her life and, having signed a record deal with NY’s Republic Records (label-mates include Ariana Grande, Hailee Steinfeld and Lorde), moved from Phoenix, AZ to LA to follow her dreams. She might be less than a year deep in this music game, but Kailee’s dark indie pop has already built up quite a following. Her debut EP Medusa is due out this Friday the 19th, with the catchy title track produced by Carly Rae Jepsen-collaborator, CJ Baran. What would Kailee would do, we wonder, if one day, like the record’s namesake, she woke up with venomous snakes instead of hair? “Probably take a bunch of selfies,” she told i-D. Great answer.
Ever since Kailee sung about hating piano lessons in front of her school aged just 8, it’s been important to her to speak up and write her own music; to ensure that there’s part of herself in every song. “This EP is my first official project so expect a variety of sounds,” she said. “These songs reflect my transition from someone who doesn’t know who they are to someone who does.” Get to know the anime fan a little better with these 10 fun facts.
1. Kailee dyed her hair green last August as she as planned the release of her single, Medusa.
“My all time favorite fictional character with green hair is Sailor Neptune from the Sail Moon series. But just to be clear, Sailor Moon is my favourite.”
2. She’s from Phoenix, Arizona.
“The worst thing about Phoenix is that there is nothing to do out there. But that also ties into the best thing, because the music scene and people are more genuine since all we can do is create and spend time with each other.”
3. She’s got a killer single called Discovery and is discovering new things all the time.
“The last discovery I made was that my own Pandora station has amazing songs that I had never heard before.”
4. She is yet to perform her EP live.
“I have not performed as Kailee Morgue before. I’m not sure if there’s a word for excited and nervous at the same time but that’s exactly what I’m feeling.”
5. She has 14 tattoos.
“My favourites have to be the ones on my hand, they’re tied to a bunch of fun memories and I finally felt like I was becoming myself.”
6. The first album she ever bought was…
“By The Way, Red Hot Chili Peppers.”
7. She’s about to release her debut EP, which she promises will be diverse.
“I imagine it being the soundtrack to some sort of corny indie film.”
8. She practises witchcraft and has some tips.
“Before getting items and getting invested, you should pick up some books and figure out which rituals resonate with you. You can find these books at any bookstore/library!”
9. She wishes she was friends with Gwen Stefani, Hayley Williams and Stevie Nicks. If she was, she’d hang out with them/force them to do the following…
“I would die to go shopping with Gwen Stefani in Japan. I would love to do face masks and watch movies with Hayley Williams. And I would love to just have intellectual conversations with Stevie Nicks and get to know her. She inspires me a lot with my writing.”
10. Her current obsessions include smoothies and a certain high-flying Netflix show.
“Basically I’m on my 3rd run of the show Weeds.”